Mutation (Wildfire Chronicles Vol. 4) (Volume 4)

The only thing the survivors of the catastrophe in South Wales wanted was a safe place to ride out the apocalypse. The castle looked perfect: high walls and natural defenses that even the infection could not breach.

The problem was that someone had beaten them to it. Someone who would stop at nothing to maintain control.

Someone with a dark secret that could change everything...


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Q & A with the author

Q. Tell us a little about Mutation.With Mutation I really wanted to delve deeper into the ideas that began to take root in Psychosis: namely that the virus itself is a major character. It's changing, evolving out of control, and causing unexpected problems for everybody, even the people behind it. At the same time, the characters we've come to know are being changed by the world they now live in, and not necessarily for the better.Q. Once again we are introduced to a new set of characters for Michael and the others to interact with. Do you enjoy having such a large cast?Absolutely. My intention is to flesh out even minor characters as much as possible - everyone involved plays a role in the evolution of the plot, and I love the idea that you could take most of these characters and give them a wildfire chronicle of their own. We're following one particular story, but every character has been through a lot, some of it only hinted at.Q. Would you say Jake McIntosh is the star of this book? Ha! Given the title, I can see why you'd say that. And it is right in a way. A lot of the story revolves around the choices the characters face, but with Jake there are no choices. He was a monster long before the 'zombie apocalypse' and before what happened to him in Psychosis. Now he is more like a force of nature. I love writing Jake's scenes. He is an extreme character capable of committing unfathomable atrocities, yet in some ways he too is a victim. Q. Is it difficult to keep the characters grounded in the face of such extraordinary problems?It's one of the key challenges, and I hope one of the defining characteristics of Wildfire Chronicles. For the most part, these people are not trained experts, and they don't suddenly become invulnerable superheroes. When they face danger, they're coming up with solutions on the fly, and even the solutions that do keep them safe can have unexpected consequences.