Justin is the character that allows you to see the military’s point of view. Justin has been wandering around with his fiancé Amy since the bombs fell. Justin was difficult to write about because during the planning, he didn’t have a whole lot going on. However I have found a way to get him right into the mix of the plotline, more so in book two.

In Aftermath, Justin’s main focus is Amy’s safety. They have been making their way from one side of the country to the other looking for somewhere safe. The US government has many safe zones scattered around the country still. A heavily protected area is exactly what they are looking for. With the ensuing battle going on in the country, it is time consuming to navigate around the fighting to get where they need to.

The sequel will throw Justin into the middle of the fight. I envisioned him to be a passive character at first and then changes from all the fighting and what else I throw at him. Justin is like Ian when I planned him. At first I didn’t know what to do with him, but after a few days of planning I found a great path to put him on and interesting characters to make him react to.

Joe Reyes

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Ron was the second character that I wrote about. He was originally a quick one page short story about someone in a post-apocalyptic story. The story was called Even Heroes Get Hungry, and it was about a man fighting for food in the wilderness. The story was to illustrate how sensible people will do irrational things for food.

I was writing the Ian story when I decided to put Ron in the mix, because I really liked his character. I wanted Ron to be young, around 10 years old. I wanted his parents to be dead, forcing Ron to be on his own.

Ron was an interesting journey because he doesn’t know much. Everything he learns is in the woods. He stays away from people, because he doesn’t trust them. How could he? He’s been independent since the tragedy, which everyone is out for themselves.

When Ron gets in contact with a group of rebels it’s difficult for him at first. He has never been a part of a “group” before. At first he is thinking how he would get away from them. But then, as things progress, those feeling disappear.

Ron started off as a little boy with a knife to a little boy with a machine gun. Through Ron, you get to see into the army of Cortez. He is the only character in book one who is up close and personal with the leader.

Joe Reyes

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Eric is another character who I totally redid his personality. Just like Sara, Eric is part of the Savages. He was supposed to be a bad guy, but now he is still bad, but with good intentions. Eric’s motive is that he is there because he has to be. The Savages are a prospering group and Eric knows he would likely die on his own.

I dive a little bit into Eric’s history in the flashback. He is a former convict who hasn’t given up his crime ridden ways, but now his motivation is survival and not money. In the early stages I had Eric headshotting civilians just because he felt like doing it. Then I did an overhaul and turned him into a more likable character.

He has a lot of qualities that could make him the lead of the sequel. He works with the Savages, meaning he knows how to handle himself so there isn’t a learning curve for surviving. I thought Eric has some of the most memorable quotes of the story and contains that sarcastic charm that could propel him into becoming a fan favorite.

Joe Reyes

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Sara might be my favorite character of Aftermath. She also had the biggest change from planning her out to actually writing her character. Originally, Sara was going to be the leader of a cannibal gang. She was ruthless and led this band of horrible human being to just total destruction.

I don’t know exactly what made me change her to the innocent little girl, but I loved how it turned out. She was such a depressing character to write that I almost felt bad at times putting her in such terrible situations.

I needed to make her a “feel bad” character and watch her overcome and fight on through all the obstacles that are put in front of her. That might’ve been the reason for altering her personality. So I surrounded her with the cannibal gang called the Savages, led by a man named Marcus, who used Sara as a sex slave.

She had an ongoing secret relationship with a woman in the camp, Penny, who is one of the head chefs there. Her specialty, you ask? How to cook people. They keep their relationship private because Marcus would have them both killed.

Joe Reyes

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Carmen was the last character I created for the story. She lives in the town of Riverfield just like Ian, and is captured early on in the story unlike Sara, Carmen isn’t the sex slave character who is constantly abused. I didn’t want to have the repetition of two characters with a similar story like that.

I was afraid Carmen’s plot wasn’t that intriguing in the planning stages. I had to pair her up with a few other characters. Carmen isn’t a lead character, but I felt she was a good “go along with” character. She isn’t a fighter, doesn’t have a major role in the war, isn’t a leader, Carmen was just an innocent girl thrust into a bad situation.

The sequel is where Carmen is thrown more into the action of the story. I’m hoping with the situations I put her in, she can blossom and start to become a ruthless survivor like everyone else. I wanted to give Carmen a good set of morals so I can create a total change in her personality based on what I put in front of her.

Even though I didn’t give Carmen world class fighting skills or a terribly sad backstory, I still enjoyed writing her. I would like to have her be a larger part of the overall storyline in the sequel, but don’t want to push her. I need to gradually mold her little by little into a more savage character for all I’m planning on throwing at her.

Joe Reyes

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