My friend and critique partner Christine Haggerty just published her debut novel with Fox Hollow Publications. Acquisitions, book 1 in the Plague Legacy, introduces Cam, a teenage orphan trying to survive in a world reshaped by a plague virus that renders people immune or mutant. When Cam’s swept up in a raid to provide more slaves for Salvation, he’ll have find ways to survive in a dog eat dog world. Readers of Legend, Lord of the Flies, Maze Runner, and The Hunger Games will find much to love in this new series.

Over a couple of Diet Cokes and email, this is what Christine told me about her newest project.

The Plague Legacy world is a rough one, Christine. Most modern comforts are gone, at least for people like Cam. Are there experiences in your life that you used to help readers understand what Cam’s life is like?

My early childhood was spent on a subsistence farm in northeastern Utah. We grew most of our own food, milked a goat, had an outhouse (I think we had indoor plumbing by the time I was in second grade), snared and skinned rabbits, and gathered and ate plants that many people would consider weeds. I imagine that if the apocalypse was due to a disease rather than a nuclear bomb, we’d be shoved back a few centuries and live like I did as a kid. That’s the life that Cam and the other orphans in the story had before they were collected and sold.

What’s the most important thing Cam needs to keep in mind in order to survive?

In the first book, Cam mostly needs to trust in himself in order to survive. He views himself as a victim, as someone who is restricted by the rules of humanity. However, the rest of his world does not necessarily play by those same rules, and Cam has to choose which to follow and which to break.

Which five books would you lug around in a backpack during an apocalypse?

Illusions by Richard Bach and four ‘how to’ survival guides.

Describe your typical writing day.

I send my kids off to school in the morning and then have about 2 ½ hours to write without interruptions before my kindergartener gets home. That’s ideal. There are always interruptions. I do best when I am in the rhythm of getting up at 5:30 a.m. to have my coffee and write for an hour before their alarms start going off. When I get stressed about a deadline (and I set word count deadlines for myself), my typical writing day can involve a lot of yelling and a lot more coffee…and chocolate chips.

Any teasers for book 2 you can share? Inquiring minds want to know!

I can say that The Plague Legacy: Assets will have arena games and fighting and a much more complex world that is an interesting mix of apocalyptic old and futuristic new. A lot more character backstories play into this book as Cam puts some puzzle pieces together in order to survive. Watch my website for scenes and artwork related to the world of Salvation.

The Plague Legacy: Acquisitions is published by Fox Hollow Publications and is available through Amazon.

Connect with Christine Haggerty

Website: www.christinehaggertyauthor.com

Wattpad: www.wattpad.com/ChristineHaggerty

 Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/7468114.Christine_Haggerty

 Fox Hollow Publications: www.foxhollowpublications.com