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After resolving a conflict with Amazon, the eBook, Paperback, and Hardcover are finally available for purchase! - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD6DQ3QF/
To be honest, the delay of this post was also so I could set up some cool promotional shots like the one to the left... lol.
There's a few fun little Easter Eggs in here, but of course, they'll mean much more once you've read the story.
So many different influences went into this book.
With Homecoming, the initial idea came from the very real thing that happened in my high school (which I describe in the Afterword). Then there was a healthy amount of Tim Burton influence, their Limbo taking on a Beetlejuice or Corpse Bride character to it. In supernatural terms, there was Carrie, and really Stephen King stories in general, as well as Silent Hill, of course. Then there were quite a few musical inspirations, like Phantom of the Opera, but mainly Heathers. And a lot of the high school characterization tropes came from places like John Hughes movies, the underrated Netflix series The Society, and even Danny Phantom. Then there were all the real world tragedies and monsters that influenced the overarching plot and villain.
Harbinger has a different palette of creative inspirations. There are of course the similar real world attacks and killers that are sometimes directly referenced in the narrative. Then in terms of fiction, there were things like the murder mystery series The Following. The X-Files came into play quite a bit for the FBI sections. There's a bit of a Final Destination vibe, as you can surmise from the back cover copy. Mr. Robot was a big influence on the technology subplots, along with real world instances of Internet culture causing serious consequences. Then the music and radio station subplots were heavily influenced by the "shock jocks" and local personalities of the Northern California region that I grew up with, including "Rob, Arnie, & Dawn" and "Dog" on 98 Rock.
Overall, I think Harbinger is a great sequel. In my totally-not-biased opinion, the action and tone complement the world Homecoming established. It's sort of like how the more atmospheric and dark Alien and Terminator movies were followed by Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
And with these novels, I feel pretty satisfied that the Villa Vista High School story is completely told. I don't expect to add any more full novels, but perhaps some short stories down the road, and references in future books.
My third novel will be something completely fresh, it's an idea I've been working on in the background for almost two years now, and I'm pretty excited to get into the blood of it.
Also, the Homecoming audiobook is nearly finished! I'm going to submit it for review to Audible soon. If I can't get it there, I'll try Google Play. If not there, then somewhere... Then, once that's out, I'm going to start working on the Harbinger audiobook. Don't expect that one before 2024, but I have a faster workflow setup now with my audio workstation, so we'll see. Ultimately, I just want to do it right.
So here's to the future, and all the stories left to be told ... both literally and figuratively!
- Frank