Dystopian Novel 'Shadow of the Storm' Emerges from Actor's Deathbed

A dystopian future where Earth is controlled by the giant corporation Nattech, Inc., and societal divisions between the "haves" and "have-nots" have widened to a breaking point sets the stage for Shadow of the Storm. When a mysterious rock with strange markings is retrieved from Mars, the return ship malfunctions, leaving its crew in comas. As civil unrest surges and natural disasters multiply, people begin to vanish. Among them is Max, a friend of Jim Pleasant Wolfshadow, a Cheyenne former Navy SEAL and retired Nattech operative. Wolfshadow comes out of retirement to find Max, but during a meeting with The Seven—a group of the world's foremost physicists—he too disappears. He awakens in Earth's dismal future alongside a shapeshifter who guides him on a quest not only to rescue Max but to stop Mahu, a godlike entity from another dimension that feeds on chaos. Mahu has unleashed a monster called Briareus to destroy humanity, threatening the very fabric of time and space. Wolfshadow battles Mahu on his home world, and just when all hope seems lost, a surprising ally emerges.

The story behind the novel is as compelling as its plot. Shadow of the Storm was the life-long ambition of Robert Edward Graham, a stage and film actor, model, and founding member, lead vocalist, and songwriter of the 1960s band The Penthouse Five. In the 1990s, the Writer's Digest school paired Graham with instructor C. S. Fuqua, who became his co-author. Their collaboration faced repeated setbacks due to cancer and addiction, but Graham dictated the ending from his deathbed to his brother David. The first draft was completed days before Graham succumbed to cancer. C. S. Fuqua, an author published widely in non-fiction, science fiction, dark fantasy, mainstream and literary fiction, poetry, and mystery/suspense, brought the manuscript to completion. His books include The Crosses (with Bonnie Lynne Del Aguila), Walking after Midnight: Collected Stories, Big Daddy's Fast-Past Gadget, White Trash & Southern: Collected Poems, and Native American Flute: A Comprehensive Guide. Foolscap & Quill, an independent publishing company in Jefferson County, Colorado, is releasing the novel.