Tour Stop, Excerpt & Giveaway: Bane by Amelia C. Gormley

Hi, and welcome to the Bane blog tour!

I don’t think it’s any secret that a lot of readers, in the wake of reading Strain, wanted more of Darius and Rhys. Already by that point I was brainstorming the pre- and peri-apocalyptic story that would become Juggernaut, but the further along I got on that, the more I realized the situation Zach and Nico were in couldn’t be resolved in the timeframe of Juggernaut. They needed developments that would only make sense to happen after the events of Strain. The plot also required Rhys to have matured a great deal since the end of Strain. Altogether, it gave me a beautiful opportunity to bring closure and an HEA ending (or at least as close to one as you get at the end of the world) for both sets of protagonists.

Thus we have Bane.

Over the course of the Bane blog tour, I’ll be sharing a free post-Bane short story, Refuge. How far post-Bane? Well, you’ll have to read and see. Some developments that happen in Bane are referenced, but not in any great detail, which means the reader should only encounter a few very broad, non-specific spoilers. Obviously, though, it will be best enjoyed if you’ve read Bane already (and Bane, of course, is best enjoyed after Juggernaut and Strain.)

Refuge introduces us to three new characters, Kal, Billie, and perhaps my favorite, Zeus. It’s a completely sex-free story, so you’re safe reading it at work. If my nebulous thoughts on how to continue the Strain universe ever take shape, it’s very possible a lot of material in this short story will be folded into a larger plot with Kal and Billie as the protagonists, and if that happens, you’ll find the smut there.

Each day, at least one stop on the blog tour will contain a section of the story. These segments may end or begin a little abruptly or clumsily at times, as I tried to split them in such a way that no one section would be to long and cumbersome for a single stop on the blog tour. In its linear form, it would simply be a five chapter story. By the end of the tour, all the sections will have been posted. If you need to catch up, you can check out the blog tour page (linked above), or my website, or the “Extras” tab on the Bane product page at Riptide for sequential links to all the posts.

Anyone who follows along on the tour will qualify to win store credit at Riptide. To enter the drawing, leave a comment on this post including a way to contact you (email, Twitter, or Facebook.) Each stop along the blog tour that you visit offers you another chance to enter. Be sure to check the Riptide blog tour schedule for a complete list of other stops. The contest will close 9/26/15. Any entries made without a way to contact the winner will be invalidated, so please don’t forget to provide your email, or your Twitter or Facebook address.

Good luck, and enjoy Refuge!

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Excerpt

*Author’s Note: Refuge is completely unedited and un-proofed. What you’re seeing here is essentially a first draft, and like any first draft, it often may be clumsy to read or contain extraneous world-building and info-dumping that would be trimmed and streamlined during the editing process. Actually, I kind of like sharing it with you this way, if for no other reason than to allow readers to see just how much world-building happens behind the scenes and in my head, but doesn’t ever actually make it onto the page.

CHAPTER 2, PART 2

He didn’t dare get close enough to the middle of the room to see what was down there, but the thin blanket that dangled at the edge of the hole gave him a pretty good clue of what he’d find.

“Hello?” he called. “If there’s anyone in here, I don’t mean you any harm. My dog seems to be under the impression that you need help, so if you could maybe not try to kill me if I come in, I’d appreciate it.”

He thought he heard a low moan in response, but the barking was too loud for him to be sure. Zeus came dashing around a doorway, barked again, then disappeared, leading Kal toward the stairs. Which Kal really didn’t want to risk, but if there was someone down there who needed help, he couldn’t exactly walk away. Especially since Zeus apparently wasn’t leaving until he had investigated.

He returned to his pack to grab a coil of rope before going inside. He tried to avoid hazardous buildings like this in his explorations of the ruins of old cities, but he knew well enough what precautions to take with them. Easing his way around the outskirts of the rooms, he reached the doorway to the stairs. Sure enough, the first one was soft. Too much weight on the middle of it and he’d punch right through. Instead, he began kicking at the moldering drywall beside the doorjamb until he’d made a sizable hole on both sides of the wall. He worked the rope through, wrapping it several times around the solid posts framing the door and knotting it securely the way his Uncle Toby had taught him. The other end he tied around his waist.

The same principle that applied to the floor would apply to the stairs. They’d be strongest at the ends, as long as the hardware holding them together didn’t give out. Kal didn’t think they would; this building’s problems seemed to be mostly dry rot. He eased his way down with his legs spraddled until his lantern finally showed him what Zeus had been so worried about.

A figure curled almost fetal on the floor. At first Kal thought the person was dead, but then the eyes reflecting his lantern-light blinked and they made a lurching attempt to push up from the floor.

Hey,” he said gently. This person looked too young to be one of the pre-plague survivors, but in the dim light it was hard to tell, and if there were any of those people left, their isolation psychosis would be pretty complete. Even young, they might be the offspring of survivors, unused to strangers. “I’m Kal. Well, Kaleo actually, but I prefer Kal. Want some help getting out of here?”

Zeus nudged the person with his nose and whined. “Please,” they rasped.

Kal ventured closer, getting under the person’s shoulder to offer his support until they were on their feet. They whimpered when he pressed against their side. They were close to his own height, maybe a little taller, but thin. They appeared male, but Kal knew better than to assume anything. Uncle Jamie would whap him upside the head if he did.

“How badly are you injured?” he asked when the person groaned.

“Don’t know. Shoulder. Ribs sore. Too cold to feel my body.”

They weren’t even shivering, which meant they were hypothermic enough that their body had given up expending energy to keep warm and was conserving it instead.

“Does it hurt badly to breathe? Stabbing pains?”

A mute headshake. “Not really. Just when I move, or you push against it.”

“Good. Probably just bruised rather than broken, then.” He patted their back encouragingly. “You’re moving your shoulder so I don’t think it’s dislocated. Got a name I can call you?”

“Bil—” Even in the dim light, Kal could see the uncertain look on their face. “William,” they said finally.

“Bill?” He asked casually. “Billy with a ‘y?’ Billie with an ‘ie?’”

They blinked several times. In barely a whisper, they answered, “That last one.”

“Great. Nice to meet you, Billie.” Kal grinned, hoping to ease her obvious fear. If her first instinct was to give a name that clearly she didn’t prefer, then wherever she had come from, obviously it wasn’t a place that had the Refuge’s customs regarding gender and orientation. He began shuffling them toward the stairs, moving slowly, giving time for Billie’s cold, stiff limbs to get used to the idea of moving again. “Well, let’s get you out into the sunlight and I’ll start a fire. I’ve got a coat I don’t need at the moment and some extra blankets. Any idea how long you were down there?”

She shook her head. “Kept falling asleep. Thought I was going to freeze to death.”

“You probably would have, if you’d been down there much longer.” Given how cold the night before had been, as well as the night before that, Kal didn’t think she could have survived more than one night underground. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do.”

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Title: Bane by Amelia C. Gormley
Strain Series Book Two
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopian, M/M, BDSM, Erotic, Romance, Action/Adventure
Length: 279 pages/Word Count: 75,800

Summary:

The weapon that nearly destroyed humanity may be their only salvation.

Rhys Cooper’s unique immunity to all three strains of the virus that nearly annihilated humanity has brought him the unwanted attention of Clean Zone scientists. They’ve summoned him for testing—ostensibly in the hopes of finding a vaccine—but Rhys’s partner, Darius Murrell, has good reason not to trust any government. He and his comrades in Delta Company were unwitting test subjects for Project Juggernaut, the military experiment that gave them superhuman abilities and unleashed the pandemic. Doubting the government’s intentions, Delta Company refuses to let Rhys go alone.

Fear of infection has kept Zach Houtman and his lover Nico Fernández apart for a decade. They meet rarely, just long enough to coordinate their spying on the head of the government’s virus research division. Secretary Littlewood is a vicious predator, and they suspect he’s trying to acquire the strain of the virus that would make him superhuman. To stop him, they need the perfect bait: Rhys.

For Rhys, helping them might cost him his relationship with Darius—or his life. For Zach and Nico, even if their plan succeeds, they still face the ultimate question: can infected and uninfected people ever live together safely?

Add to Goodreads.

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Purchase Link: Riptide Publishing

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Author Bio

Amelia C. Gormley published her first short story in the school newspaper in the 4thgrade, and since then has suffered the persistent delusion that enabling other people to hear the voices in her head might be a worthwhile endeavor. She’s even convinced her hapless spouse that it could be a lucrative one as well, especially when coupled with her real-life interest in angst, kink, social justice issues, and pretty men.

When her husband and son aren’t interacting with the back of her head as she stares at the computer, they rely on her to feed them, maintain their domicile, and keep some semblance of order in their lives (all very, very bad ideas—they really should know better by now.) She can also be found playing video games and ranting on Tumblr, seeing as how she’s one of those horrid social justice warriors out to destroy free speech, gaming, geek culture, and everything else that’s fun everywhere.

You can find her self-published Impulse trilogy almost anywhere ebooks are sold, and check out her catalog of Riptide Publishing releases at their website.

Author Links: Website * Tumblr * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

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Giveaway

Anyone who follows along on the tour will qualify to win store credit at Riptide. To enter the drawing, leave a comment on this post including a way to contact you (email, Twitter, or Facebook.) Each stop along the blog tour that you visit offers you another chance to enter. Be sure to check the Riptide blog tour schedule for a complete list of other stops. The contest will close 9/26/15. Any entries made without a way to contact the winner will be invalidated, so please don’t forget to provide your email, or your Twitter or Facebook address.

Follow the rest of the tour HERE.