Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

It's been a while since I did a Teaser Tuesday and I'm hoping to bring it back. I've plenty of books I can share teasers from, indeed!

Page 164
Greek looked from Cole to me, me to Cole, different emotions pulsing from him. My spirit recognized them and informed my brain. Anger, amusement, affront, remorse, envy.

After apocalypse, there’s a whole world to reclaim…

It’s been a decade since the Viral plague that brought the dead back to life with a hunger for living flesh. The survivors have long since fled the big cities and resettled in the countryside, mountains, and plains, building a network of fortresses and cavernous sanctuaries.

As civilization rebuilt and reshaped itself in this nightmarish new world, there arose an overwhelming demand for the supplies and riches left behind in the remains of the old one.

A system of trade and barter formed around the market of these goods, a macabre economy for a dead world. Those brave or foolish enough to seek out treasure among the wastelands became known as the Reapers.

Gus and Oscar are a two-man reaping crew, facing down the horrors of a shattered world in search of its hidden wealth. But more dangerous than the undead Virals, and their various deadly strains, are the others like themselves, cutthroat scavengers bent on plundering the riches of the Reaperlands…

I received this eBook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I have such a deep love and respect for post-apocalyptic stories. I've read many, watched many and played many games involving the topic. This one is just as awesome.

I enjoyed the story. The world building was impeccable. You could easily picture the now desolate Los Angeles as the main characters did their job. But it is no shocker, as Roy works in animation.
The characters are first introduced as Red and Blue as they do their job which is to retrieve the wealth left behind by the zombies. A job title called a Reaper.
Blue is significantly more reserved and calmer, whereas it is obvious that Red wears the right colour of passion and wild fires. He is much more excited for the kill and the gaining of treasures, dreaming of visiting brothels. The contrast between the two are really quite clear.

But damn, I can't decide which is more terrifying, the runner or Maude. Probably the runner. Having played zombie games with running zombies, either you get it or it gets you, most of the time.

The story itself is a very minimalist way of writing. Which can be quite tricky to read. There is some faltering in the flow of the story, which is where editing comes in handy. However, it didn't really take away from the story.

This is a pretty good short story and debut from Roy. Just when it was getting good, it ended. I want more, dang it! I look forward to Gus and Oscar's adventures.

I have been sitting in a fury of overwhelmed stress after taking my recent review of Mayhem's Children and trying to put it on Amazon. Only to find that I was cut off from being able to do so until I coughed up $50 of bought stuff on Amazon.

Dammit, Amazon! I'm too poor for this crap!

Now, I understand why they did that. It makes a lot of sense. It's to cut down on the fake, scammy and spammy reviews people leave. (Here's to less funny reviews of stuff people haven't ever bought before).

But as a book blogger, this was very alarming. Also, very expensive. D:

I have rectified the situation as best as I can (my poor, abused wallet). Hopefully it stays this way, otherwise "ugghhhh" will be my response again.

Rant over.

Ingrid always loved to sing. Auditioning for a summer job after high school shattered her dreams. She fled Germany for Detroit where she married with the hopes of starting a family. When hope crumbled, she attempts to sing again. Will singing bring the life Ingrid always desired, or will her mutilated soul lose her everything?

L: Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
HGS: I have always been a dreamer, but also somewhat of an adventurer. Growing up in a small village in southern Germany I spent a lot of time outside, exploring my little world - strolling through the woods or lying in the grass and observing my surroundings. One of my favorite pastimes was watching the sky — clouds forming into all kinds of creatures that shifted, battled, embraced, danced, and played games with each other. In those early days, I started writing poetry. My favorite aunt, a voracious reader, soon infected me with her love of books and on my thirteenth birthday she gave me a diary. I was hooked. I wrote and wrote and wrote — mostly about my life. That diary became my silent confidant, a trusted reservoir into which to deposit the tumultuous thoughts and emotions of my teen years. Mesmerized with language in general, I left home to spend a year in London, England, to enhance my English language skills, before planning to go to France to learn French. However, fate intervened - and I soon found myself moving to the USA. As time went on, marriage, raising a family, plus getting a college education, literally took the wind out of my literary sails. Although I felt some inspiration here and there, I had neither much time nor energy for putting creative thoughts on paper. As much as I regret not writing more during those years, I take some comfort in the fact that acquiring a degree in journalism and interacting with people in a variety of other activities not only improved my English language skills but also contributed material for stories to be written in the future.

L: Who or what inspired you to be an author?
HGS: As I already mentioned, I was smitten with the magic of words even as a youngster. Then, throughout my school years, and in college, the praise I received for my compositions inspired me to devote even more time to tuning my writing skills. Unfortunately, in the process, I greatly neglected math, the one area that had never been my strongest ability. Years later, my marriage over, I finally reconnected with my first passion in life. I like to play with writing styles. And, over the years, my essays, articles, memoirs, and poetry were gradually published in the United States, the UK, and Canada. However, I felt driven to write at least "one full-length novel." At this time, I have completed three - and have a fourth one in the making.

L: Who or what inspired your novel?
HGS: I fall frequently back on experiences - both negative and positive - in my own life, which I then embellish with an imaginary story-line. I also like to use my fictional tales as vehicles to explore issues that are important to me. Therefore, my writing tends to become a mix of human interest and suspense. Even my shorter pieces often include a variety of personal memoirs, ranging from nostalgic to introspective to funny while my debut novel, "Burying Leo," dives head on into exploring the dark world of sexual abuse.

L: What would you say is the genre of your novel?
HGS: Women's Fiction (with an undercurrent of romance and suspense)

L: Why did you pick this/these genre(s)?
HGS: I think that beyond coming up with beautiful and/or powerful words, or putting enchanting, grammatically correct, sentences on paper, maybe a writer could stretch a bit further and turn those special skills into creating a vehicle to deliver a message close to his heart. Since I am personally deeply concerned with abuse of any kind, but particularly the mistreatment of women and children, in "Burying Leo" and one of my novels linked to it, I ended up choosing topics I was driven to tackle.

L: How did you develop your plot and characters?
HGS: "Burying Leo" developed rather gradually. Once again, falling back on a life time of personal experiences, I tried on different versions and various titles of what would eventually give birth to "Burying Leo." Extremely concerned with abuse situations, but also being a fan of mysteries and detective shows, along with an undercurrent of "human interest," I gradually embellished "what I know" with imaginary actions and outcomes that I hoped would give give credence to the strong instincts of survival we all carry within us.

L: Who or what inspired your protagonist?
HGS: Although Ingrid is a fictitious character, she is most definitely a composite of a variety of women I observed (and often admired) throughout life, mostly women who had been caught in some tough situations, but battled through it and came out on top – strong, resilient women. Therefore, Ingrid's hurt, confusion and, ultimately, her vindication resonated deeply with me. She is young, innocent, and very vulnerable. Even after being brutally assaulted, she is still determined to do "the right thing" by attempting to report the crime. She is also wounded, confused, needy, and maybe, therefore, not entirely responsible for some of the things she eventually does. In portraying this young woman's journey, I tried to show how quickly unexpected life can throw us a curve we have no control over - but, ultimately, we are called upon to dealing with the consequences of whatever it was we have to endure.

L: Who or what inspired your antagonist?
HGS: Leo Rohmann, the despicable bar owner who brutally assaults Ingrid, is a composite of men entitled to abuse a position of power to take advantage of a vulnerable woman dependent on their goodwill.

L: What was the most difficult part to write in the book?
HGS: The assault scene!!! However, this is also the part that does clarify what makes Ingrid "tick" throughout the novel.

L: What was your favourite part of your book to write?
HGS: My protagonist's ultimate triumph - in revenging herself and reclaiming her life's dream. When Ingrid, step by step, regains the courage to stand up for herself and finally reclaims her own identity: First in finding her voice again, then in wielding her own unique justice and getting her revenge, and eventually even defying her husband’s dominance.

L: Are you a full time or a part time writer? If part time, what do you do besides write?
HGS: Cater to my wonderful family!

L: What are you currently reading?
HGS: After recovering from the emotionally onslaught of “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn, I am currently relaxing with Abigail Tucker’s extremely informative as well as entertaining non-fiction book, “The Lion in the Living Room” (How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over The World). This particular New York Times bestseller is truly a cat lover’s delight.

L: What are some of your favourite books or authors?
HGS: Among my most memorable first exposures to American literature were the German translations of Pearl S. Buck and Mark Twain. I have since become familiar with Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Harper Lee, Margaret Mitchell, J.D. Salinger etc. My reading tastes vary. I love the classics and human interest stories, but I like crime fiction as well. One of my favorites in that genre is novelist and screen writer Elmore Leonard. I had the privilege of getting to know him personally. First, coincidentally, we occupied space in the same office building. Then, while I was working toward my journalism degree, I had the pleasure of interviewing him for a college writing assignments. And frankly, I was (and still am) in absolute awe of this prolific writer. Last but not least, I adore William Faulkner. At first it was hard for me to work through some of his dialogues reflecting the speech pattern unique to the American South, but once I became better acquainted with it, I was simply fascinated. I am extremely interested in linguistics, and Faulkner’s way of allowing his characters to communicate in their own local tongue imbues them with a regional quality that really makes their world come alive. But last if not least, after hearing about it for years, I finally read “A Tale of Two Cities” - and I was mesmerized. In applying a strange mix of poetic renderings, precise descriptions, and profound psychological insights, Charles Dickens paints an explicit and sometimes gut-wrenching picture of the often cruel events of the French revolution and the people caught up in it.

L: What are your future projects, if any?
HGS: I am currently editing another novel which slightly links to "Burying Leo." Next, I intend to pull together those multiple diary entries of my youth. After laboriously converting them from shorthand (my special teen year's key to secrecy) into a typed version - before translating it all from German into English - I intend to pull everything together into a something half-ways legible. Even if my life story never makes it into any kind of formal print, I sincerely hope that my early shenanigans will at least elicit an occasional awe and/or chuckle from my descendants.

L: What is your preferred method for readers to get in touch with you and your books?
HGS:
https://www.facebook.com/Helga-Gruendler-Schierloh-Author-1342386532549272/
Email: spaceplotter@yahoo.com

L: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
HGS: My own mantra: "Never give up on following your dreams!"

Eight years have passed since the Mayhem Wave forever altered the world to a blend of science and magic, and since Harrison Cody rescued twenty-eight teenage girls from human traffickers. Now they are disappearing, and he suspects their former captors, followers of an entity of ultimate power and evil, of an elaborate revenge scheme. An assistant director in the New Chicago Security Agency, Harrison puts his government resources to the task of protecting these women, and recovering the ones already lost. But Harrison did not just rescue them from villains those many years ago, he also adopted them, and that relationship holds the key to the true nature of their present danger.

Dorothy O’Neill, another of Harrison’s adopted daughters, though from very different circumstances, has taken five-year- old Melody Cody, Harrison’s only child by blood, under her wing. As the missing persons crisis intensifies, Dorothy discovers she and Melody are targets as well. When the NCSA headquarters are attacked by a dark wizard with a colony of giant bats, the two of them flee into the woods to evade capture.

Separated by hundreds of miles, and with no means of communication, Harrison and Dorothy become entangled in the schemes of a monster who hopes to alter the world once again at the cost of all they hold dear. And as Dorothy finds an inner strength and new abilities she never dreamed of possessing, she comes to suspect Melody may be something more than she appears.

Holy crap!
Eight years have passed since the Mayhem Wave. Our main characters have grown and changed so much. Harrison is the Assistant Director of the New Chicago Security Agency. He is married to Apryl and they have a biological daughter named Melody. But Harrison's adopted daughters, several of the 28 of them, have gone missing. Harrison calls in his team to protect the daughters who haven't been taken and track the ones who have. But this also means all of his children are in danger. Mitchell is also taken. So Harrison tasks Dorothy to protect Melody and herself, to evade being kidnapped. Eventually, though, it is Dorothy who finds the missing women and they try to break free of their kidnappers.

I am so glad that this story focused on Dorothy mainly. She was such an integral part of the first story that when she and Mitchell weren't part of the second novel it definitely changed the dynamic of the story line when the second novel focused mainly on Harrison.

Speaking of changed story dynamics, the first book without Glimmer. Wow that was tough to read. While Sparky has her own unique quirks, the loss was very obvious.

The cabin in the woods that teleported to a new position every day was very interesting. It was a great touch on the magic that came with the Mayhem Wave.

My greatest issue, though, was the romance between Dorothy and Claudia. While I applaud the author for taking the chance and touching on the idea of same sex relationships, it really didn't mesh with me. It was too "insta-love" for me. Claudia's affections had spent years maturing but for Dorothy to go from straight to lesbian is a bit of a far reach. As a woman who is straight, it wouldn't be a decision that I would take lightly or dive into. It would need time to grow, same with any relationship. I just didn't feel this.

Either way, yet another awesome novel. Edward Aubry still manages to build such a unique world with unique characters and even more unique villains. This series just gets better and better, despite small hiccups.

Edward Aubry is a graduate of Wesleyan University, with a degree in music composition. Improbably, this preceded a career as a teacher of high school mathematics and creative writing.
Over the last few years, he has gradually transitioned from being a teacher who writes novels on the side to a novelist who teaches to support his family. He is also a poet, his sole published work in that form being the sixteen stanza “The History of Mathematics.”
He now lives in rural Pennsylvania with his wife and three spectacular daughters, where he fills his non-teaching hours spinning tales of time-travel, wise-cracking pixies, and an assortment of other impossible things.

Melbourne, 2052, two years since The Fall.

A wave of infection, the Jackson Virus, has swept the world, leaving in its wake a terrifying apocalyptic wasteland populated by wild cleanskin survivor groups and the ravenous, infected night predators – the jacks. In this nightmare landscape, one of the last remaining sanctuaries is Kulin Wallcom, a community enclosed by a 10-metre wall patrolled by what’s left of the military. The wallcoms are the last remaining bastions of defence and security in a world gone over the edge.

But the people of Kulin can’t stay behind their wall forever.

Recovery expert, John Bradley, is part of a major operation into the wasteland looking to not only ensure the survival of Kulin by bringing back critical supplies from the abandoned Southstone Supermall, but, more crucially, to also locate and extract the only person left who may be able to reverse the tide of infection.

However, the mission faces danger at every turn. It seems to be compromised from the inside, Southstone is thought to be an impossible target overrun with infected, and wasteland survivor bands, led by the psychopathic wasteland leader, the Headhunter, are bent on making sure the operation has to fight each step of the way to get back to the wallcom before nightfall.

Because that’s when the jacks come out.

And they will find you.

Welcome to the world of The Fall.

L: Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
STC: I have always loved reading and movies - actually, that doesn't quite describe it - I've always been addicted to reading and movies, most likely I think because of the alternate reality they offer; it's always appealed to me. I love working with text - it's been my job within education for the last 20+ years and I have long felt the pull to write.

L:  Who or what inspired you to be an author?
STC: That love of books and movies - stories essentially, I guess. Ever since I was little, that pull into the world of a story has been very intense for me. It seemed a natural evolution to be the one telling the story.

L:  Who or what inspired your novel?
STC: Three huge influences for me growing up were the movies Planet of the Apes, The Omega Man and Mad Max 2. The post-apocalyptic landscapes and stories in all three I found absolutely compelling; I'm not sure why, but there's this irresistible lure for me around the state of the world after it's gone to pot. What does it look like? What do we become? These stories really influenced what The Fall is.

L:  What would you say is the genre of your novel?
STC: Well, technically, it's science-fiction, and I don't have a problem with that, but more accurately, I term it post-apocalyptic. I guess it's a sub-genre.

L:  Why did you pick this/these genre(s)?
STC: It's that pull of the post-apocalyptic landscape - it's almost alien. That 'alien-ness' is one of the reasons I started the book the way I did - the implication that this whole thing may have been started from elsewhere. The bleakness of these type of stories is compelling when handled well, like The Road, and I think that's another thing - how do we cope in such a bleak, seemingly hopeless environment?

L: How did you develop your plot and characters?
STC: They came to me as separate things. There's a real technology aspect to the book which I have always been interested in - what will close-future tech look like? And the other aspect was the compound Kulin Wallcom) and being surrounded by danger. So, I brought these two ideas together in a close-future post-apoc setting. The main character is an academic - I have worked in university settings for 20+ years, so it was a familiar fit, and though the main character isn't 'me' as such, it's right that there's a little bit of the author in every character.

L:  Who or what inspired your protagonist?
STC: There's no one single protagonist in The Fall. I deliberately went for a multi-pronged approach, taking a leaf out of Game of Thrones; I really like how George Martin shows us a range of people on a sliding continuum of 'good' to 'bad' who shuffle along that continuum - he does that expertly. I'm trying the same thing with my protagonists; if I can get a tenth as good as GoT, I'll be happy. In terms of inspirations for them - no one especially, but I was after a strong, dependable but not-perfect main in John - he has doubts, he's not a natural killer, he questions. He will evolve as the books progress.

L:  Who or what inspired your antagonist?
STC: There are a few but the two mains are Headhunter and the Alpha Kronenburg. I wanted a somewhat likeable psycho in the Headhunter - I mean, you don't like him, but the man has as nice turn of phrase! So I guess I was inspired by that typical cinematic British educated 'nut' - a bit Clockwork Orange. There's also the Alpha Kronenburg - I think a possible gap in this genre is that the 'infected' beings or zombies (though these aren't zombies) never really have a perspective and I wanted to give them that. They get it through Kronenburg. I have plans for him and he will play a big part in the story going forward, not always how you might think either.

L:  What was the most difficult part to write in the book?
STC: No single part really, but it was the order of things. Sometimes, I felt the sequencing wasn't quite right and I had to have a bit of back and forth on that. I initially wrote the ending in an entirely different way, so that also took a bit of going back to the keyboard.

L:  What was your favourite part of your book to write?
STC: Mmmm ... choosing among your children! I think the scene where Skylar, Riko and Harley find the infected daughter of the suicide. It actually touched me writing that and I have had reader feedback that that is a very emotive scene. The final attack on the wallcom was fun to write.

L:  Are you a full time or a part time writer? If part time, what do you do besides write?
STC: Part time (for now!). I am involved in tertiary education.

L:  What are you currently reading?
STC: Phillip Reeves Mortal Engines series - love it! Don't know why/how I haven't come across this before. It is absolutely riveting.

L:  What are some of your favourite books or authors?
STC: Justin Cronin's The Passage is a real influence, a brilliant post-apocalyptic series. Anything by Giles Milton, he brings history alive. George R.R. Martin, Tolkien, Stephen Donaldson

L:  What are your future projects, if any?
STC: Books 2 and 3 of The Fall - hope to have book 2 out later in 2018

L:  What is your preferred method for readers to get in touch with you and your books?
STC: My website https://thefall-book.weebly.com/
Twitter @stcampitelli

L:  Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
STC: Read a lot, widely, and write, then get feedback. Give your writing to people to read before publishing. Listen carefully - some advice is excellent, some not - you be the judge. But write - take the chance! Also, don't be afraid to re-write, don't get stuck into one way of thinking about a character, scene or situation.