THE STATE TRILOGY A-Z GUIDE: M

My A-Z theme this year is a guide to my trilogy of novels called ‘The State Trilogy’. Set in an unnamed island country known only as ‘The State’, in the imagined near future, the books follow the intertwining stories of a number of characters, principally a State police detective named Danny Samson and an assassin, Gabriella Marino, over a period of six years. It begins with the assassination of an elected official and spirals into revolution and civil war. Part political thriller, action story, war story and dystopian science fiction, the trilogy took three years to complete and the books are available to read now – you can find links to purchase them HERE

In The State Trilogy, ‘M’ stands for:

Maxine Aubert: Introduced at the beginning of ‘State Of Denial’, Max is a journalist for The Star Tribune, the only media outlet that is not State-owned still operating within the State. After an indiscretion that sees her forced to leave her job, she is contacted by Phillips, who asks her to travel north to Central City and see for herself the small uprising of citizens unhappy at the government of the Central Alliance Party. Knowing that any reporting that undermines the State and C.A.P. could be a costly error, she reluctantly agrees. When she reaches Central City, Phillips introduces her to Danny Samson, who tells her the corruption he uncovered while working as a State Detective. She is a tough reporter, fearless, but fully aware that her life may be threatened by her actions. Unlike many journalists working for the State, she is dedicated to uncovering the truth and feels the moral weight of her role. After her stance against the State, she becomes a figure around which the Independents, the rebels in the civil war, rally.

MidLands City: The Midlands City is a huge megalopolis that roughly relates to the cities of Manchester, Birmingham, Stoke, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and York, and the surrounds. In the future they have all combined into one sprawling walled urban city, which covers the State from east to west coast and are surrounded by wilderness to the south and north.Like Central City and the Highland City, the Midlands is disadvantaged compared to the Capital City in the south, although the story in the trilogy doesn’t spend much time in the Midlands.

Matthias: A villager in the northern wilderness who serves as one of the raiding party that infiltrates Central City in order to get supplies for the village.

Mitchell: A lieutenant in the Independents rebel army in the civil war, trusted by Phillips. As the war reaches its climax, we learn that Mitchell’s motives may not be as clear as we first thought.

Next up – N is for: Nuclear and Names

All the entries in the A-Z of ‘The State Trilogy’ can be found HERE

The books are available from a wide selection of online retailers, including AMAZON

25 responses to “THE STATE TRILOGY A-Z GUIDE: M”

  1. […] Next up – M is for: Maxine Aubert, MidLands City, Matthias and Mitchell. […]

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Maxine’s progression through the story is quite sad, as we get to see through her eyes the continuing betrayal of the people by not only the State but other factions.

    A-Zing from Fiction Can Be Fun
    Normally found at Debs Despatches

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Without giving too much away, her story arc is one of the saddest in the books I think.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Interesting M’s! I’m a few chapters in on the trilogy and now I’m waiting for that moment Danny figures out the person I’m really curious about (Gabriella) is the one who did the crime he’s investigating. I love the way as a reader you are biting your tongue a little when he’s like “who would do such a thing?” and “what could this guy have done to deserve to die like that?” And I’m thinking, um, does being a slimy weasel count? The back and forth is fun. I think it works because of the dystopia. I think I read maybe a Thomas Harris novel(?) which switches POV’s between killer and detective, but it’s not as fun because you’re definitely on the detective’s side. This is more like oh, this is all messed up. You know?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. This is great feedback, thanks Anne. Good to know that the structure keeps you engaged, and it’s good that the intention of not being quite sure whose side to be on to begin with works.

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  4. Hari Om
    Oh oh, now I need to not read Anne’s comments in case of spoilers!!! &*> Still enjoying these glimpses thought… bit like watching a movie trailer. YAM xx

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I don’t think Anne’s given away anything major so far, but she does seem to be enjoying the opening stages, so that’s a good sign! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Iain, out of curiosity mostly, have you picked out actors for all of your characters? If there was a movie to be made who would you like Maxine to be played by? Or better yet who would make the perfect Danny Samson? Just wondering. Sometimes when I write about a character I have someone in mind that I would want to play them…it helps with the creation.
    Cheers,
    Crackerberries

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, that’s a good question. I had an idea in my head of what they looked like, more based on people I know rather than actors. Maxine would maybe be someone like Saoirse Ronan or Florence Pugh or Emma Stone. Danny would be tough as he’s not supposed to look like a typical Hollywood star, maybe someone like Russell Crowe or a middle aged Sean Connery if it was 30 years ago!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. I’m loving all these teasers and summaries. Excited to dive in!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Lynnette, glad they are giving you some anticipation for the books.

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  7. The more I read about this trilogy, the more I’m convinced my husband would love to read the books…and yet, I keep forgetting to tell him! I jotted a note to myself so hopefully I’ll remember tonight when he gets home from work.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ha, thanks for passing on the word Trudy, I hope he likes the sound of them enough to give them a try!

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      1. I remembered to tell him! He is excited to read it, so he bought the entire trilogy through Amazon and downloaded it to Kindle. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Oh fantastic! Be sure to let me know how he gets on, or get him to leave a review if he enjoys it. Thank you so much for recommending it to him 🙂

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  8. It sounds like Maxine had a challenging choice to make. It is so easy to look back on history and see things in black and white but when you are going through things in real time (or fictional real time) each choice is far more complicated. It sounds like you’ve addressed that in your trilogy. Weekends In Maine

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, that was definitely part of what I wanted to achieve – that idea of a grey area between right and wrong, with no certainty about who is good or bad – maybe the politicians are right and they are making the difficult choices to protect the greater good?

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Maxine sounds like a pivotal character.

    My “M” Tull song for the day is here:

    A2Z 2021 Jethro Tull Songs Day 13 Mother Goose from Aqualung (1971)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. She is certainly pivotal in the trilogy.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Megalopolis! What a great word!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Isn’t it – you would think quite a modern word too, but it’s been around for ages.

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  11. I haven’t read your trilogy yet, but an impressive series “bible” here! I’ve never done that.

    Today’s Greek Myth: N Is For Nausicaa and Narcissus

    https://suebursztynski.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-to-z-blogging-challenge-2021-n-is-for.html

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, it’s a nice way to look back and reflect on all that work, and a good way to do an A-Z Challenge! 🙂

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  12. Hi great reading your postt

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Jerry. If you enjoyed the post you should check out the books.

      Like

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