Writing Belle: THE LEGACY TOUR: WRITING ABOUT POST-APOCALYPTIC SAN FRANCISCO (And Giveaway!)

Legacy
Ellery A. Kane
(Legacy #1)
Publication date: September 5th 2014
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult

How do you want to feel today?
In 2041, the choice is yours.

San Francisco is deserted, the Bay Bridge bombed, and the BART subway trains grounded. The Guardians, members of an elite and mysterious government-appointed military police force, are maintaining order at all costs—thanks to emotion-altering drugs like Emovere that suppress fear and anxiety. Lex Knightley, daughter of a prominent forensic psychiatrist, risks entering the devastated city to partner with the Resistance, a group of rebels intent upon exposing the dangers of Emovere. Lex discovers an ally in Quin McAllister, a magnetic Guardian Force recruit with a haunting past that binds them together. As she uncovers the secrets of the Guardian Force and confronts the truth about her family, Lex begins to realize that even those closest to her are not quite who they seem.
Legacy is the first book in the Legacy trilogy but can also be enjoyed as a standalone.

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Guest Post:

Writing About Post-Apocalyptic San Francisco

“One day if I go to heaven…I’ll look around and say, ‘It ain’t bad, but it ain’t San Francisco.’”

–Herb Caen

Herb Caen got it right—San Francisco is a magical city. From the Golden Gate Bridge to Alcatraz to the famous painted ladies, there’s a reason people leave their hearts here. In Legacy, Lex describes her first view of San Francisco as “surreal, as if each building had been carefully crafted from clay and arranged alongside the ocean by an unseen hand.” My own love-at-first-sight story was not so different. I arrived in San Francisco on a blustery day in October 2001 to interview for graduate school and took my inaugural drive across the Bay Bridge. Looking out the window at the city by the bay—wow!—it took my breath away. I knew right then I would live here.

Thirteen years and one doctorate degree later, when I began writing Legacy, there was no doubt it would be set in San Francisco. The ruin and destruction I imagined would be so much more powerful set against the backdrop of this idyllic city. I pictured Lex crossing the Golden Gate Bridge—deserted, only the ghost-white fog to keep her company—and entering the devastated city. Market Street, the hub of activity, now abandoned. An overturned cable car blocking her path. The BART (the city’s train system) shut down by order of the Guardian Force. And, worst of all, the Bay Bridge, bombed.

In creating post-apocalyptic San Francisco, it was essential for me to capture all the city’s landmarks accurately. While I had visited each of the places mentioned in Legacy, including Coit Tower and Alcatraz, some more than once, I relied heavily on Internet research to be sure I got it right, down to the last brick and crumbling staircase. If you’ve never visited San Francisco, I hope Legacy will be your guidebook, and if you have, I hope you’ll enjoy the dystopian version of my imagination. The second and third books in the series also feature San Francisco and its neighboring city, Oakland, and there are even more landmarks and fun places to explore…including the secret tunnels that still run beneath San Francisco.

Now, when I make that trek across the Bay Bridge—that same magical trek I made years ago—I see things a little differently. I picture Lex and Quin on the top of Coit Tower looking out at the city below. I catch my breath. And I know right then, this is home.

About the Author
Forensic psychologist by day, young-adult novelist by night, Ellery Kane has been writing—professionally and creatively—for as long as she can remember. Just like her main character, Lex, Ellery loves to ask why, which is the reason she became a psychologist in the first place. Real life really is stranger than fiction, and Ellery’s writing is often inspired by her day job. Evaluating violent criminals and treating trauma victims, she has gained a unique perspective on the past and its indelible influence on the individual. An avid short story writer as a teenager, Ellery recently began writing for enjoyment again, and the Legacy series was born.
Ellery’s debut novel, Legacy, has received several awards, including winning the Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, young adult, e-book category. Ellery was recently selected as one of ten semifinalists in the MasterClass James Patterson Co-Author Competition.