BLOG TOUR! [Excerpt + GIVEAWAY!] Pendomus by Carissa Andrews (Pendomus Chronicles, #1)

Pendomus
by Carissa Andrews
(Pendomus Chronicles, #1)
Publication date: October 10th, 2013
Genres: Dystopia, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Synopsis:
Humanity has colonized on a tidally locked planet known as Pendomus, a planet of extremes. Half eternal scorching desert and half perpetual arctic night. Surviving along the temperate band between the two, we’ve set up home in a complex known as the Helix. Within the Helix lies a highly sophisticated, highly technological society functioning solely on humans fulfilling their life’s purpose. That purpose is determined and nurtured through a person’s natural aptitudes, as read by their daily brain scans. Eating, sleeping, even procreation is handled by professionals. These basic concepts, no longer a part of society’s every day norm.

Seventeen-year-old Runa Cophem longs to be more than part of the Helix machine. Her life inside is anything but fulfilling. She feels disconnected, and longs to be more than society dictates. Inside, no one socializes, no one interacts in a meaningful way. It’s never set right with Runa. She would love nothing more than to reach out to her family, but not even her own mother can show any semblance of love for her. Instead, Runa has found solace in the ancient woods nearby, despite being strictly forbidden.

Runa’s life takes an unforeseen turn when she’s brutally attacked, and left for dead in those woods near the Helix. Rescued by a stranger with blue hair, she’s immersed into a surprising way humanity has survived. Fueled by a yearning to belong, and an attraction she didn’t even know was possible, Runa wants desperately to make a new life. Yet, there’s much she doesn’t know about herself, about the planet and the forces controlling her from afar.

What she needs is some answers.

 (Chapter SIX)

# # Runa # #

(EXCERPT)

Great. I’m sure he’s going to think I’m insane. Heck, I think I’m insane. This just isn’t normal.

Dropping the towel to the ground, I keep my eyes on his back and pull on my undergarments as swiftly as my body will allow.

“Reacted?” he says, his voice arching higher.

With shaking hands, I hold up the white shirt Kani gave me. I don’t understand how it’s possible to stretch the fabric. It has to be at least two sizes too big.

“It was like the water was boiling around me,” I tell him, sliding the shirt over my head. “Maybe I was out of my senses, but it felt like the water did the same before at the tree. Boiling hot . . .  and then I saw you. Or at least, I think it was you.”

I yank up the brown trousers and survey how they fit. Like the shirt, they’re large and the fabric flows loosely around my legs. They aren’t necessarily pretty, but they do have a nice flow to them.

“You, uh, saw me at the tree?” Traeton’s voice is gruff and he rubs the back of his neck.

“I think so. Well, your blue hair, at least,” I say.

“Is that all you remember? About me, I mean.”

His question catches me off guard. “Yes, just blue.”

“Ah.” He shifts to one side.

My encounter moments ago circles around in my mind. Despite having no visuals to connect to, the sensation was extremely real--as if the woman were right beside me.

“Traeton, what do you know about the tree you found me in?” I ask.

He shifts slightly and says, “Uh, not much. That was the first time I’d noticed the tree before. It was sorta weird, though.”

“How do you mean?” I ask, sliding my foot into my boot and letting it constrict to my size.

“Well, besides the standing water--” Trae raises a hand to his forehead and taps it gently as he thinks. “The tree itself, though . . .  There was something unusual about it. Like it had a mind of its own.”

I stop in mid-step of the next boot. “A mind of its own?”

Relief floods my body as my curiosity piques. He’s had his own experiences with the tree.

“Yeah. When I was trying to get you out, the water rose and basically flushed us out of the tree. Then it froze solid.”

“Really?”

“Truly. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he says. “Can I turn around yet?”

“Sure. I’m decent,” I say.

Traeton continues to stand still for a moment. Then, with a nod of his head, he turns around.

“I need to go back there again,” I confide. “To the tree. It’s important.”

His mouth drops open slightly, but he doesn’t say anything.

Why is he not saying anything?

I rub my hand across the fabric of my thighs in an attempt to make the wrinkles lie flat. “Does this look okay? Seems a little big.”

“Oh, yeah. Very fine.” He swallows hard. “So the tree, huh. Okay. I can show you where it is. You said earlier you go outside sometimes. Or, you did, I should say. Was this a special place to you before the attack?”

“Yeah. Something like that.”

Born and raised in central MN, Carissa Andrews has always loved books. She started her career at 15 in a bookstore, just to be able to afford her book fetish. By 19, she worked for a magazine publisher. At 22, she was working for printers to learn their trade. At 27, she went back to school for graphic design, and became an award winning designer. Little did she know all of her experiences would lead her to becoming a self-publishing power house.

At 31, a magical world on a planet far away, invaded her mind.

At 34, she’s learned what she needs to make her work successful.

Pendomus (Book 1 of the Pendomus Chronicles) will be released OCTOBER 10, 2013.

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