Contaminated~ Author Guest Post + Giveaway
Contaminated 2: Mercy Mode
By Em Garner
Ages 12+
Publication Date: August 26, 2014“Volume 2 of this smart series builds momentum and suspense, raises stakes and expands narrative scope—in short, plan on a marathon, up-all-night read.”—Kirkus Reviews
A gripping survival story, the second in a series by a best-selling author, of a strong girl rebuilding her life in a post-apocalyptic society where a contaminated drink makes victims act like zombies; just right for fans of James Dashner, Carrie Ryan, and The Walking Dead.
Seventeen-year-old Velvet, her little sister, Opal, their mom, who is recovering from the Contamination, and Velvet’s sweet boyfriend, Dillon, are attempting to build a new life amid the rationing and regulations of the post-outbreak nation. But the outbreak isn’t over: more people turning into “Connies,” more madness erupting, more killings occurring. And what they are being told is not the truth; the truth is far darker and more threatening.
Reviews of Contaminated
“Suspenseful…this dystopia speaks to a wide range of readers, including reluctant ones.”—Kirkus Reviews“This has plenty of suspense–it’s not a book to read at bedtime.”—Booklist
“Velvet may have a softer name than her literary predecessors Katniss, Cassie, and Kaelyn, but like them she has been forced to take on adult-sized responsibilities within her repressive society…. the plot moves quickly…more of a relation-based book than many other teen dystopian novels.”—The Horn Book
The Ultimate Writers Retreat!
by Megan Hart
There’s a big deal made about how writers need to write in silence or solitude or out in the middle of the woods somewhere. Actually, the truth is, writers write…if that means you sit at the kitchen table with a notepad while your kids do their homework or with your laptop while your spouse watches TV or in a coffee shop with your earphones in, hoping that very nice older lady who wants to show you pictures of her cats just stays on her own side of the table…you write. Wherever and however you can.
However, there’s a lot of truth to the idea that going off somewhere to write is really beneficial and productive. Every year my local writing chapter takes a retreat at a hotel style facility. We spend four days holed up in our rooms, writing. Or in a communal room, brainstorming, critiquing or writing. Our meals are cooked and served and cleaned up for us, so we don’t have to do anything but write. It’s amazing. It’s an opportunity to focus solely on ourselves and our writing without having to live in the “real” world for awhile, and I think that’s the key thing about a perfect writing retreat. The chance to make your fiction your whole world, if only for a few days.
I’m not saying I think writers should live permanently in solitude, surviving only on nuts and berries. A huge portion of writing fiction, in my opinion, has to come from living and experiencing life – something you can’t do without actually having a life. And it’s not good to work all the time, either, and no matter how stressful having to do the laundry might be when you’re under a deadline (either self imposed or one from a publisher) having that forced break to get you up and away from the computer can actually be a blessing.
Writers write!
If I could design my perfect writing retreat, though, it would be in an ocean front cottage. Nothing too fancy or too big. Space for a comfortable chair and a desk overlooking the water, close enough to hear the sound of the waves. A kitchen stocked with my favorite foods (but I don’t really want anyone else to be there preparing it, so they’d have to all be pre-cooked.) Plenty of coffee and water and adult beverages, if I want them. A soft bed with clean sheets and just the right pillows, so when I fall into bed at 3 am after a furious writing spree, I can sleep right away. A shower with a couple showerheads and some steam and aromatherapy so when I’m stuck on a story point I can stand under the hot water and let my mind drift until something comes to me. A way to play my favorite music while I write, because I can’t write without music (or dance breaks.) I’d write all day and be productive and then take walks on the sand and look for heart shaped rocks. Just a few days, here or there, because I can’t write nonstop for more than that without frying my brains.
Yeah. That sounds good. Sign me up!
Em Garner is the pseudonym for a NYT best-selling author of romances. The author of 50 books, she made her YA debut with this series. Em started writing as a child, originally about the scary things that hid under her bed. She never lost her taste for scary stories, or for fantasies with a dark twist. Em loves the beach, where she often writes, but is afraid of sharks. She lives in Pennsylvania, where this series is set. Website
One Hardcover of CONTAMINATED 2: MERCY MODE and the paperback of CONTAMINATED by Em Garner. Thanks Egmont! US and Canada only. Must be 18 or older, void where prohibited by law.More chances to win here!
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