Red Series

Tuesday 30 April 2013

Z is for Zenith


As the A-Z Blogging Challenge draws to a close, those who stuck with it to the end can bask in their achievement (including myself). The Fallen still tried and I wish them the best. The drop outs (those who never started) might have better luck next year.

Zenith is defined as the time when something (or someone) is at their most powerful/successful.

Sacrifice Her's  zenith will be Fall 2013 when it's released for the world to see. Until then, thank you to all who popped by and a special thanks to those who commented throughout this challenge. *Bows*

P.S.: Isn't the pic for this post perfect for both the ending and the word zenith?

Monday 29 April 2013

Y is for Yesterday


Yesterday is something each character views differently in Sacrifice Her.

Just yesterday Kale was alone with his camel and then a dehydrated girl crosses his path.

Deidra was about to be sacrificed and she recalled her own yesterdays as a servant living a Middle Class life.

Lord Brinn probably wished the next day never came so that he wouldn't have to chase a runaway sacrifice through the desert.

But yesterday is gone and all these characters can look to is the future. What kind? You;ll have to wait until Fall 2013 to find out.

Saturday 27 April 2013

X is for Xenophobia


Xenophobia - definition: strong and unreasonable dislike or fear of people from other countries.

Faux City was created as an oasis for it's people. Going outside it's walls is widely considered both dangerous and unnecessary. When Deidra meets Kale, she doesn't care where he's from because he saves her life (from dehydration). Likewise Kale who's linked with the Old World and knows about diversity, is happy to find someone he can teach about the past.

But if Lord Brinn catches up with them will he be able to view Kale with an open mind. Or will xenophobia take hold because of lack of contact with anything (and anyone) outside the walls of Faux City and it's people?

Friday 26 April 2013

W is for Worship


Bane doesn't ask for worship, he demands it. Maidens and Men of Gore do several rituals in worship and Faux City appeases him by among other things doing yearly human sacrifices.

Thursday 25 April 2013

V is for Victorious


Who will be victorious in Sacrifice Her? Will ir be  Deidra? Or maybe Lord Brinn. What of Kale and his goals? The citizens of Faux City? What about Bane: God of Gore?

Find out the answer this fall and be prepared to see who's victorious and who has to face defeat.

Wednesday 24 April 2013

U is for Ursula Thyme


Ursula Thyme is the reason Deidra escapes and goes on the run. As top class she's supposed to be the most gracious and accepting of the yearly human sacrifices. But she only pretended to be then literally pulls Deidra into an escape plan by using an exit Irth had told her family about.

While Ursula's not a main character, her decision to try and escape is the reason Deidra was able to escape death and go on the run.

Tuesday 23 April 2013

T is for Take Five


Everyone needs a break and today Sacrifice Her, my A-Z Blogging Challenge theme will Take Five. You can peek at The Sacrifice Series Page or the My Books Board on my Pinterest account for everything about Sacrifice Her. Have a great day everyone.

Monday 22 April 2013

S is for (The) Sacrifice Series


The Sacrifice Series is ten dystopian novellas about teens who find themselves in a situation where they're made to choose between sacrificing themselves or running away/refusing to do so. Each novella has a different story and I plan to start publishing them Fall 2013 and complete the series by the end of 2014. Sacrifice Her is coming Fall 2013 and hopefully three others will be self-published as well before or early 2014.

Below are blurbs for the first two. Click here for the rest:


Sacrifice Her (Book 1)

Deidra Moore is to be sacrificed with a group of her fellow citizens. But she escapes and runs for the open desert outside the city wall. This doesn't bode well with the God of Gore who orders the leader Lord Brinn to return the runaway sacrifice or face annihilation  Can Deidra escape the threat of forces she doesn't believe in? When she meets a wanderer named Kale things only get more complicated.

The Choice (Book 2)

Jessica Hatfield lives a life of decadence  She gets up everyday to be pampered and cared for. At age fifteen she will be sacrificed. She wants to but what of those who don't?

Joseph Rowe doesn't believe in The Giving. A ceremony in which every year two teens are sacrificed after living fifteen years of luxury. Refusal means banishment to the wastelands and no return to Chance City. Can he really go against what he was raised to do? To believe?

Saturday 20 April 2013

R is for River Women


This time I'll let Lord Brinn explain about River Women. This quote is taken from an interview he did last year on this blog.

Lord Brinn: Long ago before my generation's time. We were cared for by another god. I will not call her name but we disrespected her and lost her blessings. She was merciful enough not to destroy us but she left my ancestors to the mercies of other gods and supernatural elements which harm anything or anyone left unprotected. For a time my people were slaves to the The River Women. Able to transform into sea creatures, they were terrible masters to my people who once lived on an island. You see being surrounded by water left us at their mercy and those who tried to escape had their boats smashed to bits and were eaten by the River Women and their children which were creatures of the sea.

For the full interview click here.

Friday 19 April 2013

Q is for Quest



While highly secretive it is known that some citizens have been exempted from being made human sacrifices by completing special quests. The details of these quests are never revealed. Even the revelation of the quest's existence are just tiny snippets in Sacrifice Her.

Thursday 18 April 2013

P is for Punishmment


Punishment is something feared in Sacrifice Her. Lord Brinn fears for Faux City, Deidra runs for her life and Kale feels it's his duty to help revitalize a world that was almost completely destroyed by war.

Wednesday 17 April 2013

O is for Old World


Old World would be like what we have in the 21st century. With many conveniences thanks to technology and other innovations. After the Nuclear Wars many things like airplanes, cellphones and the internet became a thing of the past. By the time Kale meets Deidra in Sacrifice Her, she has no idea what any of these things are. Whether her people's ancestor's from after the Nuclear Wars intentionally decided to leave this information out for their descendants or something more mysterious was involved is unknown.

Tuesday 16 April 2013

N is for Nuclear Wars


The Nuclear Wars (five in all) are what tore the Old World apart. The first war started when disputes between several countries. After the first attack happened, other countries either saw an opportunity to attack their enemies or decimate weaker allies.

In Sacrifice Her, Kale says one major reason the Nuclear Wars was greed for oil.

No matter who started it in the end much of the world was destroyed and many people left displaced. This lead to a lot of people going into survival mode since the technology that helped them so much in the past was gone.

Resulting in people becoming susceptible to superstition and manipulation, many versions of how the world ended up fractured developed. In Sacrifice Her, Faux City has their own version with Bane saving their ancestors from The River Women.

Monday 15 April 2013

M is for Maidens and Men of Gore


Maidens and Men of Gore are citizens selected from birth to act as earthly representatives for Bane (think of them as ancient priests and priestesses but for a violent blood lust god). They do rituals as worship including bloodletting to drain their sin, death matches and dancing after drinking concoctions said to bring them closer to their god. When chosen, an infant is taken from their family and never seen again until they're several years older.

Lord Brinn is tasked with bringing back Deidra when Bane speaks through one of the maidens.

Disputes of the legitimacy of Bane have been raised. But after questioning the honesty of the Maidens and Men of Gore, several who voiced it publicly were found murdered. Silencing further dispute.

Saturday 13 April 2013

L is for Lord Brinn

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Lord Brinn is the main antagonist in Sacrifice Her. Being nineteen, he's the youngest ruler in Faux City history but his leadership skills and family line of great rulers and men of worth is unrivaled. After Deidra's escapes, the blonde is personally charged with the task of returning her alive to complete the sacrifice. His determination to capture her plays a huge role in the novella and the final outcome.

Orion Brinn is also a family man. With a wife and three children (two sons, one daughter). He is top class and comes from a rich, well connected and educated family line. As ruler, he and his immediate family are exempt from being chosen as human sacrifices. In Faux City immediate family for the married include the husband/wife, their children, the married couple's parents and siblings. But in Lord Brinn's case his wife's family isn't exempted from human sacrifices.

Lord Orion Brinn has the duty of taking care of Faux City and ensuring Bane: God of Gore is appeased. Love him or hate him, he has to make hard decisions as ruler.

Friday 12 April 2013

K is for Kale

 

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Kale is a wanderer that Deidra meets in the desert. Kale is his wandering name and it originates from Hawaii. He both mystifies and intrigues Deidra. His coloured skin is something she takes notice of since she has only seen Caucasians all her life. Also his knowledge of a time called Old World piques her interest. But as his feelings for the beautiful girl he saved in the desert intensifies, things get heated for the handsome eighteen year old.

Kale has made it his life mission to go out into the world and spread the message of the Old World. The Nuclear Wars destroyed so much and he only hopes to help the lost and downtrodden rise up and create a new and better world.

Initially when I created Kale he was more of a pessimist thinking that the world was rotten and needed to end. But as Sacrifice Her progressed I decided that the negative attitude had to go and ended up with a positive thinking Kale instead. No regrets from my end.

Thursday 11 April 2013

J is for Justice

 

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Justice is a fickle thing in Sacrifice Her. Everyone has their own definition of how justice would serve them.

For Faux City citizens, it's to correct Deidra's running off and leaving them to God of Gore's wrath. Justice for them would be Deidra's return so that the sacrifice can be completed.

Deidra wants to be left alone and not think of Gods or being sacrificed. Receiving justice would mean being allowed to live her life as a free person. Hopefully with her family again. But as the book progresses, priorities change.

Kale wants to spread the news of the Old World in hopes of revitalizing countries to their former glory and also keep Deidra safe. Justice by his definition would include punishing those who started the Nuclear Wars and for Deidra to be left alone.

Lord Brinn wants to keep Faux City safe. Justice would be capturing Deidra and completing the sacrifice. Also he'd hope to be able to convince Bane to drop the number of sacrifices required to single digits.

Wednesday 10 April 2013

I is for Irth


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Irth is a cleaner who told Ursula's father how she could escape from being sacrificed. As a cleaner he had the job of cleaning up debris and non structural damage outside the homes and buildings of Faux City. This young adult lower class male was also among a trusted few secreted outside the city's walls late at night to help maintain it.

Indebted to the Thyme family, he passed the information about a weakness in the wall in exchange of being declared debt free. In Sacrifice Her he's only mentioned by Ursula and makes no direct appearance. But his decision to help give Ursula a chance to escape and plays a pivotal role in facilitating Deidra's escape.

Tuesday 9 April 2013

H is for Hawaii


(This picture is of the Coast of Kona Hawaii)

In Sacrifice Her, Kale refers to Hawaii as "one of those unfortunate islands." During the Nuclear Wars, Hawaii was obliterated both for it's connection to a country as powerful as America and because warring countries were nuking islands to prevent people from fleeing to them as safe havens. My novella is set in the far off aftermath where most of what we'd consider modern technology is a far off memory.

Monday 8 April 2013

G is for Gods


Gods are a driving force in Sacrifice Her (Book one in The Sacrifice Series). After the Nuclear Wars, the world was in chaos. People were scattered everywhere and those in places that got destroyed had to flee.

In the case of the citizens of Faux City, they believe all fortune good or bad are determined by the gods. Their history says that God of Gore liberated their ancestors from tyrannical creatures and then moved to the safety of the desert oasis where Faux City was built. In thanks they still worship Bane and follow all his demands to keep him as their protector. This includes yearly human sacrifices of those in their teens to mid-twenties. When Deidra escapes, citizens hope for her recapture so that their offering will be complete and Bane, pleased.

Saturday 6 April 2013

F is for Faux City


Faux City is a walled city oasis in the middle of the desert. The citizens are said to never go beyond the walls and are protected by Bane: God of Gore. Life in Faux City is structured but still a lot of fun. Holidays are highly celebrated including Sacrifice Day when they give thanks to those who will give their lives as human sacrifices during the night.

But this time things don't go as planned and the city rises in a panic. One of the sacrifices has escaped and fear of their god's wrath only grows. Will Faux City fall to the wrath of Bane if Deidra isn't returned? Or will their fears be proved nothing but superstition? Find out when Sacrifice Her comes out later this year.

Friday 5 April 2013

E is for Escape and a Giveaway



Escape has different meanings for different characters in Sacrifice Her. For Deidra it means freedom and staying alive. For Lord Brinn it means escaping pain and destruction by bringing Deidra back. To Kale escape is an illusion. He thinks that you have to rise above your problems to solve them.

So what's your definition of escape? What you think of these character's definitions?

Giveaway


There's only five days left to enter the Eggs-Celent Bunny BookHop Giveaway. For a chance to win great books click the link.

Thursday 4 April 2013

D is for Deidra Moore


Deidra Moore is a sixteen-year old faced with a devastating choice: die for her city or run. Born middle classed her life becomes a lot more complicated than serving meals to the wives of stuffy advisers when she is selected to be among the twelve human sacrifices to Bane: God of Gore. After fighting being taken and sent to be sacrificed, she escapes. Not believing in gods she decides not to let her life be taken and goes on the run. Her decision leads her into the blistering desert and a wanderer named Kale.

But her struggles are far from order, Lord Brinn their leader is personally hunting her down to return her to her role as the twelfth sacrifice. Her people believe an incomplete sacrifice will lead to dire consequences. Whether God of Gore destroys them or removes his protection, their lives will be turned upside down. Deidra will have to decide what she really believes and what her life and those of her people are really worth.

Especially when she finds something unexpected in the sweltering heat. Love.

Wednesday 3 April 2013

C is for Class System


In Sacrifice Her, Faux City has a three tier class system. This system keeps order and stability. Each class is set for life and no one can rise above or marry outside their class.

Top Class: The richest and most powerful of the classes. They are the rulers, advisors and decision makers of the city. The most revered they're the only class with the right to a complete education despite their personal or working role. Since poverty isn't allowed in their class those who can't provide for themselves are given monthly stipends to avoid loss of status or public shame.

Middle Class: They are the high servant class. While no where near rich as the top class and allowed to go into poverty. they have the advantage of being able serve indoors and while most are maids and attendants. A few get the opportunity to assist top advisors which allow them to get extra education to perform said duties. The middle class are educated according to their jobs, for example a servant who prepares the bath has no need to learn mathematics or advanced reading skills.

Lower Class: Once called Low Class (still are in jest by some from the higher classes), those born in this position are laborers and bottom serving class. All jobs to be done outside in the open or underground unless they're delivering something or receiving orders. They are used to build structures, maintain the irrigation and sewer system and so on. Most are very tan unlike their cream skinned counter-parts and this brings on further prejudice as it marks them as different. Also education is banned for their class, they only learn on-the-job.

Tuesday 2 April 2013

B is for Bane: God of Gore


Bane is the god that protects Faux City. While there are doubts of his existence, most citizens believe in him wholeheartedly. The God of Gore protects them from harm; both earthly and otherwise. He communicates through the Maidens and Men of Gore who are selected from birth and trained to commune and serve him. He mainly speaks through the females (Maidens) who are Faux City's version of priestesses.

The God of Gore demands human sacrifices every year and in Sacrifice Her, one escapes. Lord Brinn is then ordered to personally bring Deidra back or the city will face his wrath for an incomplete sacrifice.

Monday 1 April 2013

A is for Age


Age plays a major role in Sacrifice Her. In Faux City citizens ages 14-25 are eligible to be chosen for sacrifice. Human Sacrifices are done once a year to appease their god, Bane: God of Gore. Ten years ago something went wrong with the sacrifice and he was furious. Among the consequences was the huge jump from five sacrifices per year to twelve.

When the chosen are named they usually go peacefully. But on rare occasions some fight like Deidra Moore did.


Citizens aged 26-onwards are safe from being sacrificed. Yet they too suffer the hardship of watching their friends, relations and or children fret about being sacrificed as they cycle continues.

At age 19, Lord Brinn is the youngest ruler in Faux City's history. With youth comes brashness and overconfidence. But that doesn't diminish his natural ability to lead and his shrewdness. When he is ordered by Bane through a maiden (Faux version of a priestess) to bring Deidra back, he sets out with the determination and backing of those three times his age.

Deidra Moore at age 16 was old enough to understand the reason for the yearly sacrifices and the worship of Bane. Yet she ran after being sent as a sacrifice.

Kale age 18 finds Deidra lost in the desert. This young wanderer is knowledgeable of the 'Old World' that his new companion knows nothing about. Yet when he first meets her his only concern is to help a severely dehydrated girl.

So in the end age has a strong influence on the life path of these characters. After all if Deidra had been 26, then she wouldn't have been sent as a sacrifice therefore never getting into Lord Brinn's cross-hairs or meeting Kale in the desert. Ironic, no?



Waiting on Wednesday: Reconnected

Please Note: The final WOW on this blog as I take my final bow this month. I want to thank all readers of this post and all my blogging. I r...