A dangerous conspiracy unfolds...
In Author R.J. Merle’s whirlwind start of the Children of the Elements series, a clumsy teenage techno-geek struggles to protect kidnapped children from a covert government organization responsible for creating their abilities to control the five elements.
A mighty wind…
Eighteen-year-old Stedford Thackett’s conspiracy theorist brother ensnares him in a real life children-as-weapons plot, while a determined scientist grooms happy-go-lucky five-year-old Darcie Lynn Carpenter to use the wind as a deadly weapon.
Out of control...
Despite the firm hand of Scientist Nora Hicks, Stedford struggles to rescue the kids and escape, even as Darcie Lynn fights to gain control of the surging power of the savage winds.
Purchase
Excerpt
If only Stedford could spend his Saturday afternoon working on projects. Nowhere near as lucrative or fun, keeping track of Cantrell was a honking full-time job.
Up ahead, a left-to-right movement shifted among the towering tree trunks.
He choked out a loud whisper, “Cantrell?”
A coyote howled. Behind him. Too close.
A rush jolted through Stedford’s veins. He shoved the phone into his back jeans pocket and dashed into the brush.
Branches slashed and snapped.
Briars grabbed, snagged, and snatched free.
The pounding smash of his high-tops bulled through the scrub. Grayness reduced the reach of his eyesight. As dusk fell toward nightfall, he wouldn’t be able to see squat.
Zero night vision.
Zilch.
After pulling up to a halt, like a tree among many, he stood stark still.
What had he been thinking coming out here like this?
That maybe he might keep Cantrell from getting into trouble, all the while protecting his own chances to contract for a special project. Nothing wrong with looking out for both their futures.
If Uncle Merv’s contacts worked out, the brothers would be set money-wise for life.
Not a bad deal for a geeky eighteen-year-old.
Except Stedford would soon be wandering the dark.
He retrieved his phone and gauged the average power usage. Three and a quarter hours of battery life. Tops. Way before midnight, his flashlight app would die with the phone, and he would flounder in total darkness.
Ominous shivers goosed his chill bumps.
A stick snapped atop the hill.
-- from Savage Winds
Interview
Tell us about your book, what inspired it?
Savage Winds (Children of the Elements, A Secret City Science Fiction Adventure Series, Book 1) is the first in a series of five full novel and one huge story that was actually inspired by the first few episodes of Serial Killer Earth on the History Channel. The idea of children able to control the elements and the fallout that might follow intrigued me.
About Savage Winds
A dangerous conspiracy unfolds...
In Author R.J. Merle’s whirlwind start of the Children of the Elements series, a clumsy teenage techno-geek struggles to protect kidnapped children from a covert government organization responsible for creating their abilities to control the five elements.
A mighty wind…
Eighteen-year-old Stedford Thackett’s conspiracy theorist brother ensnares him in a real life children-as-weapons plot, while a determined scientist grooms happy-go-lucky five-year-old Darcie Lynn Carpenter to use the wind as a deadly weapon.
Out of control...
Despite the firm hand of Scientist Nora Hicks, Stedford struggles to rescue the kids and escape, even as Darcie Lynn fights to gain control of the surging power of the savage winds.
Which character is your favorite and why?
Eighteen-year-old Stedford Thackett means well, but as a clumsy techno-geek, things don’t always work out as he plans. With a love of pizza, burgers, and crunchy cheese puff snacks, he’s funny and well-meaning; however, the trouble he barrels into is filled with chaos and challenge, yet he is determined to set things right and keeps on keeping on. He’s entertaining and interesting, and I would love to sit down and share extra-cheese slices with him.
Do you have any unusual writing rituals?
I suppose my technique could be considered unusual, but it’s also highly effective. I write in short stints. First, I block internet access, start a Rainstorm soundtrack, then set a timer for 15 minutes. Writing 15 minutes a day will produce a book in a year. Repeated, directed 15-minute writer stints has mega boosted my productivity.
What exciting story are you working on next?
Since I tend to juggle projects, I am currently writing two novels, both first books in new series. One features teens that go from an outdoor survival boot camp to a land of elves, trolls and dragons, and the other is about psychically gifted teens competing for a lead role in a ghost-busting TV reality show and their haunting adventures. One or both are scheduled for release Spring 2015.
Favorite place to read?
Anywhere and everywhere. I enjoy reading and tend to either immerse myself in reading or writing and can get lost in a book even in a grocery checkout line.
Do you listen to music when you're writing?
I know it’s quirky, but Rainstorm sounds tend to draw me into the writing zone.
Anything else you might want to add?
A Word-o-Gram for the Children of the Elements Series would include descriptions, such as Psychic Powers, Telekinesis, Apocalypse, Electro-Magnetic Pulse, Zombies, and Mutants.
If you like reading about psychic powers, the chaos caused by the use of them, and the possibility of an apocalypse because of them, then you would enjoy reading Savage Winds and the Children of the Elements Series.
Author/Book Links include:
http://www.rjmerle.com
http://rjmerle.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/RJMerle
https://www.facebook.com/pages/RJ-Merle-Author/1409155235976147
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P89UM5G
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/savage-winds-r-j-merle/1120920193
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/savage-winds-children-of-the-elements-a-secret-city-science-fiction-adventure-series-book-1
Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to drop by your blog!
Thanks.
Author R.J. Merle stepped out of the realm of Top-Secret documents (shh, don’t tell…) to write sci-fi and paranormal fiction.
R.J. survived and escaped both the entertainment field and the government-contracting environment, craves the Walking Dead, and entertains what-if tidbits about “supposed” technological and biological advances.
No stranger to the goings on in the city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, R.J. Merle blends a down-home flavor with a former in-the-know—hypothetically, of course—technical background to craft the twists and intrigue of Secret City Adventures.
Author Links:
Giveaway
The author will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.
No comments:
Post a Comment