Last Chance: A Future Apocalypse Caught in a Trilogy
Darren E. Watling
Tellwell Talent (2022)
ISBN: 978-0228882886
Born Darren Edward Watling, Subiaco, Western Australia, 1966. Darren excelled in English, maintaining ‘A’s, throughout his schooling and wrote a play, ‘Laughing Gas’, for his school at the age of 10. Credited with one small, published article, Darren found inspiration and reward, arriving at his latest piece, ‘Last Chance’.
He completed an apprenticeship, as a fitter, at Princess Margaret Hospital, while continuing his passion for short story writing.
Travelling Australia for three years on a private bus gave Darren a beginning to the experiences and continued, humorous outlook he has on life.
Darren approached Jill Stubbs Mills and asked for her blessing to take her short story, ‘Deception’, and rewrite it into a novel. (The feedback from her publisher about her story was exceptional). Jill agreed to her son’s request. Sadly, Jill now suffers with dementia, but, laughably, keeps her sense of humour.
Various forms of employment, including a movie extra, a welder on a crocodile farm, a drummer for a touring band and currently a roof plumber, gave Darren considerable ‘fuel’, for a fired up, comedic novel.
Darren has had several passions over the past 56 years while walking this Earth. Drums, Karate, tennis and continuing today- comedic writing.
Hi Darren, welcome to Reader Views! Tell us about your writing journey.
I learnt how to write at the usual age. (Schools were known to teach reading and writing).
I find the English language… vulnerable, to puns, misunderstandings and so open for wordplay, I can’t help but openly play on words. Armed with a sense of humour, I began writing comedy at a young age. I continued short story writing through my years. Some of my unpublished, one-page stories are altered and incorporated into Last Chance. Part-one reflects four-page, ‘Deception’ and was thrown into my lap. All I had to do was put together seventy thousand or so words.
What is Last Chance about?
An asteroid introduces itself as the cause of Earth’s destruction. An elite crew, with their dark secrets, are selected to travel to another possible, life-sustaining planet to ensure the existence of humankind.
Seven psychiatric patients find themselves on a plan B shuttle, in part two.
Part three in this trilogy is yet another crazy idea, yet it all intertwines.
What was your inspiration behind the storyline?
Good ol’ Mum and her never failing sense of humour.
Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Humor – that’s certainly a unique combination! What made you decide to incorporate humor into a doom and gloom genre?
I gave my best shot at writing, suppressing my urges to spread humour over the page. I found it… forceful thought. Creativity was limited. I burst into laughter at one of the unintended puns, ran with it, words and imagination came easy once I yielded to accepting my style of writing, some years ago.
Would you say that your humorous “author’s voice” is reflective of your personality? How?
There is so much me in this book. Not so much the less than desirable traits, but my life’s short stories. Some of the material I’ve tried on my work associates, to see how it is accepted. A level of intelligence is a requirement to comprehend some of the quirky humour. For some, they will just have to work with what they’ve got.
Your book hosts three different casts of wonderful off the wall characters. How did you develop these characters? Are they based on people you know or entirely made up?
I had set myself up for an enjoyable challenge. Twenty-one characters needed a background story, then they needed to be relevant to the big picture.
So, I needed at least twenty-one names. As I progressed through my manuscript, I asked my work mates if they were comfortable with the use of their first or last name. About 50/50, fictitious names and real people.
The characters were a mixture of pure imagination, people I had met over the years, and some were developed specifically for the humour and wordplay.
Which character was the most fun for you to write and why?
I fell victim to a practical joke at work, by a work mate. I warned Dennis that characters in books can sometimes be offensive. That night, I wrote Dennis Dunny to have an unmaintained beard and bad breath. Dennis read the chapter ‘Dennis’, upon the book’s release, phoned me and I quote, “F%#$# funny as F&$% with the F%$%# and $%#%, ha ha ha.”
Dennis has begun reading the start of the f#%$# book now.
Do any of the characters resemble their author?
Oppeniya Bottoms is out.
Darryl Lost is a fictional, stand-up comedian. I intend to be that man, at least for one night, reciting the stand-up in Last Chance. And a prophecy is fulfilled.
You reference pop culture icons throughout your story. Are you a pop culture buff? How did you get the idea to incorporate this element into Last Chance?
As a drummer for many years, I tried not to drool a lot, and I was always playing the pop-rock of the times and yester-year. At various stages through the book, something triggered a relationship to a song, and the connection hit me like… sticks on a drum.
How much research did you need to do for your book and what type of research did you do?
As some material refers to bands, song titles, names and the likes, it was not my desire to cross any copywrite laws, so I hired an over paid lawyer, (possibly the only overpaid lawyer in the southern hemi-sphere). Other bits and pieces for example; the scientific names of animals, and although not needed, breast size of celebrities.
What do you hope readers take away from Last Chance?
A laugh, a thought… ok, yes. Just a laugh for some.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?
I was surprised to be put in a category. A minimalist writer, am I. Well…I’ve said enough.
What is one thing you wish you knew when you started out?
The meaning of life, might have been handy, I suppose.
What do you like to read and which authors have inspired your own writing?
I wouldn’t say I’ve read a lot of books by some people’s standards. There was one book, however, I’m dying to finish. I really want to find out if that little red engine did. After all, he said he could.
What do you like to do outside of writing?
There’s life outside writing, marketing, promoting, cleverly responding to interviews? I guess I still like to hit things with sticks. Drums mostly.
What are your plans for future writing projects? What are you working on now?
So, Last Chance; A Future Apocalypse Caught in a Trilogy, is book one of yet another trilogy. A trilogy of trilogies.
Book two, well underway, is a continuation of the first three stories.
Book three in the trilogy completes the adventure. Unless I decide to write book four in the trilogy.
Based on your debut experience, what advice can you give aspiring authors?
Never buy the same coloured can of underarm spray deodorant and shaving cream. I believe Amazon has over thirty-two million books for sale. What will make yours stand out?
Is there anything else you’d like to add today?
A prophecy lay in the book. It is foretold a stand-up comic, Darryl Lost, will appear in Fremantle Western Australia, oddly perhaps, promoting an eye-rolling, side-splitting, subtle and ‘in your face’ laugh out loud, humorous tale, captive of a trilogy.
CONNECT WITH DARREN E. WATLING!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darren.watling.37
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darren.e.watling/
Email- kannes@live.com.au
Reader Views Book Reviews 