5 Signs You Might Be Living in a Dystopia by Samantha Durante + Giveaway(INT)

Ever feel like your life is just a little bit… off? Sure, you’ve been led to believe that the way your society functions is normal – but who defines “normal,” anyway? Take a look around. Here are five signs that you *might* be living in a dystopia:

1. “Whatever, I do what I want…” NOT!

This one is a little tricky because every dystopian society has its own rules, but one tell-tale sign of a dystopia is that its citizens are rarely empowered to go where they want and do what they want whenever they want. Read a book? Only if it’s not censored. Fall in love? Only with your government-sanctioned match. Spend the day in the woods? Got to get past that electrified fence first! If you find yourself running into red tape, locked gates, or heavily armed futuristic guards whenever you do something outside the norm, this is probably a bad sign.

2. Propaganda much?

Okay, so you don’t have full autonomous control over your everyday life. That means your society must be doing something to keep you from getting peeved. Are you showered with convincing “scripture” that upholds all your deepest beliefs? Is everyone around you getting excited about the upcoming “games?” Have you been promised a “procedure” that will cure all your insecurities and flaws? Be careful before you grab onto that carrot, padawan – it might just be attached to a big ole dystopian stick that’s poised whack you right back into line.

3. Mum’s the word – just ask your mum!

Or rather, don’t ask her, because she’s been around long enough to know that the less you know, the better – and what kind of mother would knowingly put her child in danger? That fact of the matter is, your parents have been living here a lot longer than you, which means they’ve had a lot more time to pick up on the signs. If your elders are constantly sneaking about having hushed conversations, that might be a red flag that they know something you don’t. Sure, maybe they’re just living a double life in the mafia, but maybe – just maybe – they’re underground rebels secretly leading a revolution against a totalitarian regime. Hey, it could happen!

4. For Your Eyes Only – or maybe not

Privacy? Sure, you’ve got privacy. Confidential letters – that go through a government sorting facility. Personal emails – that get filtered through who-knows-what servers on their way to your inbox. Secure medical records – stored electronically and “protected” against cyber snooping. A handy smartphone – with built-in GPS tracking your every movement. Do you see where I’m going here? Your life may *seem* private, but you never know when Big Brother might be watching… just sayin’.

5. The world ended, but we’re still here!

If you’re living in a dystopia, chances are your society came about after the previous one toppled due to some kind of apocalyptic disaster. Think back to your world history class – remember anything about a nuclear holocaust/viral outbreak/zombie attack/depletion of natural resources/world war/supervolcano/etc.? Better yet, were there details presented about how things were before said disaster? If the CliffsNotes version of your history textbook goes something like, “Everything was terrible, then it ended, and now we’re all happy happy, yay!” put down your glass of Kool-Aid and back away slowly… Just don’t let them see you do it.

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 Samantha Durante lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. Stitch is her first novel. Learn more about Samantha at www.samanthadurante.com.

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Summary

Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa’s body screams at her to run… but yet she’s powerless to move.

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees – and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell – Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn’t figured out yet is that she’s not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university’s idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface…

The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

 Amazon US/UK | Amazon kindle US/UK

GIVEAWAY

Samantha is giving away ONE ecopy of Stitch to ONE winner.

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Ends Feb 1st 2013.

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