About this item
Debra Shanrahan, a veterinarian in New South Wales, Australia, anticipates a typical day of treating hogs and other livestock. The first hog she treats seems to be suffering from an unusually bad bout of bronchitis. Hardly cause for alarm-until the hog's owner and others who were on the farm turn up dead from suspected pneumonia. Within days, people all over the world are falling suddenly, terminally ill with a virulent strain of flu. Governments either overreact or fail to take any action, but all too soon it becomes undeniably apparent that the unthinkable has happened: the Australian hog's illness has jumped from the swine species to the human species, and there's no known treatment, no cure, and no way to contain it. The pandemic decimates the population in every corner of the globe.
About the Author
What's new/s:My latest novel, "In the Now", is a finalist in the Lambda Awards' science-fiction category."In the Now" examines reincarnation as a "what if? " What if a woman's past life takes over her present? And that past life happens to be a Japanese WWII soldier? Who survives in that scenario? I began writing novels as a way to figure out people. Those on the autism spectrum know that everyday interactions happen so fast that we find it hard, if not impossible, to decipher the why and how of relationships.As a songwriter, I'd been taught by producers to not focus only on what I felt. The lyin', cheatin' so-and-so might have a story to tell, if I listened.Good advice for songwriters, and for novelists. My first and third novels, "Accidental Rebels", and "If the Wind Were a Woman" are about life in a small Texas town in 1989 and 1975, respectively.Lesbians and gay men live in towns like my fictitious Tantona, for the most part undercover. How do they survive, and why do they stay? I and many of my friends lived in towns like that. Many of us escaped; others are still there. I'm telling a reverse trilogy, as I roll the clock back still further in each novel. The third novel, which is in the planning stages, will begin in 1951. The growth, decline, and possible rebirth of a small Texas town, as told through its lesbian and gay citizens.My other passion is Science Fiction, as evidenced by my second and fourth novels, "Lesser Prophets", and my newest book, "In the Now." "Lesser Prophets" takes the familiar theme of a global pandemic and spins it for a lesbian/gay perspective. Faith, violence, protecting the innocents, the manic race for a cure, and close escapes--as told in the voices of five very different women.I'm also a singer-songwriter who's working on an indie project called "Alive in Soulville", as well as a rock musical called "Clarity."Author questions? Contact me at kelly57anat@yahoo.com.
