Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Giveaway and Trouble in Paradise: 5 Tips for Surviving Dystopia by Samantha Durante, Author of Stitch

I'm very pleased to have Samantha Durante visit Bookshelf Confessions. Her book Stitch currently has 86 customer reviews on Amazon, with 4.3 out of 5 stars rating. Let's take a look on the book, follow Samantha's advice on surviving dystopia, and possibly win her book..:D

Genre/Keywords: Paranormal Romance, Ghost, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult, New Adult
Length: 75,000 words (314 pages)
Sample chapters: Ch1-5 (38 pages) http://www.samanthadurante.com/stitch/sample-chapters/
Release date: August 1st, 2012
Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa’s body screams at her to run… but yet she’s powerless to move.

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees – and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell – Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn’t figured out yet is that she’s not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university’s idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface…

The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

Amazon (print $9.99, Kindle $2.99): http://www.amazon.com/Stitch-Trilogy-Book-1/dp/0985804602/
Also available to borrow for FREE from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (Amazon Prime members only).
NOTE: As of 12/1/12, Stitch is exclusive to Amazon for membership in the Kindle Select program, so the links below for Smashwords, B&N, iTunes, etc. are no longer valid.  However, reviews can still be posted at these sites.

Smashwords (multiple e-book formats $2.99): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/208278
Barnes & Noble (Nook $2.99): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stitch-samantha-durante/1112193442
Also available in the iTunes store ($2.99 e-book) and wherever e-books are sold


Trouble in Paradise: 5 Tips for Surviving Dystopia by Samantha Durante, Author of Stitch

So, you live in a dystopian society. That sucks. :-( But as much as you wish things would change, you’re not a hero, and you’re not willing to risk your neck to make it happen. That’s perfectly reasonable – after all, most of us are not Katniss Everdeen, Tris Prior or Alessa Khole.

So what if you just want to make it through the rest of your days with as little trouble and suffering as possible? Here are five tips and tricks the smart dystopian citizen can use to survive dystopia unscathed:

1. Keep Your Head Down

This probably goes without saying, but don’t attract any undue attention. You want to blend in, so do what’s expected of you – nothing more, nothing less. Sure, the rules might seem a bit crazy, depending on where you live – get “cured” of love? choose only one virtue to practice the rest of your life? marry whoever the government chooses for you? – but trust me on this, the quicker you conform, the less painful it will be.

2. Stop Whining

Going along with keeping your head down, KEEP YOUR COMPLAINTS TO YOURSELF. There’s nothing a dystopian leader likes less than a populace that’s in revolt, and revolutions start when people get fed up with the status quo. If you don’t want to rock the boat, don’t fuel the fire. You might be hungry, you might be scared, you might not be able to dictate how you spend your time, but you’re alive, and that means you’re still lucky. Bury your misgivings deep inside and carry on like a good little citizen.

3. Plaster on a Smile

The thing about a dystopia is that it was meant to be a utopia – someplace where everyone (or at least some subset of the population…) was supposed to be happy and cared for and safe. So if you live there, you *should* be in a perpetual good mood, right? Well maybe that’s optimistic, but chances are this whole utopia thing came about because whatever the world was like before was pretty miserable… So even if everything isn’t all fine and dandy and utopian-ish, at the VERY least you should be glad that it’s better than it was. Remember, only whiners frown! (See tip #2.)

4. If You’re Not With Them, You’re Against Them

Inevitably someone living in your dystopian society is going to stir up trouble – that’s just human nature. But don’t think your leaders aren’t prepared to quash any signs of rebellion swiftly and with ruthless abandon. The last place you want to be when this happens is caught in the middle, so pick the side that’s more likely to win (which is probably your government, sorry!) and then refer back to tip #1.

5. When All Else Fails, Hide

Even if you faithfully follow tips 1-4, there’s always another wannabe hero around the corner trying to “save the world” and mucking up everything for the rest of us in the process. If and when chaos explodes, you want to be far, far away. Cowardly it may be, but it’s also smart – don’t worry, by the time this is over, there won’t be many people left to remember what you did anyhow. So stay apprised of rumors of rebellion and have a plan in case the proverbial poo does indeed hit the fan. That way, once the dust settles you can crawl out of your hole with a befuddled look and greet the victors with an unassuming, “Oops, I must have fallen asleep. What’d I miss?” You’ll be alive and no one will be any the wiser…


Samantha Durante lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. Stitch is her first novel. Learn more about Samantha at www.samanthadurante.com.

Social Media Links
Facebook:
Stitch - http://www.facebook.com/stitchtrilogy
Author Samantha Durante - http://www.facebook.com/authorsamanthadurante
Goodreads:
Stitch - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15779886-stitch
Author Samantha Durante  - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6453465.Samantha_Durante
Twitter:
Author Samantha Durante – http://twitter.com/SamanthaDurante
LibraryThing:
Stitch - http://www.librarything.com/work/12870151/book/88297636
Author Samantha Durante - http://www.librarything.com/author/durantesamantha
Shelfari:
Stitch – http://www.shelfari.com/books/30363286/Stitch-(Stitch-Trilogy-Book-1)
Author Samantha Durante - http://www.shelfari.com/authors/a1002689147/Samantha-Durante/

GIVEAWAY
 ends at the end of January!
 Enter the giveaway HERE!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Your comments are very much appreciated!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Listia

Auctions for free stuff at Listia.com