If you’ve ever wondered how a story evolves from a rough idea into a full-blown series, Half a World is exactly that kind of journey.
It didn’t start with a perfectly mapped-out plan. Like most things, it started with curiosity… and a lot of questions.
Where the Ideas Come From
Some of the concepts in Half a World came from going down unexpected rabbit holes.
Take, for example, the idea of extreme machinery—like a nuclear-powered locomotive capable of traveling across continents in a broken world. That kind of concept sticks with you. The sheer scale, the danger, the engineering behind it—it all feeds into the kind of gritty, high-stakes environment that defines a post-apocalyptic setting.
Even if those ideas don’t make it directly into the story, they shape the world. They make it feel bigger, harsher, and more real.
Real Places, Real Inspiration
Not everything comes from imagination alone.
Sometimes it’s a place. A moment. A view that sticks.
A jetty in South Florida, for example—once a quiet, familiar spot—now closed off after a hurricane. That kind of change, that sense of something lost or altered, is exactly the kind of feeling that finds its way into the series.
On the other side of that same stretch of water is Casey Key, a location that directly inspired scenes in Half a World. Real-world locations ground the story, even when everything else is falling apart.
Launching the Series
The journey officially began with Book 1: Less Than Half.
What started as an idea turned into something real—available to readers, open to feedback, and immediately tested in the real world.
There’s always that moment when you hit publish and wonder what comes next.
Reviews start coming in. Rankings shift. At one point, the book even hit #54 in New Release Dystopian Science Fiction. Not bad—but like any author, the goal is always to keep climbing.
And then comes the next step: keep writing.
Expanding the World
From there, the series grew quickly.
- Book 2: Half a World pushed the story forward, taking Jake Reynolds into even more dangerous territory—across the Atlantic, with no safety net.
- Book 3: Half a Life went out to beta readers, bringing deeper development and a more complex story.
- Book 4: Half Way Home followed, expanding both the stakes and the world even further.
- And beyond that, the series continues to grow—with more books already in motion.
Each installment builds on the last, not just in plot, but in scale.
The Role of Feedback
One of the most important parts of this journey hasn’t been the writing itself—it’s been the people along the way.
Beta readers play a huge role. They catch things you miss. They challenge ideas. They help shape the final version of the story.
Sometimes, those connections go beyond the page.
Meeting readers in real life, talking through ideas, hearing what resonated (and what didn’t)—that’s where the story really sharpens. It becomes less about what you think works and more about what actually lands.
And one thing becomes clear:
Every author needs honest feedback. Not just praise—but real reactions.
Writing Isn’t Always Clean or Linear
There are delays. Rewrites. Entire sections that need to be reworked.
Sometimes a book takes longer because it requires more research. Sometimes life gets in the way. Sometimes you step away briefly—only to come back sharper and more focused.
That’s all part of the process.
What matters is momentum—and continuing to move forward.
What Comes Next
The Half a World series is still evolving.
New books are in progress. The story continues to expand. Characters are pushed further, into harder choices and more dangerous situations.
And like any good post-apocalyptic journey… there’s always something worse waiting just over the horizon.
If you haven’t started the series yet, now’s a good time to jump in.
Because this world? It’s only getting bigger.
