A word from its author DJ Cooper
How It All Started (Or: When Academic Requirements Meet Creative Chaos)
Picture this: I’m working on my Master of Fine Arts in creative writing, and I need to write a book. Just a book. Simple, right?
Wrong.
See, I already had a respectable collection of post-apocalyptic novels gathering dust on my shelves, silently judging me. “You call yourself a writer?” they seemed to whisper. “Step up your game, Cooper.” So naturally, I decided to create something that would make even Mad Max and Game of Thrones have a literary baby. (Yes, I know that’s a weird mental image. You’re welcome.)
The Birth of an Epic (Warning: Contains Nostalgic Rambling)
It all started when I was deep in Game of Thrones territory, completely mesmerized by George R.R. Martin’s ability to weave epic fantasy adventure. I thought, “What if we took this sprawling, character-rich storytelling and dropped it into a wasteland where gasoline is currency and hope is a luxury?”
Then my mind wandered back to 1977—to that magical moment when young Luke Skywalker stepped onto our screens (be still my heart… Yes I saw it in theaters). There he was on Tatooine, looking perfectly heroic despite his questionable haircut, with this massive backstory we knew nothing about. The mystery! The potential! The drama hiding just beneath that desert planet surface!
That’s when it hit me: The Waste (my thesis book’s working title) needed that same rich foundation. These characters deserved origin stories that would make their eventual convergence feel inevitable, meaningful, and absolutely explosive.
What Started as One Book… (Oops)
So I dove into my imagination to create some backstory. Just a little backstory. You know, enough to make the characters feel real.
Four books later…
Apparently, I don’t know the meaning of “just a little.” What began as background research has evolved into a full-blown literary universe. We’re talking:
- Four origin books ready to launch
- A young adult survival story for one of our key characters (because teenagers surviving the apocalypse is both heartbreaking and inspiring)
- A young adult dystopian series that sets the stage for bigger things to come
- Fifteen-plus books planned before we even reach the timeline of The Waste
I may have gotten a tiny bit carried away. But in my defense, when you’re building a world from ashes, you want to make sure those ashes have stories to tell.
Your Invitation to the Wasteland
So here’s your boarding pass to a universe where survival is an art form, hope is rebellion, and every character has earned their scars. We’re exploring different worlds emerging from the ashes of civilization—some brutal, some beautiful, all unforgettable.
Whether you’re here for the epic adventures, the complex characters, or just to see how many ways I can describe a post-apocalyptic sunset (spoiler alert: it’s a lot), welcome to the Fire & Ash universe.
Buckle up. It’s going to be one hell of a ride.
Ready to dive in? Start with Year One and discover how it all begins to fall apart… and how some people refuse to let it stay that way.