L.J.: Hi Everyone, and thanks for having me at I Smell Sheep!
I’m here to discuss my series, Extinction Of All Children. Emma wanted to tag along with me today because she’s curious as to everything that’s being said about her. I’m sure if I say anything wrong, she will stand up to me and correct me in the same manner she corrects President Esther. I have to say once I told her where I was going…and her being the way she is…I knew something like this would happen. Lol
EMMA: I can’t help it if I’m curious. You know I always need to know what’s going on so I can help out and make things better if needed. I don’t know why you’re complaining. You wrote me this way.
L.J.: I’m not complaining…all I’m saying is it’s not always your job to make everything better for everyone. Someone else could choose to stand up.
EMMA: I realize that but you are done writing the series now…so this is how I am. I will stay this way unless you plan on rewriting and republishing the series.
L.J.: No, I have no plans on rewriting and republishing. Although it was fun it was a lot of hard work…so I guess you will stay like you are. Lol
EMMA: What does lol mean? Why do you keep saying it? You never had me say it in any of my conversations. Not in Territory L or Territory M or even Territory U. I notice you say it a lot.
L.J.: It means to laugh out loud.
EMMA: There was never any laughter in my world…or the world you created. Maybe that’s why I don’t get it or its meaning.
L.J.: I’m sorry about that. But you lived in Territory L where everyone was poor and I couldn’t really inject laughter into the story because everything was supposed to be bleak and dark. I did have you have a little happiness when you went dress shopping with your mother so you could wear a nice dress to the party that was in your honor.
EMMA: That wasn’t really happiness especially after I found out where and from whom the dress came from. And I didn’t even want to go to that party. Why should I have a party in my honor just because I was the last one allowed to live! Why should I have a party in my honor when everyone else my age or younger died!
L.J.: Now calm down! I didn’t mean to get you upset. We came here for a friendly conversation.
EMMA: I came with you because I had a few things to add. I thought by coming here today I could get my viewpoint across…so let me do that!
L.J.: I would like you to do that…but only if you’re calm while doing it. I wanted to talk to the people here at I Smell Sheep about the love I had for the characters while writing the series.
EMMA: If you had such love for your characters why did you sometimes have them talk in such a stiff or stilted manner
L.J.: I chose to write this particular series that way because the world they live in is drab and dim. I felt that having them or you talk this way added or put emphasis on how overformal and depressing the world they live in is.
EMMA: I guess that makes sense. But why did you have to have me whine so much in book two?
L.J.: You weren’t so much so whining as expressing how much love you felt for your niece, Abigail. So, what you would call whining I would call that showing how much you missed her. Why are you rolling your eyes at me?
EMMA: Although I was upset about my niece, I still would have toned down the whining. I realize you call it expressing my concern. But I don’t agree.
L.J.: You don’t have to agree. I am the writer and I write what I feel.
EMMA: I see your ego is rearing its ugly head.
L.J.: That’s how you would talk to Rich or President Esther. I have to say I don’t appreciate you taking that tone with me, and I disagree. This was the first fantasy series I ever wrote and I was a bit nervous. I don’t have a large ego. I was too nervous for that. I just hoped others would like the story I came up with.
EMMA: Speaking of first why would you make my first kiss take place in the first novel? Don’t you think that was too soon for a young girl like me to have a kiss? Why was it with Eric and not Samuel?
L.J.: Hold on now…wait a minute. I felt eighteen was an appropriate age for you to have your first kiss. I also felt that was the right time in the novel for you to have it. As far as Samuel goes you barely knew him.
EMMA: So, I would just kiss anyone who was there at that time?
L.J.: Now you’re putting words in my mouth. I’m saying you were closest to Eric at that time so the moment was right for the both of you. You were going through a lot being the spokesperson for the territory.
EMMA: I didn’t want to be the spokesperson for Territory L but no one else would speak up. All I wanted was a good job and to be treated equally. You could have written it differently but you didn’t.
L.J.: Emma, I am the writer you have to have faith in me. I believe the story came out with you on top showing your strengths and your weaknesses. I think you were shown in a good light. You should appreciate what I did for you.
EMMA: Since I’m always curious…I wonder will I be in your next manuscript?
L.J.: I’m sorry to tell you this Emma, but your time with me has ended. My current project is adult women’s fiction, romance. I’m still working on it but it doesn’t have any teenagers in it…just a little girl.
EMMA: Umm
L.J.: Don’t look so hurt, and don’t take it personal. It’s just time to move on. But you never know I may revisit your life one day. I believe now my time is almost up and all I’ve done is answer your questions. I’m a guest of I Smell Sheep, but they haven’t been able to ask me anything. I knew I shouldn’t have let you come along. I still love you though and always will. I have to leave now and catch up on some writing. Emma stop frowning at me and come along.
by L.J. Epps
06/03/2016
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Dark Fantasy
Publisher: L.J. Epps
ISBN: 978-0-9971913-3-2
ASIN: B01GM2YTHE
Number of pages: 250
Word Count: 79,826
Cover Artist: Damonza.com
What would you do if you were the last eighteen-year-old in the territory? Join Emma on a wild ride and find out how she survives this fate.
The futuristic world of Craigluy has been divided into three territories and three economic classes. A large wall separates the territories, so the poor cannot mingle with the rich.
Since President Esther, the ruler over all of Craigluy, believes the poor do not have adequate means to take care of children, they are no longer allowed to procreate. Pregnant mothers are imprisoned until their babies are born, then the infants are taken away.
Emma Whisperer is the last child to survive. She is the last child born in lower-class Territory L before the law was instituted in the year 2080. She is the last eighteen-year-old.
Emma struggles to understand why she was spared while others weren’t. She doesn’t like the laws and believes they should be repealed. Her family doesn’t agree with her; they discourage her rebellious streak. Yet, she helps them to cover up their own family rebellion. She helps them to hide a big secret, a secret that could be both disastrous and deadly for members of their family.
As she meets new people along the way, Emma learns who she can and cannot trust. And, in the end, she makes a gut-wrenching decision that may be disastrous for everyone.
She finds herself in danger for doing what she feels is right.
Get the entire series on Amazon
Excerpt:
“On your feet.”
I hear a loud voice. My heart jumps. It sounds like Rich.
There are no windows here, but my internal clock tells me it is bedtime. I was waiting for the lights off in ten minutes call. Instead, I see him standing in front of my cell. He looks the same yet scarier, and his green eyes peer at me. His hair looks as bright as a ripe cherry. My hands shake.
“I’m not going to say it again. You’ve been summoned to see the president.”
“But it’s almost time for lights out.” My voice quivers.
“I don’t care what time it is. I gave you an order.”
I stand and my knee twitches. The ice pack, lying on my side, falls and crashes to the floor. My cell door opens with a squeal, and Rich steps inside. He is dressed in his uniform, and he smells of musk and liquor. I didn’t think guards could drink while on duty, but what do I know.
“Let’s go,” he says, clutching my arm.
Once I’m out of my cell, he snaps the handcuffs on. The coldness straddles my wrists. Like a dog on a leash, he leads and I follow. My stomach is in knots. I don’t know what to expect once we reach the president’s quarters. But, we don’t go to the fifth floor; the elevator dings on the second floor. He pulls on my handcuffs and yanks me off the elevator. My gym shoes scuff against the hardwood floors as we walk down the long hallway. We end up at the conference room.
The room is bright red. There is a large window. I see a few remnants of sunlight, peering through the blinds. There is a long, brown table that looks like it is made of marble. There are four chairs on each side and one large chair at the end where President Esther sits. She has on a dark blue pants suit and a white shirt. Her silver hair is pulled back into a bun, and her lipstick is bloodred.
“Sit down, Emma,” she says, pointing to the chair next to her. “I thought we could have a chat.”
I plunk down, but not next to her. I sit a few seats away.
“You’re cautious, I like that.” Her mouth curls up.
Rich still stands in the room. He’s glaring at me, like a fire breathing dragon. I shiver.
“Thank you, Rich.” President Esther looks at him. “That will be all.”
“Are you sure you don’t need me to stay?”
“No, I’ll be fine.”
“But, I think I should.” He steps closer. His eyes narrow.
“I said I’ll be fine, Richard.” She uses his full first name. “You can go now.”
“As you wish,” he says, with a lion-like growl.
I never knew his full first name was Richard, but I’m glad she told him to leave. He seems like he would challenge her, at every turn. I wonder why she keeps him around. He looks like a coldhearted killer, so maybe she needs his talents. I pray, once he leaves the room, my knee will stop wiggling. He roughly exits, stomping like a drunken man whose liquor has been cut off. The door bangs as he slams it behind him.
“Sorry about that.” Her piercing blue eyes gape at me. “He goes overboard, sometimes.”
About the Author:
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L.J. Epps is a lover of all things related to books: fiction and nonfiction novels, as well as biographies and autobiographies. She has also been known to sit and read comic books from cover to cover, several times over.
Over the last few years, L.J. has written several manuscripts; her mission is to publish all of them. She enjoys writing fiction in several genres, including contemporary romance and women’s fiction, as well as young adult dystopian, science fiction and fantasy. She loves to write because it immerses her into another world that is not her own.
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