Introducing "And in the Dark They Are Born"

a post-apocalyptic novel.

A deaf teenager and a middle-aged scavenger navigate a post-blackout America occupied by warring tribes.

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Table of Contents

And in the Dark They Are Born was serialized right here between March 2023 through July 2023. Below, you’ll find links to each installment, as well as links to each installment’s accompanying episodes of commentary.

*NOTE: the first three installments and their accompanying episodes of commentary are entirely free.

-Read Part 1

• Part 1 Author Commentary — listen now

-Read Part 2

• Part 2 Author Commentary — listen now

-Read Part 3

• Part 3 Author Commentary — listen now

-Read Part 4 (Members only)

• Part 4 Author Commentary — listen now (Members only)

-Read Part 5 (Members only)

• Part 5 Author Commentary — listen now (Members only)

-Read Part 6 (Members only)

• Part 6 Author Commentary — listen now (Members only)

-Read Part 7 (Members only)

• Part 7 Author Commentary — listen now (Members only)

-Read Part 8 (Members only)

• Part 8 Author Commentary — listen now (Members only)

-Read Part 9 (Members only)

• Part 9 Author Commentary — listen now (Members only)

-Read Part 10 (Members only)

• Part 10 Author Commentary—listen now (Members only)

-Read Part 11 (Members only)

• Part 11 Author Commentary—listen now (Members only)

-Read Part 12 (Members only)

• Part 12 Author Commentary—listen now (Members only)

-Read Acknowledgements

-Take Exit Survey

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More About And in the Dark They Are Born

When Vitri returns from a day of scavenging downtown Waco, Texas he discovers that his wife has killed herself and their young son. Eager for answers, Vitri does what nearly everyone did after the blackout: he leaves town.

In Monroe, Louisiana, Reyn, a deaf thirteen-year-old lives with her drug addict mother in a Jeep and thinks often of her father, who moved to Idaho days before the blackout. By day, Reyn drives she and her mother from hospital to hospital in search of supplies. By night, they trade those supplies with the yellow-masked tribe prowling the highway. When evil lurks within one particular hospital, Reyn feels there’s no choice but to head northwest, to her father.

The paths of Reyn and Vitri boldly converge when Vitri saves Reyn from a vicious attack by the red-masked tribe. As they learn to communicate with one another, Reyn and Vitri are forced to confront their pasts, their grief, and whether or not the path they elect to share has enough room for each of them.

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Watch the Trailer

• Watch here »

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Shades of

If you enjoyed any of the following titles, chances are you’ll enjoy And in the Dark They Are Born too:

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006; book)

True Grit by Charles Portis (1952; book)

Mad Max: Fury Road by George Miller (2015; film)

Léon: The Professional by Luc Besson (1994; film)

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Get the eBook and/or Paperback

And in the Dark They Are Born is also available as an eBook and paperback. Follow the link below to see which retailers are carrying it.

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And in the Dark They Are Born: A Timeline

(See a more extensive timeline, with author commentary, here.)

2013:

The idea for the novel is born. Though, it wasn’t a novel at first. No, it started as a ~20 page short story that I sent to my friend (the one and only Daniel Abbott), who then immediately told me, “I don’t think is a short story, Garrett.”

2014:

The first draft of the novel is completed (the title then is Wounded Tongue; my author name is Garrett Dennert). And a second draft. And a third. And a fourth, etc. It’s then shopped around to literary agents, one of which wants to read the manuscript in full. After they do, they offer representation for the novel.

2015:

Wounded Tongue is shopped by said agent to large publishing houses. Very encouraging rejections come back (namely from publishers like Penguin Random House and Knopf), with variations of, “I love this, but I fear the genre has dried up.” Here’s one such rejection—which no joke had me floating; rejections are par for the course—from David Ebershoff (author of The Danish Girl and now Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Hogarth, an imprint of Random House):

Many thanks for the chance to read Garrett Dennert's work but I'm going to pass. I can see why you're excited about his work—he's a significant talent, fearless, natural, and hard to classify. I'm passing because I fear the timing for WOUNDED TONGUE is off.  After Station Eleven, years after The Road, I wonder how much appetite remains for a literary novel of post-apocalyptic America. Over the past few years I've seen on submission several post-apocalyptic novels (as have my colleagues) and a number of these are now in the pipeline. Despite the intensity of Garrett's vision and his sharp prose, I worry that I would struggle to find a large enough audience for the book.

And the story collection on its own is too small for us.

I'm very sorry to have to say no to you and to turn down a writer with so much promise.  Thanks again for the chance to read his work.

2016:

One day, the agent up and quits. In doing their best with damage control, their senior agent assures me that other agents on staff will read the manuscript and decide whether or not they want to represent it. They unfortunately do not. Out of frustration, months later I open up my own micro press, named Orson’s Publishing, and publish Wounded Tongue as its first offering—it’s a placeholder, of sorts, to encourage other authors to submit.

2020:

I’m burnt out. Any haven’t written a word for one of my own projects since 2017. Any time I set aside for literary pursuits goes to Orson’s Publishing, getting the work of others out into the world. I figure out that this isn’t the route I’m supposed to be on; I miss writing too much.

2022:

Going by G.F. Dennert, I create a website showcasing my work. I install a feature called G.F.+, where subscribers can read my work. But the endeavor is far too costly to maintain. So the website is prepped for closure.

2023:

I create this very newsletter, where I serialize book-length works for audience members like you (and send other things too, of course). And in the Dark They Are Born (née Wounded Tongue) is to be the first offering.