No, silly. I don’t mean this is the end of my website or the end of my
writing career. I meant that this is the introduction to a new feature that I am calling End Signs. Had you going there for a moment, didn’t I?
It should be totally cool. There will be frequent hashtag use. You can
expect me to post articles intended to make you think the end of the world is upon us. And then there will be a bunch of stuff related to the apocalypse. Have I got your interest yet?
If you’re anything like me then you were hooked as soon as I mentioned it’d be cool. But for those of you need further convincing let me explain the concept a little better.
Every day, television and newspapers present stories that are hauntingly familiar to the events I portrayed in The Gathering. Events that I used to illustrate how close society is to an apocalyptic ending. Much of what I wrote about four years ago has already manifested itself.
Does that make me psychic?
Unfortunately not. It just means that I got lucky with the news items that I picked out and dramatized for my story. And that is what this feature is all about. I’m going to look at the events in the news and then do that thing where I turn it into a believable scenario, suitable for nail-biting entertainment.
The current situation in Arizona is a good example of this. I actually wrote two versions of The Gathering, with the first one being rejected because it dealt with this issue. Originally, I had wanted a political issue that had the potential to divide the nation. Not just divide them ideologically, but a topic that carried enough emotional energy to divide the nation into armed camps ready for a second Civil War.
Could the fight over this bill in Arizonabe the first battle of Civil War II?
I hope not. However, as I did with my first manuscript, I could certainly paint a realistic scenario where conservative Christians seek to protect their religious freedoms, the gay community is concerned about unlawful discrimination, and along the way one person’s zeal for doing the right things allows him to step across the line.
Then, BOOM. You have a storyline of Americaat war that is uncomfortably realistic, because really it’s only a couple of steps from where we are right now. My intention isn’t to scare everyone. I just want to take the current events and present a scenario for your entertainment.
How do hashtags fit into this?
I’m glad you asked. Along with the articles I post on my website, I plan to comment on the daily craziness that is the news. I figure that this is best done through Twitter, where I can throw up a link to the news bit, include the #EndSigns hashtag, and make a quick comment about it.
Not all of my End Signs news flashes will be dramatic events meant to scare your socks off. Some of them will be stories that are so bizarre that it makes me think that the end of rational civilization is near. Actually, most of them will probably fall into that category.
And there you have it, my new End Signs feature. I hope you enjoy it.