The Holocaust Engine by David Rike and Stephen Patrick
One of the best things about being a writer is having writer friends. The creative churn of new releases, WIPs, and discussions about what they’re working on is inspiring.
To celebrate the release of “The Holocaust Engine” by Evolved Publishing, I want to hear what my friends are working on. Drop your links, or even thoughts about that new WIP in the comments below.
Show us what’s out there and what’s coming.
With the release of “The Holocaust Engine”, here is a guide to our corner of the web. This post should help you get started with what you may find here and why you should take a look around or subscribe to keep up with our updates.
http://holocaustengine.com/ has three goals:
Whether you find what you’re looking for or you want something more, please let us know in the comments or simply like/share as you wish.
All good things must come to an end, but some endings are better than others. We started this journey to our launch date talking about famous first lines. While we hope this journey never ends, it made us think about last lines. Sometimes they are the perfect bow on a perfect package. Othertimes, they leave us wanting more.
Books, movies, whatever comes to mind, we’d love to see yours in the comments. Here are a few of ours:
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” Animal Farm George Orwell
“He loved Big Brother.” 1984, George Orwell
“And so farewell from your little droog. And to all others in this story profound shooms of lip-music brrrrr. And they can kiss my sharries. But you, O my brothers, remember sometimes thy little Alex that was. Amen. And all that cal.” A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
“Later on he will understand how some men so loved her, that they did dare much for her sake.” Dracula, Bram Stoker
“And strangest of all is it to hold my wife’s hand again, and to think that I have counted her, and that she has counted me, among the dead.” War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells
“I take his hand, holding tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.” The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
“To the eternal glory of the infantry—“ Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
And just for fun:
“The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door…”
Today’s thought experiment is about “that one book”, the one with the worn edges, the notes in the margins, the one that has traveled with you through time and space.
Other than religious volumes, what is “that one book” on your shelf that you’ve read the most often? Drop yours in the comments, and add any backstory that goes with it!
Ours are below. Mine is a bit classic, and, to be expected, David’s is hyper-practical.
STEPHEN:
This one is easy, albeit a bit straightforward. This 1978 paperback packs nearly 800 pages of horror classics with an introduction by Stephen King. I’ve read it for curiosity, pleasure, school, research, inspiration and sometimes just because I had it nearby (and it fits in a coat pocket). I’ve carried it to both U.S. coasts as a traveling companion and it has three decades of margin notes, ideas and wear. A decade ago, I laminated the cover to keep it from falling apart. There is no single volume in my library that holds such a powerful influence on my reading/writing habits for horror, science fiction and literature.
DAVID: I have an edible plant field guide for the Rockies that we take with us on vacation every year. I’d take the kids plant hunting and we’d hike all over. Tried to make Choke Cherry jam one year and I still can’t figure out how to get Amaranth out of Lambs Ear…. Those seeds are tiny.
One of the joys of being a writer is finding inspiration in the most unusual spaces.
My question for today: What is the most obscure thing you’ve read/seen in the past month that impacts your writing?
Here’s a few gems we’ve found in obscure places that have impacted our writing. Leave your own in the comments or feel free to comment on ours. Enjoy!
DAVID RIKE
Attack of the Mushroom People is a Japanese horror movie from the 60’s on Amazon Prime. It’s actually good. Mostly just a stranded-on-an-island-survival-movie. Surprisingly smart script, you know, for a story about attacking mushroom people.
STEPHEN PATRICK
The Imjin War by @Samuel Hawley explores the Japanese invasion of Korea from 1592-98. Ostensibly, a historical piece about an obscure time period and a sliver of history that was never covered in my world history classes, Mr. Hawley builds an incredible narrative about human interactions, strategy, and drama. Based on original sources, it is filled with colorful characters, immersive settings, and page-turning scenes. Add in palace intrigue, samurai and naval combat with Geobukseon (“Turtle ships”), it filled my notebook with inspirations for several current and future projects.
From Stephen Patrick:
One of the best things about working with a writing partner is how we compliment each other to make us and our stories better.
Our individual reading tastes are hard to describe, but we both have a unique discipline beneath the madness. Below is a small snippet of what we are reading as The Holocaust Engine prepares to launch. Please share your own in the comments. We’d love to see where you are casting your gaze these days.
DAVID:
Every year I have a reading list with categories: classic, course study topic, recent sci fi, new author, etc.) I just finished this year’s classic, Joyce’s Ulysses, hated it. All high brow mainstream fiction is self-serving but Ulysses just seemed to hold its readers in contempt..After that I read Greg Bear, Hull Zero Three — which was a fantastic palate cleanser.
STEPHEN:
I love the art of discovery in reading. Each year, I split my targets among science non-fiction, history/biographical, top 10 contemporary fiction, classic fiction and “literary” classics. My stack is currently anchored by the Norton Anthology of English Literature (the 3k page powerhouse we hated in school), which gets me from Blake to Kipling to Conrad to Achebe. It sits next to my palate cleanser: Fritz Lieber’s “Our Lady of Darkness”. “The Biggest Bluff” by Maria Konnikova and “The Great Influenza” by John Barry complete the stack and keep the lights on deep into the night.
A brief look into the setting of The Holocaust Engine:
For David, “The Holocaust Engine” started as a dream/nightmare. In my dream it was an island off of the coast of California, but I haven’t been to California in ages. The storyline needed an area that could be easily cut off due to its geography and we already had a trip planned to Florida.
For Stephen, Key West is a stewpot of the weird, the strange, the eccentric and more than a few thing that defy explanation or even language. Equally important is the chance to turn a veritable “Paradise on Earth” into a living Hell.
What about you? What do you think of Key West as a setting? Any personal stories to share? Who knows, your favorite spot may find its way into the series.
As we move toward the release of The Holocaust Engine and our own first lines, it seems fitting to drop a few of our favorite fiction first lines.
Add yours in the comments section
#5 The White Mountains, by John Christopher (Alien Invasion), young adult, but an absolute classic in the field. I read it, 4th grade, maybe fifth, and it was my favorite book for years.
#4 The Earth Abides, George R. Stewart (disease) how timeless is this book? When I bought it, it had a cover with a guy sporting an 80’s mullet. It wasn’t until the end of the book that I realised it had been written MUCH (1949).
#3 A Canticle for Lebowitz, Walter R. Miller Jr., (nuclear) beautifully written. Emotionally devastating. Nuclear holocaust books that call for an emotional investment that they never earn (On the Beach) are a dime a dozen. Canticle earns it.
#2 The Passage Justin Cronin (viral vampires), it couldn’t sustain it in the next two books, but the first book is a masterclass in the fast crash, end of the world as a disaster, run, run, run! fast paced action thriller. Wonderfully wrought characters.
#1 Lucifer’s Hammer Larry Niven/Jerry Pournelle (meteor strike)I don’t even think there’s a close second. This book simply gets everything right. The action, the characters acting in a realistic way, the plot threads that twist brilliantly before drawing to a satisfying conclusion. Largely forgotten now, It spawned a host of copycats in the literary field which in turn spawned a pair of Movies. This one is the gold standard!
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