Regress is a mature YA dystopian thriller set in the near future of 2025. The main character, Tru Shepard, is a Creative in a world where creativity is banned.
Blurb:
“Someone once compared living in New Detroit to having a religion–a fanciful idea about a hopeful life in the presence of tragedy. Illogical. Irrational. Life here needed more than hope.”
Creativity has been banned. At seventeen every citizen must receive a vaccine that will end their creative abilities.
Tru Shepard can’t imagine living this way. But time is running out. In ten days, she turns seventeen.
Her only hope comes from Zared Aoki, a boy from her past. If she helps him expose the government’s secrets, the vaccinations might come to an end.
She only has ten days. And Zared is harboring secrets of his own. Can she uncover the truth and reveal it to the world without losing herself in the process?
You don’t want to miss this gripping first book in the Alliance Chronicles–a suspenseful, post-apocalyptic thriller.
Excerpt:
I pledge allegiance to the faithful and knowledgeable leaders of the great American Republic, to follow their laws always and fulfill my duties as an American.”
—Pledge of Allegiance, 2020
Someone once compared living in New Detroit to having a religion—a fanciful idea about a hopeful life in the presence of tragedy. Illogical. Irrational. Life here needed more than hope. It required a blind eye, shutting out the ever-present insanity on our streets, blocking the scars from our wars. It took fortitude.
Living among the disturbed, the poor, and the downtrodden took a special strength. Those who felt sympathy for people like Mrs. Emery, Ko’s next-door neighbor, made themselves an easy pawn for the city’s predators. It was a constant struggle—do the right thing or the safe thing. Mrs. Emery suffered with a similar struggle—being kind and considerate or existing in her own world.
Gazing out the window at the old woman in a dingy yellow nightgown running in her front yard made me feel less human. The imaginary cats she fed chased after her again. Hope couldn’t help her. People wouldn’t help her. Life and I had issues with Mrs. Emery, but unlike Life, I regretted mine. I let the thin grayish curtain fall back in place and faced Ko.
“Weren’t you supposed to help me pack?” My best friend dragged a faded olive-green duffel bag from under her twin bed.
I sat on an overstuffed pink chair. “When was the last time your mom checked on Mrs. Emery?”
“I think it was yesterday. Why?”
I swung my long legs over the chair arm. “No reason.”
Ko tucked her chin-length chestnut hair behind her ear. “So, you’re no longer pissed with her?”
“Don’t know.” Mrs. Emery crossed a line, and I still didn’t know how I felt about it.
Ko placed a stack of folded clothes into the bag. “Mrs. Emery can’t help herself. She had our six. We’re lucky she’s around.”
I popped a stick of gum into my mouth. “If you say so.”
“And what does that mean?”
“She didn’t have to rat us out.”
Ko exhaled. “We shouldn’t have been sneaking out in the first place.”
“It was just a few times.” I blew a bubble and watched it deflate. My issue with Mrs. Emery stemmed from my strong dislike of people stifling me.
“Doesn’t matter.” Ko rubbed her brow. “Who’s gonna watch your back when I’m gone?”
“After you’re gone, I won’t need anyone. Sneaking out won’t be on my agenda.”
Regress, the first book in the Alliance Chronicles, is available as an e-book through e-book resellers (Nook, Kobo, iBooks) along with:
