Welcome to Realm Explorers! In this weekly series, we visit a variety of unique worlds created by talented science fiction and fantasy authors. Enjoy your travels! And don't forget to read to the bottom of the post to find out more about each author and see how to purchase the featured book.
(This one is temporarily on sale. Get it at 99 cents for three days only!)
(This one is temporarily on sale. Get it at 99 cents for three days only!)
Title of book and/or
series: To Nowhere/Standalone
Brief summary of the
story:
From the moment Lyris is treated to coffee by a beautiful
stranger, she has no idea that her life is about to change forever. In her
enthusiasm to start at a new school with a new boyfriend, Lyris is almost able
to look past his oddities. Almost. The way he eyes up her striking red hair.
The way he loves that she’s seventeen. “The perfect age.” And the way he’s gone
from all but begging to show her a specific room in a specific house to making
her swear never to even think about it again.
When Lyris doesn't take his strange warnings seriously, she finds that nothing could have prepared her for what lay behind that door.
Suddenly, Lyris finds herself in a world no one would believe. A world where she’s only a few inches tall and giants aren’t creatures from fairy tales. Where humans are no longer the dominant race, but pets auctioned off to the highest bidder. Lyris understands the true danger of such a place, but there seems to be one person on her side. Her kind and surprised captor. And while Brindt appears to be sweet and trustworthy, he also straddles the line between seeing her as an equal and a cute animal.
Lyris has to get home… before the one person she can turn to becomes the one person who can’t let her go.
When Lyris doesn't take his strange warnings seriously, she finds that nothing could have prepared her for what lay behind that door.
Suddenly, Lyris finds herself in a world no one would believe. A world where she’s only a few inches tall and giants aren’t creatures from fairy tales. Where humans are no longer the dominant race, but pets auctioned off to the highest bidder. Lyris understands the true danger of such a place, but there seems to be one person on her side. Her kind and surprised captor. And while Brindt appears to be sweet and trustworthy, he also straddles the line between seeing her as an equal and a cute animal.
Lyris has to get home… before the one person she can turn to becomes the one person who can’t let her go.
Brief description of
the world or location you created for this story:
The world that Lyris finds herself in is a place that I don’t
think too many humans would want to visit. It’s very similar to our own world
in many respects, but it has one pretty large difference (pun intended!) – it
is a land where humans are no longer the dominant race, and rather are pets
kept by sixty-foot giants. Very Brobingnagian. ;-) Only in this world, unlike
Jonathan Swift’s, pet humans are pretty commonplace thanks to other humans
called Targeters. These are the ones who pick and choose certain humans and
sneak them through the portals to bring them back into the world of giants.
If we were to visit To
Nowhere as tourists, what would you recommend that we see or do there? I
would strongly recommend not visiting if you enjoy having your independence or
being seen as a person. Giants in this world are always looking for a cute new
pet and if you're not careful, you may end up thrown in a cage and played with
by giant children... just like your pet hamster as a kid. If you do find
yourself there, be sure to try the bluemelon.
What dangers should we
avoid in To Nowhere? I would avoid the giants if at all possible. Not that
you could. Once you're trapped in this world, odds are the best you can hope
for is a kind owner who might see you as an entertaining pet. Good luck.
Is there a distinct or
unusual type of food or meal that we might be served in To Nowhere? There
are a lot of blue foods in this world. Bluemelon and starfruit especially.
Plus, humans might find it odd that the giants in this world do not eat meat.
In fact, they find it disgusting and primitive that humans do.
What types of plants,
animals, or sentient races might we encounter in To Nowhere that we don’t see
on Earth? Haha, I'm pretty sure
people don't see sixty foot giants roaming around on Earth. Ahh! But that would
be so cool if we could!
Is there any advanced
or unusual technology in To Nowhere? If
you haven’t described it already, please give some examples. Collars for
pet humans play a very special role in this world. By wearing a collar, humans
are able to actually communicate with giants, if the giant is interested that
is. The issue is that they’re expensive
and it's easier for giants to treat humans as pets if they aren't able to
understand what these cute little living dolls are actually saying, so few humans
are allowed the privilege of wearing one. They are a neat little device used to
manipulate the throat muscles so when a human speaks a sentence, a giant can
clearly understand them through an earpiece. But like I said, few humans are
allowed such an honor as to speak with their giant owner.
Are there any other
unique cultural practices that we should be aware of if we visit To Nowhere? Redheads
are considered the most valuable type of human. Red hair is extremely rare
among giants in To Nowhere, so any redheads who come along are much sought
after by wealthy giants. There used to be interest in brightly colored haired
humans, but once they found out the color was fake, they lost interest.
What, if any,
“hot-button” or controversial topics do you touch on in your book? It’s not
so much a controversial topic – most people would agree that slavery or
ownership of one sentient being by another is wrong. What is dealt with here is more the idea of
dehumanization – if you are able to see another creature as being less than
human it opens the door for a lot of things that are normally considered
monstrous. In this book, since human beings are so much smaller than the giants
and are rarely able to communicate with their captors, it makes sense for the
giants to keep humans as pets. Crazy huh? And kind of scary. I touch on this
issue a lot in my books including my older book “The Promise” and my upcoming
release “The Boy with Words.” I love to talk about overcoming differences in a
world where some crazy physical or social factor creates a schism. Usually, I
tackle size, but there's nothing I love more than when two characters overcome
their differences to trust and care for one another.
Author Autobiography:
C.E. Wilson is
currently living in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband, daughter, two dogs and two
cats. She loves horror movies and shoujo manga. She is at peace when it rains
and enjoys the fall because of football and all things pumpkin. Her favorite
subject to write about is size difference, but enjoys trying her hand at all
things fantastical.
Where, and in what
formats, can we purchase your book?
Amazon Kindle ebook (on sale for just 99 cents from September 6-8): http://www.amazon.com/To-Nowhere-C-E-Wilson-ebook/dp/B010WC51UY/ref=pd_sim_351_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TSNEVE1VY903W2TKXEB
Paperbacks coming Fall 2015!!!!!!!!!
Where can readers
connect with you online?
Writing on the side: http://cewilson5.deviantart.com/
I hope you all enjoyed the trip to To Nowhere. Questions about the world or the book? Ask them in the comments and the author will get back to you!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to another world, in Realm Explorers Part LXIV!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to another world, in Realm Explorers Part LXIV!
-Annie Douglass Lima
1 comment:
Sounds fascinating! And ever so slightly like Lucent Sylph. I'll have to give it a try!
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