It’s a long road we have to drive on before we reach the release day of ‘Jurassic World 4.’ While filming has begun, there are mostly just rumors floating around. Anyone else a little tired of those? Perhaps during this time we should check out other dinosaur-related content. Well, I’ve got a new novel for you that may pique your interest: ‘Mara Brown: White Death!’
Synopsis: Just off of the Florida’s Atlantic coast lies Egret Island; the one place on earth where humans and dinosaurs live side-by-side. However, when something not entirely human nor dinosaur begins stalking the island by night, Mara Brown is the only one able to stand up and fight back. Becoming the vigilante known as the White Death, Mara sets out to defend her home and determine the origins of these mysterious new predators.
It features original vibrant artwork that was wonderfully illustrated by Arturo Garcia!
Author Billy Reed is “[…] a lifelong fan of dinosaurs, video games, and movies. He has a passion for mental health awareness and believes that everyone should spend their time doing the things that make them feel happy and fulfilled. His literary works serve as a love letter to the media he grew up with such as the creature feature movies and the action-heavy cartoons of the 90s and 2000s.”
Billy spoke exclusively to Jurassic Outpost about his passionate inspiration and process for creating his novel:
[I was inspired by] my lifelong love of dinosaurs and paleo media in general. I really wanted to write a story with dinosaurs unlike anything that had been done before. In 2018 when ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ came out, I really started thinking of stories where people and dinosaurs coexist. I found that concept really fascinating. Like what if a Parasaurolophus was no different from a deer crossing the road. Over the next year, I kept coming up with new story elements for this setting. I started adding elements from other media I grew up with like a wise-cracking protagonist with an indomitable spirit, a shady mega corporation, and other ideas for unique monsters that the dinosaurs of this world could interact with.
My FIRST draft of the story was made in 2019 and never saw the light of day. It was drastically different from what the story eventually became. It was a lot more of a mystery type story than the sci-fi action story I would eventually make. Then in 2020 when the pandemic hit, I decided to revamp it and make it into a novel trilogy. This idea lasted until around mid-2022. At that point I wrote two novels that I put out on Amazon but was kind of burnt out on that setting. I also felt like I had improved a lot as a writer and had a lot of things about the story I wanted to change. The last thing I did for that continuity was a comic that was beautifully illustrated by Emily Stepp. You can find that one on my Instagram in its entirety.
In 2022 I decided I would entirely redo the story and make it just one book this time. This would be the definitive version of the story and I decided in advance I would give myself as much time to work on it as I needed. And after two consecutive years of work, we have the novel you can find on Amazon today!
The publishing process [wasn’t] too hard since I opted for Amazon’s self-publishing. It’s a free to use service that Amazon offers which is very user friendly and easy to figure out. I genuinely love that they provide anyone with a platform to get their stories out there.
‘Mara Brown: White Death’ is now available in paperback and eBook/Kindle formats through Amazon! It sounds like a fun and intriguing story in a dinosaur world that many fans of the ‘Jurassic Park’ franchise can feel right at home in, especially during this time before ‘Jurassic World 4’ arrives.
Do you plan to check out ‘Mara Brown: White Death?’ Are there other dinosaur-related novels you are reading in anticipation of more official ‘Jurassic Park’ content? Share your thoughts in the comments below and stay tuned to Jurassic Outpost for the latest.
