About the Book
Since the pandemic, Sybil Crewes hasn’t left home. She stopped her duties as an ATU agent (Anti-Terrorism Unit). But then, she got a disturbing phone call. Her friend, Harry Brown, has been kidnapped forcing Sybil out of her house.
While doing so, she uncovers an illegal lab where they created a deadly COVID-19 variant that turns its victims into skinned zombies. She contacts the ATU to resume her duties as an ATU agent to stop the new threat and save the world from its undoing.
About the Author
As far back as she can remember, Cynthia Fridsma has been listening to exciting stories told by her mother. She grew up reading books by Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, and Philip K. Dick, among others.
It was Cynthia’s mother who inspired her to start telling—and writing—her own stories.
Ms. Fridsma’s writing career started after a handicap in 2014—she has a tremor in her right hand, numbness in the fingers, and pain in her wrist. She had to give up her other creative outlets, such as photography, computer programming, and gave up on juggling, so focused on what she could do rather than what she couldn’t do.
Besides writing, she sometimes plays the guitar—in Jimi Hendrix style.
Cynthia lives with her husband and pet bunny, Max, in Amsterdam.
Qn 1: Can you tell us more about your book What is it about?
Pandemic: Chaos is Bleeding is the result of many hours of research, in particular of the worldwide pandemic and how it affected Boston in January 2020.
I also did a lot of online research about the accident of the Deer Island Outfall Tunnel, which happened on July 22, 1999, and took the lives of two divers. Their names were Billy Juse and Tim Nordeen.
Although this accident really happened, it didn’t happen as I wrote it in chapter one, Silence Will Fall. I also used fictional names rather than using real names, out of respect for them and their families.
I began writing this book on October 1, 2021, and ended on November 1, missing my personal deadline. I so wanted to finish my book before Halloween but failed in doing so.
My brilliant editor, Lee Ann, helped me with the end result.
I always enjoy the intensive contact with my editor, and I would like to thank Lee Ann for her hard work and suggestions. She’s from New England, and worked in Boston proper for ten years, most of it during the Big Dig.
Nightbird, the Nightbird Inn, the main characters, and the ATU are, of course, fictional.
Qn 2: Who do you think would be interested in this book, is it directed at any particular market?
Pandemic: Chaos is Bleeding is a fast-paced modern horror/thriller novel, and partly based on true events. Anyone who loves a thrilling story about a mutated COVID-19 variant that turns people into skinned zombies should read it. It is also about betrayal, secret government agencies etc. It’s part horror, and partly a thriller and 100% suspense.
Qn 3: Out of all the books in the world, and all the authors, which are your favourite and why?
Philip K. Dick Clans Of The Alpane Moon. It’s a great, exciting story. Also about betrayal and plot twists.
Qn 4: What guidance would you offer to someone new, or trying to enhance their writing?
Never give up. Just write what pops up in your head.
Qn 5: Where can our readers find out more about you, do you have a website, or a way to be contacted?
My website is https://www.cynthiafridsma.com
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