Vincent Berg: Blog

Update: A couple people had questions about Jacob's history in the story. He wasn't a wild or feral boar, but was instead an ungelded domestic pig. Thus he's used to people, but the raging hormones coursing thru his system makes him unreliable around people (which is why most pig farmers contract-out pig breeding to specialists).

In the beginning of "Grappling with Survival", Alice found Jacob on a domestic farm, trapped under his mother who'd collapsed on him when she died, before he'd been gelded.

Chapter 7 of "Seeding Hope Among the Ashes" has an entertaining history. At the conclusion of Book 2, "Grappling with Survival", David and the others found a wild pig. I originally wrote that "they couldn't tell whether it was a female or a wild boar". Not having spent much time on a farm, I missed a few details. Someone responding, explaining that you can't mistake a boar from a gelded pig, especially when seeing them from the back. Curious, I pressed for details (despite how disturbing the image he sent me was).

The results is "Chapter 7: A Pig in a Poke". That initial discussion planted a seed in my brain, which flourished over the next year. I think you'll enjoy the tale, even if a few details are still a little exaggerated for dramatic effect.

By the way, if anyone is wondering, "Fowler's Crossing" is David's home town. (After writing this segment, I had to go back and revise the first book, "Love and Family During the Great Death" to add that little detail to the story.

OK, based on the stats, I'm guessing that the first segment of "Seeding Hope" was a little dark for most of you. I'd wanted to paint a picture of what they faced for those who hadn't read the other books in the series (but for those who had, it may have been overkill).

Luckily, Section II, centered in Washington, D.C. with Alice and Mattie isn't nearly as dark (there's humor, good spirits, and now that I've shown what's involved with the treatments, it doesn't really need to be repeated).

Correction: Section II deals with Alice and Mattie, not Cate (a character from my "Catalyst" series) an Mattie.

The previous error I was having submitting "Seeding Hope Among the Ashes" has been resolved, with Lazeez's help. Instead of including text in the section heads (which isn't allowed), we've added the short text segments to an "Introduction" for each section (divided by each city visited).

I feel secure you'll understand the story as presented sooner than you'd comprehend my crude attempt to explain it.


The story jumps between various locations, and I used section breaks for each new location. Thus each city visited forms a new section, with a short segment in the sections Introduction which explains what the section is about, followed by 1 - 4 chapters before switching to the next section for the next city. This makes sense, since each city features different characters and a different perspective/challenges.

Let me know if you have any troubles with it. I'll add the cast list (which I forgot before), in a few minutes.

My newest story, "Seeding Hope Among the Ashes", begins posting today. This is an unusual story for FS, as it's the third book of my "Great Death" series about an Apocalyptic event.

I'm posting it to FS because, unlike the other books in the series, it's "PG" rated. (That's mainly due to the pacing of the story, which jumps from one set of characters to another, rather than following any one group long enough for them to develop romantic interests.)

I've written the story with this in mind. You should be able to follow it without reading the other books in the series, although reading the other books will certainly make for a more organic and enjoyable read.

The other books in the series, "Love and Family During the Great Death" and "Grappling with Survival", takes an unusual approach to the post-apocalyptic story by focusing on what those suffering through an apocalyptic event experience, and how those experiences affect them afterwards. Instead of people waking up after billions of people have died (with no bodies lying around to rot), fighting over resources, these stories focus on a world sick of violence and death, and the difficulties involved in getting people to trust each other enough to join forces to prevent a resurgence in the ongoing plagues.

I think you'll enjoy the new story, whether you've read the previous books or not.

My newest book, "Seeding Hope Among the Ashes", is now available. It's the third book in the Great Death series. This book is rated PG (language and deaths). The previous books has some adult content.

Having discovered a cure they were afraid to use, David's group was afraid of being overwhelmed by those hoping to escape the Great Death plague. So he sends out those already cured to seek out and develop communities in cities across the country by spreading his cure. Follow his girls as they try to convince strangers to trust them to infect them with a deadly disease.

View my website: www.vincentberg.com for details.