More to these twins than meets the eye
Tomorrow you'll be able to read an interview with Karen Wyle, author of Twin Bred, on my blog. Just to get you in the mood, Karen's letting me post an excerpt today, so read on and enjoy...
Twin-Bred
By Karen A. Wyle
Can
interspecies diplomacy begin in the womb? After seventy years on Tofarn, the
human colonists and the native Tofa still know very little about each
other. Misunderstanding breed conflict, and the conflicts are escalating.
Scientist Mara Cadell’s radical proposal: that host mothers of either species
carry fraternal twins, human and Tofa, in the hope that the bond between twins
can bridge the gap between species. Mara lost her own twin, Levi, in utero, but
she has secretly kept him alive in her mind as companion and collaborator.
Mara
succeeds in obtaining governmental backing for her project – but both the human
and Tofa establishments have their own agendas. Mara must shepherd the
Twin-Bred through dangers she anticipated and others that even the canny Levi
could not foresee. Will the Twin-Bred bring peace, war, or something else
entirely?
Amazon
(Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005VDVHQ2
Amazon
(POD):
Nook
Store:
Smashwords
(various ebook formats): http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/94490
CreateSpace
(paperback): https://www.createspace.com/3541557
Excerpt:
The human colony on
Tofarn and the indigenous Tofa have great difficulty communicating with and
basically comprehending each other. Scientist Mara Cadell is running a project
where host mothers carry twins, one human and one Tofa, in the hope that the
bond between twins can bridge the gap between species. Alan Kimball, a member
of the governing human Council, is hostile to the Tofa and has inserted agents
into the project.
Excerpt #1 from Twin-Bred
Tilda looked at her twins, cuddled close together in
the crib. Mat-set had all four arms wrapped around Suzie. They seemed to cuddle
any chance they got. Maybe they were glad to be free of separate amniotic sacs.
She looked down at Mat-set and remembered the rumors
of Tofa with five arms instead of four. She had even seen pictures, but who
knew whether they were authentic. Certainly none of the Tofa Twin-Bred babies
had been born with extra limbs.
Tilda glanced over at the big dormitory clock and then
back down at the babies. She gasped and staggered a step back. Mat-set was
still holding Suzie with four arms. So how was he scratching his head with
another one?
Tilda looked around wildly for a chair, found one
blessedly nearby, and sank down on it. She pinched herself. Nothing changed. Well,
who said you couldn’t pinch yourself in a dream and keep on dreaming?
She got up and walked, a bit unsteadily, to the
intercom and buzzed for a nurse. Then she went back to the crib. Of course.
Four arms, only four, and what was she going to do now?
She decided to be brave and sensible. If she had
really seen it, the staff had to know. And if she hadn’t, and she didn’t wake
up, then she was ill, and she should get the help she needed.
The chief nurse tucked Tilda in and watched her drift
off to sleep, sedative patch in place. Then she went back to her station and
called up the monitor footage on Tilda’s twins.
Well, well.
* CONFIDENTIAL *
CLEARANCE CLASS 3 AND ABOVE
LEVI Status Report, 12-15-71
Executive Summary
Anatomical
Developments
Observation of the Tofa infants has shed some light on
the longstanding question of whether the number of Tofa upper appendages is
variable among the Tofa population. The thickest of the four armlike appendages
is apparently capable of dividing when an additional upper appendage is
desired. . . .
Councilman Kimball bookmarked the spot in his agent's
report and opened his mail program. He owed an apology to the young man who had
claimed his poor showing against a Tofa undesirable was due to the sudden appearance
of an extra appendage. Apparently the man had been neither dishonest nor drunk.
After discharging that obligation, Kimball made a note
to seek further details as to the divided arms' placement, reach, and muscular
potential. His people needed adequate information to prepare them for future
confrontations. After all, forewarned — he laughed out loud at the thought —
was forearmed.
About the Author
Karen A. Wyle long bio
Karen A. Wyle was born a
Connecticut Yankee. Her father was an
engineer, and usually mobile for that era:
she moved every few years throughout her childhood and adolescence. After college in California, law school in
Massachusetts, and a mercifully short stint in a large San Francisco law firm,
she moved to Los Angeles, where she met her now-husband, who hates L.A. They eventually settled in Bloomington,
Indiana, home of Indiana University. She
now considers herself a Hoosier.
Karen's childhood ambition
was to be the youngest ever published novelist.
While writing her first novel at age 10, she was mortified to learn that
some British upstart had beaten her to the goal at age 9. She finished that novel nonetheless,
attempted another at age 14, and then shifted to poetry. She made a few attempts at short stories in
college, and then retired from creative writing until starting a family in her
mid-30's inspired her to start writing picture book manuscripts. She produced startlingly creative children,
the elder of whom wrote her own first novel in 2009, at age 18, with the help
of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).
Intrigued, Karen decided to try NaNo in 2010. She completed a very, very rough rough draft
of her science fiction novel Twin-Bred
and spent the next ten months editing it.
She is self-publishing Twin-Bred
with a rollout date of October 15, 2011 -- her older daughter's birthday.
Karen's principal education
in writing has been reading. She has
been a voracious and compulsive reader as long as she can remember. Do not strand this woman on a plane without
reading matter! Karen was an English and
American Literature major at Stanford University, which suited her, although
she has in recent years developed some doubts about whether studying literature
is, for most people, a good preparation for enjoying it. Her most useful preparation for writing
novels, besides reading them, has been the practice of appellate law -- in
other words, writing large quantities of persuasive prose, on deadline, year
after year. Whereas in college, a 3-page
paper would require hours of pacing the dormitory hallway and pounding her head
on its walls, she is now able to sit down and turn out words with minimal
angst. She has one professional writing
credit, an article published in the Indiana Law Journal Supplement and, with
minor modifications, in the monthly magazine of the Indiana State Bar
Association. This article was a
"third place recipient" of the Harrison Legal Writing Award. Whatever that means, it comes with money, a
plaque, and a free lunch.
Karen has completed a rough draft
of a second novel, tentatively titled Reflections,
which is general fiction. It has two
alternative elevator pitches:
"Death is what you make it" and "Do you need courage in heaven?" She hopes to start the sequel to Twin-Bred later this fall.
Karen's voice is the product
of almost five decades of reading both literary and genre fiction. It is no doubt also influenced, although she
hopes not fatally tainted, by her years of law practice. Her personal history has led her to focus on
often-intertwined themes of family, communication, the impossibility of
controlling events, and the persistence of unfinished business.
Short Bio
Karen
A. Wyle was born a Connecticut Yankee, but eventually settled in Bloomington,
Indiana, home of Indiana University. She now considers herself a Hoosier.
Wyle's childhood ambition was to be the youngest ever published novelist.
While writing her first novel at age 10, she was mortified to learn that some
British upstart had beaten her to the goal at age 9.
Wyle
is an appellate attorney, photographer, political junkie, and mother of two
daughters. Her voice is the product of almost five decades of reading both
literary and genre fiction. It is no doubt also influenced, although she
hopes not fatally tainted, by her years of law practice. Her personal
history has led her to focus on often-intertwined themes of family,
communication, the impossibility of controlling events, and the persistence of
unfinished business.
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