Sally Bosco

Check out Poppet Cycle Book II – Runaway, by Donna JW Munro. In a dark future, the recently deceased are repurposed as servants called poppets, which are flesh robot complete with training chips and kill switches. It’s a compelling read. Review below:

This is the much anticipated sequel to Revelation: Poppet Cycle Book One. Ellie escapes from the DesLoge city where people are being turned into zombie-like slaves. She goes on a journey to find a safe place for her beloved poppet, Thom. At the same time Moze (whose mother has been turned into a poppet) makes it to Liberty-Lawrence and joins the revolution against DesLoge Com and its poppet-based economy. Elle and Moze intend to end the cruel poppet trade.

Runaway is an inventive take on the zombie mythos in which reanimated humans are used as slaves. Ellie is caught in the middle as heir to the company that created and sells Poppets, the reanimated humans. Ellie has made the choice to go against her family’s corporate fortune and expose the corrupt practices that have given then great wealth. She hopes to meet up with Moze, a boy from the wilds she’s in love with who was exploited by her family’s corporation. She hopes that together they can bring an end to the cruel slavery.

This is a haunting dystopian tale that examines the implications of class structure in a world in which an underclass of poppets has been created to serve the upper echelons of society. It’s a very sensitive and beautiful book, an original take on the zombie mythos. It isn’t very often that an author comes up with a truly original concept, but this book is definitely it.

I would highly recommend Runaway as a compelling read. #YAthriller #YAdistopian #PoppetCycle

I just read this really amazing book: Revelation-Poppet Cycle by Donna J.W. Munro. It’s a riveting book that examines the implications of class structure in a world in which an underclass of poppets has been created to serve the upper echelons of society. It’s a very sensitive and beautiful book, an original take on the zombie mythos. It isn’t very often that an author comes up with a truly original concept, but this book is definitely it.

Here’s a synopsis: In a dark future, people use the dead as servant workers called poppets. 16 year old Ellie must choose between a life wealth and power and the love she feels for her poppet, Thom. A boy from the wilds shows her that poppetry isn’t as innocent as she’s been led to believe. Will she follow tradition and step up as the leader of DesLoge Com, her family business that produces the poppets, or follow her heart that believes there’s more to Thom than the “meat machine” that she’s been taught he is? Her choice will change the world.

Here’s a Q&A with Donna about Revelation.

Q. How are the poppets not like zombies?

A. They aren’t gross or trying to eat you. Poppets are dead bodies that get brought back by chips and science to be free labor. They aren’t just machines or monsters though. 

Q. Who is your favorite character in the book.

A. Probably Moze, the boy from the wilds. He is the Jiminy Cricket for Ellie. He’s the one who helps her open her mind to understand that she’s been wrong about poppets even if she’s been kind to them.

Q. Do you use your students as inspiration for your characters?

A. All the time. In this series, Ellie is inspired by a Student Council president I had about 8 years ago. There’s a general who comes up in the next book who is based on a senior I have right now as well as four new characters in the fourth book who asked to be in the book. They’ll know who they are. The thing that’s cool about being a high school teacher is that I get to listen to teens all the time. Teenagers have life by the reins. They are so strong and open to new things, but also are so unsure. Writing a teen is infinitely more interesting than a close-minded adult. 

Q. What is your favorite scene in the book?

A. I don’t want to give too much away, but it is absolutely the ending. You’ll have to wait to see why!

Q. Will guys like this book even though there’s a girl protagonist?

A. The funny thing is, Ellie is the protagonist, but maybe not the hero. There are many heroes that emerge in this world. I think guys can find themselves in Moze and Natan easily. 

You can purchase Revelation: Poppet Cycle Book 1 on Amazon.

Read more about Donna J.W. Munro on her webpage, DonnaJWMunro.com.

My short story, “Transformation” chronicles one surreal night in the life of a man whose bitchy spouse returns as a possible Stepford bot.

“Transformation,” has been published in the anthology, The Monstrous Feminine: Dark Tales of Dangerous Women.

Enter the world of the Monstrous Feminine, where fourteen authors weave a dangerous web of tales for your personal delight and fright. You’ll meet an archaeologist who opens her mouth at the worst possible moment and cross paths the protector of all life who decides the fate of humans. Follow four girls into their town at the height of the witching hour and bump into a peculiar woman who rehabilitates misogynists. Beware of a ravenous grandma and pray for the handyman who trespasses into a creepy house. Turn the pages and you’ll unearth the reason a woman seeks comfort in a strange one-night stand, and you’ll stumble upon a doctor and the disastrous epidemic ravaging her city. And family—you can’t pick them or easily kill them, but never mess with a woman when the red moon rises. What happens when certain women are mistreated? Or when experimental drugs are used on females without their consent? When something wild comes knocking at your door and the ground is smothered with a blanket of snow, what will you do? Don’t go floating on the muddy river James to uncover the answers or you just might find you get carried far away! 

The Monstrous Feminine authors include Amber Bliss, Sally Bosco, Christe M. Callabro, Elsa M Carruthers, Kristin Dearborn, EV Knight, Leadie Jo Flowers, Kerri-Leigh Grady, Nikki Hopeman, Serena Jayne/Suz Jay, Michelle Renee Lane, Donna J. W. Munro, and Querus Abuttu. Edited by Cin Ferguson and Broos Campbell with artwork by Mario Zuccarello.

It’s available on Amazon.

I’m really happy to report that Lynne Hansen and I have started work on the sequel to AltDeath.com. The new book will be titled Death Undone. It picks up where AltDeath left off. We’ll have some new characters and some exciting twists and turns. Now I need to get my brain back into Tori, Dexter, Matt and Veronica mode. It won’t be difficult since I feel like I know these characters so well.

How our collaboration works:  Lynne and I get together and create a detailed outline. It’s so detailed we include dialogue and descriptions. Next we figure out which of us will write which chapters. (Typically Lynne likes the actions scenes and I do best on the introspective ones.) Finally, we put it all together and edit each others’ work. We do a final edit on the finished product and we’re done.

It works well for us to have this detailed plan. If we tried to do–“Well, I’ll write a chapter then you write whatever you feel like, then I’ll write whatever I feel like.”–that would never work. It would never come together into a cohesive whole.

The reason it works for us it that our writing is similar, but we complement each others’ strengths and weaknesses.

So, come on, Lord Ruthven. Bring it on!