Fangtastic Books: Guest blog with Matthew Sheehan

Although it's not marketed as such, Helmut Saves the World was conceived as an alternate history of our earth – with the turning point happening in prehistory. The book started out as an idea to pit magic against technology; with liberal use of the Atlantean myth, as told by Plato in his dialogues Timaues and Critias.

I saw no reason why the great flood couldn't have been the reason for the destruction of Atlantis (admittedly I'm not the first to think of this), and I set out to find a timeline where it would fit, and a historical ancient civilization to play the part of Atlantis. I had no intention of anything biblical outside of the flood itself, but some of the biblical and extra-biblical stories I came across were too good to ignore.

It's crazy how many civilizations have a story of a great flood. The one everyone knows about, Noah, is actually based on an earlier story in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Those were myths about an actual king of Mesopotamia circa 2700 BC. And there was an asteroid that hit the earth about that time which would likely have created a tsunami capable of creating a great flood. The Holocene Impact Working Group pointed to the Burkle crater off the coast of Madagascar as proof of this.

A lot of historical turnover happened around that time as well. The cultures in China, Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Mediterranean all went through major changes around this time. As far as I was concerned, it may as well have been due to the flood.

The idea of nephilim, or giants as it came to be translated, comes straight from the book of Genesis. They were the byproduct of angels and human women, and were a wicked and vile lot. The reason for the great flood was to wipe them all out. Noah, whose bloodline was pure, was then supposed to repopulate the earth. The book of Enoch, which didn't quite make the cut for most versions of the bible, goes on to name the Angels in question, and to tell more of their story. Armed with this information, which was better than anything I could have thought up, I decided to build my world around these myths.

I wanted a reason why magic existed in our past, but not now, and I thought the idea of Angelic blood carrying superhuman abilities worked just fine.

So that's the backstory of Helmut Saves the World. The great flood never happened, and the civilizations that were wiped out around 2700BC, instead followed a course of development similar to ours. Many of these explanations didn't make it through the editing process, so I hope this helps fill in a few gaps.

Helmut Saves the World

Matt Sheehan

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Carina Press

Date of Publication: 3/10/14

eISBN: 9781426898020

Number of pages: 120.

Word Count: 31000

Carina Press Amazon

Book Description:

My name is Helmut Haase and I'm one half of the Fog City Detective Agency--specifically, the half that pays all the bills. My partner, Shamus O'Sheehan, mostly drinks beer and naps. I keep him around because he's my friend, but also because he's a Druid. I'm just a detective, and there are plenty of those in Wudong, the Confederacy of Hesperia. There's not another Druid for miles.

We had it pretty good until the day we met Alek Pallas. He hired us to track down a thieving employee, and even though something was off, his big fat check was too much to pass up. But the man we found wasn't what we were led to believe, and neither was Alek.

I'm talking shape-shifters, fallen angels and a conspiracy involving the vicious Cretan Empire. At least we didn't die. Hope that doesn't ruin the story.

Why am I telling you all this? Someday I'd like some credit for saving the world. Maybe not the entire world, and maybe not alone, but I still deserve a medal. And perhaps a cash prize.

About the Author:

Moody and sarcastic at the best of times, the author should not be conversed with prior to his morning cup of coffee. He excels at sitting with his feet up and drinking coffee or beer while reading, but has yet to find someone willing to pay for that service. He has always been, and will always be, his mother’s favorite child. Has been known to dangle participles. Dreams of someday moving to a deserted island that supports coffee beans and hop vines.

@shamusshlomo

https://www.facebook.com/matt.sheehan.980

https://www.facebook.com/HelmutSavesTheWorld

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/27921671-matt-sheehan

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