ABANDON and the importance of choice

For all of its high-tech revelry, romantic entanglements and shifting alliances, Elana Johnson's dystopian series, beginning with POSSESSION and continuing with SURRENDER and now ABANDON, has clearly focused on one theme: the importance of choice.

Jag and Zenn narrate this latest installment, and as characters, they bring much to the table in terms of the theme.  Jag has always been the more daring one, the more openly rebellious, the one that will fight until the end to see the dawn of a new world where people can decide for themselves.  Zenn is more careful, more calculated, not entirely sure the masses should be given their own agency and not entirely sure of who he really is deep down - or what he really wants.

Zenn knows he loves Vi. Everything he's done, he's done to protect her.  But Vi is with Jag now, and that leaves Zenn untethered - and unpredictable.

The resistance takes heavy (and heartrending!) losses in this novel, but they also find new hope. ABANDON explores the sacrifices we must make in order to truly be free. 

ABANDON Scavenger Hunt!

Okay, so today I’m talking about a city in the Association that became pivotal. Castledale. I first had Gunner land in Castledale at the end of Surrender after he fled Freedom. True to how I write, I had no idea how important Castledale would become.

If you’ve read Surrender, you might remember that Gunner had help there that came in the form of a green-eyed guy. As I pondered who that might be and why he might be important, I realized how much this city—and that guy—meant to the Resistance.

So as I wrote ABANDON, I knew that my traveling team would need to go to Castledale, and I knew that the Resistance would have to be alive and thriving in the city. I had to have other people, other cities, that were doing as much as Jag was doing. I mean, he’s just one guy. He can’t be everywhere across thousands of miles.

I knew I had to have cities that were anxiously engaged in his cause, and Castledale became the hub of activity for the Resistance when I needed it. I’m still sort of surprised how it all came together. Ha!

I'm running a scavenger hunt all over the Association. It ends this Friday, but you can get caught up (all the way back to June 4) and enter to win with the links and Rafflecopter below.

Today's scavenger hunt can begin here! Somewhere on this map of the Association is the winning city. I've mentioned here in this post, and you can find references to it in all of today's posts. (See complete hunt details here.)

When you know today's scavenger hunt city, enter it in this form for a chance to win one of six Possession series paperback packages and a $50 Amazon gift card!

Continue the scavenger hunt at Kissed By Ink, where Amy has another clue for today's city!

As if that weren't enough, there will be a daily winner of Possession series swag! Enter in the Rafflecopter below.

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If you get lost, you can always go to Elana's blog to find your place. Happy hunting!

Elana lets Peggy test out the tech from ABANDON. And it is awesome.

From the moment I read Elana Johnson's POSSESSION to picking up the final book in the trilogy-- ABANDON, I have been in love with the tech in this series. So much so that when I discovered that Elana actually has the tech, I hopped in my own boring piece of traveling tech (my car) and begged her to let me play with it for an afternoon. Yes, it was every bit as awesome as it sounds. Check it out:

Peggy: Can we start with the hoverboards? I have been dying to ride one of these for two years. TWO YEARS, I tell you!

Elana: Let's do it! 

Peggy: Look what I can do! I'm almost as good as Jag! I can--- Oh, oh. I think I'm going to fall!

Elana: Dude, knock it off! You're nowhere near as good as Jag. He played ball with his brothers waaay more than we've practiced on these things! Now just put your arms out like this, and try to stand more straight.

Peggy: Check me out! I can do tricks!

Elana: Cut it out, Eddleman! You're going to knock me off!

Peggy: Okay, maybe it's time to go on to the next thing. Ooo! I know! Let's check out the transporter ring!

Elana: Oh, this old thing? [puts it on] It takes me anywhere I want.

 

Elana: Ba-bam! Once I went to England just for fish & chips! I bet Jag would've really loved that.  Ha!

Peggy: You wouldn't mind if I borrowed that for a week or two, right?

Elana: [slips ring into pocket] Hey! Check out this distraction!

Peggy: [in reverenced awe] Oooh, is that a food generator?! We can make anything we want with that, right? What should we make?

Elana: What Zenn would order -- toast! In SURRENDER and ABANDON, all Zenn eats is toast. He loves being on the traveling team simply so he can use the food generating cube.

Peggy: Dude, I would join the Resistance and be on the traveling team just so I could use this, too.

Elana and Peggy: Mmmm. Tooooast.

Peggy: After all that toast, I think I'm ready for a mission of my own.

Elana: Come on. I think it's right around this corner... Wait. Enforcement Officers ahead.

Peggy: Are you sure we're at the right Rise?

Elana: Yes, this is Twelve. The Resistance is expecting us.

Peggy: And after a mission, the Resistance always heads back to their cave, right?

Elana: Yep! But this cave is way better than the one the Resistance has to hole up in.

Peggy: Heck yeah it is! I think we should live here. Unless those stalactites stab us in the night... That wouldn't be so cool.

Elana: I can feel the energy in this just like Vi can! Just a little further... Peggy, a little further. Peggy?

Peggy: Zzzzhhhhttt!!

Peggy: I'm feeling a little dazed. I think I may have had enough tech for one day. I'm not quite sure I can make it home anymore. Oh, hey-- how about I borrow that transporter ring?

No? Sigh.

I'll take an awesome book that just hit shelves a week ago instead.

Think the tech in this post is awesome? The book is a million times more so. Elana has an incredible imagination, and she poured it into ABANDON. Trust me: you really want to read this. It's beyond awesome.

A special thanks to Erin Summerill Photography for the fun pictures and SamuraiCatJB (via photopin cc) for the cave image.

Geeky Fun - Visiting Uncle Forry

Forrest J Ackerman in 2006, about two years before I met him. Photo by A. Light

One of the best geeky fun days I had was visiting Forrest J Ackerman’s home. Dear Forry left us five years ago, but he was a key figure of science fiction and fantasy for many decades as an editor, a collector, a writer and speaker. He’s credited for coining the term “sci-fi” in the 60s but in response many authors (including Harlan Ellison) made a point of rejecting that term as degrading and instead promoted “speculative fiction.” Uncle Forry was once the agent for Ed Wood and he embraced the glorious schlock of the sff B-movies. Talk about geek heaven, his home was more of a museum, filled with movie props and treasures. Models and masks of monsters and spaceships occupied every corner. My favorite was a framed short story submission by Stephen King when he was so young he didn’t call himself “Stephen.”

But for someone so enamored of dramatic displays, it’s hard to live to be 92 without drama in your own life. Forry had more than his share. His wife died from an injury sustained in a mugging on a European vacation. He had endless financial problems that appeared to be solved when he won a large six-figure business lawsuit. But then the judgment was never paid, as he explained to me. He ended up losing his mansion and downsizing into a Hollywood cottage, cramming in as much of his memorabilia as possible, floor to ceiling. He had a few books and magazines and buttons for sale and I bought what I could at the time to help support him. He was much thinner a year or two after the photo by A. Light above, but he continued to love meeting people and sharing his delight in his wonderfully geeky world.

PHOENIX (A Black City Novel) Debut Madness: Interview with Elizabeth Richards + Giveaway!

Yesterday marked the release of PHOENIX, the second book in the BLACK CITY series by the League's very own Elizabeth Richards. I'm so excited to be part of Phoenix's debut week celebration, WOOT WOOT! Stick around for the end of this post for your chance to enter to win a copy of Phoenix and swag!

Part dystopian, part paranormal, and all fun, Black City left readers with questions that I can't wait to see answered in the sequel. Speaking of questions, I asked Elizabeth a few about what it was like to write a follow-up.

Q & A with League Author Elizabeth Richards

1)  Authors often say that writing a sequel is crazy-making. How was writing book two of the Black City series different than writing book one?  Overall, was it more challenging to write Phoenix than Black City and if so, why?

OMG, it was SO crazy making! I have to admit, I was not prepared for the insanity of writing a book under a publisher’s deadline. When you write your first book, you’re able to take your time with it and there’s very little pressure as the only people who are reading it are you and your friends/crit partners. But when you write the sequel suddenly there are expectations and deadlines and OMG! Pressure!!! It’s not easy being creative on a deadline, but I love, love, love, love, LOVE it. Writing PHOENIX was such a learning experience, and I truly believe I’ve become a better writer because of it…I’ve just developed a few facial ticks along the way.

(*hums Under Pressure by David Bowie and Freddy Mercury in sequel-writing solidarity*)

2)  Which scene was your favorite to write in Phoenix?

Hee hee, that’s easy. The scene in the Barren Lands where Elijah is in the pool with his top off. Need I say more?

(No. No, you needn't.)

3)  We got plenty of Ash and Natalie moments in book one (woo hoo!)  Would you say there's more or less romance in Phoenix?  Is it difficult to mix romance in with all the action?

The action really ramps up in Phoenix, as Ash and Natalie have to travel across the United Sentry States in search of a weapon called the Ora, but there’s still plenty of steamy scenes! My editor said she was fanning herself at one particular scene between Ash and Nat. I can’t help myself; I heart Ash! Whenever I feel like there’s been a lot of action, I always like to slow things down again with a tender or sexy moment. I think it’s important that a book has these quieter moments, to give the reader time to breathe and connect with the characters…plus, ya know, Ash is pretty, so... *dreamy sigh*

(*sighs in unison*)

4)  What's your favorite sci-fi/fantasy sequel, movie or book?

Ooooh, good question! My favorite sequel is Terminator 2: Judgment Day. My twin sister and I watched that movie every night for about 6 months when we were teenagers. I was in love with Eddie Furlong and she was in love with Arnie. It’s a great movie—so much action, great special effects, and there’s some very tender moments in there too. I’m a huge Terminator fan.

(OMG, YES! Love that movie so hard! Poor, poor Arnie....plus, DAMN. Linda Hamilton had some killer deltoids!)

5)  Black City had some amazing world building. Was it hard to return to that world to write Phoenix, or did you find yourself diving right back in?

I dove right in! I was so excited to revisit the world, because I knew the action would move out of Black City and into other parts of the United Sentry States, and I was keen to explore these locations, as they’d been in my imagination for years. It was such a treat to write. I particularly enjoyed the Barren Lands segment.

(I can't wait to read!)

6)  If you could choose, would you be a Darkling or human?  If Darkling, which type?

Gosh! That’s a fab question. Mmmm….I think I’d be a Darkling. Although they have a terrible time of it, they’re really fascinating creatures and so romantic. (They have ‘Blood Mates’, which is when their dual heart activates when they meet their true love.). I’d like to be a Nordin Darkling, as they’re the only species with wings, and I think it would be awesome to be able to fly and have glittering orange eyes and rippling ice-white hair.

(Sign me up, too!)

7) Ash gets a ton of love from readers (as he should!)  Did Ash come to you fully formed, or did he evolve slowly?  Did you consciously give him any traits from real people?

Ash came to me fully formed. It was strange really, as I was watching a movie one night—I believe it was Charlie Bartlett, starring Robert Downy Junior—and the character of Ash just popped into my head. I instantly became obsessed with this drug-dealing, supernatural boy who gets a heartbeat when he meets his true love, and as soon as the movie finished, I grabbed my laptop and wrote the first scene. I’ve always been drawn to broken but artistic bad boys, so I think Ash has the sort of beautiful but damaged soul of someone like River Phoenix; Keanu Reeves’ hair; the bad-boy attitude of JD from Heathers; and the quiet cool of Jared Leto’s character in My So Called Life.

(Niiiceeee...and now I'm humming the new Thirty Seconds to Mars song....)

8)  Do you have any particular songs that inspired you while writing Phoenix?

I listened to a LOT of Two Steps From Hell, particularly Freedom Fighter. And Beyonce, because she’s awesome and I love her.

(Excellent choices!)

9)  Can you give us a hint as to what you're working on next?

I’m currently working on book 3 of the BLACK CITY series—I’ll be revealing the cover later this month—and have just sent in a proposal for a new sci-fi series to my publisher! Fingers crossed they like it, as I’m very excited about this new idea! :D

Definitely keeping my fingers crossed, and thank you SO MUCh for taking part in this interview!

Readers, pick up a copy of PHOENIX at a bookstore near you!  Or, enter here to WIN:

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Top 5 famous phoenixes

To celebrate the release of her second book, PHOENIX (A Black City Novel), Elizabeth Richards lists the top five famous phoenixes that have inspired her!

1. FAWKES

Dumbledore’s pet is unquestionably the most famous phoenix in children’s literature, and one of my all-time favorite Harry Potter characters. Not only does this loyal bird have killer eye-gouging abilities and magical tears (how cool!), but both Harry Potter and Voldemort’s wands contain one of Fawke’s tail feathers, which plays a vital role in the series. Plus, he’s named after Guy Fawkes—the man responsible for the Gunpowder Plot of 1605—which, if you’re British like me, is sort of amusing!

2. JEAN GREY

Jean Grey, AKA Phoenix, is probably my favorite character from X-Men. Not only does she have cool telekinetic and telepathic powers, but as Phoenix she’s able to control matter at a subatomic level, fly through space, create stargates that transport her anywhere in the universe…basically she’s just bad ass. Oh, and she gets to snog Cyclops and Wolverine.

3. SIMON PHOENIX

When I was a teenager in the 90s (omg, showing my age there!), one of the movies I watched over-and-over with my twin sister was Demolition Man, starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. Snipes played this over-the-top villain called Simon Phoenix, and I have to admit I rooted for him to win! I loved the dystopian vibe of Demolition Man, and that’s certainly carried through into my adult life.

4. RIVER PHOENIX

Another blast from my past is the late, great, River Phoenix. He was the James Dean of the grunge generation—talented, beautiful, damaged, and unfortunately he also died tragically young. He starred in several of my favorite movies growing up, including My Own Private Idaho and Stand By Me, and my MC, Ash, is based on him.

5. PHOENIX, ARIZONA

As any Twilight fan knows, Phoenix is where perpetually blushing Bella Swan used to live with her mom, Renée. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather live in sunny Phoenix than constantly-rainy Forks (I get enough rain here in the UK, thanks!). Then again, I wouldn’t get to meet Edward…mmm, okay, I’ll put up with a little bit of rain.

About PHOENIX (A Black City Novel)

Engaged to be married, Ash and Natalie are just starting to build a life together when things in the United Sentry States go from bad to worse. Ash and Natalie find themselves at the center of turmoil when dictator Purian Rose threatens Natalie’s life unless Ash votes in favor of Rose’s Law—a law that will send Darklings and other dissenters to a deadly concentration camp known as the Tenth.

When Ash can’t bring himself to trade Natalie’s life for those of millions of Darklings, her fate is sealed. Enter Elijah Theroux, the handsome Bastet boy Natalie once saved from her mother’s labs, where he’d been experimented on and tortured. It was his venom the Sentry used to create the lethal Golden Haze, the heart of the government conspiracy that led to Black City’s uprising and Ash’s rebirth as the Phoenix, the face of the rebellion. Elijah is back and Ash doesn’t like him; it’s clear he’s taken with Natalie, and Ash fears she may have feelings for him as well.

But Elijah also may have the answer to taking down Purian Rose for good—a powerful weapon called the Ora. Ash, Natalie and Elijah just have to escape Black City undetected to find it. But fleeing the city and finding this weapon (if it even exists) are easier said than done, and the quest could tear Ash and Natalie apart, even pushing them into the arms of others.

This enthralling sequel to Black City is just as absorbing, delicious and steamy as the first book, leaving readers hungry for the series conclusion.
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Celebrate PHOENIX by Elizabeth Richards!

Roll up your sleeves everyone, because we've still got more book releases by League members this month! This week, we're celebrating PHOENIX by Elizabeth Richards, the sequel to her debut, BLACK CITY.

First, let's get in the proper mood. I have to say, every time I hear Imagine Dragon's song, "Radioactive," I think about two things. The first is punching zombies. The second is BLACK CITY.



Side note: I had no idea the official music video featured puppets and stuffed animals, did you?

Anyway, there's an extraordinarily powerful scene in BLACK CITY that is just very visceral and really stands out to me. In the word of BLACK CITY, Darklings (think: vampire) have no heartbeats--unless they meet their true love. In the Imagine Dragons's song, there's that moment, early in the song, when they sing, "breathing in the chemicals," and then they take a very loud, long breath. That pause--a perfect beat for the song--reminds me irrevocably of a moment in BLACK CITY, when a Darkling's heart beats for the first time.

It's just--it's the kind of scene I'm jealous that another writer wrote, you know? It's such a powerful image. Seeing the one you love--before you even know you love him/her--and feeling your heart beat.

Wow.

So, this week, we celebrate the release of the sequel to BLACK CITY, PHOENIX. In PHOENIX, Ash, a Darkling, and the human girl he met in the first book, Natalie, must continue their adventures in a world that is falling apart.

And can we just take a moment to mention the amazing covers with these books? In the first book, we have a shattered rose--much like the dictator, Purian Rose, and the lost grip on the city. Here in the second novel we have a burning feather. Given Ash's name (Ash-->ash-->burning) as well as the state of the world at the end of BLACK CITY, I think this is the perfect title and imagery for the book!

Beyond the characters of Ash and Natalie, another thing that fascinated me about these books is the setting. When developing her books, Elizabeth researched and referenced World War II and the Holocaust. I find it fascinating just how much history was put into a world that takes place in the future--and how easily we can forget the lessons of the past. This touch adds a whole new depth to the novels, making them visceral in a way some dystopians miss.

PHOENIX releases tomorrow! so be sure to snag your copy now!

Fun Facts about Elizabeth!

• She's English! Like, from England! When we were on tour, all she had to do was speak, and everyone in the audience would instantly fall in love with her and sigh romantically.
• She eats very strange food from England (as is to be expected because, as I just pointed out, she's English...). One of these things is a snack "food" that tastes like burning. Maybe it has something to do with the name "Ash" and the phoenix/burning imagery in the second book? I don't know, but I can definitely give my warning: avoid eating burnt English snack foods that look and taste like sticks! 
• Her nickname is Bertie, and I adore it, and I want to call her "Bertie" constantly and all the time, kind of like that scene in FAMILY GUY where Stewie says "Mom" five hundred times, and she's probably sick of me doing it by now :)

Before we go, Bertie has a great giveaway going on now! 

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