The Remnant Blog Tour + Giveaway

BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY

The Remnant

by William Michael Davidson

Release Date: February 7, 2017

Author William Michael Davidson is on tour with MC Book Tours featuring his new novel, THE REMNANT, being released Feb. 7 by Dancing Lemur Press L.L.C.

You can follow Davidson’s tour schedule HERE for reviews, excerpts, interviews, features, and a chance to win a copy of his book.

BLURB:

One nation, without God...
          Colton Pierce apprehends Abberants—those who display symptoms of faith—and quarantines them on a remote island to ensure public safety.  Years prior, the government released a genetically-engineered super flu that destroyed the genes believed to be the biological source of spiritual experience in an effort to rid the world of terrorism. As an extractor with the Center for Theological Control, Colton is dedicated to the cause.           

But Colton's steadfast commitment is challenged when he learns his own son has been targeted for extraction. An underground militia, the Remnant, agrees to help Colton save his son in exchange for his assistance with their plan to free the Aberrants on the island.           

Colton is faced with the most important decision of his life. Remain faithful to the CTC? Or give up everything to save his son?

Chapter 3 Excerpt

1.1.3

Colton listened to the opening of Brian Barclay’s speech, but his mind wandered. He reflected on the organization he worked for and everything that had led to this point in history. The Super Flu of 2061 was infamous, and skeptics long debated the true source of the illness. Some said the Chinese government engineered the flu and released it intentionally, while others maintained that it was actually a product of the United States, and due to a security breach, accidentally spread amongst the public. Although some still debated its source, nobody debated what the Super Flu of 2061 really was: A genetically engineered virus with a 99.9% communicability rate that quickly and systematically destroyed a host’s VMAT2 gene, the lone genetic reason humans had the ability to undergo spiritual experiences. After a couple days of coughing and a mild fever, a patient was rendered a guaranteed atheist.
Colton had always leaned toward the theory that the Super Flu of 2061 was the result of a United States attempt to infect the Middle East with a hacking cough that would rid the region of religious fundamentalism and, subsequently, acts of terrorism and violence. The United States had done all but admit responsibility for it, and while some conspiracy theorists still insisted it was the Chinese government or some other country, Colton had never given them much credence. But he was glad, like the rest of the population and the CTC, that the virus had been unleashed. Not only had religious fundamentalism and wars dissipated in the Middle East, but religious crime and intolerance had virtually evaporated from the globe.“What we are doing here is one of the most important jobs we can offer society,” Brian said. The audience was rapt. “Since the VMAT2 gene was wiped off the face of the earth, all of you have benefitted from the results. Our great-grandparents could only imagine a world like the one we live in today—where terrorist attacks motivated by religious squabbles no longer dominate the news, and where wars are no longer ignited because of religious intolerance. This is a world they could only dream of, a world that is our reality.“But we must not just remember the global benefits of the Super Flu of 2061; we must also remember the local ones. It may seem foreign to us today, living under the protection of the CTC in the aftermath of the destruction of the VMAT2 gene, but religious belief was one of the main links to violent criminal activity in the modern world. No more mass suicides or people drinking the Kool-Aid. Hey, speaking of Kool-Aid, can someone fetch me a bottle of water? I’m dying up here. Not Jim Jones Kool-Aid either, okay? Don’t need any real life examples up here.”Brian wiped the sweat from his forehead, and some aide in the front row handed him a bottle of water. The crowd laughed while Brian took several gulps. The bottle of water looked unnaturally small in his big, beefy hands.“Now that’s better,” he said, screwing the lid back on his water and placing it on his podium. Maybe it was due to the bright lights on him or the extra hundred pounds he was carrying, but he was dripping sweat. “Now, as I was saying, we live in a world that our great-grandparents simply couldn’t imagine. Sure there’s crime, and too much of it. We’ll never be perfect. But could you imagine all of the out-of-their-wits extremists who would have gone into our schools, our hospitals, our parks, those now abandoned places of worship, and slaughtered us by the hundreds—by the thousands—if things were like they were? Some of you may not even be here. Some of your children may not be here. It’s a sobering thought.

THE REMNANT is available to order in eBook form at the following sites:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

iTunes

The print format of the book is available at these sites:

Amazon 

Barnes & Noble

Chapters-Indigo

Book Depository

Foyles

Mediander

Fiction DB

Be sure to add THE REMNANT to your bookshelf on Goodreads.

About the Author:

William Michael Davidson lives in Long Beach, California with his wife and two daughters. A believer that "good living produces good writing," Davidson writes early in the morning so he can get outside, exercise, spend time with people, and experience as much as possible.A writer of speculative fiction, he enjoys stories that deal with humanity's inherent need for redemption.For more on Davidson and his writing, connect with him on Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, and Amazon Author’s Page.

This is a tour-wide giveaway for two (2) print copies that are available to those living in the U.S. only and one (1) eBook copy available international. The giveaway will end at 12 a.m. (EST) on Sunday, Feb. 26. You can enter to win at each stop of the tour.

Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to visit the other blogs on the tour for more chances to win. The schedule is located HERE.

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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday - Dogsled Dreams

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Dogsled Dreams

by Terry Lynn Johnson

BLURB:
Twelve-year-old Rebecca dreams of becoming a famous dog sled racer. She's an inventive but self-doubting musher who tackles blinding blizzards, wild animal attacks, puppy training, and flying poo missiles. All of her challenges though, seem easier than living up to the dogs' trust in her abilities.

Through the bond she shares with the dogs, Rebecca learns that hard work, dedication, and living in the moment bring their own rewards.

Reviews

Exhilarating...It's very easy to get lost in the pages of Dogsled Dreams — Lisa Barker, BiblioReads.com

Demonstrates the bond between mushers and their dogs, the devotion mushers feel for their dogs, and the lengths to which they will go to ensure their dog's health and well-being — Pam Flowers, Alone Across the Arctic: One Woman's Epic Journey by Dog Team 

A warm, coming-of-age story about hopes and dreams, but most of all, finding the true meaning of family and friends, whether they have two legs or four! — Darcy Johns, Youth Services Librarian, Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia

Johnson's intimate knowledge of the dogs she describes is real, heart-warming and often humorous. Both elementary and secondary teachers can use this in their classroom to engage at-risk readers — Teri Treftlin, Secondary School teacher, Geraldton, Ontario

full of rich details and fascinating information about dog sled racing. Rebecca and her dogs not only came alive, but they brought me along on their adventures — Cynthia Chapman Willis, author of Dog Gone

Rebecca's experiences are applicable to any young girl ready to emerge from the security of childhood to the freedom of adolescence. This is a captivating and exciting debut novel — Superior Outdoors Magazine

I was charmed by Becca and her focus on achieving what she set out to do. A great book for moms and daughters to read together and talk about setting goals — Cindy Hudson, Mother-Daughter Book Clubs

Terry's passion for the outdoors evolved while she paddled in Quetico Provincial Park as a Canoe Ranger. One winter she worked for a dogsledding company, and eighteen huskies followed her home. Terry's debut novel features those quirky dogs who entered her life and heart. 

Terry is an award-winning member of the Outdoor Writers of Canada and Dog Writers' Association of America .

• Selected by the Iditarod Education Department as a Recommended Read
• For more information visit the website: www.terrylynnjohnson.com

Any teacher using Gary Paulsen's WOODSONG would want Terry Johnson's DOGSLED DREAMS. Terry's realistic writing style and word choice bring the reader through experiences that bring emotions to the surface...emotions of real life living with sled dogs. -- Diane Johnson, Iditarod's Education Director