about the book
The nation was falling apart. Running on fear and distrust, reeling from an economic meltdown, at war with China, all it took was an influenza bug to wipe out two thirds of the population. Okay, so it was a souped-up weaponized Chinese superbug. In any case, The Collapse ended a way of life in the United States.
Now, more than fifteen years later, young Stephan Quinn barely survives with his dad and grandfather. He has never known a world that wasn’t decimated or vast stretches of empty land not marred by burial mounds. Whole parts of the country are off limits, and ex-military bandits, Chinese troops, and slavers threaten the plague survivors.
Grandpa, a tough old coot, has kept Stephan and his dad alive with two rules. One: Approach nobody. Two: Salvage and survive. Now grandpa is dead and buried near the ruins of a mall, and Stephan and his dad are finding it hard to go on. When they try to save a woman and her child from slavers, they break Grandpa’s number one rule; disaster follows, and Stephan’s dad ends up in a coma.
Discovering help at a village called Settler’s Landing, Stephan finds the place is too good to be true. There are houses and beds. The people there actually play baseball, have barbecues, and sing the national anthem! While his father recovers, Stephan attends a one-room school.
But when he meets Jenny, an ostracized Chinese orphan, he begins to question if Settler’s Landing is a good place to stay. There are those who are intent on remaking the world they grew up in—no matter what the cost. When Stephan and Jenny play a prank, it goes terribly wrong and chaos ensues. Suddenly the very existence of Settler’s Landing is threatened as well as Stephan’s life.
about the author
Growing up in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia, young Jeff Hirsch loved comics, sci-fi, horror, and paranormal books. But truth be told, he’d read anything and everything.
He always wanted to have a creative career, and by junior high he was writing poetry and short stories. In high school, the theater bug bit him and he wrote, directed, and acted in plays.
Jeff studied acting at East Carolina University and moved to New York to be the next Marlon Brando. When that didn’t work out, he headed to the University of California to study playwriting.
For years, his plays were rejected. Just as he was about to give up being a writer, he decided to write a novel for young readers. His first book was about a girl who ran away to be a rock star and was tutored by a six-foot drag queen. He learned a lot from the writing experience but, according to Jeff that manuscript will remain locked in a desk drawer until the end of time. His second book, The Eleventh Plague, was well received by agents and quickly bought by a publisher.
Jeff writes every night, at least two hours after dinner, 4,000 to 5,000 words a week. He usually plans out the big events in the books, but the rest just happens as he types away. At this point, he still has a day job. He writes for a non-profit organization where he also organizes conferences and festivals.
Jeff and his wife Gertie are now back in New York State, living in Astoria. Gertie is a blogger and writes sewing books.
There are a few unusual things about Jeff. He is extremely superstitious. And although he can’t swallow a sword, he’s darn good at eating fire and escaping from a straitjacket while suspended from the ceiling by his ankles!
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: Writing is a Blessing
Book trailer: The Eleventh Plague
Also by Jeff Hirsch:
Breakaway (39 Clues : Unstoppable, Book 2). Scholastic. 2014.
The Darkest Path. Scholastic. 2013.
Magisterium. Scholastic. 2012.
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