Hi Duckies! Author Jessica Andersen here, hoping you’re as excited about the launch of Nightkeepers and my Novels of the Final Prophecy series as I am… or if you’re not, that maybe I can convince you to be. [Ed.: Nightkeepers releases 3 Jun 08.]
Given that it’s launch day, I thought it’d be fun to talk a little about the 2012 end date that forms the basis of Nightkeepers. First, let me start by saying that I’m not all that big on personal drama. Or if we’re being technical, I’ve got drama queen tendencies and have learned to control them most of the time, not the least because my beloved perpetual fiancé (PF), while normally a highly functional and enjoyable human being, can be prone to freaking out over random stuff.
PF grew up in the city, and although we’ve lived in the not-city for some time, he still regularly convinces himself that the enormous state forest behind our house is home to:
1. Yeti
2. Terrorists
3. Serial killers
4. Hantavirus
5. Ghosts
6. All of the above
The identity of the scourge is usually related, as you might guess, to whatever we’ve been watching on TV. And okay, the time the brown bear came up on the porch and looked in through the sliders probably didn’t help the Yeti thing. But still. Honestly.
Me, I don’t get too worked up about that stuff. I love disaster movies and end-of-the-world scenarios. I deal pretty well with emergencies. I slept through the millennium changeover, trusting that the computers would still work the next day. And I generally try not to talk myself into freaking out about Big Scary Stuff that might not be real. But that begs the question: what if it is real?
Which brings us to the premise of Nightkeepers. The basic blurb is:
The ancient Mayan Long Count calendar completes its five-thousand-year cycle on December 21, 2012. According to scientists, that’s the day that the sun, moon and earth will align at the galactic center, in a conjunction that some researchers predict could trigger cataclysmic upheavals (sun spots, magnetic reversals, etc.). The Novels of the Final Prophecy tell of the ancient Mayan myths that come to life in the last four years before 12/21/2012, and their opposition by the Nightkeepers, descendants of an ancient magic-wielding race sworn to protect mankind from the apocalypse.
In the first book, Nightkeepers, the last king of the magi is forced to team up with a Miami-Dade narcotics detective in order to reunite his scattered warriors and fight the gods of the Mayan underworld. Wielding ancestral magic based on bloodletting and sex, the king will have to choose between his duty and his love for the human woman who is the gods’ destined sacrifice.
Pretty cool, huh? At least I think so, and I had a heck of a fun time writing it. During the writing process, though, I did a ton of research into the 2012 end date. . . and I started to creep myself out, because entirely too many lines of evidence seem to point toward something happening on that day. On the scientific side, the 2012 conjunction is likely to bring massive sunspots that could very well mess up our satellites and/or burn through our weakened ozone layer. Other research points toward the earth’s weakening magnetic field, suggesting that a magnetic reversal is imminent, and hoo boy, wouldn’t that wreck havoc on the machines we depend on for our everyday lives?
We are now at the end of what the Maya called the Age of the Jaguar, which was said to be ‘a time when men turn away from the gods and look to machines.’ After the 2012 end date, the question is: will the world cease to exist, or will we enter the next age, the Age of Enlightenment, that of a more global consciousness?
I won’t go into all the arguments for and against (check out my site under the ‘Background’ and ‘References’ sections), but suffice it to say that even non-dramatic me is halfway to thinking that something Big and Bad could very well happen during the winter solstice of 2012. . . and 
that maybe, just maybe we’re going to need a group of heroes to help the cycle of time reset itself, ensuring that mankind will continue on toward globalization rather than apocalypse.
Or maybe that’s my own personal Yeti. Let’s just say I’ve been trying to keep PF away from my research material, and I’ve been careful to watch my Mayan documentaries after he’s conked out for the night… because the last thing I need is for him to convince himself that the 2012 doomsday is real. If that happens, I have a feeling I’ll be spending that night in a bomb shelter surrounded by canned beans and bottled water, rather than throwing a party, which is my current plan.
So, what do you think… Bomb shelter or party??
** We will be giving away two signed copies of Nightkeepers. The winners will be taken from the comments on any Jessica Andersen post (here, any of the ‘Did You Know’ posts and the Book Alert). Thanks 😉 **
Absolutely! According to the X-Files, 12/21/2012 (actually the 22nd) is the planned invasion date, right? Might as well stay hunkered down through Christmas, just to be on the safe side. Irn Bru and the poison of your choice for everyone!
If you’re havin a party that day/night, count me in, I’ll bring cake and even drag along the DH. Seriously, Doc Jess, I can’t wait to start your series and WARDen, I am still waiting for Phury, but not for much longer…I found him at Publix today but he still is not at WalMart (which is very disappointing to a die-hard cellie like myself!)
Lil
We would be underground at Christmastime! I’ll wrap everyone’s gifts for free. I usually get paid, but ya’ll get a break since it’s the apocalypse and everything.
Doc Jess! Am about to start the book and am TOTALLY looking forward to it. Like Katheryn I rushed to the store Wed and found Lover Enshrined, right away. I begin rushing to find your book, nothing. I go to the info desk and the girl on duty, who knows me by the way, looks it up. Must be still in the back room she says. She rushes to get it as I stamp and snort impatiently. (B & N employee’s who know me tend to genuflect, I spend so much there. LOL)She brings it out and I clutch it and run for the register. I get out to the car and promptly have to fight my mom to keep said book so she didn’t steal it to read it. I have strict orders that as SOON as I finish it I MUST give it to her. I told her she wanted it so bad to buy her own. LOL. She will too, she just hasn’t gotten her book money for the month yet. I have also got several other people drooling and looking for it. OOOH I’m in for the bombshelter party. I’ll bring Godiva and Grey Goose and I’ve got a couple of sacrifices. Does a lying nasy ex-boss count?
Lili- oops… guess I should plan on bringing the perpetual fiance if you’re bringing DH. Good point that there should probably be *some* manflesh around. I guess I was figuring we’d all just, um, impose on the firefighters .
Liviania- sounds like a plan! Tho we might have to make like the BONES folks the Christmas they were quarantined due to a potential lung fungus, and had to make pressies out of whatever they had at hand. Might be interesting. . .
Hey Jadedragon! Thanks for making them haul out the books! Here we are, getting the word out, and the bookstores are behind the eight ball. Come on, people, shelve it already!
Hope you enjoy, and a wave to your mom; she sounds like a cool lady 🙂
Party in the bomb shelter? Count me in! I’ll bring some dip and chips.
I will bring a couple of different cakes to the party, plus marbles and maybe cheese, lol, but I think we’ll likely have enough of that already.
Firefighters are always a good thing, Jess, always, just because the DH is along, doesn’t mean he won’t have to sleep sometime, lmao!
As soon as I get my hands on some cash this weekend, I’m gettin both Phury and NK! Then I’ll be throwin’ everyone out of the house!
A party in a bomb shelter. Now thats unique. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience so I want to come!
Ok, so what does it say about me … Dec 21 is my birthday. Yikes I vote for a party in the bomb shelter too!
Lili- woot on some good reading (at least I devoutly hope you find them good) coming your way!
Crystal, April and Shar- three more for the par-tay, yay! Shar, you’re our second birthday girl-to-be! Maybe we’ll make you wear a party hat. Maybe one of these?
Shar – Dec. 21 is birthday as well – I’m so looking forward to par-tay in the bombshelter! It’s gonna be a blast.
Jessica – I like that hats, but truthfully, you’d have to get pretty drunk to get one on me.
What a decision. To hide huddled in a bombshelter or take a chance and have one last wild ride. Yes you could have a party in the bombshelter but then wheres the real risk in that? I say PARTY!
Party!! I’m up for a party! WooHoo! I haven’t been to good party in a long time.
Hey Jessica! I’ve been seeing you everyone these past few days.
Ivette aka Phoebe Jordan
Winners?
I climbed Chichen Itza a couple years back. I visited the ruins in the jungles. I brought home a calendar replica…all because it ‘called’ to me. I won’t be partying, I won’t be in a bomb shelter, but I will be ready for what ever comes…….the feeling steadily grows stronger…..waiting for teh other shoe to drop….
I’ve just finished the book and I loved it!! This is the first of your books that I’ve read and I will definitely be looking for others. Can’t wait till the second installment of this series comes out!
Sweet! I very much want to read this one! Sounds uber interesting. =D
::drools in anticipation::
Hey, gang! Sorry I haven’t been checking in… as Ivette/Phoebe said, I’ve been doing a bit of running around!
Elvie, thanks so much for letting me know you loved the book. Yay 🙂
The bombshelter party guest list continues to grow… .
*bows before the Doc Jess* Doc J, LOVED it!!! Cant wait for the next one, darlin! You and the WARDen, absolutely ROCK!! The DH is in for the basement party, and we have the rope and 50 gallon bucket ready and waiting for the sacrafice >)
Sign me up for the bombshell party! My kid graduates high school (if he’s lucky) in June 2012 *sob*
Hope it isn’t too late to entry. I would a copy of the book it sounds fascinating.
azteclady brings up a good point. is there much chat about these prophecies in latin american circles? in terms of where i expect to be: i suppose where i HOPE to be is somewhere peaceful with my juniors tumbling about, with maybe more-than-usual canned goods in the pantry and my bathtub filled with water, just in case, like it was at the turn of the millenium and everyone was worried that the computers would all crash and we’d go back to the stone age. was kind of a fun evening, come to think of it!