I came across the blog of a man in New York City. He was married but they had no children. They lived in a high-rise apartment building. I wondered if life in New York City would be like they show in the movies, and in this case, it did turn out to be similar.
This man's world revolved around the people and shops within a few blocks of his own, plus those around the building where he worked, about 20 blocks from his apartment. The only time they traveled was when they took the train to visit relatives. They didn't keep food in their apartment and often he commented about having to run out to get something because he was hungry. Fortunately for him, some places were open very late.
I left a comment on his blog a few times and asked what they do if a bad storm takes out the electricity and at first he denied such a thing had ever happened. When I pressed it and asked about some of the snow storms that struck there over the years and many were without power, he said it had not happened to them, but he had a few co-workers that had gone without electricity for a few days. He didn't know what they did about it. Some took time off work and others just complained a lot.
Then I asked if he had thought of stocking up a few things in their apartment in case a bad storm did take down their electricity and he insisted it probably would never happen and that it would be silly to buy food just to store in the cupboard. He said that it would go stale, and how would he know it would be fit to eat if something did happen.
I didn't think we were getting anywhere but then one day he made a post about buying a box of crackers to keep in the cupboard. He said it was because he was tired of getting home with his take-out and not finding crackers with his soup. Then he made the comment "and besides.... you just never know what might happen". He put a smiley there and I can't help but think it was directed to me.
Meanwhile, I was browsing in my brain for ideas for another prepper fiction book and I thought about him and his wife. I let myself imagine what could happen if a bad event happened, but I decided not to leave them totally unprepared. Just to spite him (in jest, of course) I had his wife discover prepping first, and I had him only get on board after hearing a couple of other guys talking at work.
When the 'event' happened in this book they at least had a few supplies and a little bit of knowledge. I had them hole up in their building and then make their way out of the city. Most of the things that happened to them as they traveled among debris of a devastated city were things I had not planned. They just wrote their way out of my fingers and I elaborated on them.
Near the end of the book a character named "Marty" appeared, and by the end of the book I had written several side plots in my mind for this character. I hope someday to write at least two more books involving Marty and what he does, and also including things from his past to explain more of what makes him who he is. Marty has gotten a favorable response from readers who have also suggested writing another book with him as the main character.
I considered a sequel centered around what happened next for "Jeff" and "Jeannie" but it seemed too tame. I prefer to have my characters on the move and facing the unexpected.
When it came time to pick a title I was drumming my fingers and mulling it over, trying to think of a good title for a story about two preppers, and "A Tale of Two Preppers" jumped into my mind. At first I wanted to save the title for a possible other book I could write that might work off the basic storyline of the classic book titled "A Tale of Two Cities". But when no other title seemed as good I went with this one just so I could get the story out there. I initially posted it as a free prepper story on a prepping forum, before it became a published book.
The cover photo was taken from a bridge over the Chicago River in Chicago near Union Station. I was on a layover between trains on the way home from the cross-country bicycle trip that inspired my first book, "The Long Ride Home". Later when I needed a 'city picture' for the cover the pictures from Chicago were best suited for it.
To see the book on Amazon:
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