We're proud to take part in the blog tour for THE SOWING by K. Makansi. Take a look at this young adult dystopian novel, read an excerpt, and enter the giveaway!
The Sowing by K. Makansi
Publication date: August 19th 2013
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult
Remy Alexander was born into the elite meritocracy of the Okarian Sector. From an early age, she and her friends were programmed for intellectual and physical superiority through specialized dietary regimes administered by the Okarian Agricultural Consortium. But when her older sister Tai was murdered in a brutal classroom massacre, her parents began to suspect foul play. They fled the Sector, taking their surviving daughter underground to join the nascent Resistance movement. But now, three years later, Remy’s former schoolgirl crush, Valerian Orleán, is put in charge of hunting and destroying the Resistance. As Remy and her friends race to unravel the mystery behind her sister’s murder, Vale is haunted by the memory of his friendship with Remy and is determined to find out why she disappeared. As the Resistance begins to fight back against the Sector, and Vale and Remy search for the answers to their own questions, the two are set on a collision course that could bring everyone together—or tear everything apart.
Excerpt
The door squeaks open and the room brightens. I turn to see Soren Skaarsgard, nearly as tall as the doorway, pull it shut behind him. The cramped cellar falls into shadow once again.
“Eli’s got it figured out,” he says. “It should be back up any second.”
Elijah Tawfiq, one of our engineers and the closest thing I have to family here at the main base, had managed to tap in to the Sector communications feed, and for a moment we saw flashes of familiar faces and snippets of commentary before the screen went black again. For a government that refuses to acknowledge we exist, their defenses against us are getting much better.
Soren pulls up an empty chair and sits, but then, just as quickly, stands again and starts pacing. My knee bounces up and down, and my fingers tap on my chair until Jahnu shoots me a stop-it-or-I’m-going-to-hurt-you glare. The feed’s been down for ten minutes, but each single minute twists and frays in anticipation. Like that moment before a vaccination when the doctor asks, Are you ready? before she plunges the needle into your arm.
I breathe deeply, try to calm myself. This viewing room is dark and musty, and my friends and I are the only ones here. Recycled air blows through the vents like a gale, but it never does much good. Seems like down here I’m either sweating or shivering. Today the room is stuffy and I feel faint, like I might be sick. But I don’t know if it’s from the heat or the anticipation.
We all jump as the screen bursts to life, and the official Okarian Sector Anthem plays in the background over the speakers Eli has retrofitted. We missed the opening speeches while Eli was tinkering with the feed, and now the first thing we see is a sweeping panorama of the state-of-the-art science labs, the glass-fronted performing arts center, the verdant, wide-open spaces of the athletic fields, and, finally, my old dorm. The Okarian Academy, my alma mater. Or it would have been if I hadn’t left.
I groan loudly as I recognize the smooth, effortless voice of the commentator, Linnea Heilmann. Her sultry voice is famous throughout the Sector, but for me each word is like a stab in the gut. When the camera cuts to her, face glowing and blue eyes narrowed, every perfectly coiffed blonde hair in place, I taste bile on the back of my tongue. She was my sister Tai’s best friend. When I was little, Linnea braided my hair and always took time to look at my drawings, even when Tai was tired of me.
But Tai’s been dead for three years, and now Linnea is the voice of the people who murdered her.
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AUTHOR BIO:
K. Makansi is the pen name for the writing triumvirate consisting of Amira, Elena, and Kristina Makansi. Two sisters and their mother, the three women developed a passionate interest in science fiction as a way to write about issues of food sovereignty and food justice. Elena is pursuing a degree in environmental studies at Oberlin College in Ohio, and will graduate in May of 2014. Amira was a history student at the University of Chicago whose day job working in the cellar of a winery (and constantly being splattered with wine) keeps her busy when she’s not writing. And Kristy owns and operates Blank Slate Press, an independent publishing company based out of St. Louis, and is a partner at Treehouse Publishing Group, a company providing editorial and design services to aspiring authors. When not writing or reading, the three can be found having animated discussions around the dinner table, sharing a good bottle of wine, or taking long walks in the park eagerly plotting out their next book.
Author Links:
http://theseedstrilogy.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7173640.K_Makansi
https://www.facebook.com/TheSeedsTrilogy
https://twitter.com/akmakansi
Tamara Mataya is currently a librarian; she lurked there for so long recommending books to patrons and shushing people, that she suspects they only hired her so it would be less creepy. Now she's armed with a name tag, and a thin veneer of credibility. She's also a musician with synaesthesia - which isn't an issue until someone plays a wrong note, which makes her want to squirm inside out. It makes for a good live show.
