The Dying Butterfly (ePub)

A post-apocalyptic story. Though it is about an illness the message remains true, and that is when there seems to be no light hold on to hope. It is about never giving up when it appears there is nothing left to fight for. It is about not taking anything for granted from the simplicity of tasks, to the little noises, all the way up to the people we cherish, and that sometimes the strangers we meet along the way, even if we don't see it, are the ones that give us that strength.

This story follows the main character Holly, who has her whole life planned out. First, to go to college, and then to marry the love of her life, Tony, when the world she knows turns upside down.

As the virus spread, the death toll rose, and chaos sprung all over the globe. Forced to flee their home, Holly and her family took to the road in search of safety.

One night as the Deranged charged their camp Holly was separated from Tony and her family.

In her search for the love of her life and her family, she stumbles upon a small community.

By the light of a flickering candle, from a typewriter, Holly tells us about the illness and her new life. She shares her new philosophies on life, all that we take for granted, and human vulnerability as she reminisces the past, and her dreams of one day being reunited with the love of her life and her family.

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Entrada Publishing says "D.L Fletcher has taken a post-apocalyptic, zombie-like, narrative and breathed new life into what could be seen as an exhausted genre; this is not an easy feat and something to be commended. She has kept what feels comfortable about a zombie narrative, such as biting, virus outbreak, and threat of life. However, Fletcher has thrown away all the other rules, twisting the standard narrative of the genre into something that is truly unique and something she can call her own.

While it could appear all doom and gloom within the novel as the world Holly and others know is turned upside down and practically destroyed, the author brings a flashlight to lighten the darkness. She skillfully weaves light, often humorous, scenes within the overarching virus apocalyptic narrative; thus proving that light can be found even in the darkest of moments and circumstances.

Young love is often classed as a fling or something without great substance but Fletcher turns that conception on its head. When it comes to the love between Holly and Tony the author proves that while they may be young it is anything but a fling or without substance. Even with the turmoil surrounding their family and friends the romantic storyline still holds strong, often driving the main character, Holly, forward when she would have otherwise given up. It is no mere feat to skillfully combine the main horror apocalyptical arch with long-running sweet romance storyline, and yet Fletcher does it so very well.

While many authors can focus on the virus, the military, and political efforts when it comes to a similar storyline as in The Dying Butterfly, Fletcher moved to focus on the human element of the story. Her use of first-person perspective places the reader directly into the action and it is impossible to not to be swept away in the waves of emotions that befall the characters. Taking this aspect of the genre, the human element, is a slice of ingenious creativity as it pulls on the reader's wonder of what they would do if in a similar situation."