Limited Time only!
Special sale price of only $0.99! Together these books have over 650 five star reviews!
Read these bestselling tales of survival against the odds, dark worlds, dystopian regimes and heroic rebels.
Shattered Worlds features six full-length novels from bestselling authors. Immerse yourself in post-apocalyptic civilizations and bleak near-futures where hope still lives.
Shattered Worlds by Boxed Set
Publication date: February 26th 2014
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Read these bestselling tales of survival against the odds, dark worlds, dystopian regimes and heroic rebels.
Shattered Worlds features six full-length novels from bestselling authors. Immerse yourself in post-apocalyptic civilizations and bleak near-futures where hope still lives.
Featured authors and books are:
Elle Casey: Apocalypsis
Shalini Boland: Outside
Zoe Cannon: The Torturer’s Daughter
Scott Cramer: Night of the Purple Moon
Sarah Dalton: The Blemished
Katie French: The Breeders
Purchase:
Books:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Elle Casey –
Apocalypsis Book 1: Kahayatle
My name's Bryn Mathis. I'm
seventeen years old, and I live in a neighborhood outside of Orlando, Florida.
I live alone because my dad died almost a year ago, along with all the other
adults in the world. I'm almost out of food and the gangs of kids that roam
around my town are getting more vicious by the day.
It's time for me to leave and
find another place to live ... a place where I can find food and shelter ... a
place where they won't be able to find me.
Alone, it might have been
possible; but now I've got company. I'm worried that I don't have what it takes
to get from here to my final destination.
And I have no idea what
might be waiting for me when I get there.
**May not be suitable for
younger, middle grade readers.**
Shalini Boland – Outside
A post-apocalyptic romance
thriller.
The world of the future is
divided by Perimeters: high-security gated communities where life goes on as
normal. If you’re inside you’re lucky, if you’re outside life expectancy takes
a nose dive.
Riley is fortunate to have
been born on the right side of the fence. But her life of privilege comes
crashing down when someone breaks through the Perimeter and murders her sister.
She forsakes her own safety to go in search of the killer. Luc decides to go
with her otherwise she’ll be dead before she’s past the security gate. But what
awaits her outside is more unbelievable than she ever expected.
Cut to the present day
where Eleanor's world is falling apart. This time next year, civilisation won't
be quite so civilised . . .
*Suitable for adults and
teens aged 13+*
Zoe Cannon – The Torturer’s Daughter
When her best friend
Heather calls in the middle of the night, Becca Dalcourt assumes it's the usual
drama. Wrong. Heather's parents have been arrested as dissidents - and Becca's
mother, the dystopian regime's most infamous torturer, has already executed
them for their crimes against the state.
To stop Heather from
getting herself killed trying to prove her parents' innocence, Becca hunts for
proof of their guilt. She doesn't expect to find evidence that leaves her
questioning everything she thought she knew about the dissidents... and about
her mother.
When she risks her life to
save a dissident, she learns her mother isn't the only one with secrets - and
the plot she uncovers will threaten the lives of the people she loves most. For
Becca, it's no longer just a choice between risking execution and ignoring the
regime's crimes; she has to decide whose life to save and whose to sacrifice.
It's easy to be a hero
when you can save the world, but what about when all you can do is choose how
you live in it? An Amazon dystopian bestseller, The Torturer's Daughter is a
story about ordinary life amidst the realities of living under an oppressive
regime... and the extraordinary courage it takes to do what's right in a world
gone wrong.
Scott Cramer – Night of the Purple Moon
Abby, 13, is looking
forward to watching the moon turn purple, unaware that deadly bacteria from a
passing comet will soon kill off older teens and adults. She must help her
brother and baby sister survive in this new world, but all the while she has a
ticking time bomb inside of her--adolescence.
*Parental discretion advised
for readers 13 and under*
Sarah Dalton – The Blemished
A beautiful world comes at
a price...
In a world filled with
stunning clones Mina Hart is Blemished. Her genes are worthless and that takes
away her rights: her right to an Education, her right to a normal life and her
right to have a child.
Mina keeps a dangerous
secret which she never thought she could share until she meets Angela on her
first day at St Jude's School. But their friendship is soon complicated by
Angela’s adoptive brother Daniel. Mina finds herself drawn to his mysterious
powers and impulsive nature. Then there is the gorgeous clone Sebastian who
Mina is forbidden from even speaking to…
The Blemished is a
frightening take on a fractured future where the Genetic Enhancement Ministry
have taken control of Britain. It will take you on a ride filled with
adventure, romance and rebellion.
Book one in the popular YA
dystopia series 'Blemished'.
Katie French – The Breeders
“When the Breeders come
for ya, there ain't no escape. They strap ya to a bed and all ya hear is the
thud of your heart and the cries of your friends as they wheel ya down to hell.
Then the doctors come. You squeeze your eyes shut and pray you can forget. But
ya never do.”
Sixteen-year-old Riley
Meemick is one of the world's last free girls. When Riley was born, her mother
escaped the Breeders, the group of doctors using cruel experiments to bolster
the dwindling human race. Her parents do everything possible to keep her from
their clutches-- moving from one desolate farm after another to escape the
Breeders' long reach. The Breeders control everything- the local war lords, the
remaining factories, the fuel. They have unchecked power in this lawless
society. And they're hunting Riley.
When the local Sheriff
abducts the adult members of her family and hands her mother over to the
Breeders, Riley and her eight-year-old brother, Ethan, hiding in a shelter, are
left to starve. Then Clay arrives, the handsome gunslinger who seems determined
to help to make up for past sins. The problem is Clay thinks Riley is a
bender-- a genderless mutation, neither male nor female. As Riley's affection
for Clay grows she wonders can she trust Clay with her secret and risk her
freedom?
The three embark on a
journey across the scarred remains of New Mexico-- escaping the Riders who use
human sacrifice to appease their Good Mother, various men scrambling for luck,
and a deranged lone survivor of a plague. When Riley is forced into the
Breeder's hospital, she learns the horrible fate of her mother—a fate she'll
share unless she can find a way out.
About the Authors:
Elle Casey
Elle Casey is a full-time
writer of New Adult and Young Adult titles in several genres, including
romance, urban fantasy, sci-fi dystopian, and action-adventure. She's an
American girl who's been living in southern France with her husband and three
children since 2010. She loves chatting with her readers, so feel free to drop
her a line.
You can find her on
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ellecaseytheauthor or on her website: www.ElleCasey.com.
Shalini Boland
Shalini lives in Dorset,
England with her husband and two noisy boys. Before children, she was signed to
Universal Music as a singer songwriter. Now, writing novels has hijacked her
life and she is usually to be found with a laptop welded to her fingers and the
house in a permanent state of neglect. Find Shalini at: http://www.shaliniboland.co.uk
Zoe Cannon
Zoe Cannon writes about
the things that fascinate her: outsiders, societies no sane person would want
to live in, questions with no easy answers, and the inner workings of the mind.
If she couldn't be a writer, she would probably be a psychologist, a penniless
philosopher, or a hermit in a cave somewhere. While she'll read anything that
isn't nailed down, she considers herself a YA reader and writer at heart. She
lives in New Hampshire with her husband and a giant teddy bear of a dog, and
spends entirely too much time on the internet. Find Zoe at: http://www.zoecannon.com
Scott Cramer
Scott Cramer has written
feature articles for national magazines, covered school committee meetings for
a local newspaper, published haiku and poetry, optioned a screenplay, and
worked in high-tech marketing communications. His pursuit of a good story has
put him behind the stick of an F-18, flying a Navy Blue Angels' fighter jet, and
he has trekked through the Peruvian mountains in search of an ancient Quechua
festival featuring a condor. Scott and his wife have two daughters and reside
outside Lowell, Massachusetts (birthplace of Jack Kerouac) in an empty
nest/zoo/suburban farm/art studio with too many surfboards in the garage. Find
Scott at: http://www.facebook.com/authorscottcramer
Sarah Dalton
Sarah grew up in the middle
of nowhere in the countryside of Derbyshire and as a result has an over-active
imagination. She has been an avid reader for most of her life, taking
inspiration from the stories she read as a child, and the novels she devoured
as an adult.
She is the author of the
popular YA dystopia series 'Blemished' and the gothic novella 'My Daylight
Monsters'. She is currently working on a YA Fantasy series titled 'White Hart'.
Find Sarah at: http://sarahdaltonbooks.com/
Katie French
Katie French imagined
herself an author when her poem caught the eye of her second grade teacher. In
middle school she spent her free time locked in her room, writing her first
young adult novel. Though her social life suffered, her love for literature
thrived. She studied English at Eastern Michigan University, where she veered
from writing and earned an education degree. She spent nine years teaching high
school English. Currently she is a school counselor, doing a job that is both
one of the hardest things she's ever done and the most rewarding. In her free
time she writes, reads great books and takes care of her two beautiful and
crazy children. She is a contributor and co-creator of Underground Book
Reviews, a website dedicated to erasing the boundaries between traditional and
non-traditional publishing. She lives in Michigan with her husband and two
children. You can find her at www.katiefrenchbooks.com.
Short Blurb:
Limited Time only!
Special sale price of only
$0.99! Together these books have over 650 five star reviews!
Read these bestselling
tales of survival against the odds, dark worlds, dystopian regimes and heroic
rebels.
Shattered Worlds features
six full-length novels from bestselling authors. Immerse yourself in
post-apocalyptic civilizations and bleak near-futures where hope still lives.
New York Times and USA
Today bestselling author Elle Casey – Apocalypsis Book 1: Kahayatle
My name's Bryn Mathis. I'm
seventeen years old, and I live in a neighborhood outside of Orlando, Florida.
I live alone because my dad died almost a year ago, along with all the other
adults in the world. I'm almost out of food and the gangs of kids that roam
around my town are getting more vicious by the day. It's time for me to leave
and find another place to live ... a place where I can find food and shelter
... a place where they won't be able to find me. Alone, it might have been
possible; but now I've got company. I'm worried that I don't have what it takes
to get from here to my final destination. And I have no idea what might be
waiting for me when I get there.
**May not be suitable for
younger, middle grade readers.**
Shalini Boland – Outside
A pulse-pounding dystopian
tale set in post-apocalyptic Britain: Riley has always wondered what lies
beyond the high-security perimeters of her community. But when tragedy forces
her into the outside world, she can’t believe what awaits her...
*Suitable for adults and
teens aged 13+*
Zoe Cannon – The
Torturer’s Daughter
Becca has never questioned
what she's learned in Citizenship class: dissidents want to tear the country
apart, and people like her mother are the only thing keeping them at bay. Until
her mother executes Becca's best friend's parents as dissidents, and Becca
learns a secret that changes everything...
Scott Cramer – Night of
the Purple Moon
Abby, 13, is looking
forward to watching the moon turn purple, unaware that deadly bacteria from a
passing comet will soon kill off older teens and adults. She must help her
brother and baby sister survive in this new world, but all the while she has a
ticking time bomb inside of her--adolescence.
*Parental discretion
advised for readers 13 and under*
Sarah Dalton – The
Blemished
A beautiful world comes at
a price...
The Blemished is a
frightening take on a fractured future where the Genetic Enhancement Ministry
have taken control of Britain. It will take you on a ride filled with
adventure, romance and rebellion.
Katie French – The
Breeders
Sixteen-year-old Riley Meemick
is one of the world's last free girls. When Riley was born, her mother escaped
the Breeders, the group of doctors using cruel experiments to bolster the
dwindling human race. Her parents do everything possible to keep her from their
clutches-- moving from one desolate farm after another to escape the Breeders'
long reach. The Breeders control everything- the local war lords, the remaining
factories, the fuel. They have unchecked power in this lawless society. And
they're hunting Riley.
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Excerpts:
Elle Casey – Apocalypsis: Book One Khayatle
I stuffed the sleeping bag down into my
backpack with angry, punching motions, sick and tired of having to be here and
having to do the same thing over and over again. I hated camping, I hated being
organized, and more than anything, I hated what this exercise stood for.
“Don’t do it like that. I told you - you
have to conserve the room as best you can. You have to travel as efficiently as
possible. Take it out and start over.”
“I don’t see what difference it makes.”
“Trust me, it’s going to be a really big
deal to you in the not so distant future.” His voice sounded hollow.
“Says who?” I was being ornery. I knew the
answer to the question already.
“Says me, Bryn. And the news. Look around,
would you?” He sounded like he was pleading now. “Stop defaulting back to the
rebellious young teen act, and get serious. We don’t have enough time to play
those games anymore.”
“They’re not games, Dad. I am a teenager. I don’t care what the
news jerks and the government say.” I threw my backpack down on the ground.
“And it’s not rebellious to not want to play friggin’ survivor in the backyard
every day.”
My dad looked at me with a sad expression
and sighed, reaching over to pull me into a tight hug. He dropped his nose to
my head and inhaled deeply.
My face was pressed up against his shirt,
and I could smell his sweat mixed with the sweet scent of his aftershave. My
dad always said he was the last of a dying breed, using that stuff. He couldn’t
have been more right.
“Maybe it’s not going to happen here … to
us.” I said it just to hear the words, but I knew it was only wishful thinking.
I could tell he was getting choked up again
when he started talking, his voice now hoarse.
“I wish, more than anything else in this
world, that you didn’t have to be standing here with me in this backyard
playing survivor.” His whole body started to shake with silent sobs. “Oh, God,
Bryn. If I could do anything to
change this, anything at all, I would. I swear to God I would. But it’s
happening. No one can stop it.”
I put my arms around his waist, letting go
of my earlier stubborn anger, now choking back my own tears. “I know, Dad. I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
“Yes, you did,” he said, sniffing hard and
clearing his throat, shifting to hold me at arm’s length. He was staring at me
while he smiled through his tears, giving me that look. The one that always made me confess.
“Okay, so maybe I did mean it. But I’ll
shut up about it for a little while.”
“Not for too long, though. You wouldn’t be
my daughter if you weren’t complaining about something.”
I tried to slap him playfully but he moved
too fast for me. My dad is light on his feet, an expert level-one practitioner
of krav maga - a certified badass. He’d only recently taken up camping.
“Pick it up,” he ordered, now back in
control of his emotions. “Do it again. Only this time, get the air out of that
bag first, condense it down …”
I cut him off. “I know, I know … ‘down into
the smallest footprint possible.’ Geez, Dad, I’m not an idiot.”
I shook the sleeping bag out and started
rolling it up quickly, using the moves I’d been practicing for four months
straight to squeeze it down into a lump the size of a small loaf of bread. I
folded the whole thing in half, pushed it to the bottom of the backpack, and
then let it unfold itself one time, before putting the other items in on top of
it: unbreakable water bottle, half-liter of bleach, square of plastic, cup,
hunting knife, and various other tools my father was quite certain I would need
… once all the adults in the world had died off, leaving us kids alone to fend
for ourselves.
Excerpt:
Pa is a black marketeer. Nobody and
everybody knows this. Pa pays people not to rock the boat. He pays the guards,
he pays the neighbours and he even pays his friends. He pays off just about
everyone – a litre of whisky here and a bag of sugar there, and in return we
live a life of ease and comfort. Pa believes in the carrot approach just as
much as the punishing stick. As long as he doesn’t draw too much attention to
himself from the wrong quarters, we’re safe and free.
Pa can get his hands on just about anything
from before. If you’ve got a craving for a pot noodle he can probably magic one
up from somewhere. But it’ll cost you all you’ve got and more besides. He isn’t
swayed by threats or tears. He’ll hold fast and stare you down and if you can’t
pay you might get a bullet in your head, or worse.
This morning, my parents are standing together
in the doorway of the sitting room. Behind me, the sun floods in through the
windows and they edge closer to avoid squinting into the too-bright light.
Their faces are ghost white and Ma’s nose
and eyes are pink and swollen. She shivers and her teeth chatter as though
she’s chilled and it isn’t the warm July morning it appears to be.
‘Riley, can you sit down?’ Pa asks.
‘Okay,’ I say. They’re acting weird. It’s
freaking me out. My legs are heavy wood and I’m not sure I can make the three
feet required to reach the sofa.
‘Okay,’ I repeat. But I don’t move. I just
keep looking from one to the other and they stare back almost as if they’re
afraid of me.
‘Riley, sit down,’ Pa says.
I walk to the sofa and sit in one corner
with my hands on my lap. The leather is cool against my legs in the warmth of
the room. Fear has travelled up from my stomach to my throat and I can’t
swallow. I feel sick.
‘Riley,’ he says, running his hands slowly
through his hair.
‘No!’ Ma loses it. She sobs and stumbles
towards me. Sits and buries her head in my chestnut curls, rocking me backwards
and forwards, moaning and muttering. I can’t breathe she’s holding me so tight.
‘Sweetheart, let go, you’re crushing her.
Go and lie down upstairs if you want. I’ll tell her.’ Pa’s voice is soft and
broken. It doesn’t sound a bit like him.
She lets go of me, cups my face in her
hands and kisses my face all over. ‘No, It’s alright, I’m alright,’ she says
not taking her eyes from my face. ‘I'm not leaving my baby.’ She leans back,
trembling. I press my hands back into my lap and she wraps her arms around
herself, still shivering and rocking.
Our house has always been a light and happy
place. I don’t understand what’s going on. My face and pyjama top are wet from
Ma’s sticky tears. I let my mind wander for a minute, away from the awful
strangeness of what’s going on and I hear the low background hum of the
generators overlaid by the familiar whirr and thrum of a copter hovering
overhead.
Has my father done something wrong? Are we
in danger? Do we have to leave the Perimeter? All the most awful things I can
think of crowd my brain. And then … Skye! Why isn’t she here? My little sister
is usually up before me. I hesitate, not wanting to pose the question. Maybe
she’s too young for this conversation and they’ve sent her out of earshot. She
won't like that; she’ll kick up a real fuss. But then I would have heard them
arguing and everything has been quiet this morning; abnormally quiet up until
now.
An unwanted thought creeps into my head and
I push it out quickly.
‘Where’s Skye?’ My voice sounds high
pitched and distant, like my ears need to pop.
Pa comes close and crouches down in front
of me. He takes both my hands in his and looks into my eyes.
‘Something’s happened.’ He breaks off.
‘We’re waiting for … We’re not sure ...’
And then something really horrible happens.
My powerful, strong, wonderful father starts crying. Proper messy crying where
his face twists and his voice sounds broken. I’m appalled. He never cries.
‘Pa …’
I’m not a typical daddy’s girl. I love the
bones of him, but I feel easiest around Ma. We always talk make-up, fashion,
gossipy stuff and laugh a lot together. Skye belongs to Pa and Pa definitely
belongs to Skye. They’re a team. I never feel excluded exactly, but I don’t
have the same natural connection they do.
‘Riley,’ he says. ‘I don't know how to say
this.’ He looks over at Ma who’s staring at him in horror. ‘Skye is … Skye is.
Oh Riley, she … she’s dead.’
I stare down at the patterns on the carpet.
I’ve never noticed just how vivid the individual colours are. The over-all
effect is of a soft warmth, but I focus on a particular strand of red that
seems almost luminous, as if it’s going to jump out of the weave and hit me in
the face.
