Author Guest Post with K. A. Gandy: Marked

Demy has been on the run since she was thirteen years old.

Welcome to the March 31st stop on the blog tour for Marked by K. A. Gandy with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, more author guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means there is no additional cost to you if you shop using my links, but I will earn a small percentage in commission. A program-specific disclaimer is at the bottom of this post.

Author Guest Post

The End of the World…?

Have you ever thought about the end of the world? Is it going to end? When? How? Will it be a slow crumbling, or a swift jolt—like someone yanking the cord on our planetary lamp? A natural catastrophe, or a man-made disaster?

I think about that question a lot, writing dystopian and post-apocalyptic books. I don’t know why, truly. I also write sweet, small-town romance under a pen name, so you might think those two very odd halves to the same brain, but it works for me. I think it started with my Dad. He was obsessive about, “when things go south.” Not if, mind you. When. 

He collected all sorts of things to that effect; a prepper before that term existed. In fact, when the show Doomsday Preppers came out, he was already gone, but it made me think of him. He’d have enjoyed picking it apart, at the very least. He was so set that gold would be the most important thing to have, in the end times. Money would be gone, you’d need gold. “You might trade this for a single loaf of bread one day,” he’d tell me, holding up a shiny lady liberty gold coin. He even gave me one on a necklace, for Valentine’s day one year. I still have that lady liberty necklace, locked away in my own safe full of important things. The memory means more than the coin ever could, even should I need to trade it for a loaf of bread. 

So, maybe that’s why I enjoy the question. The what-if. 

That’s how all of my books start, really. There’s only two ways the words come for me: A vibrant character, demanding their story to be told, or a what-if so big, it sets my imagination on fire, and the characters come parading in to fit the world. Not all of them get a book, though. What-ifs come to me as easy as breathing, these days. 

They didn’t used to. Before I wrote my first novel, I very rarely had ideas, and they were never for fiction. I spent ten long years working at a fortune 500 in IT, doing important business things. Helping design websites and working with other large companies who needed them. It didn’t leave time for my creative brain to work. 

Before I wrote my first book, I had a plan for how it was going to go. I was going to give myself one whole year to think of ideas, and at the end take only the very best and turn it into a novel. Just one, you see, because the idea felt so Herculean at the time. 

It only took three months of tapping new ideas into my little text note “for later” until one took hold and refused to let go. I had to write it, more than I’d had to do anything in a long, long time. As much as my dad had to collect shiny, important things for the end times? 

Perhaps. 

Now that the flood gates are open, I have more ideas than I’ll ever be able to write, constantly flowing to me. The idea of just one book has grown exponentially, into an endless stream of ideas, slotted into the time I have based on how much I absolutely have to write it. A lot of them are about the various ways the world might end, and humanity might die out. There’s always that spark of hope, though, that inspires me to write it anyways. Despite the danger. Perhaps this smart girl, and this handful of resilient people alongside her, might just turn the tide? Change the course of doom and destruction, before it’s too late? 

Perhaps. 

Or, perhaps not. 

There’s only one way to find out. 

So I ask you, dear reader, what are you holding back, behind your flood gates? Is it a book? A new chapter of your life? A business, a product, a secret love? 

Is it time to open those gates? 

Perhaps. 

About the Book

Marked
Populations Crumble: Resurgence Book One
by K. A. Gandy

Published 28 March 2023
Thigpen-Gandy Publishing

Genre: YA Dystopian Romance
Page Count: 265
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

On the run from the men who murdered her parents, there’s only one way to save herself. Marriage to a genetically-matched stranger.

Demy has been on the run since she was thirteen years old. Mysterious men in black cloaks have been chasing her, and so far she’s evaded them. Something, though, has changed since she turned eighteen. Their attempts to capture her have gotten closer and closer, until she’s only got one option left: turning herself over to the NLC, for the compulsory marriage program.

She doesn’t want to get married, but with her would-be captors on her heels, she’s got no choice but to hope the NLC’s strict security protocols will be a safe haven. Marriage is a small price to pay for her life, after all. And maybe, just maybe, she’ll finally have the space to discover why she’s being hunted.

Marked is a new entry point in the Populations Crumble world, but many familiar characters will be present from the original trilogy.

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

Excerpt

There is a large tablet lying on top of an armoire, blinking with a silver play button. I hadn’t even noticed the tiny, carved armoire next to my seat when I climbed aboard, but sure enough I not only have an oversized plush recliner, I also have a small cabinet with more things than I could ever think to want. One by one, I pull out each drawer, finding hair ties, palettes of makeup, headphones, and at the very bottom, a teeny-tiny fridge with bottled waters and fruit. 

I snatch a piece of fruit—I haven’t eaten since yesterday—and the headphones. Three bites into my banana, I take a deep breath through my nose and press play on the tablet.

A beautiful young woman with deep chestnut hair pulled away from her face and a delicate, white gold floral circlet on her head appears on the screen. She gives the camera a warm smile, and then speaks, her light country accent surprising me. 

“Hello, and welcome. My name is Sadie, and I wanted to give you some more information about the program you’re embarking on and check in with you about how you’re feeling. I recently found myself sitting exactly where you are today, and the experience has changed my life forever.” She bit her lip, and dropped her hand to her belly, and I realized she was pregnant when this was filmed. 

“For me, it turned into a beautiful love match. However, we now know that not everyone had that same experience. That is why Patrick and I are working to change that. There are some key things you need to know.  But first, I want to tell you that no matter how you feel today, it is going to be okay.”

There is a firm conviction on her face that I want to admire, but also distrust. The idea of her being able to just declare everything okay is ludicrous to me. My life has never been okay, not for going on six years. Though, I have to begrudgingly admit that fresh food, a comfy recliner, and a mountain of unexpected luxuries could mean my life is taking a turn for the better.

About the Author

K. A. Gandy was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and is married with two kids. She has worked as a restaurant hostess, library book shelver, ranch hand, tour guide, Realtor, tech whiz, landlord, and small business consultant, all in addition to pursuing her passion of writing. She likes to write late in the evenings and thinks drinking hot tea and baking great cookies fuels hopes and dreams.

Newsletter | Facebook | Amazon | Goodreads

Giveaway Alert!

K. A. Gandy will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B&N gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mar 20	All the Ups and Downs	Mar 21	Read Your Writes Book Reviews
Mar 22	Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews	Mar 23	Literary Gold
Mar 24	Christine Young	Mar 24	Books in the Hall
Mar 27	Hope. Dreams. Life… Love	Mar 27	The Avid Reader
Mar 28	Fabulous and Brunette	Mar 29	Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books!
Mar 29	Long and Short Reviews	Mar 30	Kit ‘N Kabookle
Mar 31	Westveil Publishing

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.