16-year-old Eridale Storm must leave the only home she’s ever known and brave the dangers of the unknown wilds to escape capture by Imperial soldiers.
The only safe place is with her mother, who abandoned her to lead the freedom movement when Eridale was just a child. On her journey, Eridale learns that she holds a key role in the confilct between the Empire and the Freedom Fighters. Her choices could lead the people back to freedom or shackle them under the imperial throne forever.
Can Eridale face the heritage that will define the rest of her life?
Melanie is an author, designer, photographer, and flight attendant all rolled into one. She has told stories all her life and finds her passion in sharing the plots that spin through her head. She now lives in Portland, Oregon, with her two dachshund-chihuahua dogs. She loves the beauty of the Pacific Northwest that feeds her imagination.
When no one is listening, Melanie loves to belt Broadway songs in her living room and car. Someday she hopes to be on a flight where someone is reading her book.
Connect with the Author here:
5 out of 5 stars
When I first saw
this book I will be completely honest and admit I thought it might just be a
watered down version of the Hunger Games...
Post Apocalyptic world where small towns
are scraping by for survival while the ruling class is living it up -
Check
Teen girl with a bow and arrow trying to
protect her little sister - Check
Cute boy trying to help her even though
the rest of the town won't - Check
And looking at that small list I made
based off the book blurb, cover, and first few paragraphs you would understand
my first impression. However first impressions are not always correct as this
is where the similarities end.
Author Melanie Mason was able to take the
items from the list above and make a story and world of her own creation, and a
fantastic creation it is too. There is intrigue, adventure, mystery, betrayal,
survival and a bit of romance (but it is quite understated, which I found
refreshing, the heroine is only 17 for heaven sakes, thank you Melanie for letting her
grow up a bit first)
The world which Melanie Mason describes is
well done and I am able to understand and appreciate where they are at all
times geographically. Her descriptions of the deserts of Southwest America
definitely bring back memories of hiking those same trails and I am able to
appreciate the book a bit more knowing what the area around her would look
like.
Overall this book is a fun read, I
finished it all in one setting much to the chagrin of my family. It was clean,
exciting and offered a refreshing take on the teen post apocalyptic genre. I look forward to the rest of the series!
I would recommend this book to anyone who
wants a light enjoyable read perfect for the beach, or better yet a long airplane
ride where you might be fortunate enough to have Author Melanie Mason as your
flight attendant.
I voluntarily read and reviewed this book
and the views are my own
.
Q & A With The Author
What writers inspired you to become an author?
I have
been telling stories since I was a child. I'm the youngest of six and growing
up my nearest neighbor friend was two miles and a busy highway away. So it was
either play with my siblings (yeah right, I was the obnoxious younger sister, go
away!) or play with myself and my imagination. I could come up with just about
any scenario and play it out by myself. And with a mom who sewed, I had just
about all the costumes and dress up clothes I could want. I'm certain that
childhood was the foundation to my writing.
Now I
feel very inspired from above to write the stories that I write. Books, events,
history, just about anything can catch my attention and poof, a story is born.
As for
writers, there are so many who have influenced me. C.S. Lewis, Lloyd Alexander,
J.R.R. Tolkien, Phyllis A. Whitney, Mary Higgins Clark, Carolyn Keene, Robin
McKinley, Anne McCaffrey, and David Eddings all had a role in my younger years.
Even recent authors like Stephenie Meyer, J.K. Rowling, Lisa Mangum, Suzanne Collins,
Marissa Meyer, Marie Lu and many, many others have inspired me to keep going on
this path. It would take pages for me to list all the authors whose stories
have affected and inspired me.
What organizations do you recommend for those wanting to become writers? Any advice you'd like to share about writing?
I started out with ANWA (American Night Writers Association). The ladies there were awesome and helped to mentor me. They really encouraged me to be my best writer and I learned and continue to learn so much from them. Check it out.
My advice to anyone who wants to write is to start writing. Your first draft will NEVER be perfect. You will change it. ALOT! So you might as well just get it out. The more you write, the better you will become.
My other piece of advice is to read, ALOT! Read what you want to write. Read professional and non professional books. Read famous authors and read unknowns. The more you read, the more you will learn what to do and not do.
Any special appearances or events coming up that you want to
mention?
Not
yet, but check out my website www.melaniemasonauthor.com for any upcoming
events. I will be putting together a series of book signings in several places
(Utah, Arizona, California, and Oregon).
If you could travel to any time in history, when would you visit?
Wow.
That's a tough one. I think maybe the late 30s because they had great movies,
dancing was something you did a lot, and the clothes were amazing.
If you could have dinner with any of your characters, which ones
would you choose? What food would you serve?
Probably
Guinolen. I'd want to pick her brain about her choices and what she would
change or not change if she could. As for food, I'd probably introduce my
mother's homemade raspberry cheesecake recipe to her and see how it compared to
food at Storm Castle.
If you could travel anywhere, on earth or off, where would you go?
New
Zealand because that country is just beautiful or Fiji because it's an island
that is warm and has amazing beaches where I can just sit and read.
What color would you wear if you had only one choice?
Red.
Always red.
Describe your dream writing spot.
Strange
as it sounds, a secluded beach house on the Oregon coast. I love the ruggedness
of the OR coast and listening to the waves crash against the rocks and even the
storms that roll in are just the thing to spark my imagination and get me lost
in a world. Of course said house would have a fireplace. I'm going to be
realistic and say a gas fireplace, because I know I'm not going to chop wood
and haul it in, I'll be too busy writing.
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