Author Bio:
There’s not much to do growing up in a small town in Western, NY, so J. Andersen wrote stories and won high school writing contests. But in college her writing was limited to term papers. While teaching middle school she began to read young adult books and got serious about writing. She now writes full time, volunteers at the town library, helps to run a School of the Arts at her church, and sings in the church band. She enjoys good coffee—read: home roasted by her husband—crafts, baking, and chasing after her children. You’ll rarely see J. without a book in her hands, and that’s the way she’d like to keep it.
BLURB:
Is the opportunity to create the next generation of life a dream come true or a deadly nightmare?
When seventeen year old Katherine Dennard is selected to become a "Creation Specialist" in Sector 4, the opportunity sounds like a dream come true. But Kate soon discovers the darker side of her profession - the disposal of fetal organs and destruction of human life. It makes sense, really. In a society where disease and malformations don t exist, human perfection demands that no genetic "mutants" be allowed to live. For Sector 4, "survival of the fittest" is not just a theory - it's The Institute's main mission.
When Kate discovers that The Institute is using her DNA to create new life, her work gets personal. In order to save her unviable son, she'll have to trust Micah and his band of underground Natural Born Rebels. The problem is, if The Institute discovers her betrayal, the next body being disposed of could be hers.
THE BREEDING TREE Excerpt #1
Greetings!
I’m so excited to be here with you today to share a piece of my new story, THE
BREEDING TREE. This piece is taken from chapter one at the Parade of Values.
In unison, the crowd calls, “Success and health for all.”
{…}
“There is one group of people that will not benefit from
our successes. Those who work to destroy the progress mankind has made. From
the raids of years ago until now, there is one group that seeks to undermine
further growth and development for our people: the Natural Born Rebels.”
Whispers rise through the crowd and soon turn to gasps.
From the far corner of the stage, Institute workers carrying weapons emerge.
Two in front, two in back and between them a young man in handcuffs and ankle
chains. The soldiers lead him onstage next to Fishgold where a folding chair
awaits. One soldier forces the man to sit while another withdraws hair clippers
and presses them to the man’s scalp. There’s silence as the soldier shaves the
man’s head, revealing to the crowd the community identification tattoo at the
base of his neck. (A barcode with identification numbers.) It looks the same as
the rest that come with the MIH we all receive at birth.
But it’s not.
“This man tried to infiltrate our society. He was caught attempting
to upload a virus into the latest batch of MIHs. Tried and failed.” Fishgold
then withdraws a scalpel from his pocket, letting it glint in the August sun.
He snaps rubber gloves around his hands and holds the knife with expert
precision.
“Let this be a warning to any of those who dare to join the
rebellion. You will be caught. Treason such as this will not go unpunished.” He
turns toward the man as the soldiers step forward and grab the rebel by the
arms, forcing him to stand.
“Any last words?” Fishgold asks as a soldier holds the
microphone in front of the man.
“Long live the rebelli—”
His cry is replaced with a shriek of pain that echoes
through the silent multitude as Fishgold presses the scalpel against the man’s
neck. In a few swipes, he’s removed the thin layer of skin where the tattoo
was.
The man tries to pull his head away from the knife, but his
chains and the soldiers restrain him. Fishgold makes one more cut fully
removing the tattooed section of the man’s neck.
From my seat, I see the blood run down the back of his
neck, soaking into his shirt. Taryn clenches her eyes shut. I wish I could, but
I can’t stop staring. This can only mean one thing.
The man is a Natural Born.
His tattoo is a fake, and he’ll most likely die for his
cause.
There’s
lots more craziness in the Institute where that came from! I can’t wait to
share it with you.
Links:
THE BREEDING TREE: Amazon
pre-order: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1941103987/
Snapchat ID: jvdlandersen
WILL GO LIVE SEPTEMBER 21
Thanks for posting about THE BREEDING TREE, Patricia! I'm so excited that this book is finally available to the public.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pleasure to have you here! Your book sounds really intense.
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