The
Blue Effect
Renegade
Heroes
Book
One
Rose
Shababy
Genre: Adult Urban Sci-fi/Fantasy
Date of Publication: September
8th, 2014
Cover Artist: Regina Wamba
Book Description:
Blue
Brennan is jaded and bitter despite her pinup girl looks and quick wit. Night
after night, she scours the Seattle club scene looking for someone or something
to fill the emptiness inside.
When
she meets the mysterious Kasey, her world stops… literally. He claims she has the ability to control time and stuns
her even further when he reveals his own gifts.
Blue
is inexplicably drawn to Kasey and reluctantly enters his world filled with a
new breed of humanity. They’re misfits like her, blessed or cursed with
powerful abilities, struggling to hide their differences from the rest of
society.
Then
the group discovers
a nameless, faceless sociopath with nightmarish powers; and he’s coming for
Blue. She’s left reeling when they discover her gifts are the key to defeating
his terrible evil and saving them all.
Now she must race against the clock to harness her own powers and save
her new friends. Can she be more than a renegade? Can she be a hero too?
About Holloween Costumes
Halloween is fast approaching. That means tons of kids (as
well as adults!) will be picking their costumes for the celebration. Many will
be choosing their favorite characters from TV, movies, and books.
Of course, we’ll see scads of superheroes roaming the
streets come October 31st. And why not? Who wouldn’t want to be a
noble figure like Superman, or be able to perform amazing heroics like Ironman?
I can’t help but fantasize at least a little that someday, people
will be donning costumes of Blue Brennan or Kasey Korsak, or any of the other
characters from the Renegade Heroes series. (It’s a growing world, who knows
how many heroes will show their faces?) Hopefully mostly adults as these books
aren’t written for children.
Deep down, however, I know that even if my books hit the big
time and studios come my way waving contracts for movie and television rights,
there probably won’t be a whole lot of anyone dressing up as my characters.
“But, Rose,” you might say. “How can that be? The Blue
Effect is filled with brand new superheroes, awesome characters with cool
powers!”
And you wouldn’t be wrong. Blue is a mouthy, brash, amazing
woman with an independent streak a mile long. Kasey is steady and focused and
intensely ethical without being ridiculous.
But they don’t wear costumes. They aren’t living in a secret
lair hidden from prying eyes deep beneath the city. They don’t wreck cities
whilst stopping the bad guy.
They’re just not the same kind of superhero you’re used to.
They’re really more like you and me.
Which was kind of my goal all along.
I wanted to create heroes that regular people could relate
to. They aren’t filthy rich. They aren’t super intelligent (well, okay, one of
them is, but her super poweris super
genius). They aren’t from another planet. They don’t have connections in the
city or state government. They aren’t part of an elite military force gone
rogue.
They’re ordinary folks who’ve all discovered something
special inside themselves, something that allows them to do things they
wouldn’t normally do.
They find themselves in a position to help others, and so
they do. They help prevent crime. They help others find the good inside
themselves. They help each other.
They’re not fighting off maniacal madmen bent on taking over
the world. Well, not yet, anyway. Who knows what can happen?
They’re living up to the ideal I’ve had for years. If we,
all of us, did a little bit to help others, what would the world be like?
You can do it by donating blood, or giving canned goods to
your local food bank. You could donate your time at a local nursing home,
spending time with the elderly just reading to them or playing cards. You could
donate your time to a local charity, or even ten dollars to cancer research. You
can volunteer at your child’s school. You could put up one of those Little Free
Library boxes on your street. The possibilities are limitless and one small
gesture can create a ripple effect that will touch more people than you could
imagine.
Which brings me to the real fantasy I have. Folks dressing
up in costumes modelled after my characters would be cool, but you know what
I’d really like to see?
I’d like to see more people volunteering, getting involved
with their community. I’d like to see the real lesson of The Blue Effect taking
root in the minds of the people who read it.
As Kasey once told Blue, “Only I have the power to choose
what kind of person I want to be.”
We all have that same power, the power to choose how our
actions will affect others. The power to affect the world.
Each of you is capable of great things, you awesome,
powerful readers!
Choose wisely.
Excerpt
“Kasey,”
I yelled stupidly, knowing it wouldn’t do any good but unable to stop myself.
“Kasey, where are you?”
I
burst through another door to find the bathroom, a layer of steam frozen in the
air. I pulled the curtain back without even thinking about who might be in the
shower, and slumped with relief when I found Kasey. He held a washcloth to his
face as a stream of water rained down on him, frozen in place.
“Kasey,”
I breathed happily, and reached out to grab his hand.
As
I touched him, the same spark I always felt when we made contact erupted and
the world came to life again. Water spewed all over me, soaking my clothes,
spilling over onto the floor, but I didn’t care.
Kasey
startled and yelped a little when he saw me. He recovered quickly. “Blue? What
happened?”
I
smiled, my tears mixing with the hot water from the shower as I launched myself
at him, hugging him tightly. He smiled back and wrapped his arms around me.
Thank
god I found you! I thought. “I’m so glad you’re here,” I whispered in his ear.
“I
knew you would come back,” he whispered back, just before his lips found mine.
About
the Author:
Rose Shababy and her family
reside in eastern Washington State. Rose grew up in the Northwest but swears
she’s going to move to warmer climates someday. She’s claimed this for over 20
years, however, and has yet to move more than 75 miles away from her mother.
Rose has a deep love of all
things Star Trek and yearns to travel the heavens, as well as an intense desire
to be bitten by a radioactive spider.
Unfortunately she sucks at
science and math so she hasn’t been able bring her dreams to life, instead
living vicariously through books, comics, television and film. She hopes to
someday make a million dollars so she can afford to buy her way to the
international space station, but she’d settle for being able to fly around the
world and leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Rose also loves to cook and
worked for years in a gourmet Italian grocery and deli where she learned to
hone her skills. She prepares culinary masterpieces for her family, but
fervently wishes the dishes would wash themselves. Especially now that her
dishwashers/children are nearly grown and only one still lives at home.
Rose likes to use her free time
wisely. For instance, she likes to daydream, will often read for hours until
she falls asleep on the couch with an electric blanket and a warm tabby cat
curled up on her hip, as well as spending cozy weekend days watching Syfy
movies like Sharknado and Mega Piranha with her husband.
If Rose were a cartoon animal,
she’d prefer to be a wise old owl or a sleek and sexy jaguar, but in reality
she’d probably be a myopic mole with coke-bottle glasses.
Thank you for hosting today!
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