7 Tips for Surviving the Monster Apocalypse
Art by Rovina Cai
It’s here! Release the Wolves, my new, dark, middle grade fantasy, is out in the world. I got my finished copies (they’re gorgeous), got to see my illustrations in a book for the first time (hurray!), and also got very far behind on the promised posts about behind-the-scenes stuff (🥲). But I will get to it! This month has particularly packed with non-book things, but I’m back home now and determined to catch up.
Before anything, huge, huge thanks to the wonderful people who made this book happen, to my agent, my editor, everyone at Greenwillow/HarperCollins, and to all of the readers who have picked up my stories over the years. I’m very grateful to all of you that I get to keep doing this.
Also, unrelated but very exciting: Die Letzten Hexen von Blackbird Castle is Top 10 on Audible Germany right now, in all categories, and number two in children’s books. I’m shook.
But back to the book at hand. Look!
I did twenty-four chapter headers for the book, which took a great deal more time than expected. Here are two of them:
And here is a wee video my publisher made. (As mentioned elsewhere, I would not recommend giving this to an eight-year-old, despite what the video says.)
So. In honor of Release the Wolves’ journey into the world, here are some helpful tips to surviving the grim world of Varen, a monster apocalypse of whatever sort, or just life, which can feel quite monster apocalypse-y in general.
7 Tips for surviving the monster apocalypse
1. Find friends
Nobody is going to get through the deluge of monsters from beyond the veil without help. You might think you’re better off alone, but it’s practically guaranteed that you’ll be the first to be picked off. To survive what’s to come, you’ll need allies, and to have allies you’ll need to find ways both to be trustworthy and to trust others. No small feat in a world so full of desperation and danger.
2. Fight well
It helps to have trained for years in the art of monster hunting with your friends on the fields and moors of Varen. But if this wasn’t an option - or if your particular apocalypse involves monsters of other sorts - there are many other useful skills necessary to survive. Strength comes in countless forms, and victory often hinges on conviction, not just with a sword or an axe.
3. Don’t give in to fear
The end of the world brings no small amount of anxiety with it. But the beginning of the world probably did, too, and the middle, so perhaps it’s best to get comfortable with the fear. It’s not going anywhere. The trick is to figure out when it’s a valuable warning, and when a paralyzing path toward evil and isolation.
4. Don’t take strange, possibly enchanted objects that you don’t quite understand. (Or do?)
Sometimes, even during the impending end of the world, curiosity might overtake you. Your better judgement may lapse briefly at the sight of something wondrous and strange lying among the blood-spattered grass, or hanging around the neck of a fallen enemy. And then, well, you might snatch it up. And that might backfire royally. Or it might be the answer to everything. Curiosity killed the cat, but it could also save the day.
5. Safe isn’t always safe
On your journeys, you might find a quiet place to rest a while, a place that seems safe and peaceful, with strong walls and iron locks. And maybe it will be a good place to rest. But sometimes the place you thought safest is much more dangerous than the wild unknown. Don’t always trust walls, and doors, cities, and soldiers.
6. Remember the stories
When life is bleak, remember that there were so many people before you who got through their own ends of the world. Some of them survived victorious. Those that didn’t still managed to navigate their endings with strength and conviction. More importantly, old stories can be full of practical wisdom, and may just be the key to unlocking present dilemmas.
7. Find something to believe in
Closely related to number six is this final tip for intrepid adventurers off to face the apocalypse. Keep your eye fixed on something in the future, something wonderful, even if it seems improbable. Few things are more dangerous than those without hope.
The hunt begins at midnight. . .
Argo, a young blacksmith, must leave everything he knows and set off to find his sister as the world begins to end around him.
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