Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Lena Gibson

What inspired you to write “Aftermath: Into the Unknown”?

Gibson: I came up with the idea after writing the first book in the series, The Edge of Life: Love and Survival During the Apocalypse. There is a line near the end of the book when the main characters meet up with another party traveling to the bunker complex in South Dakota after the asteroid impact. They mention they were delayed in Idaho trying to convince someone's father to join them. He refused because he got a text from his granddaughter making her way through the mountains. Robin, the main character of Aftermath, is the granddaughter. When this story starts, she's been with her grandfather for the last three years.

How did you come up with the names of your main characters?

Gibson: You might laugh, but there are two reasons. In The Wish (my second novel, published in 2023), the main characters were Christopher and Elizabeth. That was a lot of typing for the names. After that, I try to keep the names short. Robin is also in an as-yet-unpublished dark fairytale retelling from a few years ago. She was younger and at her grandfather's house for Christmas. Her sister's name is Shelby. I am an elementary school teacher and I taught sisters named Robin and Shelby many years ago and their names are forever joined. Kory got his name because I haven't taught anyone named Kory and I liked it. Plus, it's only four letters.

Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?

Gibson: Sometimes people notice that many of my characters are neurodivergent, though other than In the Edge of Life, I seldom mention it. A few readers have criticized these characters saying they didn't believe they had ASD or they were unrealistic, uptight, and too emotional. The aspects of autism they show are often the ones I have and didn't understand until the last few years. They're based on my experiences, at least in part. I was diagnosed with autism in 2021 and it has provided an interesting lens to look back at my life and see the signs and how I coped. Or didn't cope in some cases. I've thought a lot about masks and how so many of us have them.

Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?

Gibson: The most important thing for me was to keep moving forward and write something almost every day. Lots of practice. You can't fix what you didn't write.

What is your favorite book, genre, and/or author?

Gibson: This is a challenging question because I've been an avid reader since I was young. My favorite genre has changed over time. As a kid, it was historical fiction and mysteries, but I read almost anything. By the time I was 14, my favorite became fantasy, especially epic fantasy, but I still read historical fiction, classics, sci-fi, romance, and thrillers. Since 2020, I mainly read a lot of indie-published thrillers and romance. Some recent favorite authors are: Ashley Poston, Emily Henry, Karla Sorensen, Penny Reid, and Brynne Weaver. For years I've read everything the second it is available from Guy Gavriel Kay, V.E. Schwab, and Susanna Kearsley. One of my recent favorites was The Champagne Letters by Kate MacIntosh. The books I've read the most the last few years, because I'm a chronic rereader, are: Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesa Zappia, The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay, and The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. They're probably my favorite adult books. As an elementary school teacher, I have lots of middle-grade favorites too, like Holes, The One and Only Ivan, Flora and Ulysses, Where the Red Fern Grows (my childhood favorite), and The Hunger Games.

What are you working on next?

Gibson: I'm editing what I hope will be the second book in my motorcycle racing romance series, Love On Track. The first book will be published in August 2025 and is called Racing Towards Destiny. It's about a woman who leaves everything behind to live in Europe and be a writer. To make ends meet, she becomes a grid girl on the MotoGP racing circuit where she falls in love with a motorcycle racer. I'm finishing my revisions to The Right Time: Back to the '80s, my January 2026 publication about a woman who slips back from 2033 to 1985. I'm also drafting my third Love and Survival story, the one following Aftermath: Into the Unknown. It's set near and in the bunker city, Vita xTerra, and features two new characters. He is the son of survivalists and grew up in the bunker complex. She was a refugee in Denver after the asteroid hit and has lived alone in the wilds for four years.

Learn More About the Author and Aftermath: Into the Unknown here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Buffy15

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lena.gibson15/

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/lenagibson.bsky.social

BookBub: https://partners.bookbub.com/authors/7186485/edit

Website: https://lenagibsonauthor.ca/

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