Counteract Resistance Series Book 1 by Tracy Lawson ***Guest Post: Q&A with the Author -- Giveaway***
Counteract
Resistance Series Book 1
by Tracy Lawson
Genre: YA Dystopian Adventure
Who do you trust when your world unravels and everything you believed is a lie?
For the past fifteen years, The Office of Civilian Safety and Defense has guarded the public against the rampant threat of terrorism. Teenagers Tommy and Careen have never known life without Civilian Restrictions. For them, there's no social media. No one is allowed to gather in public places or attend concerts or sporting events. Only a small, select group of adults have driving privileges, but it's a small price to pay for safety.
Now a new, more deadly, terrorist threat looms: airborne chemical weapons that can be activated without warning. The OCSD is ready with an antidote to counteract the effects of the toxins. Three drops a day is all it takes. It's a small price to pay for health.
The day the disaster sirens signal the dreaded attack, Tommy shares his last dose with Careen, even though doing so might hasten his death. It's a small price to pay for a friend.Follow Tommy and Careen as they uncover a web of lies and deceit reaching to the highest levels of the United States government and join an underground resistance group that's determined to expose the truth.
"Counteract is a novel for our times, but with a decidedly different plot twist. Most dystopian thrillers focus on the devastating consequences of the unleashed virus or poison on society, community, and the individual. They become character studies of the protagonists and antagonists.
"Tracy Lawson's novel asks an even more disturbing question--what if the real culprit was someone or something we trusted? I thought The Hunger Games might be the Millennial generation's version of George Orwell's 1984. Now, I think Counteract and the Resistance Series are more primed to take that spot."--SR Staley, author of St. Nic, Inc., and the Tortuga Bay series.
Guest PostQ and A with the Author
I’ve wanted to be a writer as long as I could read. Now that I’ve published several books, I like that it’s a means to reach out to others, to entertain and inform them.
Can you tell us a little about your books and where our readers can find out more about them and you?What projects are you currently working on?
I’ve written the YA dystopian Resistance Series, and two nonfiction history books. My current project is historical fiction, and that, for me, is the best of both worlds. I based the story for Answering Liberty’s Call on events in the lives of my 6x great grandparents. According to family lore, he was a soldier during the American Revolution and she became a courier/spy for General Washington while traveling to bring supplies to Valley Forge. I did extensive research into the period so I my story would be authentic and free from anachronisms, and I learned as much as I could about my family so I could incorporate plenty of real details about their lives into the story. I loved everything about this book, and can’t wait for it to find a home. I just created a Facebook page for the new book, and I hope your readers will come like and follow: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaAsburyStone
What has been your most significant achievement as a writer thus far? How have you dealt with rejection within your writing career?
Two of my books have won state-level awards, and it’s a great feeling to know you’ve done a quality job. Eighty agents and publishers rejected my first novel before I found an interested publisher. I was so happy at first, but the situation turned out to be a bad fit. After a series of unfortunate events, I got the rights back to my books and now I self-publish my fiction. I’m much more in control of my situation.
Do you have a schedule for when you write? Do you outline your novels? How long does it generally take you to finish a novel?
I’m not as disciplined about having a schedule as I’d like to be. I also work as a freelance choreographer, doing musicals for middle and high schools, so when a show is in production, I don’t really have the time or the energy to write. I like to write in the middle of the night when nothing else is going on. I outline my novels, but my characters often divert and force me to follow! It usually takes me about a year and a half of writing and revision on a novel, but the ideas ruminate before I begin to write.
Where do you see yourself within your career in the next five years?
I’m currently developing the Resistance Series books into a television pilot. It’s a huge undertaking and I’m learning as I go—but in five years, I’d love to have a show on the air. And a couple more books on the shelf. Aim high, right?
Do you believe that there is ever a point in life where it’s too late for an aspiring writer to become successful in this industry? Do you feel a late start would hinder their chances?
I published my first book at age 46, and I guess it depends on what you mean by successful. I hope to earn more money from my books as time goes on. Some people might think not hitting the #1 bestseller rank with a novel is failure. But living with regret, rather than trying, is true failure. Don’t be afraid to try.
What’s the first book you ever read that really touched you emotionally and moved you? What’s the first book you read that made you know that you could do this for a career?What book are you currently reading?
The Velveteen Rabbit affected me profoundly as a child. Years later when I read it aloud to my little girl, I broke down sobbing during the part where the stuffed rabbit becomes real and had to stop. I think I scared her! I still can’t read it without crying. About 20 years ago, I read an unpublished draft of Pioneer Girl, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s first attempt at fiction. It later evolved into the Little House books, which are still some of my favorites. I realized that if she could start off like that and achieve what she did, there was certainly hope for me.
So many writers say that they hate reading their own work? Do you ever just sit down and curl up with your own book?
I have a love/hate relationship—mostly because I want to keep revising. I always think my work could be better. But I have experienced falling in love with my books after they’re published. One evening my husband came home from work and said, “Hey, wanna go out for dinner?” I responded, “Sure—but hang on—I’m right in the middle of this really good book.” It was one of mine.
What are your thoughts about how the publishing industry is drastically changing? Are you more of an e-book person or a traditional book person?
As a hybrid author (meaning I self-publish my fiction and have a traditional publisher for my nonfiction) I’m glad the doors are open wider than ever before. I do believe indie authors need to hold themselves to a high standard, and that means hiring editors, getting professional cover design, etc. to make sure their books’ quality rivals those from traditional publishers. I love the feel of a book in my hand. I definitely prefer books, but I love taking several books with me on my Kindle when I travel.
Resist
Resistance Series Book 2
Resistance Series Book 2
"I loved the first book in this series so much that I jumped right into the second one to continue the adventure. The Resistance Series is another great YA dystopian adventure that combines elements of thriller, romance, dystopian, and much more to create a well-rounded story that is sure to appeal to many readers - it definitely has my attention."--TFL Reader, top 500 Amazon Reviewer
Knowledge comes with a price.
Tommy and Careen no longer believe the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense's miracle antidote can protect them from a terrorist's chemical weapons. After accidentally discovering the antidote's real purpose,they've join the fight to undermine the OCSD's bid for total control of the population.
Being part of the Resistance brings with it a whole new set of challenges. Not everyone working for change proves trustworthy, and plans to spark a revolution go awry with consequences far beyond anything they bargained for.
Tommy and Careen's differing viewpoints threaten to drive a wedge between them, and their budding relationship is tested as their destinies move toward an inevitable confrontation with the forces that terrorize the nation.
Where does love fit in when you're trying to start a revolution?
"Dystopian YA literature needs more writers like Tracy Lawson! Lawson's lean writing style and idea-driven dialogue reminded me of the novels of Ayn Rand, particularly Anthem, but Resist is much faster paced and holds your attention from the beginning.
"Resist picks up right where the first book, Counteract, leaves off, and readers are thrown immediately into the action. I also loved the way Lawson doesn't give her characters the easy way out--they are forced to make decisions and suffer the consequences. These are real people that anchor the story, even if the setting is not." --SR Staley, author of St. Nic, Inc. and the Tortuga Bay series
Ignite
Resistance Series Book 3
Resistance Series Book 3
The Greatest Risk Is To Take No Risk At All.
Nationwide food shortages have sparked civil unrest, and the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense’s hold on the people is slipping. The Resistance’s efforts to hasten the OCSD’s demise have resulted in disaster, with Tommy Bailey and Careen Catecher taking the blame for the ill-fated mission in OP-439.
Both teens struggle to survive the circumstances that force them into the national spotlight—and this time, they’re on opposite sides. On the run and exiled from the Resistance members in BG-098, Tommy makes his way to a Resistance safe house in the capital.
The OCSD is preparing to monitor all under-eighteens with the Cerberean Link, a device that protects them against hunger and sickness and can even locate them if they’re lost. Tommy’s now living in close quarters with Atari, an operative who has been assigned to sabotage the Link. But does Atari plan to use it for his own purposes?
Through it all, Tommy refuses to believe Careen’s loyalties have shifted away from the Resistance, and he’s willing to assume any risk to reconnect with her. Will they be able to trust each other when it matters most?
Revolt
Resistance Series Book 4
Resistance Series Book 4
The Explosive Conclusion to the Award-Winning Resistance Series
Fugitive Resistance fighter Tommy Bailey has come out of hiding to help rescue Careen Catecher from the clutches of the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense, where she’s been held and interrogated for information about the rebel group. The OCSD is poised to launch the Cerberean Link, a security device that will put all minors under constant surveillance under the guise of protecting them.
Fearful that OCSD director Madalyn Davies’s bid for control won’t stop there, the Resistance puts its own plan in motion to sabotage the Link and oust Madalyn from the directorship. Just when everything seems leveraged in the Resistance’s favor, treachery, lies, and long-held secrets threaten to derail it all.
Will even a life together on the run be impossible for Tommy and Careen? Or will the Resistance’s efforts convince the public to put their fears aside and demand freedom?
Spark
Careen's Prequel to the Resistance Series
Careen's Prequel to the Resistance Series
"What was our heroine Careen Catecher like BEFORE she became a firebrand for the Resistance? Well, she was just a normal teenage girl trying to survive college in the totalitarian state of Tracy Lawson's creation." --review by Patrick Hodges
"Careen is a believable, strong female protagonist who, having survived a harrowing terrorist attack, is now trying to survive [college] in a new 'Quadrant' where she can't seem to fit in." --review by Candace Williams
A strong heroine is made, not born.
Though Careen Catecher survived a terrorist attack when she was nine, her childhood ended on that awful day. Now, nine years later, she’s ready for her life to truly begin.
A full scholarship to a prestigious university far from her beleaguered home quadrant seems like a dream come true, but when she arrives on campus, she’s perceived as a charity case, despite grades and test scores that prove she’s the academic equal of the best students there.
Careen knows she’s tough enough to survive just about anything, but fitting in with her acquisitive peers—at least on the surface—is necessary if she’s going to leave the past behind and claim the stable future she craves.
But her past won’t stay buried. She’s only been at school for a few weeks when a cryptic message from an unlikely friend raises questions that may put her in danger all over again.
Check out this novella-length prequel to the award-winning Resistance Series, “a promising new YA series about a totalitarian America.”
**Perma-Free on Amazon!!**
About the Author
Tracy Lawson knew she wanted to be a writer from the time she could read. In the first grade, she authored sixty-seven contact-paper bound books through her school's Young Authors program. Though that pace proved impossible to maintain, she always intended to be a real author one day. While working toward her Bachelor's degree in Communication at Ohio University, she studied creative writing with the late Daniel Keyes, author of Flowers for Algernon. After short stints as a media buyer and an investigative analyst, she settled into a 20-year career in the performing arts, teaching tap dancing in Columbus, Ohio, and choreographing musicals. Though her creative energies were focused on dance, she never lost her desire to write, and has a non-fiction book to her credit: Fips, Bots, Doggeries, and More, (McDonald & Woodward, 2012).
Tracy's love for writing Young Adult fiction is sparked by all the wonderful teens in her life, including her daughter Keri, a college student. Counteract is Tracy's first novel.
Giveaway
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The cover looks very interesting.
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