by Shawn Chesser
As a fiction writer, I derive inspiration for my characters from many sources: friends, famous people, strangers, my kids’ teachers, neighbors, and my favorite—family. While the majority of my characters are conjured up solely by my imagination, the ones I seem to connect most with are based on family. In my Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse series, Duncan Winters shares many of my traits—both good and bad. An elderly couple featured in a story arc spanning three novels in my STZA series are very closely based on my grandparents, Ray and Helen Thagon. I’ve written every ounce of gumption and moxie they both possessed when they were alive into their fictional counterparts of the same name.
In my upcoming series RIKER’S APOCALYPSE I’ve introduced Steven “Steve-O” Piontek, a forty-five-year-old man born with Down Syndrome. He is very, very closely based on my cousin of the same name. While growing up, I really grew an affinity for Steve-O. At family gatherings, Steve-O was always smiling, cracking jokes, and quick of wit. A fond memory of mine is of us younger kids hanging out with him in the parking lot of the Public Utility Building we rented when family from all over the Pacific Northwest convened to celebrate special occasions.
Steve-O was confined to a wheelchair later in life and would wheel around with a boom box on his lap, usually blaring a country and western tune. While Steve-O lived a very long life for someone with Downs born in the fifties, he died way too soon from complications related to his condition.
Wanting to do Steve-O justice in every aspect of his fictional involvement in my zompoc yarn, not only have I mined every memory of my own, I’ve also picked my mother’s brain in order to fully flesh out my favorite cousin.
In closing, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how much knowing Steve-O helped me to realize how everyone, no matter their station in life, has much more to offer than their outward appearance may suggest.
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Here’s a snippet of my current work in progress. I hope to publish “The Promise” (RIKER’S APOCALYPSE) before Christmas 2017.
The Promise (RIKER’S APOCALYPSE, Book 1)
Riker was pressing his thumbs hard into his temples and staring into space through the Suburban’s glass moon roof when an open hand impacted his window. Caught entirely by surprise, he let out a string of expletives and raised his fists to the threat.
Caught head down and fiddling with her phone, Tara sat bolt upright and screamed. Not a long, drawn-out affair. More of a piercing yelp that preceded her pressing her back against her door and drawing her legs up defensively.
Having recovered somewhat from the sudden interruption, Riker craned around and caught sight of a man dressed in Levi’s, a Western-themed button-up shirt, and sporting a clean, white Stetson. Though shod in cowboy boots that looked to have two-inch heels on them, when the man leaned in again, hand poised to deliver a closed-fist rap on the window, he was forced to look up to meet Riker’s gaze.
Expecting to see the same hungry look the thing in the hall had fixed him with, instead Riker found himself staring into the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. They were watery and had a certain spark in them. It was as if they were asking him a million questions all at once. He looked the man up and down, searching for anything to suggest he may have been the victim of an attack and his unorthodox approach was just the calm before the proverbial storm.
The man’s blue jeans were stiff and new, with not a spot of blood on them. Riker figured they’d probably stand on their own if they hit the floor cuffs first. The denim shirt was pressed and clean and several shades lighter blue than the pants. With pearl snap buttons and intricate thread work on the yolk front and back, it looked like something Porter Wagoner might have worn on stage at the Grand Ole Opry.
Seeing nothing threatening at all about the man, Riker powered down his window.
“Hello, I’m Steve-O,” said the man, the syntax perfect though his voice had a nasal quality to it.
Riker looked away for half a beat and met Tara’s gaze. Shrugging, he turned back and said, “I’m Lee and”—he hooked a thumb over his right shoulder—“she’s Tara. Is your first name Steve and last name Oh? Or is that just the initial your last name begins with?”
Though it didn’t appear physically possible, the man’s smile widened, revealing a mouthful of perfectly straight teeth. He said, “Just Steve-O. My last name is Piontek.”
A block distant the turbine whine rose to a howl and the thwopping of the rotors increased in tempo exponentially. Riker didn’t have to look to know the Chinook was launching from the football field.
“Where’d you come from?”
“The high school,” he said, craning to see Tara. “The Army men told us to leave.”
“I don’t remember seeing you there, Steve-O,” said Tara. She regarded Riker. “Do you remember seeing him?”
Riker shook his head. “I didn’t exactly tour the place,” he admitted. Regarding Steve-O, he asked, “Were you underground with a bunch of people and trampolines and balance beams?”
Steve-O tipped his hat and nodded. “Lots of people in there. Monsters, too. The Army men killed them. Then they told me to go home. Told everyone to go home.”
Riker was trying to gauge Steve’s age when the man divulged the last bit of information. The red stubble on his chin and upper lip and the beginnings of sideburns creeping down from his ears made Riker think he was somewhere in his early thirties. If he was any older than that, he sure didn’t have the accumulated wrinkles and gray hairs to show for it.
Wondering where “home” was, Riker asked, “Were you alone?”
Steve’s hat brim cut the air left to right and back again as he shook his head. “Darren and Marcy were there. Marcy said the man on television ordered everyone to go to the school. She brought us in the van last night.”
TO BE CONTINUED in The Promise: RIKER’s APOCALYPSE
Until then check out Abyss by Shawn Chesser or begin with book one of that series.
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Great blog Shawn and I’m looking forward to reading your next series.
Cool teaser….Riker’s looks like a fun read.
It looks like a great addition to the Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse reality. 🙂
This really looks good, Shawn. As an avid reader of yours, it’s exciting to see you starting a new series. Expecting great things.