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For author Ben Winters, the apocalypse is now

INDIANAPOLIS — Ben H. Winters isn’t on a survivalist kick, and he’s not an author who jumped on the zombie bandwagon.;http://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/arts/2014/07/08/time-nigh-ben-winters-last-policeman/12302061/

But the best-selling novelist is responsible for an end-of-days trilogy that has captured the imagination of Armageddon enthusiasts and mystery buffs. His World of Trouble arrives in stores July 15, bringing The Last Policeman series to a close.

The first book, 2012’s The Last Policeman, introduced Hank Palace as a New Hampshire detective who is all business and wants to right wrongs — even if civilization is crumbling in anticipation of a doomsday asteroid just six months out from a sure-bet rendezvous with Earth. Palace’s earnest adventures continued in Countdown City, published in 2013.

Indianapolis-based author Winters said he prefers to frame the stories as a detective working on clues rather than an over-the-top sci-fi tale.

“I never thought of it as my big apocalyptic novel,” Winters said of The Last Policeman. “I think what I stumbled upon was a really interesting context for crime-solving.”

The context is heating up at the outset of World of Trouble . Just 14 days remain until the 2011GV1 asteroid — nicknamed “Maia” — is scheduled to make impact. Palace is doing his best to cling to his duty-and-honor code.

For Winters, who is launching his national tour this weekend at Indy Reads Books in Indianapolis, the books have brought snowballing renown.

The Last Policeman won the Edgar Award, a prize given by the Mystery Writers of America. Countdown City won the Philip K. Dick Award, a prize devoted to sci-fi works.

In advance of World of Trouble, Mystery Scene magazine features Winters on the cover of its current issue.

Winters is planning tour stops more lively and engaging than merely read-and-sign affairs. He’s gathered novelty mustaches, a nod to Palace’s facial hair, for attendees who correctly answer trivia questions.

Winters also promises to play ukulele and sing a medley of Bob Dylan songs. Palace’s obsession with Dylan is evident across the trilogy, and Winters has his own rock ‘n’ roll credentials.

The 38-year-old grew up in suburban Washington, D.C., and played bass guitar in a 1990s post-punk band known as Corm. He lived near Boston when he wrote The Last Policeman and moved to Indianapolis with his wife, an Indiana University law professor, less than a month after that book was published.

Winters’ writing isn’t limited to crime and/or sci-fi. He landed on The New York Times best-seller list with 2009 oddball mash-up Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters , and he wrote a volume of scary poems for youngsters, Literally Disturbed, in 2013.

This year, he’s working on a story that centers on race relations in Indianapolis.

For the Last Policeman series, Winters crafts a detective who cares when no one else does.

“I knew all along that each book would have one central case in the foreground,” he said. “And in the background, we’d be charting the disintegration of civilization.”

Palace tackles a suspicious suicide case in The Last Policeman and a missing-person investigation in Countdown City. For World of Trouble, Palace untangles conspiracy theories and pursues his on-the-run sister.

In Concord, N.H., the city where Winters’ brother, Andrew, works as an attorney, residents have embraced the trilogy. White Mountain Gourmet Coffee sells “Hank Palace Blend,” something the detective would love to taste — if only the resources for making coffee were available on the East Coast as the asteroid approaches.

The story stretches into the Midwest during World of Trouble , a decision that Winters said relates to his own move.

“I really like to do research,” he said. “It’s important to me to go out and interview people and hang out places.”

World of Trouble spotlights an Amish community in Ohio, as well as a SuperTarget that’s been taken over by survivalists who all wear softball jerseys.

In Countdown City , students make a radical compound out of the University of New Hampshire.

“A big part of the series is examining lots of different types of people, and the kinds of reactions that you would have to this event,” Winters said.

It’s possible the trilogy will become a TV series, but Winters said a concrete deal has yet to materialize. Until that happens, Winters doesn’t plan to spend time thinking about the science of asteroids or how to prepare for disasters.

His years of exhaustive research served a purpose and have been set aside.

“I know people will come up to me in two years and say, ‘Oh, did you read this thing about asteroids?’ I won’t know what they’re talking about,” he said. “That’s not my thing anymore.”

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