Title: The Deadly
Prophesy of Enoch
Author: Douglas C. Atkins
Series: Standalone Title
Genre: Dystopian Fantasy with Christian Elements
Publisher:
Release Date:
Edition/Format: 1st Edition/Format~ eBook &
Print
Blurb/Synopsis:
Hundreds of years ago, deep within an ancient Jewish
religious work, the details of a prophesied judgment day are revealed. Written
in 300 BC, the book of Enoch holds the truth for the future. The world needs to
know the reality, but one question remains-who will spread the word?
Long after the turn of the twenty-first century, water and
oxygen are in short supply. With nearly all the natural resources depleted, a
megacompany controls the insatiable demand for water and oxygen through its
international desalination plants. But when the company's network administrator
discovers someone is sending out classified security information about the
plants, he has no idea that it is all part of a plot hatched by the Church of
the Elect. Its leader, Shaul Eitan, is determined to carry out a plan to
destroy all the desalination plants and, worse yet, to initiate a nuclear
holocaust. Eitan wants nothing more than to destroy the human population
forever. The Watchers have no choice-they must risk everything.
Chaos
reigns in a future dystopian world as everyone wonders if the book of Enoch has
foretold a truthful ending to the universe.
“Better take it easy on that,” Kamryn said. “We have to
conserve as much as we can. Wait a minute, how much did you drink?” Sabino held
up the jug and saw that he had almost emptied it. He experienced a deep feeling
of guilt. “Why the hell did you drink so much?” she demanded.
“I couldn’t help it. I was afraid I would dehydrate. I had
to drink a lot, and I had to wash out my cut.”
“Well, Ping,
congratulations. You just finished a whole day’s water supply. Now we have
enough for less than a day. I should drink the water, and you should go through
all of the work of preparing a cactus.”
“Kamryn, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t stop,” he said, lamely
trying to defend himself. “It’s like something that came over me. I had to
drink.”
“Oh, bullshit. You have no self-control. That’s all. You
come from a world of self-indulgence. You have no sense of conservation.”
“I said I’m sorry.”
“Sorry won’t save our lives,” she said. “Well, forget about
it. We’ll just have to deal with it. Let’s have a look at your cheek.”
They continued to talk while she doctored his laceration.
“It seems to have gotten worse during the day,” she said.
“There’s no way to disinfect it. I don’t know anything about improvised
medicine.”
“What time is it?” he asked without thinking to look at his
own watch. He was trying to change the subject. The pain of her cleaning the
wound was much worse than the last time she had done it.
“It’s nearly five o’clock. How are you with that gun?”
“I’ll bet I can shoot better than you.”
“We need to hunt for something to eat. There are snakes out
here, and maybe some mice, but they’re a bit small to shoot.”
“That’s my choice?”
“Unless you want to eat insects.”
“I’ll put on my shoes,” he said and started to grab them.
“Wait! Don’t pick them up. I’ll show you how to do it.”
“I can’t pick up my shoes?”
“Scorpions like to crawl into things. Pick it up by the toe
and shake it upside down, then look inside. Don’t put your hand or foot in
there until you’re absolutely sure nothing is inside.”
He looked inside and didn’t see anything, but he shook them
anyway and looked again. Then he put them on.
“Thanks for the tip,” he said. They walked around in the
late afternoon heat but didn’t find any game. The work of hunting made them very
thirsty, and they drank a lot of their scant water supply. Soon, they packed up
the site. The sun was almost down when Kamryn said it was time to walk. He was
really hungry and wondered when he would have the opportunity to eat.
Like the night before, there was only a half moon. It was
hard to see some of the rocks and smaller shrubs. Sabino stumbled many times;
so did Kamryn. He heard her swear often. They rested several times and took
stones and sand out of their shoes. She had told him that if they didn’t keep
debris out of their shoes, it might cause blisters and sores. That could be
disastrous. If that happened and the sores got infected like his cut, there
would be no way to go on. They would become stranded in the desert and die.
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Tell us a little about the Deadly Prophesy of Enoch and
where did you get the idea to write this story?
The novel has two main themes. First, it takes place in a
future, dystopian world where natural fresh water no longer exists through
wells, lakes and rivers. It all comes from desalination facilities near the
oceans. I truly believe that the world will someday end up in this situation. The
other theme of the novel is that it is based on an ancient text called the book
of Enoch. The text was written about 200 BC and Enoch is Noah’s great-grandfather
in the Bible. It has good guys and bad guys. The text’s prophesy foretells the
end of the world. My novel is my own
modern-day interoperation of that ancient text.
How and when did you get started writing novels?
I originally started writing out of a need for money. My
late wife and I were quite poor and I saw an ad for a sports writer. At the
time, I didn’t even like sports, but we needed the money and I took the
job. I found that I liked writing and
took some evening writing courses at Harvard. From writing sports I branched
out to being an art critic at a mid-sized daily newspaper. Later I wrote for the Boston Globe’s
innovation and technology blog. When my wife became terminally ill, I was badly
affected, so I began writing The Deadly Prophesy of Enoch as an emotional
escape. I really enjoyed the process of doing a project that big and have
started on my third novel.
What’s the best and worst part of being a writer?
The worst part is the waiting. I’m trying to find an agent
for a Christian inspirational book and I have been looking for well over a
year. I find it very distressing to wait for several months to hear back from
an agent, only to be turned down. By far, the greatest thing about being an
author is the creative process of writing. My mine is free to wonder into the
most imaginative places. I wrote a story called “Heidi.” It was about the legal
rights of computers and it won an honorable mention in L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers
of the Future contest. The story started out as a murder mystery, but it
morphed into a legal battle of an android that was accused of murder.
What is your writing
schedule like?
I’m an early riser. I get up about 4:00 AM and have all the
peace and quiet I need to write. I generally wrap things up about 9:00 when my
late-riser wife gets up. You can see the truth to the fact that opposites
attract.
Where do you get your ideas?
That’s a tough question. I don’t really know. Just out of
nowhere I guess. The process of creation comes when I get stuck and I lie back
in my recliner, dream, and enter my ideas into the “Documents” app on my phone
Is there something about you or your life that readers might
be surprised about?
It’s that I have had many sorrows in my life. My daughter
was murdered when she was only 17. Several years later I lost my wife of 25
years to a terminal illness. I came to hate God. But I pulled through it okay,
though. I met my second wife after a few years and through her I acquired 7
grandchildren. They are all God’s gifts and they are the reason I am able to
love again.
Do you write a novel straight through? Or revise as you go?
Plan a whole series in advance? Or does the series evolve?
I was very disciplined in writing The Deadly Prophesy of
Enoch. I stuck to a strict writing schedule. I am much more relaxed with my
approach, but I need to get back into a routine to make any real progress.
What’s next after the Deadly Prophesy of Enoch?
I just finished taking a course called Transmedia with the
University of New South Wales, Sidney. The best example of transmedia I can
think of is the Matrix Franchise with its three movies, several video games,
comic books, YouTube trailers and shorts, and an online community of fans. The
whole “World” makes up the user experience.
I am just starting my first effort in creating my own transmedia
project. I have started the project's first novel; a series about a detective
who travels through time to solve crimes. The novel in the series is
tentatively titled, “The Mystery of an Inhuman Murder.”
Doug Atkins has
always felt that the human race is and has been raping and pillaging an abused
earth. He deeply believes that the fresh water supplies of the world will
disappear and we will be destined to survive on water supplies created at
desalinization plants near our oceans. The Deadly Prophesy of Enoch takes place
in that dystopian future.
He is a survivor of horrific life events. Drug and alcohol
abuse, arrests, brushes with death, and the violent loss of his daughter, and
the agonizing passing of his wife, plunged him into darkness and severed him
from loved ones.
Never forgetting the despair of “the least of these,” he
began loving others as a mentor to inmates nearing release, an advocate for the
homeless in need of housing, and a hospice worker. Today, he is a volunteer
custody case reviewer for the Massachusetts Department of Children and
Families.
Doug also served others through writing. He wrote hospital
and church grants, was a copywriter for New Hope Chapel, an art critic for The
Patriot Ledger, and a guest blogger on Boston Globe’s innovation and technology
blog. He has also appeared in the academic/peer reviewed publication The
Journal of Product and Brand Management.
In addition, Doug received honorable mention in L. Ron
Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest, as well as placing second in the
inspirational category of the Veteran’s Administration nationwide writing
competition. He has been mentored by members of the American Society of
Journalists and Authors and continues to improve his craft through continuing
education programs, writing conferences, and his writing group.
Today, Doug is again happily married to Terri. Upon their
vows, he gained three adult children and seven grandchildren. When he’s not
writing, he can be found playing with dolls or acting out the role of a villain
or superhero. He is having the time of his life!
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