Showing posts with label S.M. McEachern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label S.M. McEachern. Show all posts

Monday, 14 December 2015

Book Blitz: Sunset Rising Trilogy by S.M. McEachern




Sunset Rising Trilogy
S.M. McEachern

(Sunset Rising #1-3)
Publication date: December 25th 2015
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult

Limited Time Preorder price of just $4.99! Have it delivered December 25th!
Special edition of the ebook set of the Sunset Rising Trilogy, which includes: Sunset Rising, Worlds Collide, New World Order, and—available in ebook format for the first time—all seven satellite stories!
Sunset Rising: Born a slave inside a government biodome, seventeen-year-old Sunny O’Donnell becomes a pawn in a political plot that sparks a rebellion. Accused of treason and facing execution, she escapes with a man she considers an enemy and discovers she not only has to work with him to survive, but also lead the revolution.
A Readers Favorite 2015 Book Award Gold Medal winner!
Worlds Collide: Sunny and Jack must continue a life of subterfuge in order to stay alive and find a way to free the Pit. But in their attempt to save the urchins, they uncover the horrifying truth about President Holt and the evil he could unleash on the world.
New World Order: While Sunny and Jack struggle to find each other in the lawless post-apocalyptic world, tensions between the Pit and the Dome escalate. In the action-packed conclusion of the Sunset Rising Trilogy, friends will become enemies and enemies will become friends on a journey that will lead to a new world order.
Satellite Stories: For the first time in ebook format, the seven satellite stories are included with the trilogy. Find out what’s happening in the Pit between books one and two, and get a closer look at some of the other people in Sunny’s life.
 
 
The Sunset Rising Trilogy ebook boxed set is up for the special pre-order price of $4.99 and includes seven satellite stories.
 
 
EXCERPT BOOK 1 – Sunset Rising
 
(Sunny O’Donnell and Jack Kenner on starting a rebellion)
I went at him as fast as I could, and when I saw the nose of the gun come up, I pushed it down and used it to give me balance. I raised my leg and kicked him in his side. His grip on the gun loosened for a second, and I grabbed it with both hands while swinging my leg in a backward arc that brought me behind him. I brought the gun up under his throat and held it there. I heard people clapping and looked up to see them staring at me.
“You do catch on quickly,” Jack said, smiling.
I loosened my grip on the rifle, and he lowered it. “Am I scaring you, Jack?”
Suddenly Jack’s hands were on me, and he threw me over his hip. I hit the floor with an ungraceful flop.
“A little bit.” He stepped away and left me to pick myself up. “It’s going to be lights out soon, so we should wrap it up,” he said to the room.

“Can we try again tomorrow?” Raine asked.
Jack looked around the room to see if anyone else was interested. Most people wanted to come back. Jack asked the guards, and they agreed as well.
“You were amazing tonight,” Jack said once we were alone. “You blew me away.”
“I guess it went well.”
“You were great, but we only had maybe fifty people in that room, not nearly enough to take on the few hundred guards that patrol down here. I told you before, power comes with numbers, and we don’t have numbers.”
“I don’t think we stand much of a chance anyway. I expect someone in that room will gladly turn us in for the four hundred credits Holt is offering.”
When we arrived at our apartment, I scanned my hand across the lock and went in.
“I know. I think that too.” Jack shut the door behind him. Then he picked up one of the chairs and put it under the doorknob. I gave him an inquisitive look. “At least it will give us a little notice if someone comes.”
“I’ve always known we’ll be caught eventually, but now that it might be real, I’m scared.”
I didn’t want to die now that I had found a reason to live. I wanted to see this rebellion through and free Summer from Holt; have the chance to find my father if he was still alive; help liberate the Pit from centuries of slavery. I wanted time to finish what we started.
“You’re scared?” he asked in surprise. “I can’t believe the girl who stood up on a chair and convinced an entire room to start a rebellion is scared.”
“And you’re not?”
“Terrified. Hey, what was wrong with Raine’s wife? She seemed a little out of it.”
“Women get that way after they’re sterilized.”
“After they’re what?”

“Sterilized.” He had an odd look on his face. “You must know about the Sterilization Program. Your government came up with it ten years ago. If a couple doesn’t qualify to have a child, the woman is sterilized, and whatever they inject her with makes her go… blank. The injection changes a woman. She’s not as full of life as she used to be.”
Jack was staring at me with a horrified look on his face when the lights went out, leaving us in darkness. Maybe he didn’t know about that program.
“We should get some sleep,” I said.
“I’ll take the chair.”
“No. We shared last night, we can do it again tonight.” Considering the way I responded to his kiss this morning, it probably wasn’t a good idea. But we both needed a decent sleep. Jack was exhausted from sleeping in the chair, and I couldn’t afford to be tired and sloppy with Madi as my supervisor.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Just stay on your on side of the bed.” But I didn’t really mean it. I walked toward the bedroom.
“That bed isn’t big enough to have sides.” He stumbled after me, knocking a chair over.
“You really can’t see, can you?”
“And you’re surprised? It’s pitch black in here.”
I took him by the hand and guided him toward the bedroom. He took off his t-shirt and flopped down on the bed. Since he was blind in the dark, I stripped off my vest and put my t-shirt back on before I climbed in.
“It’s not pitch black in here. The guards use nightlights, and it leaks into the apartment.”
He opened his eyes as wide as he could and looked around the room. “I guess you have to born in the Pit to find light where there isn’t any.”
I rolled that thought over in my mind and realized just how true it was.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

S.M. McEachern (also known as Susan) comes from the rocky shores of Canada’s East Coast. As a resident of Halifax during her early adult years, she attended Dalhousie University and earned an Honors Degree in International Development Studies with a focus on ocean development. Throughout her academic studies and early career, Susan had the privilege to study and work with Elizabeth Mann Borgese (daughter of nobel prize winner, Thomas Mann). An author in her own right and a political activist for world peace, Mrs. Mann Borgese played a significant influence on Susan’s view of the political world stage.
Sunset Rising is Susan's debut novel, which was published in November 2012. The second novel of the series, Worlds Collide was released in March 2014 and she is currently working on the third book of the series titled, New World Order, due to be released January 2015. For writing inspiration, Susan likes to go on long walks with her iPod (Keane and Moby are among her favorites). A few fun facts about Susan: she loves lattes, red wine, snorkelling, hiking and talking about herself in the third person.
If you'd like to read some satellite stories on the Sunset Rising series, visit her website: http://smmceachern.com/category/satellite-stories/



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Thursday, 18 September 2014

Book Blitz + #Giveaway: Worlds Collide by S.M. McEachern




 
Worlds Collide by S.M. McEachern
(Sunset Rising #2)
 
 
 
 
Publication date: March 3rd 2014
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult

 
 
 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20427668-worlds-collide?ac=1
 
 
 In a desperate attempt to escape execution, Sunny O’Donnell and Jack Kenner find a way out of the Pit and into a world still believed to be toxic with radiation. Under the brilliant sun for the first time in their lives, they not only discover that the earth has healed from nuclear war, but there are people outside the Dome.


In Worlds Collide, the second book of the Sunset Rising trilogy, Sunny and Jack must continue a life of subterfuge in order to stay alive and find a way to free the Pit. But in their attempt to save the urchins, they uncover the horrifying truth about President Holt and the evil he could unleash on the world.
 
 
Purchase:
 
 
 
EXCERPT
 
The drops soon gathered speed and turned into a downpour, as if someone had turned on a showerhead. It made a drumming noise against the hard-packed earth, which came as a surprise. I had no idea rain made a sound.
 
Everyone on the training field carried on as though there wasn’t a storm in progress. Dena continued with her tour. It wasn’t until a flash of light lit up the sky that Dena said it was time to go inside. The unexpected flash was blinding, but it was the booming noise that followed that sent me careening into Jack’s side. For just an instant I wondered if it was an attack.
 
Jack’s shoulders shook with barely concealed laughter. I shot him a look. “As if you’ve ever been in a storm,” I said.
 
The trek back up to the courtyard was a little trickier on wet ground. As we went, the lightning became brighter and the thunder louder. Jack’s sunglasses weren’t much protection. I never thought I’d be relieved to go back inside a mountain again, but I was. 
 
Pausing inside the entranceway to shake the water off, I took in the big empty room—what was once the lobby of the hotel. The grotto was made entirely of stone tile with high arched ceilings. The ghostly outlines of bygone furniture hinted that the hotel was once quite grand, but now crumbling tiles and dark stains ground into the stone had robbed it of its beauty. I rubbed the toe of my boot against one of the dark spots, wondering what it was.
 
“Human misery is a stubborn stain,” Dena said. “A lot of skeletons were found here, the floor darkened by their decay.”
 
A shiver went down my spine when her meaning registered. How many people had sought refuge here after the war, only to die a slow horrible death? Were they from the valley? Were they the same people who had been turned away from the Dome by the bourge? The stains of decay were everywhere. For a moment I closed my eyes against the mental image of what they must have had to clear out of here in order to reclaim this building.
 
Behind me the door opened and a few people entered the lobby. They glanced in our direction and continued to the far side of the room.
 
“The entire hotel is built inside the mountain, hidden to the outside world,” Dena said.
 
I watched the small group open the bags they carried and spread out blankets on the floor. 
 
Jack pointed to the artificial lighting. “You’ve made your own light?”
 
Dena smiled. “It’s not nuclear science. It’s just a filament.”
 
Jack looked a little embarrassed by his question. I had thought the same thing until Jin-Sook had corrected me. As much as I professed that these people weren’t heathens, I still made assumptions about them, as though they wouldn’t be as smart as we were. But as we walked through the reclaimed ruins, I was reminded of the ingenuity of the human spirit. As someone who came from the Pit, this was not something I should’ve forgotten.



 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 
 
S.M. McEachern was born in Nova Scotia, Canada. She attended Dalhousie University in the 1990s where she earned an Honours Degree in International Development Studies. She worked in the field of International Development for several years, specializing in ocean development.

"Sunset Rising" is S.M. McEachern's first novel. She says the idea for the story first came to her in the 1990s when she researched a Bio-Dome experiment in Arizona for an academic paper. The thought that the world might one day need a Bio-Dome to escape a global catastrophe set her imagination into overdrive. And the ethics behind such an idea formed the backdrop for Sunset Rising.

Her goal in writing the novel is to entertain the reader with an interesting plot and colourful characters.

Author links:
 

 
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
 
 
2014 has been a big year for your writing career. Can you tell us a bit about that?

 

Yes, it has been big a year for me. For one thing, I published the second book of the “Sunset Rising” series, entitled “Worlds Collide”, last March. I was happily surprised when it rocketed up the Amazon ranking chart and maintained a spot in the top ten Amazon action and adventure romance bestseller list for months. That in turn attracted new hybrid-publisher Vook to ask me about acquiring the Sunset Rising series. After a few phone calls, many emails, and a lot of deliberation, I signed with Vook. I’m very happy I did. 

 

I’m also working on the third book of my series, tentatively titled “New World Order”, which I plan to release in January 2015.

 

In the past, you’ve blogged about enjoying being an indie author, but you signed with Vook?

 

I have to admit, I do like having control over my books. When I want to do a promotion, or put the books on sale, or give the books away if I want to, I don’t have to ask permission from a publisher. I can just do it. So yes, when Vook first approached me I was hesitant to sign with them. However, Vook is a different kind of publisher; they are a “hybrid publisher.” They provide an enhanced publishing platform with ongoing marketing support via proprietary software that tracks ebook sales so authors can make better and more informed marketing decisions, and authors retain all copyrights and control over their books.

 

I officially joined them in July and I have received so much more than they promised. Vook is a dynamic, enthusiastic team of individuals that have partnered with me to bring my series to readers through all ebook retailers at affordable prices. Good for authors and good for readers! And as a company, they’re growing and constantly investing in themselves and their authors. For instance, they recently acquired their first publishing imprint, Byliner. I’m really excited to be a part of Vook, because I truly believe they are the future of publishing.

 

Your third book of the “Sunset Rising” series, tentatively titled “New World Order”, will be released in January?

 

That’s the plan. I’m madly writing everyday and no longer take weekends off! Not that I mind. Writing a book is like reading a good book; I don’t want to put it down. And this third book has a LOT going on. It’s definitely the most action-packed of the series, with minor characters from the first two books sharing Sunny’s spotlight.

 

You do a lot of world-building in the series. What’s your process for creating a post apocalyptic world?

 

In a nutshell, research and imagination. I love research because not only does it give me a good, solid foundation to begin my stories, but it also ignites my imagination.  It’s kind of like taking what is and projecting what can or could be. So I read a lot of non-fiction articles and I also reach out to experts, most of whom have been really happy to help me. Dr. Bergren of the National Institute of Nanotechnology and Chris Kratt of the Wild Kratts have been two super helpful resources. I’ll be doing an interview with Chris this weekend, talking about what a post apocalyptic creature world might look like, and will have it up on my blog by September 18th if you’re interested in checking it out. 

 

Is your third book the last one of the “Sunset Rising” series?

 

The series was named for the heroine, Sunset O’Donnell (Sunny), and the first three books are told from her point of view (spoiler alert: there’s another person sharing the story in book 3!). But as I said above, I’ve gone to great lengths to create a new world. I can definitely see more books told from other characters points of view as they reinvent their civilization and explore a post nuclear earth. And with recruiters, scorchlanders, and northerners out there, who knows what they’ll find…

 

 

Note from author:

 

Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog and giving me the opportunity to talk about all the exciting things happening with the “Sunset Rising” series. For anyone who hasn’t read the series, the first book “Sunset Rising” is on sale everywhere for just 99 cents from September 16-24, 2014. I also have seven satellite stories (short stories based on the series) posted on my blog you can check out here:  http://smmceachern.com/category/satellite-stories/ The first six stories were written in between books one and two; the seventh story is more recent and picks up between books two and three. I always love to hear from readers, so if you do check out the series, please feel free to get in touch and let me know what you think!

 

Cheers – Susan (aka S.M. McEachern)
 
 
GIVEAWAY

Blitz-wide giveaway

--50$ iTunes Gift Card (INTL)

--5x eBook copy of Worlds Collide (INTL)



a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
 
 
 
 
http://www.xpressobooktours.com/

 
 
 
 
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