Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Meritropolis By Joel Ohman Promotion, Interview, and Giveaway

Title- Meritropolis
Author- Joel Ohman
Source- ebook 
Pages- 226
Publisher- CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publication Date- September 8th, 2014


             Amazon Summary-
The year is AE3, 3 years after the Event. Within the walls of Meritropolis, 50,000 inhabitants live in fear, ruled by the brutal System that assigns each citizen a merit score that dictates whether they live or die. Those with the highest scores thrive, while those with the lowest are subject to the most unforgiving punishment--to be thrust outside the city gates, thrown to the terrifying hybrid creatures that exist beyond.
But for one High Score, conforming to the System just isn't an option. Seventeen-year-old Charley has a brother to avenge. And nothing--not even a totalitarian military or dangerous science--is going to stop him.
Where humankind has pushed nature and morals to the extreme, Charley is amongst the chosen few tasked with exploring the boundaries, forcing him to look deep into his very being to discern right from wrong. But as he and his friends learn more about the frightening forces that threaten destruction both without and within the gates, Meritropolis reveals complexities they couldn't possibly have bargained for...
From November 27th to December 1st, Meritropolis, the acclaimed YA distopia is only 99 cents on Amazon. This is a really great deal for this book!

Amazon  Barnes&Noble  Book Depository

Author Information

Joel Ohman is the author of Meritropolis--"The Hunger Games meets The Village with a young Jack Reacher as a protagonist". He lives in Tampa, FL with his wife Angela and their three kids. His writing companion is Caesar, a slightly overweight Bull Mastiff who loves to eat the tops off of strawberries.


Author Interview
Who or what was your inspiration to write about post-apocalyptic, dystopian sci-fi?
I've read a lot in this genre, so I would say it’s a mix of a lot of different things. I really just wanted to explore this question of, "What gives a person worth?" Is it their usefulness to society? Is it because someone loves them? Is it because of how they look? Is it because of their health or ability? As a Christian, I believe that all people have worth, because they are made in the image of God. I wanted to explore some different takes on this question. I think that the post-apocalyptic/dystopian/sci-fi genre was the best vehicle to tackle some of those deep philosophical questions in a fun and interesting way.

Why do you write? Is it for fun, or because you have something you need to say in your writing?
Some writers are loath to say their writing has a message, because maybe they think doing so diminishes their art (not true, in my opinion), but I think that everyone has a message in their writing, even if they aren't as consciously focused on it—and that's a good thing. My message is in my epigraph: "Because everyone matters - Psalm 139".

Why the title Meritropolis?
I wanted a short one word title that was a clever—or at least semi-clever—play on two different words. I like "Meritropolis" because it combines "Merit" and "Metropolis," two words that are great for describing a city where each resident's worth is measured by a score given to them.

In Meritropolis how were the animal combinations decided upon? For example, I know you chose to write about a bion (bull-lion), as well as many other freaks of nature. So what I want to know is how did you decided which animals to meld together and why.
I have a big list of animal combinations that I came up with before I began writing the book, and I tried to work in as many as I could. Sometimes the only criteria was that I liked the way the name sounded. Look for many more in the following books!

Can you tells us about your characters and who/what inspired them?
I am a big believer in John Truby’s approach to building a “character web”, because this deepens the relationships between characters and helps to make each of the characters more complex. Absent building a good character web, it can be all too easy to fall into the not-very-true-to-real-life good-person/bad-person false dichotomy where your protagonist devolves into this I-can-do-no-wrong character and your antagonist is just pure evil. I was very much aiming to show the imperfections and brokenness in each of the characters. My thinking as a Christian influences this to some degree, given that the Bible teaches that we are all essentially the same; we are all sinners—only God is perfect.

Do you have a favorite genre that you like to read?
I read pretty much everything! Fiction, non-fiction, you name it! I am of the opinion that, as an author, I can learn something from almost every kind of writing. Sometimes, it most definitely is a matter of learning what not to do—but, on the whole, I love to read a wide variety of writing styles, genres, etc.

Are there any books that have inspired your own writing?
I read A LOT so there are many different things that have shaped my writing over the years, but I wouldn't say there was any particular book, or books, that I was consciously looking to for inspiration while writing Meritropolis. Looking back though I can definitely see different threads of influence in almost everything I have read over the years that contribute toward making Meritropolis what it is: the strong protagonist of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, the philosophical bent of C.S. Lewis’ fiction, the dystopian setting of Hugh Howey’s WOOL series, and many more.

Are there any authors that have emerged in the last three years that have caught your interest?
Hugh Howey is an author that I really like that has caught my attention lately. I would highly recommend his WOOL series!

Don’t forget!
Meritropolis is marked down from its regular price of $5.99, but only for a limited time. Feed your Kindle by picking up a discounted copy for just 99 cents, but make sure you do it before December 2!

Giveaway
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Heart By Nicola Hudson Release Event and Guest Post


Heart
By: Nicola Hudson
New Adult Contemporary
Companion Stand - Alone to CURVE
Releasing November 28, 2014
This title is suitable for readers over 15 


                  Summary
Sometimes it doesn’t end with happy ever after.

Neve believes Jake is the one.  She is miles away from home, struggling to fit in at university and missing the people she loves.  The only thing getting her through is the knowledge that Jake will be visiting for the weekend.

Jake believes he isn’t the one.  His family and lifestyle mean he can’t give Neve what she deserves: so much more than him.  He arrives for the weekend, knowing that he has to break her heart, along with his own.

Sometimes we make decisions and have to live with the consequences.

Each of them struggles to cope with the aftermath of the weekend.  Each of them is unhappy.  Each of them refuses to do something about it.

Sometimes it isn’t about a boy meeting a girl and falling in love; sometimes it is about what happens next.
Buy Links:
Amazon US  Amazon UK iTunes B&N Nook Kobo Scribd
Author Information
As well as being a writer, I love reading and reading about reading. My taste goes from Shakespeare to John Green...and much of what lies between! Dickens, check. Austen, check. Atwood, check.

Over Christmas 2012, I discovered the joy of new adult fiction and, inspired by Colleen Hoover and Tammara Webber, I decided to try my hand at writing my own NA novel.

I love the friendliness of the Indie writer community and have been overwhelmed by the support of followers interested in my journey. Please feel free to monitor my publishing progress via my Facebook page, Twitter or blog :-)

My first novel, Curve, was released in October 2013. My second novel, Heart, is a standalone companion to Curve and will be released in November 2014.



Guest Post
Fun Facts about HEART
By Nicola Hudson
  • When I started to plan Heart, I knew I didn’t want to write about Neve and Jake falling in love. That’s the easy part – dealing with the end of a relationship is much more traumatic! This is where the tagline sometimes it doesn’t end with happy ever after originated.
  • When I wrote Curve, I didn’t think that I would be writing a second novel, let alone using some of the same characters. However, by the time Curve was finished, I already had the title Heart and knew it would be Neve’s story.
  • I didn’t really like Neve when I started to write her in Curve! But that changed as she supported Cass and I saw what a wonderful friend she was.
  • Like Neve, I went to university in Brighton and loved sitting by the sea, especially on a wintry, windswept day.
  • I took the photo on the back cover – on yet another wintry, windswept day at the beach.
  • Without being too spoiler-y, the ending was very different in my plot outline. But then I reached a point where it felt like the planned ending was going to feel too contrived to be realistic - and a late night conversation with a blogger gave me the courage to change it.
  • One of my wonderful friends, who is also a beta reader, let me go with her when she had a new tattoo. The scene where Neve gets her tattoo is a pretty faithful account of that afternoon; I even wrote it in a coffee shop close to the tattoo studio!
  • The hospital scene was the hardest scene I’ve ever written. I’ve been in a similar situation to Neve and writing about it brought all of the emotions back to the surface. I was drained and couldn’t revisit it for a few weeks.
  • I found writing Heart much more difficult than Curve. I hit a metaphorical brick wall and was really struggling when I went to an author event in Edinburgh. I asked every author I met for advice. So I have Abbi Glines, Kirsty Moseley, Karina Halle and Natasha Boyd to thank as they gave me some really useful tips which got me back on track.
  • Myrtle is a beautiful evergreen plant with white flowers that symbolizes love and immortality: which is why Jake uses it as a nickname for Neve.


GIVEAWAY
Nicola Hudson is hosting a giveaway to celebrate the release of her novel HEART! Check it out and enter on her Facebook Page!

  • Signed Print Copy of HEART (International)
  • eBook Copy of HEART
  • Nicola Hudson Swag Pack
  • $20 Donation to the charity of your choice OR a $10 Amazon Gift Card
  • $20 Donation to the charity of your choice OR a $5 Amazon Gift Card