Authorpreneur Dashboard – Chele Cooke
Dead and Buryd
Science Fiction & Fantasy
A single life could liberate an entire race, but the life required may be hers. Since the invasion of her home planet by the ruthless Adveni, Georgianna Lennox’s life as a Veniche medic isn’t as simple as it used to be. When a single infraction against the Adveni can lead to incarceration, slavery, or death, each life saved can bring harsh consequences. A secret delivery into the infamous Lyndbury Prison Compound reveals that her friend Nyah has been sold into slavery, and Georgianna must decide how to weigh a single life against the risk to herself and others. Caught between her duty as a medic, her family, and her promise to a friend, she puts her trust in a group of rebels, the Belsa. However, when the attempt to free Nyah uncovers a plan that could rid the Veniche of the Adveni for good, Georgianna struggles with the realisation that the people she trusted may have been using her for their own gain. Unable to walk away, Georgianna finds herself pulled deep into a web of lies and cruelty that will either claim Nyah’s life… or her own.
Book Bubbles from Dead and Buryd
Writing a Prison
Lyndbury Compound is an important aspect of Dead and Buryd, not only showing the cruelty of the Adveni, but also the cruelty of people within their own race. The main inspiration for Lyndbury came from Alcatraz in San Francisco. I've been a number of times and I still go when I visit the city. I love the stories behind it, through both the guards and the inmates. The fact that Alcatraz has such a reputation for being inescapable really intrigues me, and lends itself to a lot of stories, including Dead and Buryd. Things have to get very bad for someone to risk trying to escape a prison with such a reputation. The other inspiration for Lyndbury came from the TV show Prison Break when they are in the South American prison. In that, the guards never enter the prison. While I wanted guards inside Lyndbury, I also wanted to capture that horror of being abandoned inside, left to rot, somewhat. So I made it so that the guards rarely enter the block. Knowing that no person of authority is going to save you, and the hierarchy created amongst the prisoners, mostly via cruelty and force, is thrilling to write.
