Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for Boston's Quest, a Clean Young Adult Fantsy Suspense by Shanae Branham (10 July 2015, Shanae Branham, 279 pages). This is the second book in the Holoquest series.
PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis, trailer and excerpt below, as well as a quick Q&A with author Shanae Branham.
Read the first three chapters with Amazon Look Inside.
Follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), interviews (ℚ), reviews (✍) and guest blog posts (✉).
Synopsis | Trailer | Teaser | The Series | Author Q&A | About the Author | Tour Stops
Synopsis
The external drive containing the information for building a hologram machine is stolen and sold on the black market. Now someone has connected a new hologram machine to the Internet, forcing people to fight for their lives in an online fantasy game.Trapped inside this deadly scenario, seventeen-year-old Boston Manning learns that her weakness for tolerating abuse is stopping her from unlocking her elven powers. Can she overcome her character flaw or will she die trying?
In book 2 of the Holoquest Fantasy Series, Boston and Jason return with another action-packed, romantic adventure. Boston’s Quest will electrify your imagination as you experience elves, dwarfs, trolls, priests, vampires, and demons as you’ve never experienced them before.
Teaser: Excerpt
This excerpt is from the middle of Boston’s Quest and comes from the first time she is forced inside the hologram machine. It’s from Boston’s point of view.
For a long time I’m hooked up to an IV in the hospital room, pondering my situation. My captors have thought of everything. Not only am I handcuffed, with an armed guard, but someone is constantly monitoring me. With this type of extreme security, how will I ever escape? I tremble. There’s nothing I can do but play along with this malicious experiment.
Finally I’m well enough for the nurse to release me from the IV and my guard escorts me back to the unusual room where Isaac found me. Once there, I see a different officer sitting behind the desk in front of the strange metal hatch. The officer hands my guard a pink harness that looks similar to a lifejacket. It’s made of strips of metallic fabric with three large buckles that fasten in front.
“Put it on,” my guard says in an authoritative tone as he uncuffs me.
Reaching my hands through the armholes, I slip the bodice around my ribs and fasten the clasps across my chest. The guard checks to see that the buckles are secure and I whisper, “You don’t have to do this.”
He averts his gaze, saying, “Next,” and the officer hands him a large syringe.
“No drugs!” I slap the syringe out of his hand.
He shakes his hand, cursing, as the instrument hits the ground and rolls. “These aren’t drugs!” His arm trembles as he struggles to keep from hitting me. Then he growls something obscene as he picks the syringe up and dusts it off.
“Then what is it?”
“Special nutrients to keep you alive.” He grabs my arm and roughly squeezes it while he injects me. “You’ll need a shot every four hours until your body acclimates to the atmosphere inside the machine.”
I hate how he’s overpowered me, but I hold still, allowing the green liquid to enter my body. At first, the prick of the needle stings, but the pain soon dissipates, leaving my skin electrified. My senses become heightened. I feel the tickle of the soft fabric of the harness against my bare back and the cool touch of the dust particles in the air. An exhilarating charge runs through my nervous system from my heart to my outer extremities, leaving a strange tingling.
Suddenly a wave of nausea strikes. I grab the garbage can and hurl.
The officer smiles. “She’s ready.”
“Wait.” I wipe my mouth off with the back of my hand. “Please, tell me something more about where I’m headed.”
The officer relaxes back in his seat. “No need. The program chooses someone you trust from your memory to guide you. Now go!”
A whoosh of air hits us as the guard opens the hatch. I jump back, but the man has anticipated my resistance. Catching my arm, he picks me up and throws me across the threshold. I fly into the machine, limbs flailing, grasping at empty space.
I’m freefalling.
A surge of energy heightens my senses. The nausea subsides. Frantically, I search for the door out, but flashing multicolored lights blind me from seeing more than a foot in front of me. I’m sliding down the side of a rainbow. Shades of bright color wash over and around me as my body transforms into something new.
First, the color of my skin darkens into a rich, glistening brown. Second, the rubber bands holding my braids rupture. My hair comes alive. Shifting and twisting, the long strands undo themselves into a curly mass as their blond color turns into a swirled mixture of various tones of pink. Third, my extremities lengthen. My fingers become long and thin. Next, my ears tickle. I put my hands over them, and am amazed as their circular shape changes into points beneath my touch.
I’m an elf.
My mind accepts this fact, expanding with new ideas and concepts. I understand the anatomy of molecules, cells, plants, and animals and wonder if this is normal for elves. I contemplate how tentative the life force pulsating through every living being is and am filled with reverence and awe for Mother Nature and her intricate workings.
These thoughts race through my mind like cars speeding along a freeway. Then everything stops. I look around, feeling like I’m having an out-of-body experience. I’m seated cross-legged, alone, in the middle of what looks like the indoor horse arena at Dwight’s Dude Ranch. I realize that I’m linked with the powerful life source that runs through every living thing. The soil is ready to respond to the desire of my heart. At the same time, I experience the purr of satisfaction from the wood in the building’s dome-like structure. It’s happy to have a purpose. Being connected with the objects around me is wonderful, and comforting.
My senses are changing. My hearing and sight have been linked in such a way that when I hear a sound a great distance away, my sight becomes binocular-like and zeros in on the object without prior thought on my part.
I hear a slight squeak behind me and turn my head. My eyes immediately focus on a point over fifty yards across the arena. The vivid details of a small, furry nose become clear. It’s sticking out of a tiny hole in the earth.
A mouse.
Defining the object refocuses my vision and the mouse disappears as I see the side of the stable with its wooden planked wall. My sense of touch is also different. I hold my hands palm down several inches above the earth and the dirt below my fingertips pulsates. I realize I don’t have to have physical contact with an object to experience its substance. Instantly, I feel the energy of the object as if I’m linked with it. The object is waiting for me to command it.
Incredible.
“I’m Pete. I’ll be your transformation guide.”
I turn my head to see my shooting instructor standing by my side. “How did you get here? I didn’t hear you come.”
“I’m a projection from your memory.” He kneels down beside me. Sticking his hand out to stroke my hair, his fingers disappear instead of touching the long pink strands. “I’m not really here.”
He stands, taking off his black cowboy hat. His brown hair is scrunched with sweat. I smile with the delight of familiar companionship. He’s just the way I remember him—short, stocky, and muscular.
He smiles back at me, raising both sides of his thick mustache. “Watch this.” He throws the hat. It disappears as it hits the dirt and a bow-and-arrow set appears on the ground in its place. “Let’s get started. You don’t have much time.”
Finally I’m well enough for the nurse to release me from the IV and my guard escorts me back to the unusual room where Isaac found me. Once there, I see a different officer sitting behind the desk in front of the strange metal hatch. The officer hands my guard a pink harness that looks similar to a lifejacket. It’s made of strips of metallic fabric with three large buckles that fasten in front.
“Put it on,” my guard says in an authoritative tone as he uncuffs me.
Reaching my hands through the armholes, I slip the bodice around my ribs and fasten the clasps across my chest. The guard checks to see that the buckles are secure and I whisper, “You don’t have to do this.”
He averts his gaze, saying, “Next,” and the officer hands him a large syringe.
“No drugs!” I slap the syringe out of his hand.
He shakes his hand, cursing, as the instrument hits the ground and rolls. “These aren’t drugs!” His arm trembles as he struggles to keep from hitting me. Then he growls something obscene as he picks the syringe up and dusts it off.
“Then what is it?”
“Special nutrients to keep you alive.” He grabs my arm and roughly squeezes it while he injects me. “You’ll need a shot every four hours until your body acclimates to the atmosphere inside the machine.”
I hate how he’s overpowered me, but I hold still, allowing the green liquid to enter my body. At first, the prick of the needle stings, but the pain soon dissipates, leaving my skin electrified. My senses become heightened. I feel the tickle of the soft fabric of the harness against my bare back and the cool touch of the dust particles in the air. An exhilarating charge runs through my nervous system from my heart to my outer extremities, leaving a strange tingling.
Suddenly a wave of nausea strikes. I grab the garbage can and hurl.
The officer smiles. “She’s ready.”
“Wait.” I wipe my mouth off with the back of my hand. “Please, tell me something more about where I’m headed.”
The officer relaxes back in his seat. “No need. The program chooses someone you trust from your memory to guide you. Now go!”
A whoosh of air hits us as the guard opens the hatch. I jump back, but the man has anticipated my resistance. Catching my arm, he picks me up and throws me across the threshold. I fly into the machine, limbs flailing, grasping at empty space.
I’m freefalling.
A surge of energy heightens my senses. The nausea subsides. Frantically, I search for the door out, but flashing multicolored lights blind me from seeing more than a foot in front of me. I’m sliding down the side of a rainbow. Shades of bright color wash over and around me as my body transforms into something new.
First, the color of my skin darkens into a rich, glistening brown. Second, the rubber bands holding my braids rupture. My hair comes alive. Shifting and twisting, the long strands undo themselves into a curly mass as their blond color turns into a swirled mixture of various tones of pink. Third, my extremities lengthen. My fingers become long and thin. Next, my ears tickle. I put my hands over them, and am amazed as their circular shape changes into points beneath my touch.
I’m an elf.
My mind accepts this fact, expanding with new ideas and concepts. I understand the anatomy of molecules, cells, plants, and animals and wonder if this is normal for elves. I contemplate how tentative the life force pulsating through every living being is and am filled with reverence and awe for Mother Nature and her intricate workings.
These thoughts race through my mind like cars speeding along a freeway. Then everything stops. I look around, feeling like I’m having an out-of-body experience. I’m seated cross-legged, alone, in the middle of what looks like the indoor horse arena at Dwight’s Dude Ranch. I realize that I’m linked with the powerful life source that runs through every living thing. The soil is ready to respond to the desire of my heart. At the same time, I experience the purr of satisfaction from the wood in the building’s dome-like structure. It’s happy to have a purpose. Being connected with the objects around me is wonderful, and comforting.
My senses are changing. My hearing and sight have been linked in such a way that when I hear a sound a great distance away, my sight becomes binocular-like and zeros in on the object without prior thought on my part.
I hear a slight squeak behind me and turn my head. My eyes immediately focus on a point over fifty yards across the arena. The vivid details of a small, furry nose become clear. It’s sticking out of a tiny hole in the earth.
A mouse.
Defining the object refocuses my vision and the mouse disappears as I see the side of the stable with its wooden planked wall. My sense of touch is also different. I hold my hands palm down several inches above the earth and the dirt below my fingertips pulsates. I realize I don’t have to have physical contact with an object to experience its substance. Instantly, I feel the energy of the object as if I’m linked with it. The object is waiting for me to command it.
Incredible.
“I’m Pete. I’ll be your transformation guide.”
I turn my head to see my shooting instructor standing by my side. “How did you get here? I didn’t hear you come.”
“I’m a projection from your memory.” He kneels down beside me. Sticking his hand out to stroke my hair, his fingers disappear instead of touching the long pink strands. “I’m not really here.”
He stands, taking off his black cowboy hat. His brown hair is scrunched with sweat. I smile with the delight of familiar companionship. He’s just the way I remember him—short, stocky, and muscular.
He smiles back at me, raising both sides of his thick mustache. “Watch this.” He throws the hat. It disappears as it hits the dirt and a bow-and-arrow set appears on the ground in its place. “Let’s get started. You don’t have much time.”
Boston's Quest
Available NOW!
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US:
The Series: Holoquest
Click on the book cover to Look Inside the book on Amazon and read an excerpt.
DiSemblance [1]
Inside the hologram machine 17-year-old Jason has everything his heart desires, including a digital simulation of his dead mother. While outside the machine, he’s forbidden contact with everyone. Living within the shadow of a serial killer, Jason is captivated by the beautiful girl next door, Boston Manning. Disobeying his father, he secretly cultivates a relationship with her.
For Boston life is divided into those that have and those that have not. Displaced in a new high school, she is determined to have the life she’s always wanted. But will her choices hijack her dreams and plunge her into the treacherous clutches of a serial killer?
As an action-packed romantic thriller, DiSemblance is sure to keep you guessing until the very end.
[Published 18 August 2012, 269 pages]
Author Q&A
What was the inspiration for Boston's Quest?"The obsession my sons have with playing computer games."How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?
"I see myself through the mother of Oscar Allen, the brilliant online gamer who still lives at home. I relate to a statement made by an Amazon reviewer, Linda D West,Why should we read this Boston's Quest and the Holoquest series, and what sets you apart from the rest?
“For the first time in my life, I feel sympathy for my own sons hooked on gaming and what I may even have unwittingly done to enable them.”"
"If you love a fast-paced, suspenseful adventure, then you’ll love Boston’s Quest, book 2 of the Holoquest Fantasy series. Another Amazon reviewer, Alisa H. describes the book in this way,Can you tell us something quirky about Boston's Quest, its story and characters?
“…the best way I can describe it (Boston’s Quest) without giving spoilers is it's like Ender's Game meets Hunger Games. …I love the intensity of this book - I definitely didn't want to put it down. But I also love the themes that run through this book: loyalty, looking past fears, standing up for yourself, standing up for others, and helping others out even when you have to sacrifice something yourself.”"
"When I was doing research for Boston’s Quest, I paid my boys to play computer games with me. "Who would you recommend Boston's Quest to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?
"Boston’s Quest is a young adult novel, but I’ve found adults of all ages really enjoy it. Readers should be aware of two things:What is in store next?
- in writing the Holoquest Fantasy series I wanted my main female character Boston to have a strong character-growth arch. This required Boston to start out weak and grow into a strong female character. By the end of book 2, Boston’s Quest, Boston is just realizing her personal power. As Linda D West puts it in her Amazon review,
“I even recognize, through her character Boston, similar trouble spots I have had in my own life that I have had trouble facing. I am anxious to learn how Boston solves them in Book 3.”- In her Amazon review, Alisa H. warns, “It ends with a cliff hanger, and I looked online and can't find any information for when the next book comes out... hopefully it's SOON!”"
"I am in the process of writing book 3 of the Holoquest Fantasy series. Lots of people are waiting anxiously to see what happens next."
About the Author
I am a professional writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and a minor in grammar. I have also attended several years of classes and workshops in screenplay writing at the Los Angeles Screenplay writer's Expo.
I love suspenseful, action-adventures and clean, young adult, romance stories. I was born and raised in a small town in Idaho. I am the second out of six children. When I was in my early 20's my mother was killed by a drunk driver. This one incident drastically changed my life. I have always had a passion for reading and writing fiction. Owing to a life long struggle with Dyslexia, early teachers discouraged me from pursuing a career in writing.
As I have spent over twenty-five years transforming my language disabilities into professional writing skills, God has honed my insatiable passion into an incredible vision.
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Jan 1 - Evermore Books ☀
Jan 2 - Every Book Has Its Story ✍
Jan 3 - Tea Time and Books ☀*
Jan 4 - Us Girls and a Book ✍
Jan 5 - Bound 2 Escape ☀
Jan 6 - Jody's Book Reviews ☀
Jan 7 - Jazzy's Book Reviews ✉
Jan 8 - Satin's Bookish Corner☀
Jan 9 - Books, Authors, Blogs ✉*
Jan 10 - Chosen By You Book Club ☀
Jan 11 - Cheshire Cat's Looking Glass ☀
Jan 12 - Literary Musings ✉
Jan 13 - Avenue Books ℚ
Jan 14 - Logikal Blog ✉
Jan 15 - Extreme Bookaholics ☀
Jan 16 - Cover2Cover ✉
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Feb 15 - Book Crazy Scrapbook Mama☀
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Feb 17 - The Serious Reader ☀
Febraury 19 - Making it Happen ☀
Feb 20 - RABT Reviews
Jan 25 - My Reading Addiction ℚ
Jan 26 - The Readers Hollow ☀
Jan 27 - Around the World in Books ☀
Jan 28 - Nerdy, Dirty, and Flirty ☀
Jan 29 - The Indie Express ✍
Jan 30 - Bobbies Book Blog ☀
Feb 1 - Spooky Reading ☀
Feb 2 - Steamy Side ☀
Feb 4 - On a Reading Bender ✍
Feb 5 - Andrea Buginsky ✉
Feb 7 - Novel News Network ✍
Feb 8 - A Good Book Can Change Your Life ☀
Feb 9 - Bedazzled By Books ✍
Feb 10 - Books and Tales ℚ
Feb 11 - The Pen Muse ☀
Feb 12 - T&L's Book Reviews ✉
Feb 15 - Book Crazy Scrapbook Mama☀
Feb 16 - Coffee Book Mom ☀
Feb 17 - The Serious Reader ☀
Febraury 19 - Making it Happen ☀
Feb 20 - RABT Reviews
Thank you for sharing my books on your amazing blog!
ReplyDeleteI love the cover :)
ReplyDeleteMajanka @ I Heart Reading