Sparked
Metal
Bones Series
Book
One
Sheena
Snow
Genre: YA, sci-fi
Publisher: Soul
Mate Publishing
Date of
Publication: Dec 16, 2015
ASIN: B015FW2AF0
Number of pages:
317
Word Count: 80,000
Cover Artist:
Christy Caughie
Book Description:
They
weren’t supposed to have feelings.
Metal
will Clash
In a
not-too-distance future, robots composed of metal for bones, electric cords for
veins, and synthetics for skin are now available. For purchase.
Eighteen-year-old Vienna Avery’s home is going to change forever, now that her
mom purchased an Italian Chef Robot to cook and reside in their house.
Secrets
will Unfold
The government
claimed robots were indifferent, unthinking pieces of metal and
elastic—assistance for the help of humans. Vienna never believed much of what
the government said. The pieces didn’t always fit. And now Vienna knows why,
because she’s uncovered the government’s secret: that robots have emotions,
sucking Vienna into the underground world of feeling, thinking, and sovereign
robots.
Sparks
will Fly
Alec Cypher is
everything a robot is not supposed to be: deep, dark, and dangerously human.
And for some reason, he wants to save Vienna from the government’s prying,
vindictive eyes. Going forward, Vienna will have to learn to trust robots and
battle the growing feelings she never thought possible . . . feelings for the
green-eyed, soul-searching robot named Alec.
Excerpt:
I never
locked eyes with a robot before.
Never.
Not
once.
I guess
I thought it would feel different. But it doesn’t. Nothing is different. It
feels the same, the same as looking into a human’s eyes.
I
wanted to pry my eyes away but now that I’ve started, I can’t stop staring.
Even from this distance, I could tell the robot’s eyes were a honey brown.
They
are so close to being one of us. But they can’t be. They can never be us. Or at
least, that’s what the government says.
The
robot’s indifferent gaze shifted from mine and it strode toward my neighbor’s
Lincoln Town Car. The robot’s gait caught with every third step and the elbow
twisted incongruently when it opened the car door—the only telltale signs it
wasn’t human.
This
robot had dark-brown hair, tan skin, and was dressed in a chauffeur’s suit.
My
neighbor, Mr. Romero, waved at me as he exited the car, and I just stood there,
mouth agape and knees locked.
Mr.
Romero frowned but I couldn’t wave back. I couldn’t move. I was frozen to that
spot on my porch with my keys dangling from my fingers and my purse sliding
down my shoulder.
It was
just as the news had said. Everything was. From the eyes, to the nose, the
lips, to the hair, it all looked so real. I had never studied a robot that
wasn’t on TV; I was always too busy avoiding them. But when they weren’t
moving, when they weren’t doing anything, when they were just standing there,
they looked exactly like people. Exactly.
Together,
they disappeared inside the house, Mr. Romero with his stout frame and wiry black
hair, and his robot chauffeur.
I now
lived next door to a robot.
The
keys felt cold in my hand, and I realized for the last several seconds, my
focus had been consumed by the now empty driveway.
Leave
it to me to do something like that.
I
opened the door and leaned against it as it clicked shut behind me. Everything
was changing. And everything would be different.
“Mom,
I’m home.” I shrugged off the door and into the family room.
“Be
right there, Vienna.”
“Don’t
worry about it,” I called back, hoping mom would leave me alone.
“How
was shopping? Find anything you liked?” Mom appeared and wiped her hands on her
paint-covered overalls. Mom was a die-hard artist. She lived, breathed, and
probably ate paint.
At a
whole head taller than me, Mom still looked great. Forty-five and thriving was
her motto. Mom and I had wispy blond hair, pale-green eyes, and a small nose.
Unlike me, her hair was cut in a bob-like fashion, the front angled longer,
reaching past her shoulders, where mine was always in a ponytail.
I shook
off my jacket and looked up into Mom’s bright, beaming face.
“I only
went shopping,” I said, raising my eyebrows. “No need to look that—”
“You’ll
never guess what I bought.” Mom practically sang the last word, cutting me off.
Head
throbbing, I sucked in a deep breath and dropped my purse on the couch. “I have
absolutely no idea.” I wondered how mom would react if she knew Mr. Romero had
bought a robot.
“They’ve
had nothing but good reviews.” Mom nodded, following behind me as I headed
toward my room. “And you and your father are going to love him.”
I
rubbed my temples. “I’m sure we will.” How could we not get excited about Mom’s
latest painting gadget? “What does this one let you do?”
Paint
with two brushes at the same time?
Mom
darted in front of me, and spread her arms to block me from going any further.
“What’s
going on?” I looked from side-to-side.
“I
named him Robotatouille.” Mom nodded as if that solved everything.
“I’m
sorry?” I shook my head. What in the heck was Mom talking about? “You named
what Robot . . .” My breath caught in my throat. My stomach flipped. “You . . .
you did what?” I repeated.
Mom’s
eyes lit up and suddenly, it was like all the energy in my body had been stolen
from me, sucked out, leaving me dry and empty.
“N-N-N-o,”
I breathed.
Mom
wouldn’t—
“Everyone’s
getting one,” Mom said.
My legs
shook.
“Did
you know Mr. Romero just bought one yesterday?” Mom asked, face glowing while
it felt like mine had lost all of its blood. “And you’re going to love him.
Look.” Mom winked at me and stepped back to pull a sandy-blond brown-eyed
twenty-something-year-old man from behind the kitchen wall.
I
couldn’t breathe.
Air was
trapped in my body, as I stood there, gaping, into this man-robot-thing’s eyes.
Brown
eyes. Sandy-blond hair.
I
jerked backward and stumbled into the coffee table.
The
robot was right in front of me.
No.
Freaking.
About
the Author:
Sheena Snow,
contrary to her name, lives in South Florida and has only seen snow once. But
she would love for it to land on her eyelashes and sparkle in her hair. She
loves painting, candle making, orchid shows, tattoo conventions, hockey games
and library book sales! After college she landed a full time job but kept
serving pizza on the weekends and writing stories about characters she wished
really existed, characters who never gave up no matter the obstacles life threw
at them. At the age of twenty-six, she sold her first book and bought her very
first puppy, a wonderful Yorkie named Aladdin.
Tour
giveaway
1 pair steampunk
earrings
Thank you so much for having me! se euxaristw poli :)
ReplyDeleteIt is an absolute pleasure!! :)
DeleteDo you speak Greek?? :D If so, I should answer by saying parakalw!! :)
Haha. The fiancé is born and raised in Greece and we are getting married in volos in july. I'm trying to learn a little :)
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