Saturday, October 8, 2011

Apocalypse Gene Blog Tour: Guest Post and Giveaway!

Apoc-G-Launch-Party-Banner

Welcome to my stop on the Apocalypse Gene blog tour! I am so pleased to welcome authors Suki Michelle and Carlyle Clark to the Happy Booker to talk about The Apocalypse Gene. Find out below how to enter to win an ecopy of this amazing book plus be sure to stop by the other stops on the tour for a chance to win a Kindle, $50 and $20 Amazon Gift Card, and more prizes!!




VIRTUAL DIFFICULTIES

clip_image002Everything you could possibly want can be gotten online, from books to movies, trinkets to jewels, clothes to food . . . and education. Would you be happy if you never again had to set foot in a brick-and-mortar school, if every classroom in the world was empty, and ALL your classes were online?


At first, it sounds good. Gangbangers, suburban snobs, workingsukiandlylo class drones gather for a single purpose – to learn. No bullies or bitches, no players or geeks. Cliques disappear. Rivalries go poof. Want to go to math in Spongebob boxers and a top hat? Cool. History wearing nothing but a smile, turquoise nail polish, and a lip ring? Awesome. Got a cold sore, a zit? Do you smell? Did your dye job go bad and your hair fall out? No problemo. You’re invisible. Some might think that’s an advantage. Others would think it sucks. One thing is for sure. In virtual school, everyone is the same.

This also presents a problem. There’s no place to hang out and observe the wildlife. How can you figure out who you are if you have no one to compare yourself to? Do you have a personality? If you never see how someone reacts to you, how do you learn to act? Humans need socialization, and no human needs it more than a kid in that netherworld between childhood and all-grown-up. Friends and their families, classmates, teachers, coaches, shopkeepers, waiters, musicians, police, and that enormous salad-bar of potential love interests - everyone you run into offers a sense of where you stand, who you are, and what you can do.



In The Apocalypse Gene, during global pandemic, what remains of society is totally cyber, yet in the virtual school of The Apocalypse Gene, you’re not quite invisible. Kids create holo-sims that resemble themselves and send them into cyber-Chicago (Cy-Chi) to cyber-schools to learn in cyber-classrooms taught by virtual teachers. They send their holo-sims to cyber-lounges to hang out. The streets outside, where no one sane will go, are overrun by gangs, but in cyber-cities, the streets are as safe and colorful as Saturday morning cartoons.
There’s one rule. You have to design your holo-sim to look like you, but what if certain kids have figured out ways around that? Maybe the adorable holo-dude with the sweet dreads gives your holo the eye, but the real boy is an undernourished nerd with a harelip and runny nose, or that blonde-haired, blue-eyed chickie-sim is, in reality, a dark mustachioed sumo wrestler with a bad case of dandruff. That could add a whole new level of distrust.



True friends are more than a click on Facebook. We all need peeps in the flesh. As it says in Chapter One . . . “Olivya imagined herself in Mikah's arms. What would it feel like to be close enough to touch, not via holo-sim, but skin to actual skin? She guided her holo close to his. They leaned together, cyber-foreheads touching. It almost seemed real.”


Learn more about our novel at www.theapocalypsegene.com, and by all means keep it real!

Thanks so much Suki and Carlyle! Doesn’t The Apocalypse Gene sound amazing?? Find out more about The Apocalypse Gene at Goodreads, Apocalypse Gene Website, Book Trailer, Facebook.


Be sure to check out the other stops on this fabulous tour for more great prizes!! The next stop is at See It Or Read It.


GIVEAWAY
Suki and Carlyle are giving away an ebook copy of The Apocalypse Gene to one Happy Booker reader! To enter, simply use the form below.



10 comments:

Suki and Carlyle said...

Thank you so much for participating in our Blog Tour! We hope your readers enjoy our guest post and leave some comments.

Peace, love, and awesome fantasies to all!


Suki and Carlyle

Mary Preston said...

This is the first I have heard of "The Apocalypse Gene". Got to love book tours.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Suki and Carlyle said...

We're grateful to all our Blog Tour hosts for helping us get the word out. Thanks, Marybelle!

Mary @SweepingMe said...

Just like @MaryBelle this is the first I have heard of "The Apocalypse Gene". It does sound like it would be right up my alley. Thanks for the great giveaway!

Mary
mary_reiss @ hotmail.com

In Julie's Opinion said...

At least I'm not alone! This is the first I've heard of this book, too! I absolutely LOVE post-apocalyptic books, though, and this sounds like a great one!! Thanks for the chance to win a copy:)
jwitt33 at live dot com

CYP @ A Bookalicious Story said...

I haven't really read any post-apocalyptic books yet. But will try it soon!

lag123 said...

This will probably be the way our world will be one day.

lag110 at mchsi dot com

Suki and Carlyle said...

@Mary
Good luck in the giveaway, Mary!

Suki and Carlyle said...

@JulieHi Julie,

The Apocalypse Gene is slowly making its way and gaining more and more attention. Best of luck in the giveaway. We hope you enjoy the dark world we've created.

Suki and Carlyle said...

@CYP @ A Bookalicious StoryHello, Bookalicious! Glad you'll give it a try. We hope you love it.

Best to you!

Suki and Carlyle

FTC Disclaimer - I do receive some books directly from the authors or publishers for review purposes. Each review posted is my own personal opinion and any books I accept are not guaranteed a positive review. I do not receive monetary gain from reviewing those books I accept.
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