Title: Apocalypse Alley
Series: Blue Unicorn #2
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist: Simone
Publication Date: February 26, 2018
Length: 201 pages
About Apocalypse
Alley
Home from a six-month
assignment to war-torn East Asia, genetically engineered supersoldier Noah
"Comet" Wu just wants to kick back, share a beer, and talk shit with
his best friend, JT. But JT's home has been shot up like a war zone, and his
friend has gone missing.
Comet's only lead is a
smart-mouthed criminal he finds amid the mess. His name's Buzz Howdy. He's a
con man and a hacker and deserves to be in jail. Or in handcuffs, at least. The
only thing the two have in common is JT. Unless you count the steamy glances
they're sneaking at one another. They have those in common too. But that just makes
Comet all the more wary.
Despite their mutual
distrust, they'll have to work together to rescue JT before a cyborg assassin
gets to him first. Racing down a miserable stretch of road called Apocalypse
Alley, they must dodge radioactive spiders, a killer Buick, and rampaging
cannibals. They also try to dodge each other. That last bit doesn't work out so
well.
Buy Links
Hello, all! I’m Don
Allmon and this week I’ll be touring the web to promote my new book, APOCALYPSE
ALLEY, the second in the Blue Unicorn series.
If you’re looking for
fast-paced cyberpunk/fantasy romance – Terminator 2 meets Fury Road
with two sexy guys and a dragon – this is your jam.
Join in the fun by
leaving a comment which enters you to win a Riptide gift card!
Cyberpunk
Pinocchio
Back before I signed the contract with Riptide for the Blue
Unicorn series, the editor suggested Book 2 be about a couple other than JT and
Austin. I said, “No problem!” more enthusiastically than I should have because
I had no effing idea who Book 2 would be about if not about my orc and elf.
A week of panic later I sat in a bar with a writer friend (much
more accomplished than I) and laid out the problem: “I can do Buzz plus
someone, but who and what? He can’t be human or an orc or an elf.”
“Dragon,” she said.
“Too all-powerful.” (And dragons are assholes, and not sexy ones.
Sorry, dragon-shifter fans, but no.)
“Satyr.”
“Sexy. Too pastoral.” (Though I filed that idea away for later,
and someday I’ll tell you about Benjamin the satyr who is hot af.)
“Cyborg,” my friend said.
“That’s the villain.” (This is why my writer friends don’t talk to
me much. I ask for help and then say no to everything they suggest.)
“Frankenstein.” (She meant the monster, not the doctor.)
“That’s just a biological cyborg,” I complained. (See what I
mean?)
But that idea stuck in my head and I slept on it and showered with
it (all my good ideas come in the shower when I can’t write them down). And
eventually I thought the chain of thoughts that you’ll find in Chapter 6:
Comet, rebuilt,
was some kind of Frankenstein’s monster.
Except Victor
Frankenstein had never loved his creation, and Buzz had no doubt that Duke
loved Comet deeply.
A different story, then: Pinocchio.
I identify with the story of Pinocchio in so many ways. When I was a young man trying to work
out who I was, Pinocchio’s misplaced desire to become a “real boy” made a
powerful metaphor. Lampwick was so many of the wrong guys I found myself
attracted to (Oh, Pleasure Island!!!). And now that I’m older, Geppetto’s
desire for a son is far more understandable.
And though Pinocchio
is all magic and fairy-wishes, its subject (like Frankenstein) is cyberpunk. At
the risk of swinging way too academic, Pinocchio
is about bodies as a technology of identity. (I’ll just leave that here for
y’all to mess with.) Pinocchio is
Spielberg/Kubrick’s A.I. Artificial
Intelligence except with an ending that doesn’t break your heart.
I admit APOCALYPSE ALLEY doesn’t delve too deep into
the Pinocchio metaphor or my thoughts
on it (that’s why it’s here). I’d rather write about crashing cars and having
sex. But if you’re wondering where Comet came from, there you have it: a talk
with a friend who’s convinced I never listen to her suggestions, and a 78-year-old
Disney flick.
About Blue Unicorn
JT is an orc on the way
up. He’s got his own boutique robotics shop, high-end clientele, and
deep-pocketed investors. He’s even mentoring an orc teen who reminds him a bit
too much of himself back in the day.
Then Austin shows up,
and the elf’s got the same hard body and silver tongue as he did two years ago
when they used to be friends and might have been more. He’s also got a stolen
car to bribe JT to saying yes to one last scheme: stealing the virtual
intelligence called Blue Unicorn.
Soon JT’s up to his tusks
in trouble, and it ain’t just zombies and Chinese triads threatening to tear
his new life apart. Austin wants a second chance with JT—this time as more than
just a friend—and even the Blue Unicorn is trying to play matchmaker.
About Don Allmon
In his night job, Don
Allmon writes science fiction, fantasy, and romance. In his day job, he’s an IT
drone. He holds a master of arts in English literature from the University of
Kansas and wrote his thesis on the influence of royal hunting culture on
medieval werewolf stories. He’s a fan of role-playing games, both video and
tabletop. He has lived all over from New York to San Francisco, but currently
lives on the prairies of Kansas with many animals.
Connect with Don:
- Website: www.donallmon.com
- Twitter: @dallmon
- Pinterest
Giveaway
To celebrate the release
of Apocalypse Alley, one lucky winner will receive a $20 Riptide
credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest.
Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 3, 2018. Contest is NOT
restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and
don’t forget to leave your contact info!
