BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY - TO KNOW ME BY MARCY BLESY

Book Details supplied by YA Bound Tours

To Know Me

by Marcy Blesy

BLURB from Goodreads

To know me is to die...

Seventeen-year-old Mae is convinced that the consequences of her poor decisions have caused the untimely deaths of her dad, sister Laura, and grandma who all die within a year, no matter how ludicrous her thoughts seem to those she loves. The solution? Run away so no one else she cares for gets hurt (even if she has to keep a GPS tracker on her phone at all times).

Desperate to earn her diploma and salvage something of her life, she transfers schools when people get too close. After switching to Woodson Prep with only two months to go until graduation, Mae keeps her goals in sight. But when she meets Ty, the "perfect boy" with his own secrets and a relentless interest in Mae, she must decide if she can stop running from the past and still protect those she loves.

Goodreads Link

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I am a former elementary school teacher and currently run an elementary library which is the perfect job for my interests.

In October 2010 I  had an essay published in Chicken Soup for the Soul:  Devotional Stories For Mothers.   Another essay will be published in November 2013 in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just Us Girls.

In 2012 my debut picture book was released by Bronze Man Books. Am I Like My Daddy? follows the journey of a child who seeks to learn if she is anything like the dad who died when she was young.

My middle grade novel, Confessions of a Corn Kid, as well a YA short story trilogy, The Lexie and Rhett Chronicles, and To Know Me, were released direct to kindle in 2013.

I am a great eavesdropper and person profiler which proves a fabulous advantage for a writer. As my favorite shirt says, Be careful or you’ll end up in my novel.

Author Links:

http://marcyblesy.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6587358.Marcy_Blesy

http://www.twitter.com/marcyblesy

or:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter

EXCERPT

“Is this for me?” I ask as Ty stands in the center of the clearing with a yellow rose in one hand.

“No. It’s for that grandma who’ll be passing this area in about ten minutes. I’m just practicing my delivery.” He’s so cute when he’s being sarcastic. I take the rose. In an instant I am shocked back to the day of Laura’s funeral. Everyone in her sixth grade glass brought roses to the cemetery to lay upon her grave, yellow ones, her favorite color. “Why aren’t you smiling?” Ty asks. “Did I do something wrong?”

“N…no.”

“Your hand is shaking,” he says coming over to my side. “Sit down.” He points to the picnic table. “Mae, if you don’t tell me anything I won’t ever be able to help you. I want to help you. I know what it’s like to need help. There’s a lot you don’t know about me, too. And I’m willing to tell you. It’s weird because I hardly know anything about you, but I feel like we’re a lot alike.”

“We’re nothing alike,” I say. I want to tell him. But if I do? Then what? He won’t understand. No one does.

“Is yellow not a good color for brunettes?” he jokes. I can’t help but smile. He takes the rose, breaks off the stem, and tucks it behind my ear. He leans in to smell the rose and kisses my cheek. Only the crunching of sticks from the older couple on the path stops him from reaching my lips.

GIVEAWAY

BLOG TOUR - THE BOXCAR BABY BY J.L.MULVIHILL

ISBN:  978-1937929206
ASIN:  B00E4WTEP2
Series: Steel Roots
Publisher: Seventh Star Press
Pages/File Size: 274pages/908KB
Formats Available: Paperback,E-Book

BLURB supplied by Tomorrow Comes Media

Born in a boxcar on a train bound for Georgia. At least that is what Papa Steel always told AB'Gale. But now, fifteen years later, the man who adopted and raised her as his own is missing and it's up to AB'Gale to find him. Aided only by a motley gang of friends, AB'Gale train hops her way across the United States in a desperate attempt to find her papa and put her life and family back the way it was. Her only guide is a map given to her by a mysterious hobo, with hand written clues she found hidden in her papa's spyglass. Here is the Great American Adventure in an alternate steampunk dystopian world, where fifteen-year-old AB'Gale Steel learns that nothing is as it seems, but instead is shrouded in secrets and mysteries ... and that monsters come in all shapes and forms.

The Boxcar Baby is the first book of the Steel Roots series.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Hollywood and raised in San Diego, CA, J.L. Mulvihill has made Mississippi her home for the past fifteen years. Her debut novel was the young adult title The Lost Daughter of Easa, an engaing fantasy novel bordering on science-fiction with a dash of steampunk, published through Kerlak Publishing.  The Boxcar Baby, the first novel of her Steel Roots Series, was released by Seventh Star Press in the summer of 2013.

J.L. also has several short fiction pieces in publication, among them "Chilled Meat", a steampunk thriller found in the Dreams of Steam II-Of Bolts and Brass, anthology (Kerlak Publishing) and "The Leprechaun’s Story", a steampunk urban Fantasy found in the anthology, Clockwork, Spells, & Magical Bells (Kerlak Publishing)

J.L. is very active with the writing community, and is the events coordinator for the Mississippi Chapter of Imagicopter known as the Magnolia-Tower.  She is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Gulf Coast Writers Association (GCWA), The Mississippi Writers Guild (MWG), as well as the Arts Council of Clinton, and the Clinton Ink-Slingers Writing Group.

Author Links:

www.elsielind.com

http://jlsbooks.blogspot.com/

http://home.comcast.net/~mulvijen/site/

https://www.facebook.com/JLMulvihill

https://www.facebook.com/mulvijen?ref=hl

https://www.facebook.com/SteelRootsSeries?ref=hl

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Southern-Haunts/417536915003428?ref=hl

https://www.facebook.com/ClockworkSpellsMagicalBells?ref=hl

https://www.facebook.com/Imagicopter?ref=hl

GUEST POST

J L Mulvihill and writing in the Dystopian World

Hi Jean, thank you for having me on your blog.  So why Dystopian genre?  Well because that is what being a teenager is all about.  Your whole life is in turmoil and the world is coming to an end and everybody hates you and nobody understands you.  It’s true, I have two teenage daughters I know this is true.  Really though I do understand because I was a teenager once too and I do remember feeling like that at least part of the time.

I think that teens or rather young adults want to read something along the lines of these feelings they can identify with.  Ok, so maybe our government is not really as bad as the one I have in my book and the children don’t end up in workhouses or brothels if they are too poor to go to school, well at least not in America right?  My point is there is a feeling of hopelessness and struggle mixed with the emotions of loyalty and determination with this genre.  These emotions no matter what setting they are placed in, I believe, are feelings that a lot of people including young adults can identify with and that is why so many people read stories that take place in dystopian worlds.

I remember watching the movie Logan’s Run, I never read the book though it is on my list, but when I watched the movie I felt a passion inside.  I remember getting excited and anxious for the key characters, when they learned who they really were and where they came from.  Their struggle to understand the how and the why.  They wanted to live, they didn’t want to break the rules but they wanted to live and it just wasn’t fair.

Maybe I am just a rule breaker and this is my way of being able to legally break the rules.  After all the only way to survive in a dystopian world is to break the rules that bind you to that world.  In my Novel The Boxcar Baby, the world is not fair and the characters have to break the rules to survive, not quite like Logan’s Run, but another reality. Writing in a dystopian world especially steampunk gives you carte blanche.  I have very few rules to follow in my writing and I find it so much easier and the words flow so much better when I am not restricted to rules.

I think it is always fun to read in the dystopian genre and some of my favorites are: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury; The Time Machine by H. G. Wells; 1984 by George Orwell; The Stand, The Long Walk, as well as Running Man by Stephen King; Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess; Farnhams Freehold by Robert Heinlein; The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau; and more recently I enjoyed reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  Some of these are classics and some fairly new in literature but still ring true to the dystopian effect. I like to feel the character overcome the obstacles and make a change in their world.  I could read books that deal with everyday life and characters overcoming daily obstacles but it’s not the same magnitude of the feeling I get when I read and write in a dystopian genre.

I enjoyed my time here and thank you again for allowing me to share my thoughts on your blog.  I hope you have the time to read The Boxcar Baby and when you do friend me on Facebook at the Steel Roots page and let me know what you think.  If you are interested in obtaining a signed copy of the book my next event will be taking place in Louisville, MS at the Backwoods Comic Festival.  Cibo (pronounced Chi-Bo); Italian Restaurant in Louisville, MS will be the food vendor there and serving Hobo Dogs honoring The Boxcar Baby.  Their Hobo Dogs are wrapped in bacon and then deep fried southern style, yum!.  If Louisville, MS is too far out of your way, I’d appreciate it if you could give Cibo a like on Facebook to let them know we appreciate their support and good food.  After Louisville I am scheduled for CONtraflow in New Orleans October 18-20 and then November 15-17 I will be attending the Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention.

Until next time remember, “No matter where you go, there you are,” Confucius.

J L Mulvihill

   

                                                     

PROMOTION & ABOUT THE AUTHOR & INTERVIEW - THE GUARDIAN'S SERIES BY WENDY OWENS

Sacred Bloodlines 

(Book 1)

by Wendy Owens

BLURB from Goodreads 

Tragedy has defined Gabe's short existence in this world. An ominous darkness lurked on the edge of his existence until one day in a subway, strange things start happening. A series of events lead Gabe into a new and fascinating life filled with angels and demons, but he isn't sure if he wants to be a part of it.

Gabe is thrust into the middle of this exciting world that is full of things he has longed for in his life but it comes with a price. This new life also promises constant terrifying dangers that Gabe fears he may not be able to survive.

Cursed

(Book 2)

by Wendy Owens

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Some people are born into love, some people are born into war, when Gabe discovered he was a Guardian Angel, his life was suddenly thrust into both. If this hidden war wasn't enough to deal with, Gabe learns he is fated to be the great protector who will one day deliver the last prophet to either safety or death. All of these revelations didn't matter for Gabe, he only cared that his new life included Sophie. 

Sophie and Gabe grew closer over the summer. She is now a fixture in his life that keeps him moving forward. Evil doesn't stop stalking him just because he found happiness. This time darkness finds it's way into Rampart manor and Gabe will have to decide if he is willing to risk everything to try and stop it.

The Prophecy

(Book 3)

by Wendy Owens

BLURB from Goodreads

Five years have passed since Gabe abandoned Rampart, deserting his destiny and closest friends. The struggles Gabe has endured to stay alive have changed him, hardening him into a man unwilling to trust anyone or anything, dealing with difficulties connecting with the outside world.

Gabe has finally found a certain paradise--a peace in solitude--until a familiar stranger shows up on his doorstep, pleading for Gabe's help.

Now he has to decide if he is truly content in his new life, or if he is willing to risk his solitary happiness for a little piece of the world he left behind.

Should he choose to accept the most important duty of his life, one failure could mark the beginning of the end for all mankind.

The Lost Years

(Book Four)

by Wendy Owens

BLURB from Goodreads

Gabe's world was forever altered by the people he came to know and love at Rampart Manor. Although, it wasn't only his life that was changed when he made the choice to leave them all behind.

During his five year absence, they each had a battle with personal demons. Dina is faced with a moral dilemma, the path of good leading to certain heartbreak, or evil, and a possibility of happiness.

Uri meets a mysterious woman who seems to have a lot of the answers that he has been searching for, and she certainly has a place in his heart, if he can only hold onto her.

Sophie is faced with choices she never knew would be so difficult. The question now is: will the personal demons of the remaining Guardians of Rampart be too much for them to overcome?

And finally the soon to be released . . . . . .

The Guardian's Crown

(Book Five)

by Wendy Owens

BLURB from Goodreads

Gabe is finally forced to answer the ultimate question, will he give his life to save the world? What about just to save the one he loves the most? The Guardians struggle to find another way--ideas that don't involve Gabe's death--to defeat Baal. Time is running out. What will Gabe choose? What price will he pay for that choice?

PURCHASE LINKS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wendy Owens is a 34 year old author, born in the small college town, Oxford Ohio. After attending Miami University, Wendy went onto a career in the visual arts. For several years she created and sold her own artwork. In 2011 she gave her true love, writing, a try. Her first novel flowed from her in only two weeks time, as though it had been fighting to get out. That moment was when she knew she had found her calling. Wendy now happily spends her days writing the stories her characters guide her to tell, admitting even she doesn’t always know where that might lead. Her first series, The Guardians, will be concluded with the fifth and final book in 2013.

  When she’s not writing, this dog lover can be found spending time with her tech geek husband, their three amazing kids, and two pups, lovingly nicknamed stinks and chubbs. She also loves to cook and is a film fanatic.

For more info on Wendy's young adult fiction visit http://wendy-owens.com/

If you want to follow her on social media you can visit:

Blog 

Twitter

Facebook 

Goodreads

INTERVIEW

What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?

My name is Wendy Owens. I was born in the small college town, Oxford, OH and currently reside with my family in Cincinnati, OH. We love our city.

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?

I have enjoyed writing since I was a little kid and always dreamed of making it a career one day.  My creative writing professor in college always encouraged me to give it a try, but it seemed like an impossible path.  For many years I was self employed as a freelance artist, but I always told my husband that if I could do anything in the world, I would be a writer.  In 2011 he forwarded me an article about Amanda Hocking with a little note encouraging me to follow my dreams.  I put my art business on vacation mode and jumped in with the full support of my family.  I wrote my first book in two weeks.  Now editing... that’s another story, it took me four additional months to get the book to a place where I was ready to release it.

What can we expect from you in the future?  ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

I have a NA Romance set of books, Stubborn Love, which is already out, and the second one, Only In Dreams, which will be released this November. In 2014 you can expect a NA Paranormal series, but the details of that are still hush hush.

What genre would you place your books into?

YA Paranormal

Do you have a favourite character from your books? and why are they your favourite?

Uri has always held a special place in my heart.  His snarky sense of humor makes me smile and he is my kind of handsome.  The grittier the better for me when it comes to sex appeal and Uri is dripping with it.  I love him so much I decided to add book four, The Lost Years, into the series.  It explores what happened to him and the other Guardians during a five year gap between book two and three.

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?

Perhaps foolishly, I do. They not only give me inspiration and motivation, but if my readers took their time to leave me a review I feel like they deserve my time in reading it. But I have learned, good or bad, never respond.

Would you ever ask a reviewer to change their review if it was not all positive about your book/books?

Never! A reviewer is as entitled to their opinion as much as an author is entitled to write their book the way they choose. Also, criticism can only help an author grow.

How do you come up with the Title and Cover Designs for your book/books?Who designed the Cover of your books?

Titles are usually taken from my books. My Covers for The Guardians series were created by Claudia of Phat Puppy Creations. I choose the cover artist based on the book or series and whose work I feel will fit the need the best.

Do you basic plot/plan for your book, before you actually begin writing it out? Or do you let the writing flow and see where it takes the story?

I outline every story. I start with an over all story arc, then create a story line, and finally move onto chapter summaries. However, even with this every book I have written has changed in one way or another from the outline.

How do you market/promote your books?

Blog tours and giveaways.

Have you ever suffered from a "writer's block"? What did you do to get past the "block"?

I think at some point every writer does. I keep writing to move past it. I may skip around to other story ideas until I am back in a place where the story is coming easy again.

Do you think children at schools these days are encouraged enough to read? and/or do Imaginative writing?

I’m not sure how it is in other schools, but in my children’s district they have nightly reading assigned as homework and also work on their creative writing multiple times a week in class. I hope this isn’t the exception, from what I see I am pleased.

Do you or would you ever use a pen name?

An author puts a lot of work into building their name and following, but I would never say never. I can understand why an author would if they write both YA and something much more explicit.

TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY

Kindle E ink

5 e-copy sets of the series

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MY BLOG STOP GIVEAWAY
1 e-copy of BK#5 The Guardians Crown

RELEASE DAY BLITZ - MORAI - ABERRANT SERIES BY RUTH SILVER

Book Information supplied by MPTB

Moirai by Ruth Silver (Book 2)

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science-Fiction

Goodreads

BLURB supplied by MPTB

Olivia has been on the run from the government of Cabal since the marriage ceremony. Finally settling in and finding herself a place to call home, in Shadow, Olivia and Joshua are preparing for the uprising that they and the rebel alliance have been planning for months.

With new abilities and special talents, from Mindonsiphan, Olivia learns that she can do more than most ordinary eighteen year olds. Learning both to hide and perfect her skills will be one of the biggest challenges she'll be forced to face.

A constant rollercoaster of emotion and adventure await Olivia and Joshua, as they embark on a journey to the rebel city of Torv, and what was once home, Genesis.

EXCERPT

“He wants her thrown in the dumpster.” I grimaced as I approached the mattress. “Help me.” I gestured towards the body. “I can't carry her on my own.” Even if I could, I wasn't doing this alone.

“I'm not throwing her away like garbage!” Lisa crossed her arms. “Think of something else, Jacqueline.”

“We could grab some wood, wrap her body, and burn her.” I glanced around the small bedroom. It was mostly empty, except for the dresser against the wall. There were no trinkets, no signs of another life outside of Genesis. I couldn't help but wonder if anyone missed her from back home.

“How are we going to do that without getting caught?” Lisa asked.

“I don't know. Craynor will know we did it.” We were the ones that were told to throw the body away.

“We could find a place in the far end of the lot and bury her.”

Lisa frowned. “No, I like the idea of burning her body. We'd be making a statement. Anita would have approved.”

“If we get caught, we'll be killed,” I reminded her. So much for staying out of trouble.

“He's killing his servants. You don't think that demands attention?” Lisa huffed. “I would have liked to know what I was getting involved in before I worked here.”

“It wasn't like you had a choice.” I reminded her bitterly. That was what we were fighting for: our freedom to make choices. Whether they were right or wrong, they were our choices to make.

“Even so,” Lisa scoffed, “she deserves more than being thrown away like a piece of trash.”

Footsteps clomped through the hallway, just outside the door. “Well whatever we decide, we need to do it fast.”

OTHER BOOKS IN THE 

ABERRANT SERIES

Book Information supplied by MPTB

Aberrant by Ruth Silver (Book 1)

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science-Fiction

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

BLURB supplied by MPTB

In the future Dystopian society of Cabal, the government instills equality for all and offers its citizens the perfect system. There is food, shelter and jobs for everyone. The one requirement is to follow the rules without question, including the government's match in marriage and "The Day of the Chosen", a lottery that randomly selects families to conceive children as natural means hasn't existed in generations. Following her eighteenth birthday, Olivia Parker accepts her requirement to marry her childhood best friend, Joshua Warren, and is eager to start her work assignment and new life when it all comes abruptly to an end as she's arrested and thrown in prison. The only crime committed, her existence. Olivia is unlike the rest of the world born not from "The Day of the Chosen." The truth haunts the government and puts her life in grave danger as one simple fact would destroy the perfect system. 

With Joshua's help, Olivia breaks free of prison and is forced on the run. Together they set out to find the promised rebel town in search of a new home and new life together. Their situation seems less than promising as they reach the town of Haven. New rules and customs must be adhered to in order to stay. Leaving would mean most certain death in the large expanse of the Gravelands. Time is running out as the government mounts an attack to destroy Olivia and bury her secret with her. Thrown into a world unlike their own, they must quickly adapt to survive.

Link to MY REVIEW

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ruth Silver attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication in the spring of 2005.  While in college, she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004.  Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories.  Her love of writing led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia.  Silver enjoys reading, photography, traveling and most of all writing.  She loves dystopian and fantasy young adult stories.  Her debut novel published by Lazy Day Publishing, ABERRANT, was released April 2013.  The second novel in the series, MOIRAI, continues the saga. Ruth has been actively writing since she was a teenager.  She currently resides in Plainfield, Illinois.

            You can visit her online at http://writeawaybliss.com.

Author Follow Links:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Amazon Author Page

GIVEAWAY

1 signed ARC Aberrant (US only)

1 Any book up to $10 from Amazon or Book Depository (Open Intl)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PROMOTIONAL SPOTLIGHT / COVER REVEAL - ENHANCED BY COURTNEY FARRELL

BLURB supplied by IO Book Tours

Michelle was born into the Institute’s eugenics program, where doctors breed people like livestock. One powerful man decides which children grow up, and which disappear. Culls are dumped in the slum outside Institute walls, and those kids never come back. Michelle has survived every purge, and she’s about to win a luxurious life as a breeder. When her brother and her boyfriend are both mysteriously culled, despite their high scores, she goes over the wall to find them. Alone in the ghetto, she’s in trouble until handsome, streetwise Dillon stakes a claim to her. She’s mortified because the Enhanced see Norms as little more than animals. But the doctor is using the missing boys in a twisted experiment, and she needs Dillon’s help to stop him. Michelle must rescue the boys, but a plague is spreading, the doctor is after her, and Dillon isn’t thrilled to help her find her lost boyfriend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Courtney Farrell was once a molecular biologist, but her habit of daydreaming destroyed far too many experiments. As it turned out, writing down the movies behind her eyes was a lot more fun than lab work. Courtney is the author of fourteen nonfiction books for young people, mostly on social and environmental topics. She lives with her family on a Colorado ranch where they support a barn full of freeloading animals, including a fat draft horse and a bunch of crazy chickens. Enhanced is her first novel.

ONLINE LINKS:

·         Website  www.courtneyfarrell.com

·         Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Courtney-Farrell/405475149467821

·         Twitter  https://twitter.com/CAFarrell

·         Goodreads  http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7894049-courtney-farrell

·         Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JPBU6S

EXCERPT

Brian could go no farther. Below him, Carissa rounded the corner, sticking close to the only home she ever had.

“Carissa!” he shouted. She hesitated, looking up, and then shook her head at him.

Brian waved wildly. “Wait!” That threw him off balance and he windmilled his arms, trying to stay on his feet. Fresh pigeon droppings made the metal slick, and the Institute’s star athlete failed. He slipped and crashed hard onto the broken pavement Outside. Pain exploded through his knees and back, but he struggled to his feet almost immediately. Bloody abrasions covered Brian’s forearms and knees. Pain screamed from the crushed knee, triggering an animal instinct to hide. He backed into the shadow of one of the little Norm hovels that lined the alley.

He took a deep breath to call Carissa’s name again, but a flash of blue in his peripheral vision stopped him. A couple of Augment security guards lurked in the alley outside the gate. Cooking fires made the air gray with smoke, giving the place an eerie feel. Brian concentrated, trying for a pain block, but these things take a focused mind. He limped around the corner, finally forcing himself into a shambling run. Carissa slipped along ahead of him like she didn’t even touch the ground. 

Brian did his best to catch up, but he never got any closer. The cull entered a sunny stretch and he suddenly saw why. Carissa ran for her life, pursued by a man in blue. Pain from Brian’s shattered knee shot up his leg, slowing him down, but he wouldn’t give up. Ahead, the blue uniformed man dropped to a crouch and pulled out a crossbow equipped with a laser sight. Ignoring his injuries, Brian pounded down the alley.

The cull must have seen the little red dot dancing along the wall, because she stopped running and turned around to face her hunter. Sunlight caught her hair, turning it to gold. She spread her arms like an angel, and the bolt took her in the heart. Carissa fell more gracefully than any cull had a right to, dead before she hit the ground.

“No!” Brian screamed. He turned on her murderer. The Augment security chief knelt in the dirt with a second bolt already fixed in his crossbow, aimed right at the boy’s chest. For a moment, neither one moved.

Brian didn’t want to know, but he had to ask.  “Do you,” he gasped for air and spit out blood. “Do you kill all the culls?”

The man’s face crumpled, making him look decades older. “Them fancy genes of yours, they don’t want ‘em mixing with the common folks’.”

“They? Who gave the order?” But Brian already knew.

“Salomon.”

“So there’s no colony of Imperfects…that’s just what they tell the culls, so they go quietly.”

The security chief nodded, his weathered cheeks streaked with tears. “I told ya, boy. Givin’ her food wouldn’t matter none.”

The Augment unexpectedly pivoted the weapon in his hands and held out the stock. Brian snatched it away and leveled it threateningly. The chief clambered to his feet, gripping his knees like an old man, and straightened up to stand at attention. His blue eyes locked fearlessly on Brian’s brown ones. Brian froze, and the man gave him an encouraging nod.

                “Go ahead, son. Do me the favor.” The chief slowly lifted his arms and held them out, just like Carissa had. Strangely, that little movement saved his life.

                Brian couldn’t pull the trigger. Instead, he swung the bow savagely against the Institute wall, beating it over and over until it flew from his hands. Then he walked away, leaving the Institute security chief alone with the body of the first girl he ever loved. At the corner Brian turned and looked back.

“Are y’ gonna tell ‘em?” the chief called down the alley. His voice echoed strangely from the ruins of the old city. “Are y’ gonna tell’em, or will you let ‘em hope?”