Free Mystery from Maggie Toussaint

Some of you may not know I use the pen name of Rigel Carson for a futuristic mystery series. The first book in this series, G-1, is now available for free. Previously a Kindle Scout winner, this book is now out under my imprint.

At the time I wrote this, 60 years in the future of Earth seemed so far away, and yet, with recent world events, the future I envisioned has many similarities with this book. This is an eco-thriller, where a secret society with a bent on world domination will do anything to get their hands on the Keystone.

Only one man can save the world. Dr. Zeke Landry, a brilliant but reclusive scientist with a very cool entertainment model android, uses strategy and island smarts to stay one step ahead of the bad guys in each Guardian of Earth book.

If you're a fan of my other mysteries, you will find this series to be written in that familiar light vein but with serious subject matter. In any event, I hope you give this one a try. It's free!

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Here's a quick description of my book: The Big Bang Theory meets the Q Continuum 

Though plague, locusts, and earthquakes riddle 2065 Earth, brilliant and reclusive hydrologist Zeke Landry focuses on solving the problem of the world’s vanishing water supply with the help of a souped-up A.I. named Forman. When his uncle disappears, Zeke and his dashing sidekick search the country for Uncle John. A routing error lands Zeke’s travel pod far from its destination. Worse, every step he makes puts him in harm’s way and has him questioning his employer’s agenda.

Chaos reigns as food and water shortages destabilize governments. The Chameleons, a secret society poised for world domination, believe Zeke has the keystone, an object of great power. They’ve already murdered in their quest to find the keystone, so if Zeke can’t produce it, his hours are numbered.

A fish out of water, Zeke must face his worst fears to outwit his enemies. He must step into his late father’s shoes to protect his heritage...and more.

What are you waiting for? This is a free book! 

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Book Review: The Unseen by Jake Lingwall

Intrepid hacker Kari Tahe makes a break from prison using her special skills. Alas, something goes terribly wrong. On the verge of capture, she’s rescued and delivered to a secret hacker hideaway run by a guy named Oedipus. The plush retreat is nothing short of fabulous, and like-minded people are always inviting Kari to join their hacking games.

But she misses her friends David and Audrey. She wishes the war would end so life would get back to normal. While Kari admires the Eden-like sanctuary and the talent around her, she’s getting mixed signals from people, especially Oedipus. She’s idolized his feats for years, so her hero worship of him blinds her to his nature.

As the war escalates, a fellow hacker warns her to trust no one. Already on edge, Kari decides to stop taking things on face value, and trouble like she’s never seen before rains down on her. Can she survive in this strange new world?

Another winning Kindle Scout book. I loved Freelancer, the first book of this dystopian series, and The Unseen met my high expectations and more. Author Jake Lingwall wove a powerful tale of intrigue and high tech wizardry that had me reading at darn near warp speeds. Nicely done!

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

Book Review: The Treemakers by Christina Rozelle

In a world gone wrong, children toil long hours in a tree factory. The air’s all messed up, and the mechanical trees they make will restore the atmosphere. The tree factory kids, united in their misery, become a family of sorts, with Joy and Jax as leaders. The few adults in their lives are the strangers running the factory, only the strangers consider their work force disposable.

But the resilient human spirit finds a way to enjoy stolen moments of freedom, even in the throes of exhaustion and starvation. Joy, Jax, and a few of their friends explore some nights, searching for food and clothing and they happen upon something so out of their realm they barely know what to do.

A great dystopian read presenting hope and freedom as two necessarys in life. This is Book One in Rozelle’s Treemakers Trilogy. I’m looking forward to Book Two.

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

Dystopian Fans Speak Out!

by Maggie Toussaint
w/a Rigel Carson

Some excellent dystopian reads!

Dystopian books take us to different worlds where people behave badly under pressure. The stuff they need is unavailable or costs too much. Disasters hit in waves. People needlessly die, while others are on huge power trips. Hope seems a faint glimmer, but somehow people keep putting one foot in front of the other, proving the resilience of the human spirit.

Wait a minute. That sounds like today. Dystopia is supposed to be fictional. According to the Oxford Dictionary, dystopia is: "an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one."

I read and write dystopian fiction, but I struggled to articulate what draws me to these books. I love a good story, and when I get drawn into a story world, I don’t want to leave. I love books where the underdog beats the odds and emerges victorious. And I always like books where the good guy wins.

Even so, my rationale seemed thin, so I asked the good folks over at Band of Dystopian Authors and Fans why they read dystopian fiction. Here’s what 21 readers of dystopian fiction had to say.

#1. I'm fascinated with the idea of society hitting "rock bottom" and starting over again with a level playing field, kind of. In this type of disaster, "ordinary" people can become heroes, and you get to see the true colors of the people you thought you knew. Disaster, loss, upheaval: these things push you to the edge, and that's when you get to find out if you'll fall or fly.
#2. It no longer matters that you were thousands in debt, or never got that sports car you wanted, or never got to fly to Fiji or lose 50 pounds. You see what's truly important in life without all the bells and whistles and "wants" clogging your mind space. What's important? Love, friendship, family, strength, partnerships, community. . . And when you don't know if you'll be alive the next day, you take none of these things for granted. -- CR

I'm an introvert as well & I like reading about the will to survive and the struggles to do so without losing your humanity. -- KR

I agree with CR 100%. I also think it’s one of the best genres for showcasing an author's imagination and creativity. -- MP

I like that once it's all gone, we are all left to the basics and it doesn't matter what you did, it matters what you do next. It's easy to see that in a catastrophic situation, but reading it somehow gives me the courage to try it now. So what if I'm shy and lazy, I am going to go do something and talk to people, after I finish this last chapter, of course!! If we all acted the way some of the characters do about freedoms and insecurities the world would be a better place for everyone!! -- KSC

What CR said and because it strips people to who they really are in crisis. Good or bad. Strong or weak. Hopeful or taking the easy way out. It makes me think about who I would be in a world without rules and all about survival. -- BB

I'm getting a sense of empowerment and of a fresh start/equality from the responses. I agree with those. I really like the idea that an everyman (or everywoman!) can triumph and rise above humble beginnings. Reading dystopian fiction empowers our personal wish fulfillment in a role model sort of way. -- MT

It is a level playing field that we don't have now. Everyone's goal is survival. Whether that means by hurting others or working with others it's still the same goal. -- BB

I'm not an introvert by any means. I'm not necessarily proud of that fact. But, that's me. I love Dystopian stories because they remind me of what could happen if we're not careful. They make me open my eyes, and look where we're going. In my writing, my worlds are not post-apocalypse, or post-any disaster. They are just a representation of what could happen organically if we keep going. And, because I don't take it from an aftermath standpoint, I think it is even more scary because my people don't know what hit them. -- TH

Dystopian novels usually have the quality I like in other genres. There is usually suspense, mystery, conflict and twists and turns. Also it's that what if question. I could get really analytical and say it has to do with the meaning of life etc. They usually pose questions. If I go back to Anthem there is the recurring question we see in a lot of books: the I vs the we. --KSH

I enjoy Dystopian fiction as well. For me, it has to do with exploring great loss and finding characters who grow and blossom in the harshest of conditions. I think it's because we are always looking for the light at the end of the tunnel even in the darkest of times. -- CAH

I think it is because we are trying to figure stuff out. So it is a learning process. We aren't experiencing those worlds in many ways in our daily life, but what if we were suddenly thrust into this? Would having read these stories accustomed us to the thought of living in this scenario? And also I think it is because on some level, we believe that the world we know could become a very real dystopia. -- DAL

I think it's an escape. Our society is really not all that different from a lot of dystopian books I read, I think it's just disguised a little better. -- LHR

I like the idea of starting over. While it seems hopeless and life will never be as it was, you build a new existence from nothing. -- RB

Honestly, it is the perfect escape. Reading or Writing I can escape to world that would truly show who I am. I like the idea of everyone being equal and having to start all over again, with the way the world is now would it be a bad thing! -- IS

It reflects a deep seated belief that we are controlled by evil states (meaning governments) who do not have our best interests at heart. Just like the alien interest in the '50s when we were afraid of communists. -- JH

I wrote an article about why we are so fascinated by dystopian literature and film. Some of the experts believe it is because we LIVE in a dystopian society, and it is how we find control over, and have hope, in our current situation. Love everyone's responses here! -- LLW

I have not figured it out either. I am 53 and just in the last few years discovered this type of book. I used to read Danielle Steel type book lol. -- SA

1. In dystopia there is hope. Oxymoronic? But true.

2. Dystopia is about an individual taking on the system and challenging it and sometimes dying trying to change it. Something I wish I could do in real life - but I can definitely do it through my books.

3. Because dystopia is already around me in many different ways and when I peek into the future I can just see it all accelerating towards a strange THE END which in many ways is already here and then I wonder what's after that? Because that's when the real story begins. --LH

I'm often fascinated though, when I tell people I write dystopian fiction, people assume I write YA. I don't, my protagonist is a female paramedic in her 30s and the content/themes etc. are very adult. There's no way I would give my book to someone under 20 to read. I've often wondered why this is the case, why dystopia is very often relegated to "YA". Is it simply because people aren't writing adult dystopia, or they're not sellable? -- KM

I like the world building, the possibilities (without being pure fantasy), the escapist quality, and the type of atmosphere I get from them (if that makes sense). I wrote an essay on it recently, and one of the features I actually love, is that being in a sort of "end of the world as we know it" situation gives the characters motivation for discovering what truly matters to them. -- EK

A dystopian world can be a great equalizer. You don't care where someone is from or what they look like as long as they can help you stay alive. Survival skills are worth more than all the money the once-wealthy possessed and oh yeah, no more bills to pay. -- TC

I also write and read dystopian. To me, the only difference between dystopian realities and our current reality is that in a dystopian world, the screwed up things that happen and that people do to each other are a lot more blunt and blatant. In our current reality, everything is sandwiched between fluffy deception, i.e., very strict policies on physical abuse, we'll remove the child immediately if we see an unexplained bruise. But you can emotionally twist and torment your children all you want with zero interference. But rape is wrong too. We pick the "big and obvious" battles to crusade against while allowing the less in-your-face injustices which can be just as detrimental run amuck. –KF

If you’d like to know more about this topic, I highly recommend a well-researched dystopian article written by Lindsay Winsemius, "The psychology behind why we love dystopian books." http://www.lindseywinsemius.com/blog/7-reasons-we-love-dystopian-books

I'D LOVE TO SEE YOUR COMMENTS ON DYSTOPIAN FICTION. JOIN THE COMMENT PARTY AND CHIME IN!

View all my books at http://maggietoussaint.com/books/

Maggie Toussaint - mystery and suspense at MaggieToussaint.com
Rigel Carson - dystopian fiction at RigelCarson.com

Book Review: Melophobia by James Morris

Imagine a world with no music. Really, try a little harder. Hear that silence? No romantic wedding music. No tender lullabies. No songs of heartbreak and cheating. No energizing rock ’n roll. In this fictional dystopian world, what passes for music is more watered down than Muzak.

Now imagine a young woman at a crossroads. Merrin works at Patrol, the organization dedicated to stamping out the last remnant of people who listen to real, albeit illegal, music. Merrin has made a name for herself in her field, but the more undercover work she does, the more questions she has.

If you can imagine all that, you’ll have the opening for Kindle Scout winner James Morris’ Melophobia. This book struck all the right notes with me. It provoked a visceral reaction and made me appreciate music even more. While this is one dystopian world I hope never comes to fruition, my eyes were opened to how integral music is to the fabric of our lives.

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

An epic voyage into an uncharted genre

Remember these iconic words from Star Trek? "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before." According to Wikipedia, in the Star Trek 'verse, this is known as The Captain's Oath.

 

Well, be forewarned. I've raised my right hand and taken a similar author's oath! My science fiction book, G-1, is out now from Kindle Scout. This is epic for me as I venture into the realm of science fiction writing as Rigel Carson. I hope you’ll come along for the voyage of the Guardian of Earth series.

[Yes, G-2 and G-3 are already written. If Kindle Scout shows little interest in acquiring them, you can bet they will come out through Muddle House Publishing!]

Some Insider Scoop:

G-1 incorporates a few of my favorite things, including an island off the Georgia coast, water research, robots, conspiracy theories, pop singers, think thanks, really bad guys, a twist on media coverage, and a surprise ending.

Here’s the book blurb:

It’s 2065 and Earth is beset by locusts, plagues, and earthquakes. Tensions escalate as food and water shortages destabilize governments. A secret society poised for world domination hunts for the keystone, an object of great power. The Chameleons have already murdered in their quest to acquire the keystone, and now they believe brilliant and reclusive scientist Zeke Landry has it.

Zeke’s Institute bosses want answers ASAP on the water crisis, so they supply Zeke with a souped-up robot named Forman. Zeke knows water can’t disappear, but the data suggest that improbability. When Zeke’s uncle drops off the grid, Zeke and Forman suspend the water analyses to find the missing man. A routing snafu sends Zeke’s travel pod into the clutches of his enemies.

If Zeke doesn’t rise to the challenge and assume his late father’s mantle as Guardian, chaos will reign. The clock is ticking, for Zeke and the world...

G-1, Book 1 in the Guardian of Earth series, is out in Kindle format only right now, though the print version will be released later this year from Muddle House. Here’s the ebook buy link from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/G-1-Guardian-Earth-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00QXUN5ZS/

Thanks for being a friend … and a fan!

Maggie Toussaint

Writing science fiction as Rigel Carson

My sites: http://www.maggietoussaint.com http://www.rigelcarson.com

G-1 can be pre-ordered!

Friends, fans, and fellow geeks,

I bring glad tidings! Kindle Scout has released my brand new book, G-1, to their sales website. This title is available for purchase on March 3, but you can order your copy right now if you don't want to fool around until next Tuesday. BUY NOW

 

This is so exciting, getting in on the ground floor of a whole new way of publishing! I'm very proud to be in the first 10 books released by Kindle Press, and I think you're going to love this story.

With my background in science, it was natural for me to write about a scientist who wants to save the world from itself. I set G-1 fifty years in the future, at a time when water rights are hotly contested and countries fight to get the next agridome in their boundaries so that there is enough food for their people.

Now water is missing. That's right. Missing. My geeky protagonist, Dr. Zeke Landry, knows that water cycles. It can't disappear, and he's determined to get to the bottom of this hoax. Except the answer isn't forthcoming and there's political pressure to endorse the missing water spin of current events. Zeke and his helper, a hyped up robot named Forman, kick open a hornet's nest of bad guys and are soon scrambling for their lives.

There's a reveal at the end, one that I won't go into detail about here (I want you to read the book!), but it sets the stage for what's to come in books 2 and 3, already written and hopefully soon to land in the publication hopper.

G-1 is in Kindle (mobi) format. I hope to bring it out in print a little later this spring.

Dear Readers, I hope you will enjoy this new direction as much as I do. You'll find the science isn't too heavy, and the characters are just as engaging as my Cleopatra Jones, Baxley Powell, and so many other fine protagonists. It's all about stopping the bad guys and saving the world!

So, click on over to check it out on Kindle. Or better yet, read the first chapter at my website: http://maggietoussaint.com/g-1/ and don't forget to check out my pen name's website at http://www.rigelcarson.com

Thanks for liking my books and for helping with nominations to get the notice of Kindle Scout. Let's continue to share this fine adventure.

Maggie Toussaint

Channeling my inner Sheldon

Imagine my surprise when I learned my mystery novel in which I channeled my inner Sheldon (from the The Big Bang Theory television program) was actually a science fiction novel.

It seems that if you set a mystery in the future and if you toss in an alien, whammo! Your book is classified as a science fiction.

Since I already write in two genres, I thought, what the hay? Why not write in three genres???

So there you have it. The first book was done, and I dashed off two more, soldifying the proof that The Guardian of Earth is a series. BTW, I titled the books G-1, G-2, and G-3, so there will be no confusion on which order to read the books.

An agent shopped the series around, but the publishers weren't beating down our door. Seems they consider this as a mid list book and the mid list doesn't exist anymore. Boo! Hiss!

The time arrived when I parted ways with the agent, determined to indie pub the series, and lo and behold I got wind of a new program at Amazon called Kindle Scout. Long story short, I entered G-1 in this program. If it garners some magic number of nominations, Amazon will offer a contract. So I created a cover and sent that bad boy in. They added it to the program, so I have a great opportunity if I can just land enough nominations.

Now I'm crossing my fingers hoping the nominations will come. I'd love to have your endorsement! Please help me Kickstart this book into a higher publishing orbit!

Here's the link:

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/5YHX7W1OI7K2

Thanks for your help!

Maggie Toussaint

note new pen name: Rigel Carson 

also check out http://www.rigelcarson.com/