Today is a first of it’s kind post! Though I have posted excerpts of poetry before when I did the cover reveal for Camilla Down’s Word of Alchemy, today for the first time, I’ll be posting excerpt from a book, as part of my stop during the blog tour for Seneca Element by Rayya Deeb, organized by Lola’s Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 6 till 19 January. See the tour schedule here.
Seneca Element is the second book of The Seneca Society series. If you like reading Young Adult and Science fiction, this series might be for you! I don’t read YA as much but thought it would be good to bring it to my readers who enjoy that age category.
Here’s the synopsis for Seneca Rebel ( The Seneca Society # 1):
What if your one chance to change the world means you have to leave everything you love behind?
In the not-too-distant future, math genius Doro Campbell is introduced to the Seneca Society: a secretive, technologically-advanced subterranean utopia dedicated to inventing and perfecting the most effective ways to benefit our planet.
But there’s a hitch. Like all that have come before her, Doro is given the ultimatum: Stay in Seneca forever, or leave now with no memory of the place, its goals, and its inhabitants.
She stays.
Her ideals are shattered when, together with biotechnology whiz, Dominic Ambrosia, Doro uncovers profound deceptions beneath the surface of this all too-perfect community.
Will one teenage girl have what it takes to go up against swarms of drones, psychological manipulation and biological attacks, to uncover the truth and change the trajectory of the world?
Here’s the synopsis for Seneca Element ( The Seneca Society # 2):
If you knew that creating singularity between your mind and machine would open Pandora’s Box would you do it?
Not even teen math-genius, Doro Campbell, could have known what she was getting herself into when she made the choice to get an implant connecting her brain to her computer. But when she finds her own existence at the center of a fight for power that runs deep inside the near-future, secret society that is Seneca, Doro realizes her mind may no longer be under her own jurisdiction.
In this breakneck race to find her dad and save the planet, Doro must choose between trusting her inner self or technology. Amidst the perils of a brutal technological warfare, and navigating the ups and downs of her first love, can Doro find the way to save herself… and the fate of the world?
Now for the Excerpt from Seneca Element:
The rain began as a sprinkle, and then the concussive sound of thunder hit. The storm rolled in quickly, shifting from oppressive heat to a wet cold. I undid the latch of the strap across my chest and yanked off the eggplant-colored canvas backpack. I pulled out the rubbery hooded raincoat that I’d picked up at the outfitters in Lima and put it on. With my arms squeezing the backpack tight, I curled into a ball right there on the side of the mountain and waited for the storm to pass. If this mountainside had been through so many storms before and was still standing, then I figured I’d be fine as long as I blended in with it, chameleon style. But then, as the dagger-like rain began to strike my body, the cold became unbearable. I grabbed the emergency blanket I had packed and wrapped myself in it, fearing I might freeze if the storm didn’t end before nightfall. I shivered inside my soggy cocoon, teeth clanking uncontrollably, arms plastered to my body as I hugged myself, covered in goosebumps the size of pimples. All I could think about was getting to a lower elevation… if I could just survive the night.
The whole point of the trip was to get to The Seneca Society’s Hub 48 entrance on Lake Titicaca and find my dad. I was determined to see if he was really there, and to finally discover the deeper, hidden secrets of this subterranean, technologically-advanced world. I had the coordinates for the covert entrance point, but somehow I’d become inexplicably disoriented. Now I was lost in the middle of nowhere, practically beaten to a pulp and starting to doubt my ability to find Hub 48 after all. And to make matters worse, I was disconnected from the data grid, without access to the superhighway of information and the network of people that could help me figure out the right way to go. All the planning I had done and the materials I had collected for this trip, now stored in my encrypted Veil, were completely inaccessible.
My Veil was my lifeline, everything— and I mean everything— important was there. It had the recognition data I’d borrowed from my friend, Brittany Gilroy, the daughter of a Seneca Senator, to get me into the Aboves in the first place, and keep me untraceable. It had all the maps I needed to find my way. It stored my passwords, health records, personal contact information… literally everything that meant anything to me. But now the harsh reality of making a successful trek while being completely off the grid was beginning to sink in. What if no one finds me out here?
Interested? Find the books on Goodreads:
About the Author: Rayya Deeb
Rayya Deeb is a Virginia Tech Hokie, born in London, England and raised in Northern Virginia. She lives in Southern California with her husband and two daughters. Rayya has worked in television production and film development, but her true passion is writing. She has spent over a decade screenwriting, collaborating with some seriously incredible, world-renowned directors, actors and top-notch producers.
Be sure to stop by other blogs on the tour to read reviews, interviews and more. Full schedule available here!
Feature image: Photo by shayd johnson on Unsplash
This sounds like a fascinating story, Kriti! Thanks for letting us know about it. And, thank you for mentioning the cover reveal you did for my book!