New Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi Survival Trilogy, Book #1
In 2067 the asteroid Jurbay severs the continent, amputating 22 western states, and submerging them into the Pacific Ocean in the course of a day.
In a world of brain-swappers, GEBs, the 14 Deadlies, and the scary rulership of The Third, twenty-two-year-old Avery DeTornada hesitantly leaps into inherited leadership. It's impossible to follow the footsteps of a deceased father-the founder who birthed the nation, or to discover a role model in a mother embedded as a subterranean in the ranks of The Third.
Avery finds leading a fledgling country everything she could imagine and more-a nightmare. On-the-job training proves treacherous and make-it-up-as-you-go tangles alliances, jeopardizes friendships, and exposes her poor love choices.
Riding high on the zip wires strung throughout the city and forging hidden routes in the tunnels of the History Labyrinth, Avery DeTornada raises up a rag-tag band of comrades-an army of dump-pickers, library boys, and minstrels to confront The Third and navigate the scars of a postapocalyptic world.
There's going to be a roll call-add your name to the list. Reviews: "Although the novel is aimed at young adults, sophisticated jolts of turmoil charge the narrative, as when Avery has 'lost the time to let beauty perform its work on [her] spirit'. Overall, this masterful series opener is in better company with William Gibson's
Neuromancer than safer fare such as
The Hunger Games. An exhilarating ride, full of sheer drops and whiplash curves."-Kirkus Reviews
"Roll Call strikes at the fundamental nature of the human story. With humor, imagination, and gripping realism, Mansfield transports us to a world in which essential myths of our time play out and we are compelled to reexamine where we are as a society."-Valerie Veatch, Director "Love Child" (HBO 2014) and "Me @ the Zoo" (HBO 2012). Sundance Film Festival 2012, 20214.
Gwen Mansfield: Hunting down the stories that will haunt you forever.
Gwen is the author of the dystopian, soft sci-fi, Roll Call Trilogy, book #1 Roll Call, book #2 Inside The Third, and book #3 Reluctant Warriors (out in fall of 2018)
Regarding writing, Gwen says, "Hunt: to pursue with intent to capture. It begins with the story hunting me. I ignore it. I don't like it. I resist it. I try to forget it. Then I relinquish. I peek around the corner to see if this story is legit or a figment trying to distract me. When I stare it in the face, I see the taunting eyes prompting me to follow-catch this story if I can. Then the roles reverse. I become the hunter"
With a BA degree from Seattle Pacific University in Theatre, MA from Central Washington University in Theatre Production, and MFA from University of New Orleans in Creative Writing, Gwen's writing is driven by a dramatic eye, quippy dialogue, and a passion for quirky, strong characters. She is also the author of the historical fiction Experiment Station Road, the musical Resistance! (based on the book Tales of the Resistance by David and Karen Mains), and the stage plays: Grace Diner, Experiment Station Road-Stories from the Journey, The Luggage of Ellis, and You've Got 90 Seconds.
Gwen loves words and weaving them into a compelling story of urgency and relevance, challenging her to release her passion on the page.
She is driven to write and says, "Haunt: to appear habitually, stay around, persist. To say I'm pursued by the story-understatement. I hear the whisper when I'm driving, when I'm running, when sleep calls and I can't come. The day I turn on my computer and write the first word-that is the day I join hands with the story. It no longer haunts me-rather a journey begins where together, we haunt you."
Gwen lives in the forests of the Northwest with her husband, and two daughters. She enjoys the unending running trails and teaching university classes in film appreciation, creative writing, speech, and theatre.
