Hi, lovelies!! It gives me great pleasure today to host Linda Naughton and her new book, “Blackout Trail,” here on FAB!! For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $15 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Linda and to increase your chances of winning!!
Thanks for stopping by!! Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!
Blackout Trail
by Linda Naughton
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Thriller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BLURB:
Doctor Anna Hastings is no stranger to disasters, having spent much of her career as an aid worker in conflict zones around the world. Yet when an electrical phenomenon known as an EMP brings down the power grid, Anna faces catastrophe on a scale she never imagined. She must learn what it means to be a doctor in a world deprived of almost all technology.
As the blackout causes planes to fall from the sky, Anna crosses paths with devoted father Mark Ryan in the chaos at the airport. Mark convinces Anna to travel with him and his seven-year-old daughter Lily to their family’s cabin in remote Maine. There Mark hopes to reunite with his wife, and find a safe refuge from a society on the brink of collapse.
Journeying across a thousand miles of backcountry trails, they will face a daily struggle against nature. Their biggest peril, though, may come from their fellow survivors. As Anna grows closer to Mark and Lily, she resolves to see them safely home. But can she hold onto her humanity in a world gone mad?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT TWO:
I chuckled. “So you and your seven-year-old daughter are going to walk, through the woods, all the way to Maine? I think you need to lay off the scotch.” He met my eyes, and I was struck by the conviction there. “God, you’re serious, aren’t you?” He said nothing. “Mark, come on—do you realize how insane that sounds?”
“Says the woman who traveled around the world to take care of strangers in a war zone.” Mark arched his eyebrows at me.
I blew out a frustrated breath. He kind of had me on that one. “I don’t have a kid to worry about.” Running a finger along the lip of my glass, I asked, “Is this what Lauren would want? For you to drag Lily off into the wilderness on some mad quest to find her? You said so yourself—things are going to get really bad out there. You’d be better off just going with your in-laws.”
“All the more reason I want us all together,” Mark retorted, undeterred by my skepticism. He returned to his seat at the table, fixing me with a determined stare. “I want you to come with us.”
Knock me over with a feather. I stared at him, speechless, for several seconds. “Okay, now I know you’re crazy. You want me to walk halfway across the country with you and your daughter? Mark, you hardly know me.”
“I know enough that I’m willing to take a chance.” Mark shrugged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
Writing a Self-Rescuing Princess
For almost a decade now, my blog Self-Rescuing Princesses has cast a spotlight on strong female characters in media. When I write my own stories, including my latest novel Blackout Trail, I try to practice what I preach and develop my own fierce female leads.
What is a “strong female character”, though? Too often in media, it’s become a shallow trope. A token character, often a love interest, that’s given a scene or two punching someone in the face or shooting a gun to make them seem tough. It’s a very limited view. In her article I hate Strong Female Characters, Sophia McDougall writes, “Sherlock Holmes gets to be brilliant, solitary, abrasive, Bohemian, whimsical, brave, sad, manipulative, neurotic, vain, untidy, fastidious, artistic, courteous, rude, a polymath genius. Female characters get to be Strong.”
So when I talk about a “strong” character, male or female, it means someone who has:
• Agency -
They take the initiative and make their own decisions; they’re
not there solely as an accessory for the protagonist.
• Relevance -
They matter to the plot and contribute meaningfully toward a
resolution.
• Depth - They aren’t just a one-dimensional stereotype; they have both strengths and flaws.
And despite my cheeky name for my blog, not all strong characters need to be self-rescuing. It’s okay for them to be vulnerable; to need help; even to be rescued sometimes. It’s just not okay if that’s their sole reason for being in the story.
The main character in Blackout Trail is Anna Hastings, an emergency room doctor with a background working in crisis zones around the world. When an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) knocks out the power grid and causes a global blackout, Anna has to figure out what it means to be a doctor in a world turned upside down.
The first time we meet Anna, she’s braving the aftermath of a plane crash to get people to safety. Afterward, she takes charge of the medical response when she realizes that help isn’t coming. Throughout the story, her courage, resourcefulness, and compassion are on display.
Yet Anna is not perfect. Her nomadic background makes it hard for her to depend on others. When she first teams up with Mark Ryan and his young daughter in a daunting cross-country trek, they don’t always see eye-to-eye. They make a lot of mistakes along the way, and each of them needs to be rescued at various points.
Their strength comes from their perseverance and determination to do the right thing. For me, that’s more interesting than just being a one-note badass.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
.JPG)
Linda Naughton has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She is the author of several novels, children’s books, and the blog Self-Rescuing Princesses. A proud geek and gamer girl, she enjoys sci-fi, disaster movies, and role-playing games. She is a software engineer, paramedic, and mother of two.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH LINDA:
Website:
Newsletter:
https://lindanaughton.com/newsletter.html
Email:
lynn@wordsmythcreations.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/lynnnoton
Twitter:
https://www.twitter.com/lynnnoton
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5081472.Linda_Naughton
Goodreads Book Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64647356-blackout-trail
Amazon Author Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
Amazon US Paperback:
Amazon CA Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.ca/Blackout-Trail-Post-Apocalyptic-Survival-Thriller-ebook/dp/B0BP696W3W
Amazon CA Paperback:
https://www.amazon.ca/Blackout-Trail-Post-Apocalyptic-Survival-Thriller/dp/B0BPJK3YLT
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blackout-trail-linda-naughton/1142813894
Linda Naughton’s Author Website Store Paperback:
https://store.lindanaughton.com/b/FvSuM
Linda Naughton’s Author Website Store Signed Paperback:
https://store.lindanaughton.com/b/FvSuM?variant=167250745801
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Linda will be awarding a $15 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome giveaways on here**
This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting me here today!
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your book!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a book that I would enjoy.
ReplyDeleteGood excerpt, sounds like an interesting story
ReplyDelete