Feeling A Way

Inspiration for writing Feeling a Way?My fiction novel, [b: A Dangerous Way 23345548 A Dangerous Way (After the Collapse, #2) S.A. Gibson https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1414348273s/23345548.jpg 42847753], related a story of the library swordsman, William Way in mid-career after many adventures across two continents. I now have to reveal a little of his origin story. So, Feeling a Way is set in California, where William Way first arrives in the future United States. Reading sequence for the series?The in-world chronology is different from the publication order of the series. So far there are two series: “After the Collapse” and “The Protected Books.” [b: Pratima's Forbidden Book 25057099 Pratima's Forbidden Book (The Protected Books, #1) S.A. Gibson https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1425333471s/25057099.jpg 44585152], book 1 of “The Protected Books,” published earlier this year, has a young William Way, as a major character. As a teenager in Rajasthan, India, he's an apprentice for libraries and has not become an expert with swords, yet. Feeling a Way, book 1 of “After the Collapse,” takes up the story of William after he arrives in California after years of sword training. A Dangerous Way, book 2 of “After the Collapse,” follows William years later in New Mexico as he wields his sword for the libraries.Who are the characters William and Kalapati.William is a scout, library investigator, and swordsman. He has traveled from India to help the local California librarians solve a mystery involving stolen Hindu religious books and kidnapped children. Kalapati is an archer from a Native-American community who makes her living contracting out her abilities for pay. Her assignment to escort a young boy across Southern California will bring her into conflict with the libraries and their scout, William.What is this woodpunk dystopia? What is this post-apocalyptic world with no modern technology?Creating future California without technology is a fun history learning endeavor. People, in this future without modern technology, need to accomplish the same things we do in our modern world. They need to produce food. They need clothing and houses. They need to travel and communicate over distances. Finally, they need to have the means to live peacefully together, or defend themselves from violent people. The historical truth is that people in the past did all those things. I researched slide rules, messenger pigeons, donkey transportation, bows, arrows, swords, and atlatls. What is the intended age range/target audience?This story would be suitable for middle-school on up. It has no sex and no cursing. There is some violence, but only to serve the needs of the plot and story. As I write, I consider the target audience, but my main goal is to recreate my own sense of excitement when I read science fiction as a teen. Young people will confront difficult subjects, in their lives, and I think about how to write about such issues.