YA Guy Presents... 9 on 9!

As the publication of SURVIVAL COLONY 9 approaches--less than three months away!!!!--YA Guy has created a new feature to run on my website and blog: "9 on 9," which will provide 9 intriguing and tantalizing facts about my novel. And that’s not all--if you contact me via my website, I'll send you some signed swag and enter you in a drawing to win a signed copy of my book!

To get started, I thought I’d introduce you to some of the characters (9 of them, to be exact) you’ll meet in SURVIVAL COLONY 9.  Let’s begin with…

1. Querry Genn. The novel’s narrator. Fourteen years old and a member of Survival Colony 9, one of the small groups that formed in the wake of catastrophic wars that turned the planet to a wasteland. Due to an accident six months before the book starts, Querry can’t remember his past, his identity, or his relationships with anyone else in the colony. Not even with…
2. Laman Genn. The commander of Survival Colony 9. Demanding, authoritarian, and unwilling to accept advice or excuses from anyone in his camp. His famous “focus” speech drives Querry nuts. And there’s no other officer Querry can turn to for support, because Laman’s second-in-command happens to be…
3. Aleka. Tall, slim, and severe, she enforces discipline in Laman’s camp. A fierce defender of the colony, she’s also a mystery to Querry--her face is a mask, and there’s no telling what’s going on behind her deep gray eyes. The only thing Querry feels pretty sure of is that she can’t tolerate…
4. Yov. One of the other teens in Survival Colony 9, three years older than Querry. The camp clown, with a nasty edge to his wit. He calls Querry “Space Boy,” a snide reference to his memory loss. The only other teen who seems able to stand up to him is…
5. Korah. Two years older than Querry and amazingly beautiful, she’s one of Laman Genn’s strongest supporters but also Querry’s only sympathetic ear. One glance from her brilliant blue eyes makes his face flush and his tongue tie. He feels he’d have a chance to get to know her better, if not for…
6. Wali. Korah’s boyfriend, who loves to flex his sizable muscles any time Querry looks her way. Nowhere near as infuriating as Yov, he’s still a serious obstacle, and not only because he’s with Korah. It also seems he’s getting sick of Laman and Aleka’s rule and might be cozying up to…
7. Araz. Laman’s driver, a burly, taciturn brute who could be recruiting opposition to Laman’s leadership behind the commander’s back. Like so many things that are going on in Survival Colony 9, Querry can’t be sure--his loss of memory makes it incredibly hard for him to sort through the shifting allegiances in camp. He’s not even sure of…
8. Petra. The camp’s best scout, stocky and self-confident, so sneaky in the field she’s virtually invisible. Querry thought she was on Laman’s side--but that was before she lost her scouting partner in an ambush and Laman steered the interrogation toward her. Maybe he needed to--maybe Querry’s uncertainty about his fellow colonists doesn’t come solely from his amnesia. It could also be because of…
9. The Skaldi. Monsters that appeared on the planet after the wars of destruction, the Skaldi have the ability to take over human bodies, mimic their owners, then shed the corpse like a skin before moving on to the next victim. No one knows where they came from or what they are--no one’s even seen one outside the human bodies they steal. All anyone knows is that they’re out there, in the western desert--which is precisely where an attack on Querry’s camp in the novel’s opening chapter forces the colony to flee.

So there you have it. What do you think, readers? Which of these characters would you like to get to know better? Drop me a line on my website for some signed swag, and make sure to pre-order SURVIVAL COLONY 9 to learn the whole story!