After
Sundown by Linda Howard
and Linda Jones is a very relevant story. It will sound familiar
to those who have sheltered in place during this pandemic.
The timing could not be better with panic surrounding certain
aspects of the coronavirus, and in this book, the panic surrounds
preparation and fallout from a solar storm.
The authors explained, “We get a lot of calls asking
us how to prepare. We have become Survivalist experts. We
actually put in the book about a toilet paper shortage with
the quote, “she grabbed more toilet paper.” We
wrote the book to entertain, but also to have people thinking
about being prepared. There is a need for food, water, toilet
paper, batteries, enough medication, and food for your dog.
Modern technology is important, but there is also a need to
have tools where someone could get by without it.”
A quote in the book is surreal, considering what is going
on today. “They walked in the middle of the road…
there was no traffic at all. Walking in the middle of the
usually busy highway felt both daring and freeing, and the
fact that they could was one more example of how drastically
their world had changed in a single day.”
Readers are introduced to Ben Jernigan, a recluse who has
settled on top of a mountain outside of the small community
of Wears Valley, Tennessee after he got out of the Marines
two years ago. Going against his solitary nature, he finds
himself forewarning Sela Gordon, the owner of a small grocery
store and gas station he occasionally uses. He tells her of
a catastrophic solar storm that will take down the global
power grid in less than 24 hours. She doesn’t quite
believe him but gathers supplies just in case When the grid
goes down as predicted, Sela and her neighbors are plunged
into a new world order. Money has no meaning, gasoline is
gold, and people must band together as food and other supplies
dwindle. There is no electricity, no cell phones, TV, or computers;
no more grocery stores, gas stations, warm water, or washing
machines, and no more hospitals and medications. Unlike today,
where people need to self-isolate, the town of Wears Valley
was community isolating, where residents pull together to
do what they must to survive and maintain social order.
“We wrote Ben as a retired Marine. He distrusts bureaucracy,
and we showed this by the book quote, ‘“After
years of combat and dealing with bureaucrats who didn’t
know their asses from a hole in the ground, but were never-the-less
in charge of life and death concerning him and his men.’
His time in the military affected him, and he got PTSD. After
he got out, he became a loner, talking more to his dog than
anyone. If not for the crisis, he and Sela would never have
had a conversation. He is fallacious, a man every woman wants.
He is handy, a decision-maker, pragmatic, and a man of action.
We gave him nicknames of “sweet bun,” Hottie McHot
Hot, “Buns of Steel,” and “Stud Muffin.”
Knowing she needs to protect her aunt, niece, and some elderly
friends, Sela realizes a community council must be formed.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, she is chosen as its leader,
a role she feels she is not comfortable or suited for. Events
sometimes lead people to find in themselves traits that they
do not realize existed. Sela grew from a shy and insecure
woman to an independent, take-charge person, while Ben wanted
to be a hermit and didn't want to deal with people, but Sela
changed him. They complimented each other. He became protective,
strong, and determined, and used his resourceful skills of
surviving to help Sela, her family, her friends, and the community
to stay safe. The relationship grew from a mutual attraction
to a passionate love where both solitary people realized how
much they needed and wanted each other.
“We wanted to show Sela as shy, a thinker, logical,
compassionate, and caring. Overall, she did not have much
self-confidence and is quiet. Sela is a risk-taker who will
put herself in harm’s way to protect the people she
loves.”
The book starts quickly, and the action never stops. It shows
how people during a disaster can step up to the plate, exhibiting
spunk, and courage as they adapt to a new life. The story
shows how events can bring out either the good or the bad
in people. It is relevant to the current situation, while
not a pandemic, the natural disaster has the potential to
be as deadly or even more so with millions of people dying
from both natural and man-made causes.
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