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Interview
1) Do you have a favorite character from The Blemished Series? If so, can you tell me who it is?
It’s probably Ali. I wanted him to be charismatic and cool like a rock star, but there are things about Ali that are unexpected and surprising. He’s certainly a complex character.
2) What character do you feel like you most relate to?
There are things about Mina that I can definitely relate to. She wants different things out of life than a lot of her peers and is defiant about making her own decisions. There’s certainly a stubborn streak within me and I think that comes across with Mina!
3) Is there a character you love to hate in your series?
Margaret Murgatroyd! If any fans of the series read the two Fractured stories, they’ll know what I mean. Margaret starts her story as a naïve and slightly spoiled girl but it takes a real tragedy to turn her into the bitter and twisted woman she becomes in the Blemished series. She’s a villain with a complicated background. My only regret with The Unleashed is that I didn’t get enough time to show her story to the end.
4) What was the hardest part of writing the series?
There’s always a certain point in writing the book where you begin to doubt yourself and the book you’re writing. Getting past that point is sometimes the hardest thing. Sitting down and writing can be difficult. But it’s still the best job I’ve ever had.
5) What was your favorite part of writing the series?
Developing the story and watching it progress. When I first got the idea and started writing it I felt very inspired and passionate about the book. An idea is best when it’s fresh and new.
6) I love the title of your series and the individual books in your series. If you were writing a book about your life, what would you title it?
Oh that’s so hard! Well, the one thing that many people have told me over and over again is that I’m quiet, so maybe that would be a good title: Quiet.
7) Can you describe your Blemished series in one sentence?
One girl’s epic struggle for independence in an oppressive and dangerous world.
8) Do you get extremely attached to your characters? If so, how do you react when you have to write a scene that is going to be particularly hard on them?
Yeah, they become a bit like family! There were some moments in The Unleashed that I found really upsetting to write. Then when I was editing the book I had to read them over and over again. I thought it would make me immune, but nope--teared up everytime!
9) Did you have to do any research while writing Unleashed?
Yes I had to research genetics and in particular DNA sequencing. The technology in The Unleashed, apart from artificial wombs, are actually available today. Designer babies really do exist and I find it quite interesting, although I’m no scientist and have forgotten most of my research already! I’m all for scientific exploration, I just hope regulations are kept in place so that The Blemished never actually happens!
10) I would like to end the interview with something fun. Can you tell me something fun/random/wonky/crazy about yourself or your writing habits?
I’ve never had a single cup of coffee, ever! As a writer that’s pretty weird, most seem to be real coffee guzzlers. I’m a tea girl; of course I am, I’m English!
BOOKS AND INFO
Blemished Series Book #3Goodreads
Title: The Unleashed (Blemished #3)
Author: Sarah Dalton
Genre: YA Dystopian
“I wanted to live. I wanted us to have a future, and there was nothing else on my mind. With Daniel by my side I ran so fast my lungs ached.”
Mina’s world is turned upside down as an important person from her past materialises to take her away from the Compound. She finds herself separated from her friends and facing life-changing decisions on her own.
Meanwhile Daniel is on a mission to find Mina when he becomes involved in the Resistance – along with the rest of the Freaks. His visions take their toll as he learns of an event that could devastate the people he loves the most. Only he can stop it.
Angela finds herself on the adventure of a lifetime as she helps Sebastian find his father in Area 14. After action and adventure on the way there, the group are thrown into another life and death situation... can Angela find a way out?
Fans of the popular YA dystopia series Blemished will not be disappointed by this thrilling conclusion. It will keep you guessing right up to the very last page.
Trust no one.
The first two books in the Blemished series, The Blemished and The Vanished, are now part of the YA bundle run by Storybundle until September 17th!
You can find the bundle here: http://storybundle.com/
A beautiful world comes at a price...
In a world filled with stunning clones Mina Hart is Blemished. Her genes are worthless and that takes away her rights: her right to an Education, her right to a normal life and her right to have a child.
Mina keeps a dangerous secret which she never thought she could share until she meets Angela on her first day at St Jude's School. But their friendship is soon complicated by Angela’s adoptive brother Daniel. Mina finds herself drawn to his mysterious powers and impulsive nature. Then there is the gorgeous clone Sebastian who Mina is forbidden from even speaking to…
The Blemished is a frightening take on a fractured future where the Genetic Enhancement Ministry have taken control of Britain. It will take you on a ride filled with adventure, romance and rebellion.
Blemished Series book #2“The Compound bustled with action and anticipation, causing my stomach to do a flip. I stopped in my tracks, realising something, something I hadn't thought of before. We were going to war, and people were going to die.”
The Vanished are the forgotten: those who live beyond law or society. Mina fought for freedom. She fought for a better life – a future. But even a free world can decay.
As Mina begins her new life in the Clans she meets people with surprising knowledge about her power, knowledge that could change everything – even her relationship with Daniel. But as she makes new friends, old friends turn against her in shocking betrayal.
Life in the Compound is tough; there are ways and traditions so strange that Mina begins to suspect foul play at the very heart of her new home. Instead of leaving corruption behind in Area 14, Mina is faced with the rotten core of human nature as a Clan warlord threatens to invade the Compound. The Clans are turning against each other and Mina is stuck in the middle.
The Vanished is the second installment in the Blemished series and follows Mina’s story as she continues to challenge those in power and seek out new dangers. With even more rebellion, romance and betrayal, The Vanished promises to take the reader on a roller-coaster ride of adventure and emotion.
Will freedom fall?
Author Bio
Sarah grew up in the middle of nowhere in the countryside of Derbyshire and as a result has an over-active imagination. She has been an avid reader for most of her life, taking inspiration from the stories she read as a child, and the novels she devoured as an adult.
Sarah mainly writes speculative fiction for a young adult audience and has had pieces of short fiction published in the Medulla Literary Review, Apex Magazine, PANK magazine and the British Fantasy Society publication Dark Horizons. Her short story ‘Vampires Wear Chanel’ is featured in the Wyvern Publication Fangtales available from Amazon.
The Blemished series is Sarah’s first full-length work of fiction. In a Fractured Britain, Mina Hart has to fight against the Genetic Enhancement Ministry to win back her rights.
www.sarahdaltonbooks.com
www.theblemished.com
@sarahdalton
Excerpt
He clutched the railing and skipped over the last few treads, landing heavily on his ankle. A jolt of pain spread up his shin to his knee. Where now? He didn’t know this building. He only knew that he had to get to the lobby. A blaring alarm fogged his mind. He burst through the doors leading to a hallway and then scoured the walls for a sign. There! The arrow led the way. He set off again, his trainers squeaking against the linoleum.
Daniel ran flat out around the bend, reaching for the wall with his fingertips, trying to stay balanced. Sweat ran down his forehead – matting his hair to his skin. Another set of doors and yet more corridor. His heart pounded, and his legs ached, but he never slowed down. He would never slow down until he saw her. Not until he knew she was safe.
Urgent footsteps followed behind; he ignored them. Up ahead he saw a glimpse of the lobby and his muscles responded. Nearly there. Just a few more steps. He shoved the swinging glass doors with the last of his energy. He’d made it. He’d found her.
What he saw made him stop in his tracks.
Mina stood with her arms outstretched and her feet spread apart, spanning the width of her shoulders. She raised her chin to the ceiling. Everything about her stance said “power.”
Crumbling plaster trickled to the ground as the walls shook around them. Daniel’s knees trembled under the sheer force, whilst his stomach flipped. Ali lurched forward to intervene. He approached with his hands up in surrender, yet Mina still flicked a wrist and swatted him against the wall. He slumped to his knees; blood dripping from his nose.
“No!” Daniel shouted. He stared at her in astonishment.
Mina’s head snapped towards him and with a sick feeling in his stomach, he met her eyes; the eyes of a stranger. It chilled him to the bone.
“Mina, kid, you have to stop this,” pleaded Matthew. He held his gun loosely – pointed down – yet still Mina tossed him aside. He crumpled to the floor like a broken toy. A woman next to Mina gazed at her lovingly, encouraging the violence.
Daniel glanced at Matthew and Ali, longing to check they were okay, but he remained petrified under Mina’s glare. She stared through him as though she didn’t recognise him at all, and his heart panged. He longed for a glimpse of the old Mina. The girl he loved so much. Instead, acidic bile rose in his throat at the sight of her.
A chunk of plaster fell from the wall, shattering at his feet, forcing him backwards. In the same instant, the doors to the lobby smashed, showering them all with broken glass. Daniel shielded his face, feeling the way they ripped at his clothes and broke his skin. There was blood on his hands; he smelled it, the metallic rust of blood…
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