Last week we launched a new contest – Writing Prompt. You can view the original post here. We posted a photo and challenged BOD members:

“You just woke up here. In 300 words or less, explain how you got here.”

We had a lot of great stories come in and the feature was so popular that many of you demanded we do it again! And we intend to do it weekly.

Our first winner, Justin Vokey, stood out with his originality and it’s our pleasure to share his story with you in case you missed it!

There is nothing worse than thirst. My skin had been empty for a day now. I checked the quiet world around me one more time, squinting at the hateful sun. There was no water of course. But I had to know if they had caught my trail.

I had stumbled upon this bizarre shelter, an old bus stuck in the ground like a pathetic imitation of a tree. Not that trees grew anymore. It was all just dust without the magic of water.

God, water would be so nice right now. I remember when there were streams of water just running along the ground. Free flowing water had turned from a reality into a fairytail for children.

They wanted water, the ones that followed. And the human body contained a lot of water. Between flesh and blood, I was a walking canteen. They were coming for my flesh and blood, and by God I would make them pay for it.

Awesome BOD members, it is with great pleasure, and a little trepidation that I will be outsmarted in the process, that I am able to help us all get to know better, author and fellow BOD member, Travis Mohrman. Thank you so much for taking the time for this fun author spotlight!

I was just napping on the couch, I have plenty of time. By the way, who let you in my house? Was it the cat? That dude can’t be trusted. He didn’t try to put anything in your pockets, did he? Maybe ask you to deliver a message to someone? Don’t do it! Don’t be a mule for the cat!

Anyway, can I get you something to drink? Perhaps some goldfish crackers? Don’t mind the smaller hound, he’ll calm down in several minutes.

It’s so interesting for us to learn how authors decided they wanted to be a writer. Can you tell us about the first moment you knew that you wanted to be a writer?

Well, I was kind of drunk.

Hang on, I should probably have on pants for this, right? *runs upstairs, then runs back downstairs*

Do you like my flannel Voltron pants? Not an easy thing to find for a tall guy. Anyway, what was the…oh yeah, how I started writing.

Well, I had heard about NaNoWriMo, but I had never really written anything other than snarky emails to those deserving of the snark. Then, on the last night of October, my wife’s friend was in town and we were drinking rather heavily in our living room. With purple stained teeth, I declared that I was going to write a novel! Nobody really batted an eye, I am rather prone to large declarations that come out of nowhere. Christina, our guest, asked what it was going to be about. I replied with something close to “plants and dogs, maybe some homebrewing…” Seriously, that’s how it went down.

Then, we drunkenly threw around story ideas and I wrote down an outline type thing because we weren’t really doing anything else. I don’t really have any neighbors so kids aren’t coming by asking for candy on Halloween. Anyway, this outline had something to do with three different societies fighting each other and then somebody changed sides, I don’t know. I threw it all out the next day and just started typing.

I’m not one of those authors to claim I have to write just to get the stories out. I’ve never secretly wanted to write. I’m just a normal guy with very large feet who daydreams all the time. Sometimes I write those daydreams down and other people seem interested in reading them.

What made me keep writing was meeting amazing indie authors that are very talented. Guys like Tony Bertauski and Rick Gualtieri blow me away with the stories they write but they seem to be just normal, down to earth guys who share the same dashing looks and chiseled physique as myself.

Down The Path is the first book in the Path series. Although it is a dystopian book, I loved that it focuses on the good in others, rather than how poorly people can treat each other when hard times come. What made you want to write a book like this?
 
I love the Dystopian and Post-Apoc genres, but my biggest complaint is that I don’t think the people are very realistic. It seems that in many books, the fear of law is all that keeps society from plummeting into madness. To be fair, I think in any kind of apocalyptic scenario there would be massive chaos and lots of fighting, looting, etc…but that would all end pretty quickly.

I think that people, as a whole, are good and more than willing to help someone in need, even a stranger. Down The Path is set roughly 500 years after a collapse, so it’s just people trying to survive. Vastly fewer people equals more outreach and compassion for your fellow man. If your car breaks down on a country road, how many cars drive by and don’t offer to help?

I love all the interesting survival skills and details that Cooper has to learn in order to survive. Can you tell us how much of his knowledge is or isn’t from personal experience?

Pretty much all of the things in the first book came from personal experience. Even the illness that Cooper contracts (that was a helluva week). I have long been a fan of survival skills, but it was never really for any fear of society collapsing. It was because I wanted to learn how make fire several ways. It feels good to know how to do things, especially things in the woods. Also, it impresses the dickens out of the ladies.

What is the craziest survival story you have experienced, or would love to experience?

I fell down a cliff once; that was painful and bloody.

I’ve worked on over 100 prescribed fires and that has led to some very interesting experiences, but nothing really “survival level.” Who needs body hair, anyway?

I also got lost in the woods in southern Illinois when I was around 13 or 14. I was out hiking with my uncle and I wanted to follow a trail by myself. I got all turned around when the trail inevitably vanished and I began rationing my Certs (which was the only thing I had on me). I generally walked downhill until I hit a small river and then followed that because at least I knew I wouldn’t walk in circles. Then I saw some power lines and I followed those because it was easier walking and I knew that they had to lead to people. They eventually led me to a road and I walked down that until I ran into my uncle who was more than a little worried about me since I was gone for many hours. We decided not to inform my mother about the day’s excitement. It’s been twenty years since then, so I figure the statute of limitations has expired, so I’ll go ahead and make the story public!

I did two ten-day backpacking/portaging trips through the wilds of Canada when I was in the 7th and 8th grades. You could drink the water straight out of all those lakes, it was amazing.

Truly, none of it is too crazy, though.

As far as what I would like to experience…I just like being outside. Whatever happens or doesn’t happen, I’m happy.

When you’re not writing books, what are some of your favorite hobbies, and do those hobbies transfer into the details of your characters?

I draw heavily from my hobbies for my writing. I like to brew beer and wine. We cure all kinds of meat from hard salami to bacon to ham. I hunt and fish and my wife and I proudly do all of our own butchering. I really enjoy woodworking. I love to cook. I really just like making things. Not only for the pride that comes with enjoying the fruits of your own labor, but also the look on people’s faces when you give them a pound of the best bacon they have ever had and then tell them that you made it.

One last question. If you had the opportunity to be and do anything for a day, what would it be, and who would you want to be with you?

Pretty much whatever I’m doing I want my wife and hound dogs to be with me (you can keep the cat). This way, when I do something spectacularly stupid, I have someone else who can back up the story as well as drag my battered body out of the woods. As far as the first part of the question, I’m happy being me. I’m all broken in like a good pair of boots. If I were to try to be someone else, I bet I would get blisters. Wait…unless I got to be Wolverine! Is that an option? I would like to be him, but I want to stay my same height. Yeah, I would be a tall mutant with healing abilities and an Adamantium covered skeleton. Plus, because of the healing factor the blisters wouldn’t be an issue.

What are your writing habits like? Do you write every day or just when time allows?

I tend to write very quickly. I go through writing phases, basically. When I’m writing a story, I will lay down at least 2,000 words a day, every day. After a month I have the book written as well as one round of edits and it’s off to the editor. I usually write after work. I have about an hour or so between when I get home and when my wife gets home and that’s when I write. This is where she really shines because instead of cleaning the kitchen or doing any chores after work, I am sprawled on the couch pushing down little black keys. I can’t thank her enough for picking up my slack while I’m in one of these phases. Thankfully, those only come about every 3-4 months. The rest of the time I just let the next book unfold in my brain. Which means I basically just play video games sans pants.

Are any of your characters actually based on you?

I think I strive to be Cooper, all full of optimism rubbed with a decent portion of luck. I also think a part of me is afraid of turning into Handro. He’s not a bad man so it’s not terrible to turn into him, but he’s clearly kind of broken and supremely jaded and I hope I’m not that way.

Some of my other characters are based on my friends, though. Ceannt is a real man who brews beer with strange ingredients and plays the bagpipes.

Brian, from Singular Points, is based on a very good friend of mine. What I tend to lift from my friends is their attitude. I really have no idea if other writers do something similar, but it helps cement the characters in my head.

The character of John from Down The Path and Futher was meant to be based on someone but while writing him, nothing fit and he became the John that is in the story, kind of a lovable but slow giant man-child.

What’s your favorite saying?

Currently it’s “Enjoy Your Burrito”

Care to explain that?

Not really. Some people will understand it immediately, others will hopefully seek enlightenment.

Thank you so much Travis for letting all of us at BOD get to know you better and for sharing your talent of writing with us!

Thanks a ton for coming into my house and waking me up from my nap. No, really, it wasn’t awkward at all. Oh, before you leave, please check out the authors of DeadPixel Publications. It’s a diverse mix of writers all under the same roof and you can certainly find something for any taste there. Enjoy your burrito, everyone.

ABOUT TRAVIS

Travis writes stories about plants, dogs, and maybe some homebrewing.

Facebook  |  Website  |  DeadPixel  |  Amazon

Several generations after the collapse of civilization, an isolated city is fighting to survive. Food is scarce, resources limited, and the population is dwindling alarmingly fast. Twenty-year old Cooper, marked since birth by his bright red hair, is selected to embark on a journey of a lifetime to bring hope and prosperity to his city. Prepared as best as he can for the unknown, he sets out with little idea of what he will find. Along the way he forages for food, battles sickness and the swift current of a river, and finds an unlikely companion – an immediately faithful dog he names Lupe. The duo follow the great river south until they find themselves invited into a thriving village. Cooper knows he must learn all he can and use this knowledge to save his own city before it’s too late. Down the Path is an enthralling adventure story backed with real-world survival knowledge. An exciting read for all ages!

Hey all you fantastic BOD members, thanks for reading! Check out this week’s author spotlight. I’m very excited to introduce and interview A.J. Leavens. Welcome!

Hello! Thanks for having me. It’s been fun getting to know all the cool folks on the blog and the Facebook group, and I’m humbled to be chosen for the spotlight.

A.J., why don’t you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing?

I’ve been reading forever. I loved the escapism that books provided. When I was 12, I fell in love with Piers Anthony’s Xanth series and Terry Brooks’ Landover series. I read them as fast as they came out. When I hit Grade 8, I wrote a story that took my favorite characters from both series and melded them into one book. It was full of magic and crazy powers. It really got the bug going.

By the time I hit high school, I was hooked. I took English all the way to Grade 13 – it’s an Ontario thing – and was even selected to be part of a new writing development class that they were piloting with a poem I wrote entitled My Father, The Tree. Somewhere, my dad has a copy of that, framed.

I prefer to write fantasy and sci-fi, as it allows me to use my over-over-active imagination, but I’m slowly working on a mystery novel also. It’s a long work in progress that keeps getting put on the back burner.

I really enjoyed your first book in the Meechan Chronicles. Can you tell us where you came up with the setting for Death’s Twilight?

Thanks! It means a lot to me when someone who is a fan of the genre enjoys Slade’s world. In the opening scenes of Death’s Twilight, the reader is introduced to the world after the bombs, and it mentions that George Washington found a Risk board in the Smithsonian.

My wife and I were playing Risk with my teenaged sons, and I looked at the game board and asked, “What would it take to get the world to actually align itself like this?” The first answer that popped into my head was Nuclear War.

I took a picture of the game board and used that as a basis for the world, circa 2308. I wanted an elitist society to exist (The Emissaries), but with a Big Brother feel to it. That’s how IRIS came into being. Meechan Chronicles Trivia Fact: IRIS is SIRI’s really evil cousin 😉

You have some awesome fighting scenes in Death’s Twilight. Do you have personal knowledge of hand to hand combat, or are these scenes results of intense research?

A little of both. I took Karate and Aikido as a youth, and those lessons have always stayed with me. Hotaru’s washroom fight scene was written based on some of the teachings I received. Her training session when she is praised by Lao Shi was the result of weeks of studying Tai Chi and gymnastics.

I also watched a lot of fight scenes in movies and on YouTube, especially ones that were specifically hand to hand. I’d watch them in slo-mo, backwards and forwards to make sure I was getting the feel of the fight, and how bodies would react to the things the characters were doing to them.

There is pretty clear message about the power people have in law enforcement positions, and how they go about administering the rule of law. What do you want readers to take from reading Death’s Twilight?

I hope that people will see Death’s Twilight for what it is – a story. I find it quite amazing that some of the things I wrote into the book (postal mail being finished by 2015; Canada Post announced they are stopping home delivery in January, and Crimea being an independent state) actually coming into existence. Even more amazing considering I finished the book in 2012.

There have been some recent developments in the world that highlight (to extremes) what can happen if the wrong people have power – or the right people have power but choose to wield it wrongly. What I want readers to take away from Death’s Twilight is that yes, there are corrupted people (systems) in the world. There always have been and probably always will be. But if the people who know about it are willing to stand up and do something about it, there is a chance for hope and peace.

Can you tell us where Slade’s story is headed in the next book? And when will we be able to read it?

Slade, Brooks, Nathaniel, and Hotaru are off to stop IRIS. Brooks has been keeping a journal that contains clues to help them. Along the way, Slade meets some new friends, makes more enemies, and discovers something about himself that he thought he had lost. They travel around the North American continent in their search for the things they need to stop IRIS.

I am 60ish% done with the first draft and have a goal of releasing the final product February 17, 2015. Folks who can’t wait that long can get a serialized, beta version of the story via email starting this month. I’m also hoping that these folks will be additional sets of eyes to point out any glitches I’ve missed. (Link)

Now tell us some fun random facts about you. What kind are your go-to books to unwind?

Random? Hmmm…I own a still sealed Beatles Blue Album (my all-time favorite band). My favorite gum flavor is cinnamon. I have CDO (which is like OCD, but in the correct alphabetical order).

I love books that can make me laugh out loud when I read them – not necessarily from comedians or the like, but just from the happenings in the book. Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series is one that does it every time. So is JR Ward’s Fallen Angels series. My go-to genre though? Vampires. Anything with vampires. Absolutely love vampires. I have ever since I met Louis and Lestat in Interview With the Vampire.

Do you have a favorite band or type of music you listen to help you write?

It completely depends on what I’m writing. Music is a very important and motivating thing for me. When I’m writing a chase scene or a fighting scene, I need something upbeat, almost techno. If I’m writing something sad or moving, like when Slade reset Sarah or the scene between Hotaru and Kozel, I listen to somber music, usually a piano concerto or similar. I draw from the music and try and put that emotion into the scene.

For Death’s Midnight, though, I was lucky enough to stumble onto a local indie band (The Neutral States) whose music fits the changing world near-perfectly, regardless of what type of scene I’m writing. They definitely have more plays on my iPod than any other in my writing playlist.

A.J., I love Slade’s boomstick as a weapon of choice. If you lived in a society where it was completely normal to carry such a weapon, what would you choose and why?

I would have to say a sword – samurai or 17th/18th Century. There is something elegant about a sword – from the skill needed to craft a sword, to the training needed to properly wield one. I’m not talking about hack and slash. Think The Three Musketeers and The Last Samurai, not Highlander. Graceful, yet deadly.

Truthfully, though, if I could find a way to create a Boom Stick like Slade uses? I’d be all over that.

Thank you so much A.J. Leavens, for sharing your time and gift of writing. It has been a pleasure to get to know you, and to learn about the fun world you have created in The Meechan Chronicles.

Thanks to you for the opportunity! I’m open to questions from any of the members. Would love to chat and get to know you all better. Feel free to connect!

A.J.’s Links: Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter
Death’s Twilight:  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  | iBooks  |  Smashwords

ABOUT A.J. LEAVENS

A love of reading as a kid allowed me to explore worlds with dragons, spaceships, robots, and antique cars. I’ve always had stories in my brain, and I’ve finally had the time to let them out onto the page. I’m a father of 4 who’s been married for 15 years. My kids may or may not be inspirations for characters in my works.

Today, Band of Dystopian’s Angie Taylor interviews Ann Christy, author of YA Dystopian, Strikers. Check out their chat below and enter to win a copy of Strikers!

It is such a pleasure to interview you and help the BOD members to get to know you better. Thank you for letting me spotlight you!

Super glad to do it! I see the BOD names and icons every day, and I’m just as curious about them!

Ann, you have written many books. Tell us when your journey to be a writer first started.

It all began with Hugh Howey. No joke. As a naval officer of over 28 years, I’m very good at telling myself stories out in the middle of the ocean to help the night watches move along, but I’ve never written them down. So, I guess I had some experience with world-building in that way.

Then I read WOOL…the first one…not too long after it came out when the little Amazon recommendation came up. I was hooked. By the time the third episode of WOOL came out I had the story sort of germinating in my head. Still, I dallied. I finally wrote to Hugh as the SHIFT episodes finished coming out, told him what I wanted to do and he gave me permission.

After that, I wrote the Silo 49 series, which remains very popular. I was amazed. Why would thousands…then tens of thousands…of people read my stuff? Baffled was I. So, I kept writing and I learned a whole lot in the doing of it. I’m hooked.

Tell us a little about your most recent book, Strikers, and the different meanings the title carries?

Strikers is absolutely from my heart. That is the name given to those who escape Texas. Most do to avoid getting their fifth and final strike, because that brings the death penalty. How it came about it from reading real life news.

I’m a news junkie, but most interesting to me are the comments on news stories. I started to notice that stories about repeat offenders of petty crimes, perpetual ne’er-do-wells and such called for fairly extreme things. Like, giving them tattoos so people would know what they were or giving them so many chances and then giving them the death penalty because they were just plain of no use…that sort of thing.

It made me ask myself the question. What would happen if we actually did that? We’re human and we’ve shown over and over that no matter how carefully or how good our intentions are, our systems get misused and go haywire.

Strikers is that dystopian future. I built the world very carefully and Karas, our main character, doesn’t know the origins of her world so we…as the readers…don’t either. It will play a role in future books for sure, but Strikers is a full novel with a full story. No cliffhangers, no sequel bait. I hope people enjoy it for what it is.

It’s a book about escape, about growing up in bad circumstances and yet shining, about realistic folks who make brave decisions and take enormous risks for others, about loss and finding hope. And there’s love because they are teenagers and well, falling in love is a huge part of that!

Almost the entire book is a chase between the good guys escaping the bad guys. It creates such a fantastic intensity. How do you think this method of writing allows for Karas, Jovan, and their friends to develop?

I suppose because I’ve had some experience with motion and tension in long term situations. Deployments on ships are a long tense action (depending on what you’re doing) and doing Humanitarian Assistance after a disaster is much the same. It flavors life with an intensity that is lacking in any other situation. There’s less caution, less reserve. You get to see who people really are. I wanted to incorporate that and let these young people strip themselves of artifice. I think they did pretty well at that. I think it revealed both weakness and strength and allowed for them to care for each other despite it all. That may sound all deep and artsy-fartsy, but I think it made it fun as well.

As a reader, Strikers has a very realistic feel to it. What inspired the setting and circumstances the characters live in?

Google maps! Nah, real life travel and lots of research. But the world-building was difficult because of the wider story and the wider actions that brought Strikers-world to be as it is. (I can’t give all that away!) So, *where* I would put the land of Strikers was based on current laws but also on weather patterns and all sorts of physical parameters. So, Texas was the winner, but no offense was meant to Texans!

What can you tell us about your future writing projects?

I have a slew of stuff on the docket. A novella (that started as a short story…yikes!) called Yankari is coming out soon. It started as a story with the theme of super-powers but morphed into something else. I have another sort of double length short story (again with the length!) coming out sometime soon called Sedge. I like it, very intimate. Really only two characters, but they are stuck in the middle of big conflict not of their making.

Strikers book two is being written, but those are big books with a lot of hard work involved. It will be a while. I’ve gotten some reader email asking for a prequel on how the Strikers world came about. I have that history, but I think putting it out before book two will spoil it some. Look for those in the next six or seven months, if nothing else goes nuts, that is.

I’ve also got Silo 49: Roughneck coming within the next 75 days. Again, too much reader email for me to not do it. It takes us from just before they went into the silos until right after. I love, love, love this character!

And finally, a collection of my short stories from the anthologies I’ve been in, plus some new ones is scheduled for sometime soon. Is that enough? ::laughs::

Now for the random questions. Which of your books would you like to see made into a movie, and who would you want to act the main parts?

No fair! I want them all to be! Seriously, Strikers would be fun and I have a pinterest page that has a collection of photos on it. Go look and tell me…hot or not? Yes or no? Send me pins of your ideas for who they should be. http://www.pinterest.com/annchristy792 For Jovan…I’m thinking JD Pardo. Anyone agree?

Actually, the one I think would be the best TV series would be Silo 49. It would be too many movies. And a story that is coming out in my collection called, Life/Time, is probably my choice for a movie. I can’t even think of who the characters would be yet. Maybe Liam Neeson for Darren.

If you could star in a movie, what kind of movie would it be and why?

Jeepers! Probably sexy older woman up to no good. Because yeah, that’s not me so I’d have to play that on TV.

Thank you so much, Ann, for being a part of the BOD author spotlight!

Thank you! I really look forward to seeing some of the other author’s get their turn under the ax…er..spotlight. And it would be great to see some of readers as well. Happy Reading All!

ABOUT ANN CHRISTY

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest  |  Goodreads

Ann Christy is a navy commander by day and a secret science fiction writer at night. She lives by the sea under the benevolent rule of her canine overlords and assorted unruly family members.

Post by Angie Taylor

One of the great things about being a member of BOD is that authors and fans get to interact and share together in their love for all things dystopian. 

We have so many wonderful authors on BOD. It is my great pleasure to introduce, for those who don’t know her, and for those who do, to become more acquainted with her, one of our author members: Casey Hays! Welcome, and thank you for being a part of BOD’s author interviews. 

Thank you! I was really excited when I saw you were going to be interviewing authors. I had to jump at the chance to talk with the wonderful Angie Taylor!

Well, thank you. It’s my pleasure. Now, Casey, tell us a little about yourself. How long have you been a writer? When did you first know you wanted to write books? What kind of stories do you like to write?

I’ve been writing since I was a little girl, probably around age 8 or 9. When I was 11, my mom bought me a journal, and instead of using it for its intended purpose, I wrote my first novel, with illustrations. It was long and boring about a girl going through the wiles of life from her first kiss to her death. Not very creative and not a bit interesting! I’ve since learned what I want as a reader, and thus, what many readers want from me as a writer. The first inclination that I was going to become a writer was during my stint as an English Composition and Literature teacher. During the 2006-07 school year, a little genre called YA cropped its head and soared in popularity with the Twilight books shoving the door wide open. And suddenly, I thought to myself, “I could do that! I could write books for teens!” And so…I wrote my first YA Supernatural Romance, The Cadence. And voila! I was suddenly a writer.

I’ll read lots of genres, but I love writing YA. I love adding in a bit of the supernatural in every book, too, including my dystopian series. I like exploring the ideas of super-human abilities. I like creating characters who have an extra flare, and so I will always include a few in my stories. Sometimes, they’re only background characters or sidekicks; other times I have a main character with the ability to feel someone’s emotions by simply touching them, or some other such anomaly. It’s fun to create these people who can do things I can’t. I also enjoy sculpting a strong female lead who can take care of herself and stand on her own but who still contains a softness about her that attracts a leading male. I always like there to be a hint of vulnerability in my characters because in the end, that’s what makes all of us human. I like to pair a healthy balance of stubborn feminism with a dose of submissiveness. I want to show my younger female audience especially that you can be instilled with both qualities and be that much better for it.

So fun! I love that you started so young! Why don’t you tell us about your latest book, Breeder. 

Breeder, is the first novel in the Arrow’s Flight Series, and my favorite of all my books so far. It’s the story of Kate, a sixteen year old girl living in a primitive village after the Fall destroyed the Earth and left her village the only one standing. She is assigned to become a breeder early in the novel, and her story unfolds from there. She’s a rebel, and she finds herself in a world of trouble when she refuses to follow the rules. It was a fun journey.

How do you think the characters of Breeder relate, or don’t relate, to readers? 

I’d love to talk about all my characters, but I’ll stick to my main characters here:

Kate is a strong girl with a stubborn will, coupled with a sincere empathy for the hurting. I think a lot of women could relate to her. She has a moral compass that causes her to stand up for what she believes is right rather than comply with the village mandates. And this even at the risk of severe punishment for disobeying the rules. She’s compassionate . . . and selfish. Hard-nosed . . . and tender. Again, something many people find within. Trying to do good, but evil’s right up there alongside it. Kate struggles with this in her own life.

Ian is a young, scared boy who has his issues. But he also has no clue what’s just become of his life when he awakens in the breeding Pit. He’s a typical teen, with mood swings and a bad attitude, but so loveable at the same time. He’s very immature in the beginning of the first novel, and purposely so. Because by the end, he has begun to mature. And in the sequel, he evolves into a confident, well-rounded character who lets his fears motivate him instead of control him.

As for Mona, the harsh, unbending village leader, I’m hoping very few people relate to her . . . but there could be a few out there, I suppose. 😉

Let’s hope not. Mona is the villain you love to hate. What do you want readers to take away, or to think about as a result of reading Breeder? 

I hope that readers see the moral backdrop. I hope they see that Kate’s decisions are based on her desire to maintain a sense of dignity in a place where such things no longer seem to exist. I’d like readers to recognize that she stands up against injustice even when she’s standing all by herself for most of the novel. To understand Kate’s sense of freedom and her desire to have a say about her life. To see that she questions the human condition, and that we as readers should do the same. And lastly, that anyone can be a survivor, but it takes something much deeper to be an overcomer. This is my ultimate plan for Kate and Ian by the end of the series.

What can you tell us about the sequel, The Archer? 

My editors and I are finishing the last set of revisions before the big release! And I love the continuation of Kate’s story! It’s very scary to write a sequel. I know that readers will be looking for a certain standard in the second book, and I worked very hard to recapture my characters and maintain the same voice. I think I achieved it. And although this book is very different from Breeder in the sense that things have drastically changed for Kate, and a whole new adventure awaits her, she’s still Kate. She’s the same strong girl we left in Breeder, but very much out of her element. I can’t really say too much without giving away things for readers who haven’t read Breeder yet, so I’ll leave it at that.

When are we going to be able to read it? 

My plan is October, but this all depends on the cover art, which is being sketched by my sixteen-year-old procrastinating son, haha! He promises to have it ready, and in the end, he usually doesn’t disappoint. We shall see…

We’ll keep our fingers crossed that it’s sooner than later. Now for some random fun facts about you. If you could be any literary character, who would it be and why? 

I suppose I might want to be Hadassah from the Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers. I have never seen anyone go through so much and still be so faithful to God. I would like to be that kind of person when the time comes. And there has never been anyone loved the way she was loved by her man. Wow! Talk about a tearjerker! I highly recommend the books.

I’ll have to add them to my TBR list. Okay, one last question. What is the first book you read that made you love reading? 

The first books I remember reading were the Little House on the Prairie series. I loved them, and they made me want to read everything afterwards.

Spoken like a true bookaholic. Now Casey, you have a chance to ask fellow BOD members a question. Their answers, in the comments below, will be one of the entries for the Rafflecopter drawing for a free signed hard copy of Breeder. 
Oh, fun! Okay. If someone wrote a book about you, what would be the title and why?

You heard her fellow BOD members, give us your answers below. Be sure to check out Casey’s books, and keep in mind, The Archer, the sequel to Breeder, comes out this October!

Thank you so much, Casey, for sharing your awesome time and talents with us! 

Casey’s Links: Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Website
Breeder Links:  Amazon  |  B & N  |  Goodreads

Post by Cheer Papworth

Hi Katie, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview for all your fans, myself included. It has been truly wonderful to be able to interact with you on the Band of Dystopian Authors and Fans group page.

Thanks so much for having me here. I feel honored! I absolutely love the group Band of Dystopian. It’s a great place to pop in and hang out. You guys run the best contests and those “would you rather” questions… Love them! I try to make it a point to pop over at least once a day to see what fun you guys are having.

When did you discover that you enjoyed writing, and when did you realize that you wanted to make it a career?

Writing is in my blood. I’ve been doing it since I was just a little girl. Of course the stories I wrote back then were sweet and innocent, not the gritty fiction I write today. I was always jotting down craziness in my journals. One of these days I’ll find them. I know they are packed somewhere in my garage. By the time I hit middle school I was typing out my first novel on my old Apple IIc computer. I miss that old box with the green screen. Sadly though, that manuscript was lost when we moved cross country. Those floppy disks were pretty breakable… But, that didn’t stop me completely. It would be almost ten years before I wrote another full-length manuscript, but I did. The start of my Immortalis series was the next major work, and what propelled me into indie publishing.

As a busy mother of three, how do you find the time to write? Do you use anything to sustain you during the writing process? Caffeine? Music? Chocolate?

Caffeine… lots and lots of caffeine. Seriously, I should probably be dead of a heart attack with as much of the pepper-upper potion as I drink. With three kids (two still in diapers) sleep is something of a treat. The Littles, as I call them, are morning people. My older one knows the value of a good morning’s rest. She’ll sleep ‘til noon if you let her. Good girl! But the babies, nope. They are up with the sun. And that means I am too. And writing, ha! None of that gets done until the house is quiet. Other authors will back me up on this. You need a certain kind of quiet to write. That doesn’t mean silence. It’s more of a white noise or a mood noise effect. The right music works, or maybe reruns of a tv show you know by heart. But nothing jarring. No kids hammering you with requests. No husband bothering you. To write you need to hear only your muse. So, with that said, I only have that kind of quiet after the house is sleeping. Which makes for a lot of late nights and a mom-zombie every morning. And that is where the caffeine comes in. I drink it damn near all day in whatever form I can find.

Besides dystopia, what other genres do you write? Is there a genre that you would like to cut your writing teeth on in the future? 

I dipped my toes into the Dystopian genre with the Chronicles of the Uprising, but I do have works out in a variety of genres already. I have a pen name which handles Paranormal Romance. I am in the process of moving my erotica titles to a new pen name as well. And then there is my other love, Urban Fantasy! That’s what I cut my teeth on. My Immortalis series is a gritty Urban Fantasy set in modern day Las Vegas and Boston. My writing tends to lean towards realism rather than fantastical, however, I would love to attempt an Epic Fantasy one day. Those are such difficult books to do because of all the tiny world-building details involved. I think it would be pretty labor intensive, but rewarding.

I love a fierce female protagonist and Mira, the enslaved gladiator vampire, certainly fits the bill. She is a bit of a realist and has an outlook that isn’t very cheery. In Revolution, Mira said, “Positivity doesn’t get you anything.”  Do you also subscribe to that philosophy or are you more of an optimist?

I’m certainly not as jaded as Mira, but I do tend to lean towards realism. It’s always nice to be hopeful, but to get things done, one has to work for them. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t put a little of my own self into the main character. I think all authors do to some extent. Mira, however has dealt with much more hardships than I have, so her perception is a bit exaggerated. She reacts harshly to her situation because she has not had anyone there to help her. Thirty years of bloodsport, torture, and having to destroy her own people had hardened her and colored her outlook on everything. Even when she does taste a bit of freedom, she does so cautiously because it could all come crashing down at any point, and she could end up right back where she started.

Although this series has romantic elements, I don’t see it as the main focus of the story. I love a little romance in my dystopia, but I have to ask, with the controversy swirling around love triangles, did you experience trepidation writing yet another love triangle? 

I’d considered the romantic element when writing all three parts of this trilogy. And I wanted to delve deeper into that topic, however, looking at the main character Mira, it did not fit for her to be overly emotional and fall for someone so quickly. To remain true to her character, she had to be closed off. She can barely stand to have someone touch her to comfort her, how was she supposed to choose between two men obviously vying for her attention? So, with that in mind, I allowed her to acknowledge that the men were there, and that they both had good qualities, but not build on that until real trust was formed. Remember, Mira has been tortured for her entire existence as a vampire. Love cannot blossom until there are some basic elements. Trust is one of those most important elements.

As for the love triangle, I had no worries about making it part of the story because it fit the story. When I write, I have to be true to my characters and my plot. Altering things just for the sake of some readers feels wrong to me. You are never going to please 100% of the people. But, I feel, if you are true to the story, people will see it.

The love triangle between Mira, Lucian, and Stryker definitely ends in Revolution with Mira making a choice between the two. Did you know who she would choose from the beginning of the story or did the final outcome develop as you were writing?

Mira chose the opposite person I had originally selected for her. But, again, being true to my characters, there was really only one good option for her. She went with the person she could have a real relationship with. The other is still her partner and will remain by her side, but as far as a real romantic connection, there was no question… for Mira.

The desire of the otherkin to seek revenge against humans is an important theme in Revolution.  Mira faces her nemesis, the ultimate mean girl Olivia Preston, and has the opportunity to obtain sweet revenge.  Is the character Olivia Preston based on a real person?  If so, did writing Olivia’s finale serve as a form of revenge?

Is Olivia a real person? No. Does she represent people who might need a little comeuppance? Sure! Writing is sometimes a cathartic process. It’s nice to be able to exact karma on characters who really deserve it, especially when in life you see people get away with atrocities every day and never seem to have any recompense. And, for the record… I think Olivia got exactly what was coming to her.

As a vampire, Mira has supernatural abilities including a heightened sense of sight and her blood with healing properties.  If you could have a super power or sense, what would it be and why? 

I’d take heightened sense of sight. I’m practically blind as it is, so being able to see clearly, without coke-bottle glasses would be a dream come true. LoL!

In your series Chronicles of the Uprising, there is an otherkin sanctuary hidden from humans.  Where is your sanctuary?

Sadly, I don’t have one. Unless you count the bathroom. LoL. But then, the littles find me. Mom of three kids, I’m never alone. Not that I’m complaining, it’s just the truth. No sanctuary for me for a while. But that is okay.

What can readers look forward next from you?  Do you plan of writing a fourth book this series? Do you have a current WIP? 

There is a potential for a 4th in the Chronicles, but for now the trilogy is complete. I’ve been asked if I will return to Alyssa and Lysadner in the Immortalis series, so I may have to revisit them for a 7th book. As of right now, I am finishing up a story for my Paranormal Romance pen name that is set to be part of an anthology in October. Vampire Erotic Romance entitled One Night With A Vampire.

Thanks again for having me here. Great questions!!

ABOUT KATIE SALIDAS

Katie Salidas, author of the Immortalis series (Urban Fantasy), Consummate Therapy series (Erotica), and the recently released Chronicles of the Uprising (Dystopian) is a Jill of all Trades. She’s a Super Woman endowed with special powers and abilities, beyond those of other mortals. Katie can get the munchkins off to gymnastics, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, and swim lessons; put hot food on the table, assist with homework, baths, and bedtime… And, she still finds the time to keep the hubby happy (nudge nudge wink wink). She can do all of this and still have time to write.

And if you can believe all of those lies, there is some beautiful swamp land in Florida for sale…

Katie Salidas resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mother to three, Wife to one, and slave to the craft of writing, she does try to do it all, often causing sleep deprivation and many nights passed out at the computer. Writing is her passion, and she hopes that her passion will bring you hours of entertainment.

Blog  |  Facebook  |  LinkedIn  |  Twitter

Publisher  |  Amazon  |  Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble  |  Smashwords  |   All Romance Ebooks

The stunning cover for Mirror X immediately caught my attention, but after reading the synopsis it promised even more. I knew from page one that this was my kind of book and at that moment interviewing Karri Thompson became priority one. I was thrilled when she agreed to answer my questions for this interview as I found Mirror X to be an original dystopia with a minefield of controversial subjects.  

Your new book Mirror X is an original YA Sci-Fi Dystopian novel.  Did your career as a high school English teacher influence your decision to write YA novels?  Do you find being surrounded by teen culture, as a mother of a teen and as a high school teacher, helps you stay current and up-to-date on teen language, dress, and attitudes?  Have you ever based a literary character after a student or someone you know?

Being a high-school English teacher did influence my decision to write YA. During the school year, I’m around teenagers 6 hours a day – approximately 180 of them. Yikes! But it does keep me current with teen attitudes, etc. Even so, I try to stay a bit generic when it comes to teen language and dress. The lingos and fashions change so much that I don’t want to “date” a book. For example, to kids, “sick” means crazy or cool, but it’s not used that much anymore – at least not by my students. “Oh, snap,” isn’t used anymore either. I don’t want a teen to read one of my books and think the character is totally out of it because he or she is using “archaic expressions.” Styles change so much, too. Jeans, T-shirts, and tennis shoes are always safe to use though. They are timeless when it comes to fashion.  One cool thing is that with sci-fi/dystopian, a writer can come up with their own expressions and style. In MIRROR X, tunics are worn most of the time.

I’ve never based a character on a particular student. My characters tend to be a combination of several teens. I’ll pull special things from each one and use them to develop and round out one character.

When do you find the time to write?  Do you ever allow your students to read for you as beta readers or contribute ideas to your work?

Finding the time to write is always a challenge. During the summer, it’s a bit easier, but with MIRROR X releasing just a few weeks ago, I’m still in promo mode and haven’t had a chance to work on anything else. During the school year, I really have to discipline myself by setting the goal of writing and/or editing 35-50 pages a week. I usually reach that goal.

So far, I’ve never used a student as a beta reader. Students are so busy with their own studies and sports, it’s hard to find a student who will have time to read anything extra. Just getting them to read 10 pages a night of To Kill a Mockingbird is a challenge. I do have many of them on my street team though. Many of them read MIRROR X and posted honest reviews for me. I really appreciate them for doing that.I’m still building my team, so it helps when my students join.

I read on your blog that you are a self-proclaimed “music freak.”  Do you listen to music while you write?  If so, what type of music do you listen to while writing?

I am a music freak. I don’t listen to music while I write though. It can get too distracting because the stuff I listen to is pretty hard. When I jog, I listen to music and use that time to rework plots in my head though. That’s my special “me” time. When my students ask me what type of music I listen to, I ask them what kind of music they think I listen to. OMG! They always say classical or jazz. I can only hope that’s because they think I’m intelligent and sophisticated. Lol. I actually listen to hard, alternative modern rock and classic rock. For example, I love Korn, Breaking Benjamin, Slipknot, Nickelback, Disturbed, three hourBuckcherry, etc. I’m going to see Seether next week at the Ventura County Faithree-hourdrive, but it will be worth it. I love going to concerts.

What made you decide to write a dystopian novel? Do you have a favourite dystopian author?

I’ve always been fascinated with future worlds. I read 1984 and Brave New World in high school. Both of those books totally fascinated me. As a teacher, I’ve also taught The Giver and Lord of the Flies. Iconsider Lord of the Flies a dystopian, since the society the boys create is so dysfunctional. As much as I love Suzanne Collins, I’d have to say that my favorite dystopian author is Aldous Huxley. I still can’t believe that book was written in 1931. He was a genius.

What other genres do you write or plan on writing in the future?

I’ve written two paranormal romances (Amateur Angel and Hollywood Angels), but my love is sci-fi. There are two more books in the MIRROR X series, and I’m working on a new sci-fi this summer. In the future, Iplan to continue writing sci-fi and maybe another stand-alone dystopian. The story is in my head. I just need to find the time to write it.

The cover of Mirror X is intriguing and symbolic.  Can you tell us a little bit about it?

I love the cover. My publisher came up with it although I did suggest the hour glass. The hour glass is obviously suggesting that time is running out. In terms of the grass vs. the dry, barren landscape, one is fertile and the other is not. People who’ve read the book will get that. The colors are also symbolic, representing the hope for a bright, colorful future.

Mirror X is a modern day Rip Van Winkle story with a Sci-Fi twist. Cryonics is the first controversial theme readers are introduced to in Mirror X, but it leads to a whole hornet’s nest of other hot topic subjects. If you could be cryonically “frozen” and return to life in the future, would you do it?  Why or why not?

Wow, this is a tough question. I think I would do it, but only if I knew it was actually possible to be brought back to life. For MIRROR X, I did a lot of research into this process. There is a place right now in the U.S. where people can pay to be frozen once they are legally brain dead. The problem is that when cells freeze, the integrity of the cell membrane is compromised, so people can’t survive the thawing process – at least not now in our time period. That’s why Cassie is from 2025 and not 2014. I’m not sure if this problem will be solved in 11 years, but scientists will be closer to finding a way to mend each cell or keep it from bursting in the first place. I’d love to see what the world will be like 1,000 years from now.

Besides cryonics, cloning is also an important theme in Mirror X.  What famous person already deceased would you like to see cloned and why?  If spirits or souls were cloned as well as physical bodies, what famous person would you like to see spiritually cloned in order to meet him/her?

Another hard question. There’s more than one. I’d love to see James Dean and Marilyn Monroe because they are so iconic. If souls were cloned as well, I’d pick Michael Hutchence. I had a huge crush on him when I was in high school. He was the lead singer of the band INXS. He committed suicide (although that’s still up for debate) after a drug binge. He made some terrible decisions in his life, but I’ve also read enough about him to know how creative, intelligent, and caring he was. I read an interview where he said he was reading the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. How cool is that? To me that says a lot about him as a person. I’d also want to see him perform with INXS or maybe he could even give me a private concert.

I found myself highlighting several memorable quotes while reading Mirror X.  Do you have a favourite quote and will you share it with us?

One of my favorite quotes is when Michael tells Cassie, “Now that you’re awakened, everything is different.” In my mind, I can so vividly imagine this scene. He is hot and sincere.  I know a lot of readers go back and forth when it comes to what they think about Michael because he has let Cassie down so many times, but he does genuinely care about her. This is a young man who never had a childhood, and as such, is easily manipulated by the team at GenH, believing that as part of “the team” he has to do as told. I forgive him for his mistakes. And don’t forget – I know what happens in book 2.

What can we look forward to in the future from you?  Do you currently have a WIP?

The second book in The Van Winkle Project series is written. Book three is outlined. I have two WIPs – a sci-fi called Enestia (that’s the name of a planet), and Ashes on the Rhine, a contemporary romance that takes place in Europe. Yeah, I know. ASHES isn’t a sci-fi, but this book is different. It is based on the trip that I took to Europe 2 years ago.

My plan is to have MIRROR X book 2 to my editor within the next two weeks, and then I’ll start writing the third. I can’t wait. Finally everything will come together.

I want to give special thanks to Karri Thompson for taking the time to answer these questions.  I appreciate her thoughtful responses, as well as her support and participation in Band of Dystopian Authors and Fans.  I wish her continued success in the future and I’m looking forward to reading more in the Mirror X Saga.  

Karri’s Links:  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Website  |

[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/OBLu3fFLhAo”]

Mirror X 
(The Van Winkle Project, #1)

Cassie Dannacher wakes up in a hospital over 1,000 years into the future after her space capsule is retrieved from space. She soon learns that 600 years prior to her arrival, the earth was struck by a plague, killing over half of the world’s population. Naïve and desperate, Cassie, who longs for home and is having trouble adjusting to the new, dictatorial 31st-century government, is comforted by Michael Bennett, the 20-year old lead geneticist at the hospital where she was revived.

But why is Cassie in genetics’ hospital in the first place, and why do several of the people around her seem so familiar, including Travel Carson, the hot and edgy boy she is fated to meet? Soon she discovers there is a sinister answer to all of her questions – and that they want something from Cassie that only she can give.

“A highly original and thought-provoking dystopian novel.
I don’t think I’ve ever read anything like it!”
Luisa Plaja, Chicklish, the UK’s Teen Fiction Site

Do you have any strange or habitual writing habits, such as listening to a certain type of music?

I prefer to write in a quiet environment actually, without music playing. I write straight to my laptop on the dining room table, surrounded by my kids’ clutter.

What were you like as a child? Did you have a favorite toy or game, and was it gender specific? Did you have childhood experiences that you could draw from while writing XY?

Good question! I played with lots of different toys. I had Sindy dolls but I also had Action Men. Clothes-wise, I was quite a tomboy. I had very long hair but I refused to wear dresses; it was jeans all the way. When I was a child, toys weren’t marketed in such gender specific ways as they are today. Now, when I walk into a toy shop with my children, I am horrified at the gender stereotyping, particularly all the pink princess things aimed at girls. I have two sons but I think I would find it quite a challenge to raise a girl in today’s society.

What were the psychological and social challenges you faced as a writer in dealing with the controversy surrounding gender reassignment surgery?

I didn’t really think about it in that way – I just wrote Jesse’s story. Writing XY was no different to writing my other novels – I always start with a character in crisis and follow the journey until the story is told. I carried out a fair bit of research into intersex conditions and sex assignment/gender assignment for XY to help me understand some of the sensitivities involved. But ultimately the story is fiction and set in an alternative reality, where 91% of humans are born with indeterminate biological sex. It’s a very different situation to real life, so I felt there was a certain amount of freedom.

I noticed from your bio that you once worked at a teen sexual health hotline. Did any real life experiences, work related or otherwise, influence the theme of gender identity in your book?

The intersex aspect didn’t come from my experience on the teen sexual health helpline. But talking to teenagers every day for three years probably influenced my writing in terms of creating an authentic teen voice and understanding the issues that teens face. Jesse is like any other teenager, grappling with identity and self-esteem, trying to find herself.

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?

I don’t think any subject is off limits if it is handled in the right way. I don’t shy away from controversial subject matter but I do try to handle it in a complex and sensitive way.

Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?

I have been influenced by a great many authors and books. In fact, I have probably been influenced in some way by just about every book that I read. As a teenager at school, there was a huge distinction between the books you had to read and the books you wanted to read. The first time the two coincided for me was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which we studied for our GCSE English Literature exam. I was right there with Scout and the whole character cast. It is such a thought provoking, engaging book – a real ‘must read.’ That was the first time a book I read at school touched me. Other than that, it was the Judy Blume books that were doing the rounds at our school. We thought Forever was so illicit!

If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters?

Ooh, it would have to be Cara Delevingne as Jesse. I know she’s not a teenager but it wouldn’t be like casting Sissy Spacek in Carrie, is it? Who would play Ork? Hmm, it’s a tricky one. Maybe Jake T. Austin because he’s very pretty. Then I would have some unknown actors, new faces breaking onto the Hollywood scene… If only, eh?

What are you working on now? What is your next project?

I am currently completing the sequel to XY.

Shanta Everington is the author of seven books, including three young adult novels – Give Me a Sign, Boy Red and latest release XY (joint winner of the Red Telephone Books YA Novel Competition). She has had all sorts of jobs in the past, from baking vegan muffins and working as a private tutor to appearing as a guest agony aunt and running a teen sexual health helpline. With an MA in Creative Writing with distinction, Shanta currently teaches Creative Writing with The Open University. She lives in London, UK, with her husband and two children.

Shanta’s Links: Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads

XY on Amazon.com

XY on Amazon.co.uk

Images included at the author’s request. Image credits are as follows.
Boy in skirt  – photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography https://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/
Girl in suit – photo credit https://www.flickr.com/photos/bigmikeyeah/

Post by Cheer Papworth

I was excited and honored to meet and interview Shelbi Wescott, author of the YA apocalyptic trilogy Virulent. She was gracious enough to take time out of her family vacation to discuss her books.

Upon meeting, I was instantly struck by her intelligence, warmth, and approachable personality. In addition to being an author, Shelbi is a high school creative writing teacher, wife, mother, and business owner. Despite her busy life, Shelbi is dedicated to her writing and finds time to write at least a thousand words every day. Without further ado, here is my interview with this awesome author.

What five words describe you as an author?

I would have to say insecure, extremely motivated, personable, driven, and self-effacing.

What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

The scariest thing I’ve ever done would probably have to be cliff jumping in Thailand into the River Kwai, but I was young, in my early twenties then. Now I’m older and the mother of two boys. I’d have to say parenthood is the scariest thing I’ve ever done, but also the most rewarding by far.

What is something about publishing you wish you would have known before starting out?

I wish I would have known that traditional publishing has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of an author’s work. I started off trying to write the next great novel thinking it was a sure thing. I shopped my novel only to receive probably a hundred and fifty rejection letters in response. My novel is really good, I still believe that today.  It’s quality work, but I realized that I needed to write about things I love to read about. That’s when I decided to write an apocalyptic book and the idea for Virulent came about. Instead of going the traditional route, I decided to self-publish. I had to get over this idea that traditional publishing somehow validates an author’s writing, but it doesn’t necessarily.  Some of the best books I’ve read are written by indie writers.

The Virulent Series is an apocalyptic tale. Why do you think the idea of human extinction appeals to readers?

It’s really quite simple – it’s inevitable. History has shown us this time and time again and all we have to do is look around us, watch the news.  It’s happening.

Lucy King is the teen protagonist in Virulent. Give me five words that describe Lucy.

Lucy is a different girl in book one than she is in book three.  Obviously, she has been shaped by how she reacts to the circumstances she finds herself in and she experiences growth throughout her journey as she faces challenges. If we are talking about Lucy in book one, I would say she is loyal, naive, stubborn, genuinely kind, and emotionally strong, but I don’t want to give anything away by describing her at the end of the series.

Virulent is about a killer virus manufactured to annihilate humanity.  Are you a germaphobe?

When it comes to myself, I’m not a germaphobe, but when it comes to my children, yes!

What would you pack in your backpack if you only had five minutes to escape an impending apocalypse?

Oh, wow!  Okay, I’d need a knife, some Advil, bottled water, a fire starter of some kind, and pictures of my family.

Are you currently working on any other projects and if so, what genre is it in?

I’m currently editing my new paranormal book After Life.  It is scheduled to be released this month.

I cannot thank you enough Shelbi for taking the time to meet with me and graciously answer the hundreds of questions I bombarded you with.  I greatly appreciate your cheerful, fun personality and admire your dedication and commitment to writing. I’ve been devouring the Virulent Trilogy and I cannot wait to read After Life when it is released later this month.  I wish you continued success in all you do. — Cheer

VIRULENT

Lucy King is only an hour away from embarking on the most incredible vacation of her life: White sandy beaches in a tropical paradise, snorkeling and sunbathing in peaceful tranquility. But as Lucy looks forward to her trip, a sinister plot is unfolding that will demolish the world as she knows it. An unknown bioterrorist group unleashes a virus that virtually wipes out the earth’s population—leaving Lucy, and a small faction of survivors, trapped inside her high school to wait out the apocalypse.

As war, looting, and death wreak havoc outside, inside, the students must contend with a tyrannical and paranoid principal and their own struggles of being orphaned, frightened, and unsure of what the future will bring.

What begins as a basic fight for survival turns into a search for answers that will challenge everything Lucy has ever known about her life and her family.

Kindle  |  Goodreads

(Image courtesy of nuchylee/ freedigitalphotos.net)

Forming a new group for dystopian fiction authors and fans has been exciting and the enthusiasm we have felt has exceeded our expectations; however it has not been without some unexpected challenges. Perhaps the one thing we didn’t expect was some confusion regarding which books fit into the classification of dystopia and which do not. In the past, readers counted on their local library or bookstore to organize and shelve books according to their genre. Now with literary social media groups like Goodreads, Librarything and Shelfari, readers can create shelves and classify them according to their own definition and various preferences. Has this created some confusion and a blurred definition of dystopia or is the genre simply evolving with hybrid subsets?

According to Mirriam-Webster’s dictionary, Dystopia is defined as “An imaginary place where people are unhappy and usually afraid because they are not treated fairly.” If that is the general definition you adhere to, dystopia in fact does encompass a wide range of genres. We know that dystopia and utopia are derived from science fiction and speculative fiction, but what are the offshoots of these categories? A dystopian evolution of sorts has led to a new crop of creative “dystopias” such as cli-fi, feminist utopia, isolated dystopia, apocalyptic dystopia, robotopia, paranormal dystopia, dystopian thriller, ecotopian fiction, techno dystopia, and even superhero dystopia.

With such an eclectic variety, it’s no wonder that readers and authors alike aren’t sure. In fact, you may have written or read a dystopian novel without even realizing it! Do we really care about the technicalities – if it is or isn’t dystopia? More important perhaps is the continuous reinvention of dystopia in keeping current and appealing to a wider audience than ever before. What this tells me is that dystopia should not be underestimated and is not simply an overdone trend of the past.  As it shifts and molds to our new ideas and finds its way into new subcategories, dystopia is developing the staying-power needed to continue entertaining and enlightening readers for years to come.

What do you think? Is dystopia here to stay?