Sarah Gray's Blog

It’s been a long time coming, and I am so happy to announce Wildfire will be out very shortly on March 10. Enjoy.

Available on Amazon and most ebook retailers.

Follow me on instagram @sarahgraywritesstuff for more Wildfire and writing updates.

Just in the formatting stage before publishing, so not long to go now.

Well, it’s been a while but I’m back.

I’ve started a writing podcast with my friend Laura Catherine called Bound Together. Listen to it free on Podbean (Sometimes I talk about Wildfire if you want to know what’s going on).

Wildfire, the third and final book in the Arcadium series, will be out this year. It’s one of my goals (Episode 13- 2023 Goals), and I’m finally in the right space to share it.

That’s it for now!

Happy Halloween! As promised, here is the first chapter of Arcadium’s finale, Wildfire… the book that will absolutely be published in this lifetime, I swear. SPOILERS AHEAD. If you haven’t read Arcadium and Skylight avert your eyes now.

Wildfire

Chapter 1

The sun beams down happily on our balcony. The trees beyond it are still, the birds are chattering away unaffected, though they’re nowhere to be seen. I lean on the wooden railing and watch Liss, Henry and Trouble out of the corner of my eye. They sit cross-legged in a circle, a little team, listening to Trouble say something very slowly in Chinese. Liss and Henry confer for a moment, then Liss says a few foreign words back. Trouble beams and nods and claps his hands together. I look away, out to the forest; all green and brown and weak shadows tempered by sunlight. I’m totally the outsider now. I don’t have super serum-altered intelligence abilities and I don’t understand Chinese. I don’t have anyone my age to talk to. I’ve been left behind. It’s a nightmare.

My nine-year-old sister is now more capable than I am. She’s a computer and I’m an old encyclopaedia volume L-M. It’s a complicated thing when the person that has always relied on you suddenly doesn’t need you anymore to survive. Just… strange. I don’t know how to redirect my priorities, I don’t know how to not lead the way. What am I if I’m not in charge? And I wonder if that’s one of the reasons Kean is so angry these days. Henry doesn’t need him much these days.

The sound of a door opening from inside the house makes my heart twist. Kean doesn’t come out onto the balcony when I’m here. He senses my evilness and evades me. It’s because I gave the serum to Liss instead of Henry, but what did he think I was going to do? The whole journey was to save Liss after she’d been infected. Besides, it all worked out in the end. I gave Liss the shot, infected Henry stood up and took a bite of Liss’ arm and suddenly they’re all scientifically altered human beings, both walking and talking and just fine. I think it’s rude that Kean’s still not talking to me but I’m not going to tell him that and give him the pleasure of ignoring me.

Liss appears at my side and I jump. I don’t know how long she’s been standing there, watching me drown in dark thoughts.

“Flo?” It’s her whiney question voice.

“Yes?” I say in my sarcastic voice.

“Trouble has a surprise for you.” Liss glances over her shoulder at Trouble and Henry. “And he would like to know if you are able to spare… um, an hour or so?” She flashes a grin. “Please.”

My eyebrows go up. “He said that. Trouble said those words.”

“Well, not exactly. He said, ‘I teach Flo today. You come too. Big fun.’ I just made it more tricky for you to say no.”

My little sister is a weapon of diabolical cuteness. She could sell health insurance to a zombie, I’m sure of it.

“Flo?”

I blink. “What?”

“An hour? Say yes. I’m coming too.”

“And Henry?” I ask.

“Somebody has stay here and watch the Hermit,” Henry says with a diluted smile.

“Is Kean different when I’m gone?” I ask him.

“Nope. He hates everything at the moment. The sun, the wind, the birds, the heat, the dark.”

I nod. “Fine. What kind of weapon do I need?”

“Ummmmmm… nothing.” Her new blue eyes are so bright they almost glow. And even though they seem fake, the amusement still sparkles in all of her other features. “It can’t be that dangerous.”

Not dangerous?

I make a mental note never to trust Liss again. Ever.

I sit, practically hyperventilating, trying not to show Liss and Trouble that I’m about to faint. My heart thuds and trips over itself, making such a ruckus I can barely hear anything else. All kinds of death are possible in the next hour.

We have two cars in the garage. Jacob’s beloved sleek white four-wheel-drive, slightly scratched and dusty, with the words “wash me” and “don’t eat us” drawn through the rear windshield’s coating of dirt. I feel this intense pinpoint of sadness when I think about Jacob. Like I carry around the unjustness of that day within me. I was the last one to see him trapped behind those airtight glass lab doors. I was the one that left him there to die. I mean, he told me to go, but still.

Our second vehicle is a little two seater Smart Car with a home-made camouflage paint job (I think it was pastel pink before), black seat covers with the Pink Panther on the bum bit, and a scentless air freshener in the shape of a peace sign. Trouble collected it on a toilet water run. That’s right, yet another thing to deal with on top of flesh eating infected, and the downfall of civilisation. Without running water, toilets don’t flush themselves, do they? Trouble fills a whole lot of empty four litre juice bottles at the river water every two days. It’s really a pain.

But I’m stalling.

I grip the four-wheel-drive’s steering wheel and stare across at Trouble. He sits shotgun, while Liss sits in the middle of the back seat, leaning as far forward as her seatbelt will let her. I had four driving lessons a long time ago, before the outbreak, but never in a huge monster vehicle like this. Plus I don’t remember anything I learned. At least this one is an automatic, so really I shouldn’t be freaking out because it’s just go, stop and turn. The thing that gets me is that I’m not just learning to drive, I’m learning to drive in the apocalypse. Talk about pressure.

Henry stands at the garage door, peering out our spy hole and does a silent thumbs up.

Trouble barely contains his excitement with a professional type smile. He puts up his hands up like pedals. When he flattens his right hand he says, “Go.” Then his left hand. “Stop.”

My feet find the pedals. “Easy as that,” I mumble.

Trouble moves the gear stick from P to D. “Go.” He moves it from D to R. “Return.” He puts it back to P. “Stop.”

“That’s it?”

“Pretty easy, huh?” Liss says. I glance at her in the rearview mirror. She doesn’t notice.

I give Henry a solid thumbs up, and then take two minutes to start the car because my hands are shaking and my seat position is never quite right. At last, I sigh and twist the key. The vehicle rumbles to life, vibrating and growling like a living animal that I should not be in control of. Henry lifts the roller door and casually walks up to the street on his long lanky legs, a piece of weaponised pipe slung over his shoulder.

It’s a bright afternoon with a cloudless blue above us and a wash of gold over the houses and roads and trees. We haven’t had a run-in with any infected for weeks up in these hills.

I put the gear stick into drive and press the accelerator. Nothing happens. I look down and press harder. We lurch forward and I back off instantly.

“Smooth,” Trouble says like he’s meditating. “Like wave in ocean.”

“Like a waterfall!” Liss chimes in.

I glance around. “Those are both terrible examples because they end with a crash.”

Trouble nods. “Smooth… like train on track.”

“Like bungy jumping!” Liss says.

“Nope.” I shake my head. “I really think you guys are missing the point there. And Liss, you can’t even drive.”

Liss collapses in a bundle of giggles.

“Brilliant,” I say under my breath. I press the accelerator and we roll along the driveway at walking pace.

“Street’s clear in both directions,” Henry says. “Though I think at that pace they won’t even notice you.”

“Because you’re barely moving!” Liss manages through giggles.

“Everyone’s a comedian today,” I say, stopping at the edge of the driveway.

Henry leans on my side of the car. “If you’re going past the milk bar, grab some ice-cream, won’t you?”

I roll my eyes.

“And a lotto ticket,” Henry says. “I’m feeling lucky.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

He waves as I wind up the window. I try to focus on the task ahead but all I can see is the great gaping hole next to him where Kean should be standing.

I turn right and we head further up into the hills. After a while I get the hang of this driving thing, even though my brain hurts from being too alert and on edge.

The traffic is non-existent.

And there’s no one to tail-gate me.

We’ll definitely never have parking problems.

Liss hums a tune in the back, watching the world go past. Calm as anything. Trusting and small. I hope she’s thinking about jellybeans and basketballs and spoon races. I grip the steering wheel white knuckled, my legs are cramping from being so rigid. My eyes creep from side to side. They cycle through checking the triangle of mirrors—left side, right side, rear view. Over and over.

Trouble’s elbow relaxes on the centre rest, his right hand positioned on his knee. He tries to give off the impression of being casual and care free, but really he’s monitoring me and the road and all of our surroundings tirelessly. Ready to grab the wheel, ready to guide us back to safety. If only I could learn to drive half as well or be half as alert, or half as awesome as him. We hit a decent speed and just keep going.

Until a one-armed infected man steps onto the road and I hit him square on doing sixty. I don’t even react until he’s slurped up over the car and slammed back down on the road, seconds later.

I hit the brakes and screech to a stop, wisps of white smoke obscure my view out the back.

Liss, Trouble and I turn in slow motion to see the damage.

“Gee, you got him good!” Liss remarks. “Didn’t even brake.”

Trouble leans over me to engage the windscreen wipers, which drive a slow and awkward path through the bloody windscreen. I look down to make sure my foot is still on the brake, and also so I know exactly where the accelerator if I need it suddenly.

“Uh…” Liss says, still staring out the back, giving a full report. “It’s still moving. Oh. Now it’s getting up.”

Trouble assesses the situation, frowns slightly, then looks at me. “Reverse,” he says with a nod.

My mouth hangs open. “God, they even interrupt driving lessons. So inconvenient.” I slip the gearstick into what I think is R but is really N, so that when I press the accelerator the engine revs and spins emptily. We go no where. My cheeks go hot.

I stab it into reverse this time but the infected man beats me and body slams our stationary vehicle. He’s got no arms left, so there’s not much else he can do. Gently I brush the accelerator and the car jumps, nudging the infected man a few steps back. His head jerks around, confused at how he came to no longer be on the car. His grey eyeballs seem empty, his teeth black, his lips peeled down around his chin. Gross.

“Faster,” Trouble says.

“Faster!” Liss echoes.

“You asked for it.” I grip the wheel, one hand on the back of Trouble’s seat, looking out the rear windscreen and slam my foot down.

The car revs and launches back. The infected man hits the boot and flies back a few meters. I keep my foot down. We crunch over him and all twist forward in our seats to see if he’s dead.

The infected man rolls over and tries to right himself even though his legs are now paper flat.

“It’s still moving!” Liss pulls a face of mock terror, humour in her fearless little eyes.

Trouble nods and I know he’s right. We can’t just leave a wounded infected lying in the middle of the road. It’s still dangerous, even if it can’t move. All it takes is one bite, one drop of blood for the infection to spread to healthy people.

“Nothing’s simple anymore,” I say, flooring it. The car shoots backward. “Dammit.” I put the stick into drive. “I’m trying to drive here.”

We bump over the infected body and turn back to see.

“Now?” I ask.

Liss pauses, bottom lip sticking out.

The suspense is like waiting for a score from judges.

“Yeah. He’s dead. His vibration is gone.” She turns back as if nothing just happened.

“I’m done,” I say. “It’s getting dark. I’m taking us home.”

I drive through the silent grey streets, staring through the blood smeared windshield. Trying to keep my mind blank. I fill it with the white noise of the engine, and by checking mirrors and wondering what we’ll have for dinner later.

Liss suddenly plants her palms and face against the glass and whines, “Hey! You missed our house!”

“Hmm?” I look back, her words sinking in. “Oh!” I slam on the brake. Trouble braces himself on the dashboard. We slide to a screechy stop.

“Good stop,” Trouble says. “We work on smooth later.”

I look down, forcing the gearstick into R.

“Hey,” Liss says, still plastered to the window. “What’s that?”

Trouble and I look over.

A ripple of shock moves through me before I rip my seatbelt off and jump out of the car.

Trouble follows, golf-club in hand.

“What the…” I say under my breath.

There, in number fifteen’s window, is a small glowing light. Someone’s home.

We freeze as the front door clicks open, then the dark mesh security door swings out. A man emerges and grants us a sly smile.

“Jacob!” Something rushes through me, tumbling and falling. My world tips on its side. And I have no explanation for why I do what I do, but I run to him and collect him in a hug.

Now, I am not a hug person, and Jacob and I haven’t always been on great terms, but this happiness thing is like a drug. It makes me do weird things. It makes me appreciate the tiny victories. Also, it means I’m less of a bad person for leaving him behind because he survived.

“You made it,” I say, stepping back. “How? What happened? What is going on? Why didn’t you come up to the house?”

Jacob crosses his arms, trying to hide some form of emotion. His eyes narrow on something behind me. “What have you done to my vehicle?”

A gory skid mark stretches from the front bumper to the rear.

“The guy was missing two arms and a lung. We couldn’t save it,” I say.

“I see that.” Jacob nods to Trouble. “Out for a spot of golf?”

Trouble smiles.

Jacob’s mouth quirks. “Begs the question, why manufacture super soldiers when they could just hire you?” Then he turns his attention to Liss. “Little one.”

Liss’ blue eyes scrutinise him. She’s seen him just twice in real life, once at Arcadium and once when Jacob followed us into the hills—neither episode would inspire trust. She doesn’t know him like I do, but it’s Jacob’s blood that pushed her from a snapping flesh eating monster of stage one to a stage two miniature super soldier. Plus his memories hang in Liss and Henry’s minds. I have no idea what she’ll make of him.

Liss is still for a long time, all eyes on her. Then she marches over to Jacob, her chin tilted up like she’s staring up at a mountain and the weirdest thing happens.

Jacob kneels down to her level. Liss touches his cheek with one hand. And he lets her.

They stare at each other, Liss’s electric blue eyes to his contacts-adjusted brown eyes.

I’m just a spectator, and I’ll never know what’s happening, what’s passing between them, what they can both see and will never share. What Jacob has been through to get here. I’d look away if I could.

“It’s okay now,” Liss says quietly.

Jacob’s jaw clenches beneath her touch. He blinks the glassiness from his eyes and looks down.

Liss’s hand falls away and she looks back at me, as if I might have an order waiting for her.

“How? How did you get out?” I ask.

Jacob stands and nods to the front of his house. Jessie, our welcoming party in Skylight, hovers in the doorway, awkward like she doesn’t belong on our side.

“Cool.” I smile. She gives me a relieved one in return.

“I wasn’t sure you’d remember me.” Jessie steps out onto the lawn.

Trouble shakes his head and puts his hand on his chest in pure happiness. We never have big wins like this. People don’t come back from the dead every day.

“We waited for you.” I tip my head. “It was about twenty seconds, but we did wait.”

“We wait but you no come,” Trouble says.

Jessie nods. She looks just like she did when she disappeared. Blunt cut black hair, remnants of worn away eyeliner, tattoos creeping on her skin. Like a ghost stuck in the same clothes. Her leather shoulder holster is empty. No guns. No pens.

Liss comes to my side and grabs my hand. We stand for a moment in the deepening dusk.

Jacob turns his eyes upon me. “Where’s that boyfriend of yours?”

My gaze falters.

“Awkward.” Liss squeezes my hand.

Jacob’s brow furrows. “I’m sorry,” he says sincerely.

“No.” I shake my head. “He’s not dead. He’s back at the house. It’s a long story.”

“Ok.” Jacob gives Liss a quizzical look. Liss gives nothing back.

I want to high five her for her loyalty. I don’t though.

So I take a deep breath. “If you’re not doing anything, you guys should come over for dinner.”

Jacob considers. “Let me just check my diary.” He blinks. “Well, what do you know, I’m free.”

Why does time go so fast??!! I’ve received a few queries on when/if Wildfire will be released (rightfully so), and wanted to post an update. The manuscript is complete, I’m half way through the review, and then it will go to my trusted beta readers for comment before being published. Thank goodness I made the cover art three years ago (sorry sorry sorry!).

Thanks for your patience, comments, encouragement and questions. I will push to get Wildfire out as soon as possible. I’ll probably have to write a wee “previously on Arcadium…” recap, and might publish the first chapter early here (maybe on Halloween, as one commenter mentioned?!)

Wow, it has been a long time since I’ve posted on this blog! I definitely need to update this beast.

I just wanted to assure you that Wildfire is on the way. I have no set date yet, but I will shout about it on this blog when it’s available for download.

Thanks for hanging in there. Much love.

Hello! At last I bring you good news. Skylight is now up on Amazon and Smashwords. (Apple and Barnes & Noble will catch up soon)

Just follow the links!

Smashwords

Amazon UK

Amazon US – AUS -NZ

Currently only available in eBook format, but the paper version is in the works :)

Hope you enjoy it!

Hello! At last I bring you good news. Skylight is now up on Amazon and Smashwords. (Apple and Barnes & Noble will catch up soon)

Just follow the links!

Smashwords

Amazon UK

Amazon US – AUS -NZ

Currently only available in eBook format, but the paper version is in the works

Okay, guys. My bad. Skylight will be up and live on Amazon and Smashwords this SATURDAY 12th… English time. Sorry to make you wait, but this time it will be GO, GO, GO!!!!

Okay, guys. My bad. Skylight will be up and live on Amazon and Smashwords this SATURDAY 12th… English time. Sorry to make you wait, but this time it will be GO, GO, GO!!!!