Regina Shen: ResiliencePages: 240
Published: 15th May 2015
Regina Shen is an outcast forced to fend for
herself in a world that bans books and artifacts from before the Great
Collapse. An approaching storm could be the least of her problems. The World
Federation condemns Regina and her family to live on the seaward side of
barrier walls. Those walls were built to hold back rising seas caused by abrupt
climate change and as a place to dump outcasts.
A hurricane threatens
to destroy Regina’s world, tearing her from sister, mom, and home. Now Federation agents claim she has unique DNA that could prevent human extinction. It's too bad she doesn't trust them enough to barter fairly, let alone with her life. Three-hundred-plus-year-old Grand Old Dames rule the all-female
Federation using a rigid caste system. Their notorious Department of Antiquities, under the command of Chief Inspector Joanne Demarco, polices barrier walls, destroys knowledge from the past to suppress dissent, and pursues Regina for her genome.
Regina survives by her wits on swampy islands and thrives on salvage from sunken cities, including illegal print books from before the Federation. With her photographic (eidetic) memory, she defies Antiquities by consuming salvaged books not available in the Federation, which makes her an outcast even among her exiled peers. With Antiquities in pursuit, Regina fights to stay alive and avoid capture while hunting for her family. Does she have the resilience to survive both the storm and Antiquities?
Buy the book: Amazon Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★☆
(I received this book free from the author in exchange for my honest
review)
This was a different read for me and I’m glad that I took a
change on this unique take on a world without men.
I was hook from the start, the world building was fantastic
and it drew me in a way that had me thinking I was watching a movie. The only
fault I could see was that there wasn’t a whole lot of time give to explaining
this worlds tec and some of the new worlds weren’t properly defined. So this
did cause me some confusion, I found this only in the beginning so I’m not to
bent out of shape over it.
I was so-so on Regina at first, but she soon grew on me and
has become one of my fav charters of the year, not only her but Wendy was well.
I loved their stringent, bravery and loyalty. Regina is a fire cracker and isn’t afraid to
back down.
I don’t want to give anything away, this was a short read
but an outstanding one. The world is rich, sinister, and gets your mind
thinking about the what if’s.
I highly recommend this book, it will change the way you
look at an all-woman world. I can’t wait to dive into the next installment.
Happy Reading
-E.A. Walsh
My name is Emily and thank you for letting me interview you today.
First off, how are you this fine day?
I’m a bit conflicted. The weather
has just turned warmer, inviting me outdoors, but I have some writing deadlines
to meet and this great virtual book tour to participate in. I’ll just have to
make time.
When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve wanted to be a writer since
I was eleven and read an adventure story. It seemed like fun to come up with my
own story and so I did. It was a great writing experience, though nothing I
would care to share.
Where does your inspiration come from?
I have always had stories
floating around in my head. They stir up from events of the day or from things
I read. Often they come from imagining “what if”type situations involving
people in unusual situations. Then my imagination takes off trying to figure out
how a particular character might handle it.
Have you ever rewritten a story because it strayed from your original
plan?
Yes. In fact, I’ve just rewritten
a space opera/first contact story I wrote a while back and didn’t like how it
turned out. The basic idea was good, but one of the characters was getting in
the way. If it was just a matter of the character taking the story somewhere I
hadn’t anticipated, that would have been fine, but he was undermining the story
itself. It took a while to figure out and accept what I had to do with the
character to make the story work.
Did you base your characters off people you know or just let them grow
as you wrote?
Inevitably, my characters arise
from aspects of people I’ve met, read about or conjured up in my mind or as
some combination. I’ve always been around strong women and I’m sure their
influence rubbed off on Regina Shen from this series and also on Annabelle
Scott from the Rebel series. Beyond that, my stories come together in my mind
with a“what if” situation and what type of character might be interesting in
that situation.
What advice would you give to people wanting to write or are thinking
of giving up?
I believe there’s something
fundamental in the human spirit and heart to want to communicate stories. It’s
hard work and a solitary activity, but if you have a burning desire to bring a
story to life, then you owe it to yourself to give it a try. If you’re
considering giving up because it’s hard, ask yourself why you want to write.
Often times what blocks us is pursuing our writing for the wrong reasons, such
as fame or recognition or success. Write because you have a burning desire to
tell stories and it fulfills you on a personal level and then see how it
connects to readers.
Do you have pets? I have two cats that I swear try to kill me.
Cats are adorable and
independent. I used to have dogs, but we moved around a lot and found they
weren’t handling the moves as well as we were.
Any hobbies?
Writing used to be my hobby, but
now that I’m doing more writing, I need a hobby away from that. I enjoy travel,
movies, history, lots of history. I’m trying to figure out how to factor that
into an upcoming story without turning it into a history lesson. That’s a
challenge.
Do you like Hockey or any other sports?
I can get wrapped up in
basketball at the college level, not so much professional sports. Somehow it
seems too … professional.
Tea or coffee?
Definitely tea, though I love the
smell of coffee and the taste of coffee ice cream. Unfortunately, caffeine has
the opposite effect on me, putting me to sleep. Alas, the solution is watered
down decaffeinated teas, which don’t taste as good. It’s a pain being wired
backwards.
Do you say Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner or Breakfast, Dinner, Supper?
Breakfast, lunch and dinner,
though I lived in Europe where the big meal was often taken in the middle of
the day. My habit came from busy days and grabbing a snack for lunch.
Last question
What are you scared of? Me … well I believe spiders need to be burned
on sight.
I actually had a spider on a
counter charge at me. I had to step back for a nanosecond to assess what I was
missing before I swatted him. Wasps would be on top of the list. I’ve had a few
run-ins with them.
Thank you again, and have a wonderful day.
- Win 1 signed copy of Resilience + $15 Amazon gift card + 2 sets of postcards / 2 winners will receive a signed copy of Resilience / a free ebook copy of The Rebel Within (open to USA)
He was raised by a roaming aerospace engineer, growing up in various parts of the United States and Europe, as well as traveling through Asia. He took to stories as his anchor, including the works of Asimov, Bradbury, and Heinlein, and has been writing since age eleven.
Growing up, he was inspired by his father’s engineering work on cutting-edge aerospace projects to look to the future.
In an ideal world,Lance would find time loops where he could step out for a week at a time to read and write. Then he would return to the moment he left, without life getting in the way. Of course, since everyone would have the same ability, he suspects life would still sneak in. Lance is also the author of short stories and novelettes.
Thank you for joining the tour, the interview, and the review.
ReplyDelete