VBT – THE DESCENDANT

The Descendant
by Melissa Riddell

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GENRE: Sci-Fy Romance

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BLURB:

She wants her world back; he wants her heart.

Tilly Morgan and her four-legged companion, Kodiak, are just trying to survive the alien arrival. Two years ago, the visitors unleashed devastation—a world-wide EMP followed by a deadly virus that wiped out more than half of humanity.

Traversing the lonely landscape, she runs into an alien on patrol with one order: eradicate all human life. A mysterious, dark-haired stranger named Jareth comes to her aid, and she reluctantly allows him to join her quest to find her sister. He even persuades her to let the damaged alien tag along against her better judgment.

As her group travels the desolate world and inches closer to her goal, she’s forced to examine her unwanted feelings for Jareth and come to terms with her heart, even if the truth threatens to destroy her and everything she’s come to believe.

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EXCERPT

Jareth clears his throat. “I know it’s not much, but I like the way it feels—the earthy smell, the chalky texture. Plus, it gets cooler back in the tunnels, which makes for great food storage.” His voice bounces from the walls, projecting the sound all around me.

Shadows cast by the edge of the distant firelight flicker across his face, revealing the hollow of a small dimple in his cheek. It’s a face that’s near perfection. Too bad he had to open his mouth and ruin it.

“Like what you see, Red?”

Oh, my God. I’m going to kill this man. Blood rushes to my face, but I’m not sure if it’s from embarrassment or anger.

Pressing my lips together, I try to focus on anything that’s not him. The earthen smell he mentioned isn’t unpleasant. It reminds me of mom’s garden; digging our hands into the dark, moist soil to plant seedlings for the summer season. It’s a satisfying, honest scent.

But I’m not about to let him know that. “Kind of smells like bat crap in here.”

Hazarding a glance at his face, he nods his head, the small smile still playing about his lips. “Oh, that’s what the smell is? I thought it was body odor and dog fur.”

I will kill the jerk in his sleep tonight.

Pivoting on the balls of my feet, I stalk back to Kodiak.

Dreadful. Hateful. Spiteful man. “I hope a stalactite falls on your head.”

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Melissa Riddell is from a small, West Texas town in which she still lives with her husband. Her writing career started as a hobby when she was a teenager, writing poems and short stories. Eventually, she branched out and began constructing novels. When not contemplating new story ideas, she can be found traipsing around Texas State Parks, herding her cats, or reading a book.

You can follow her on several different social media platforms below:

Facebook: facebook.com/melcriddell Twitter: twitter.com/MelCRiddell Instagram: instagram.com/averela Goodreads: goodreads.com/melcriddell
Website: https://averela13.wixsite.com/melissariddell

Amazon buy link:

The book will be $0.99 during the tour.
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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY:

Melissa Riddell will giveaway to randomly drawn winners via Rafflecopter a $10 Amazon/BN GC, a signed copy of The Descendant (book 1), or an ARC of the second book in the series.

Enter to win a $10 Amazon/BN GC or other prizes

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Melissa, Tell us about you as a person.

I’m a certified medical auditor and a certified coder during the day. I was homeschooled from eighth grade and up. As a kid, I was a big tomboy and loved to skateboard and play baseball. Oh, and when I was fourteen, I was struck by lightning. As for what makes me who I am, I think it’s a combination of my life experience and hard work ethic. I am also obsessive over certain things and tend to annoy my family. I think they still love me, though.

If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?

Stephen King. I’d love to pick his brain. He creates such believable characters and his stories are always engaging.

What’s the story behind your latest book?

My latest book is the third novel of the Baltin Trilogy. It’s in edits right now, but it has been bittersweet wrapping up Tilly and Jareth’s story, which starts in The Descendant.

What is your writing process?

Generally, I listen to music while working my regular job and it gives me inspiration and ideas for my evening writing. Every day, for three hours, I try to write or do something that helps my writing.

Tell us about your main character:

Tilly Morgan is a twenty-year-old survivor of an alien invasion. Even though they’ve destroyed all electronics and most of humanity, she hopes her sister, living in another state, has also survived. Tilly sets out to find her. She’s strong-willed and brave, but also a hot-head, impulsive, and doesn’t hold back with her feelings or her language.

If your book was to be turned into a movie, who would play the lead role and why.

Hmm, I don’t know who would be a good Tilly, but I imagined Jareth, her love interest, as Kit Harington the entire time I wrote the book, sooooo, if you’re not too busy, Kit, I’ve got a role for you.

What are you working on next?

I’m currently writing Tilly’s prequel, The Intrusion, which will release on November 30. It’s going to cover the two years before she meets Jareth and show her surviving the electromagnetic pulse and alien virus.

What advice do you have for other writers who want to get the word out about their book?

Market, market, market. In a world filled with millions of books, and thousands releasing every year, a writer must put themselves out there and do things to get noticed, otherwise their book will get buried under all the others who are willing to put in the extra marketing effort.

What is your favorite book on your shelf right now?

I have too many to name. If I absolutely had to whittle it down, I’d say The Divergent trilogy, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit, The Dark Tower series, Game of Thrones series, anything by R. A. Salvatore, and The Wheel of Time series. See? Told you I couldn’t pick just one.

Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?

No, but there’s one thing I absolutely, positively cannot do, and that’s whistle. It drives me crazy.

You are given the choice of one super power. What super power would you have and why?

To read people’s minds. I’d love to see if people are just as twisted and crazy as I am. Wait, did I just say that?

List 5 things on your bucket list:

Make it on a bestseller list.
Learn to whistle.
Visit the Grand Canyon.
Visit Germany.
Visit England.

Where can readers find you on the web?

www.melissariddell.com or facebook@melcriddell

Any final thoughts?

To any aspiring writers out there: don’t give up. Even if you get rejections, use them as fuel to perfect your craft. Use critique partners and read, read, read. A writer who doesn’t like to read is the same as a cook who doesn’t like to eat; I’m not so sure I’m going to trust their writing or food.