State of
Vengeance by Summer Lane
(Collapse #6)
Publication date: June 26th 2015
Genres: Dystopia, New Adult
SYNOPSIS:
Vengeance is coming.
Monterey Bay, California, has barely survived a brutal attack from
the evil invasion forces of Omega, and Cassidy Hart is exhausted. She has lost
a friend and gained a new enemy. The militias seem to be weakening, and Omega
seems to be getting stronger.
In an effort to recruit more troops, Cassidy travels to the
desolation of the high mountains to find the mysterious troops of Sky City, and
to eliminate a threat that has long been growing just out of the militia’s
reach.
Cassidy is not alone. Old enemies greet her, and the most dangerous person of
all just might be the one she trusts the most.
The fate of the free world is at stake. The end is coming.
The militias – or Omega – will have its revenge.
Book #6 of The International Bestselling Collapse Series.
Excerpt:
To Be Human
I understand what it is to be human. To
be human is to make mistakes. To be human is to feel pain and loss. To be human
is to be jealous, to be insecure. To be human is to be either supremely
overconfident or to second guess every decision you make.
To be human is to feel, on an
incredible level, the full agony of what it means to live. Of what it means to
sacrifice the things that you want – and to lose the people you love the most.
As we walk through the forest, I
think of Chris.
For ten years, all he did was
fight and kill and lose people he loved. It was such a painful experience that
his humanity was removed. He no
longer felt anything. He was numb and tired. He existed – but that was all. And
then came the EMP, the militias, and me.
And now, he says he is human
again.
Me? I feel like I’m getting
farther and farther away from my humanity.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW:
Where do you write?
I write at my desk. I rarely write anywhere else. It is my bubble
of creativity, I suppose. I just turn on my music, close the door, and write.
Sometimes it takes me thirty minutes – sometimes it takes me seven hours. It
depends on what I’m writing. It depends on how difficult it is for me to create
a specific scene or convey a certain emotion. If I’m writing an emotional
scene, it can take me a long time.
My favorite place to write, though, is in the mountains, in the
seclusion of a quiet forest. That’s where imagination really works well.
When do you write?
Mornings. 7 to 12 is the optimal time for me. Once noon hits, I’m
pretty much done for the day when it comes to creative writing. I find that
writing at the same time every day is really healthy for a writer. For example,
my current manuscript requires a minimum of five pages per day. I can write
more, but I certainly can never write less. Setting those little goals is
helpful.
Favorite movie?
Favorite television show?
I don’t think it’s possible for me to choose a favorite movie. I
like so many! I really enjoy anything that’s action or adventure. I adore
superhero movies and animated films – don’t even get me started on Wall-e. The
Book of Eli is really cool, and so is any movie with Dwayne Johnson.
As far as television goes, I usually only have time to watch TV
during June and July. I love Pretty Little Liars, Gilmore Girls (La, la, la,
la!), and I’m positively obsessed – and by obsessed I mean madly in love – with
The Walking Dead.
Favorite classic
book?
When I was growing up, I ONLY read classic literature. I really was
completely unaware until the age of sixteen that there was such a thing as
“easy-to-read stories,” like Twilight or Harry Potter. I remember being so
impressed with how fun it was to read a book that wasn’t written in old English
(Ivanhoe, anyone?).
My favorite classic books (yes, plural!) are Jane Eyre,
Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Great Expectations and Dracula. In
case you hadn’t noticed, I have a thing for stories with dark undertones.
Favorite band?
One of my currents favorites is Muse. I adore them. They have such
good songs! I also like Lady Antebellum and anything with a country sound. I am
fascinated with Lana Del Rey and positively enraptured by any instrumental
groups like Audio Machine or Two Steps from Hell.
What’s your schedule
like as a writer?
I run a publishing business – I handle several different title
releases per year. I have to come up with the content, coordinate all of the
marketing strategies, edit the content, sell the content and monitor the
content. I don’t like taking time off, but I have to. Sometimes! My busiest
months are from November to June. I basically have about four to six major
deadlines per month.
From July to September, I get a little slow-down in the madness. I
work half-days, and I am able to relax my brain a bit so that I can create more
content when Fall rolls around again. So right now, I’m just starting to enjoy
some of the lazy days of summer – I’m going to Universal Studios Hollywood,
Santa Monica Beach, camping in the mountains, and checking out a firework show
for Independence Day.
What do you like to
do when you’re not working?
I really like to read. I find it nearly impossible to read while
I’m writing a manuscript. I just have to focus all of my attention on the story
creation. So I only read when I’m not writing a book – which is usually on the
weekends. I love to crochet – I adore it. It’s very soothing.
I think the best thing to do during the summer is to go swimming,
watch a movie, and then sit on the tailgate of a pickup truck, smell the fruit
in the orchards, and watch the stars. I could do that forever. I guess I’m just
a little country girl at heart! I also enjoy cooking. Pioneer Woman is my
favorite thing ever. I’m totally serious. Ree Drummond is my hero. She needs to
adopt me and teach me her ways.
Are you a plotter or
a pantser?
Here’s where I fess up and admit that I’m a hybrid. I plot out my
stories, I know who the characters are, and I know exactly what’s going to
happen before I actually sit down and write the book. However, I do not plot
out the specific scenes. I have general ideas, but I allow the personalities of
the characters and the environments to shape and mold the scene, therefore
making it – in my opinion, at least – more organic.
At this point in the Collapse Series, the characters shape their
own destinies. In many ways I am just following where they lead – I simply
nudge them in the right direction.
Favorite writing
snack?
Tea and chocolate. It’s my favorite combination. During the hot
months, it’s iced tea, and during the cold months, it’s hot tea. I literally
had a stack of eighteen snickers bars behind my desk. You know. Just in case I
got a craving or something.
Upcoming projects?
Collapse: The
Illustrated Guide comes out this summer. The paperback will release first, and then
the eBook will be available around August 2015. The conclusion to the Zero
Trilogy, End of Day, will release
October 9th, 2015. Then I’ve got the next Collapse book coming out
in January 2016, Bravo: Apocalypse
Mission in March 2016, and another Collapse book in June 2016.
So yeah. When I have downtime, I seize it and don’t let go!
AUTHOR BIO:
Summer Lane is the author of the international bestselling Collapse
Series and Zero Trilogy. She owns WB Publishing and Writing Belle, an
online magazine dedicated to the Art of Storytelling. Summer is also an
accomplished creative writing teacher and professional journalist. She lives in
the Central Valley of California where she creates her stories and shares
them with the world.
AUTHOR LINKS:
GIVEAWAY:
Blitz-wide giveaway (INTL)
- $10 Amazon gift card and an autographed copy of a special edition piece of concept work from the Collapse world
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