S.M. McEachern's Blog, page 13

Sunset Rising featured on The Book Hook Up

I turned 50 shades of red when I saw “Sunset Rising” featured on the Book Hook-up’s “Swoon Thursdays” – but I love it!  Check it out:  http://thebookhookup.com/2012/11/01/s...

The Book Hook-Up is an awesome place to read reviews.  I hope you all have a chance to check out this site.

Another 5 Star Review!

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Page-Turner! October 20, 2012

Format:Kindle Edition

Wow! What an amazing book! I couldn’t put this book down. As global nuclear war devastates earth, a large group of civilians storm a bio-dome that has been previously prepared for military and government officials. The Dome wasn’t large enough to handle the additional people so the civilians are reluctantly forced to become mining slaves to purchase a place inside. Two hundred and seventy three years have passed when we meet Sunny, a “pit” slave. Life is brutal for her and the other slaves. They are regularly beaten and abused by the “Domers” and “culled” or exterminated when they turn 35 years old. Through a surprising turn of events, Sunny’s destiny becomes intertwined with a Domer, Jack Kenner, who is different. They challenge their beliefs and the governmental system as they run for their lives.

I am shocked this is this author’s first book. It is excellently written, fast-paced, and loads of fun. I highly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys post-apocalyptic fiction. It reminded me of Jeanne DuPrua’s The City of Ember, but even better! I would rank this book up among some of my other favorites in this genre, such as Suzanne Collin’s works, (such as The Hunger Games and Gregor the Overlander) and Neal Shusterman’s Unwind.

This page-turner is a must-read!

My second review!

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Page-Turner! October 20, ...

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Page-Turner! October 20, 2012

Format:Kindle Edition

Wow! What an amazing book! I couldn’t put this book down. As global nuclear war devastates earth, a large group of civilians storm a bio-dome that has been previously prepared for military and government officials. The Dome wasn’t large enough to handle the additional people so the civilians are reluctantly forced to become mining slaves to purchase a place inside. Two hundred and seventy three years have passed when we meet Sunny, a “pit” slave. Life is brutal for her and the other slaves. They are regularly beaten and abused by the “Domers” and “culled” or exterminated when they turn 35 years old. Through a surprising turn of events, Sunny’s destiny becomes intertwined with a Domer, Jack Kenner, who is different. They challenge their beliefs and the governmental system as they run for their lives.

I am shocked this is this author’s first book. It is excellently written, fast-paced, and loads of fun. I highly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys post-apocalyptic fiction. It reminded me of Jeanne DuPrua’s The City of Ember, but even better! I would rank this book up among some of my other favorites in this genre, such as Suzanne Collin’s works, (such as The Hunger Games and Gregor the Overlander) and Neal Shusterman’s Unwind.

This page-turner is a must-read!

My second review!

First review of Sunset Rising (5 Stars!):

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely brilliant October 1, 2012
By Tanechka
Format:Kindle Edition

I love, love, loved this novel!! I’m a huge fan of post-apocalyptic fiction and this exceeded all of my expectations. Civilians seek shelter from the impending nuclear war at the government’s self-sustaining bio-dome. The price of their safety is their enslavement to the `elite’ ruling class. The novel is set several hundred years after the nuclear explosions, following a young teenager Sunny O’Donnell who lives in `the pit’. She finds herself an unwilling participant in the political scheming of the ruling class, which in turn sparks the flames of rebellion.I read it in a day, I was literally unable put it down. I cannot wait for the second novel in the series!!

First review of Sunset Rising on Amazon Kindle:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely brilliant October 1, 2012
By Tanechka
Format:Kindle Edition

I love, love, loved this novel!! I’m a huge fan of post-apocalyptic fiction and this exceeded all of my expectations. Civilians seek shelter from the impending nuclear war at the government’s self-sustaining bio-dome. The price of their safety is their enslavement to the `elite’ ruling class. The novel is set several hundred years after the nuclear explosions, following a young teenager Sunny O’Donnell who lives in `the pit’. She finds herself an unwilling participant in the political scheming of the ruling class, which in turn sparks the flames of rebellion.I read it in a day, I was literally unable put it down. I cannot wait for the second novel in the series!!

…On writing a post-apocalyptic story

One of the first questions I’m asked by interested readers is where did I get the idea for Sunset Rising.  The idea for this book came to me a long time ago (and I’m dating myself here) when I was attending Dalhousie University.  I was researching a paper on ocean-atmospheric interaction (exciting stuff… really, it is!) and I came across a failed Bio-Dome experiment in Arizona (I posted some links for you to follow).  The Bio-Dome was built to be a self-sustaining structure capable of supporting life.  To test the Dome, a group of people moved into it for a few years.  Long story short, the experiment failed, but that didn’t stop my imagination from going into overdrive.  The Bio-Dome was not a cheap experiment.  It took a lot of money and a lot of smart people to build it and money continues to be poured into it.   My question is:  why? Are we hedging our bets that one day we’ll need a Bio-Dome to save humanity from a global catastrophe?  And if that ever does happen, who will be the lucky ones to be saved?  Who gets to choose those lucky souls?  Although the idea of a Bio-Dome seems benign, the actual need for one would bring up quite a few ethical questions.  And it’s the ethics lurking behind it that really made me want to write this novel.

This is where my idea for Sunset Rising (Book 1) originated.  It is a post-apocalyptic story based on my own imaginings of how life inside a Bio-Dome might evolve.  The book is geared toward young adults (which I assume to be 16 or over… although I am letting my 13 year daughter read it), however I hope people of all ages enjoy it.  Woven into the story is plenty of action and romance set against a backdrop of human suffering and perseverance.  My goal in writing this book was to entertain the reader with an interesting plot and colorful characters; therefore if you enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next book then I consider my novel a success. If my novel was also provocative enough to make you think about modern day political and human rights issues, then I consider it an accomplishment.

If you have read the book and liked it, please feel free to visit my FB Author page and leave a comment, or better yet give your review at Goodreads or Kindle.  If you didn’t like the book, feel free to contact me…