I’m so excited to bring you an excerpt from DAUGHTER 4254 by Leigh Statham! See below for information about the book and author, an excerpt of the book, and, of course, the giveaway!
About The Book
Title: DAUGHTER 4254
Author: Leigh Statham
Pub. Date: December 5, 2017
Publisher: Owl Hollow Press
Pages: 286
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Find it: Amazon, iBooks, The Kings English (exclusive signed copies), Goodreads
Daughter4254 used to think life in a community where art, music and names are outlawed would suffocate her creative spirit. Now that she’s rotting in a prison cell, she’s not sure her
dying mother made the right choice when she entrusted her with the secrets of rebellion. Prison has given her plenty of time to relive every mistake and lose all hope.
Then she meets Thomas, a fellow inmate, who tells her stories of the mythical mountain colonies where people have names and the arts thrive. Together they plot an escape, knowing if they fail, they will die. Or worse, their consciousness will be taken by the MindWipe, leaving their bodies free for the government to use. When nothing goes as planned, Daughter4254 must choose between using her mother’s secret to better the world she hates, or following Thomas to the quiet life of freedom she has always craved.
About Leigh:
Leigh Statham was raised in the wilds of rural Idaho but found her heart in New York City. She worked at many interesting jobs before settling in as a mother and writer.
She now resides in North Carolina with her husband, four children, eight chickens, a fluffy dog, and two suspected serial killer cats.
Leigh is currently working on an MFA, has written countless short stories, and is the author of lots of mediocre poetry. She is also the winner of the 2016 Southeast Review Narrative Nonfiction Prize for her short story “The Ditch Bank and the Fenceline.”
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Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card, US Only.
2 winners will receive a finished copy of DAUGHTER 4254, US only.
And here’s the excerpt!
“Have you ever seen anyone get the wipe?” I ask him through the bars.
“No. They take them somewhere else, then they don’t ever bring ‘em back.” He looks at me and grins sideways. “You’re not feeling a bit shaky in yer shoesies, are ya?”
“What?” I’m not comfortable with how quickly he shifts from talking about the Mind Wipe to smiling at me with perfect teeth and blue eyes.
“The wipe ain’t nothing to be fearing. Most I know is it hurts yer eyes a bit, then Boom! You never remember nothing again. You’re a regular ‘A Number One First Class Model Citizen’.”
I shudder at his careless description of the Mind Wipe, recalling the first time I’d heard of it. I hadn’t believed it could be true. My mind wanders to the stories I’d heard of citizens losing their memories as a final form of punishment—removing their personalities and will to act in order to make use of a healthy body.
“You gone off somewhere, darlin’?” he asks. “Oy! Over here.”
I glance back to the boy across the hall waving at me, his eyebrows arched in question.
“What did you say they call you?” I ask.
“They call me 44. You better get those ear pluggers in quick. You’re being sucked away.” The way he answers makes me stop and think. I have a hunch, so I ask again.
“What do you call yourself?”
He smiles at me, an irresistible grin filled with mischief and mayhem, then he leans forward into his bars, his hands dangling through the spaces, and lowers his voice so I can barely make out his answer. “I call myself Thomas. Now plug up those ears, dolly, and get yourself some rest. That’s where I’m heading.” He wags his fingers before drawing them back into his cell and disappearing.
I am too tired and too amazed to move at first. How does he know about names? How did I know what he would say? Eventually, I step back into the recesses of my own cell and go to work on my sheet. There is a lot to block out in the present and a lot to remember of my past. I want to savor every last memory I have before they take them away—the good and the bad.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
10/25/2017- BookHounds YA– Interview
10/25/2017- Fan-Girl-Tabulous– Review
10/26/2017- Reese’s Reviews– Excerpt
10/26/2017- Caffeine and Composition– Review
10/27/2017- Hooked To Books– Guest Post
10/27/2017- YA Obsessed– Review
Week Two:
10/30/2017- Maddie.TV– Interview
10/30/2017- The Desert Bibliophile– Review
10/31/2017- Wandering Bark Books– Excerpt
10/31/2017- Kindle and Me– Review
11/1/2017- Wishful Endings– Interview
11/1/2017- Jena Brown Writes– Review
11/2/2017- Stuffed Shelves– Review
11/2/2017- Life of A Simple Reader– Review
11/3/2017- Books, Vertigo and Tea– Excerpt
11/3/2017- Savings in Seconds– Review
Week Three:
11/6/2017- Two Chicks on Books– Interview
11/6/2017- Cindy’s Love of Books– Review
11/7/2017- Captivated Reading– Review
11/7/2017- Bookalicious– Review
Wandering Bark Books 