Special Guest: Ami Blackwelder talking about her book, The Shifters

For the first day of my A-Z Blogging Challenge, I'm glad to present A for Ami Blackwelder, sharing all about her newly released book, The Shifters.

The Shifters of 2040 is the third book from the shifter Evolutions saga. Third? you might ask, what happened to book 1 and 2?

The series actually begins in the middle. The reader starts with Book Three and then they chose to read the past or future next.

Interesting concept, huh?

I know each read will enjoy this six part saga, made up of Invasion of 2020, SCM of 2030, Shifters of 2040, Hybrids of 2050, Hunted of 2060, Revolution of 2060.

What is this book about?

Alaska 2040.

Three Species. Divided Lovers. The Race is on for Planet Earth.

Summary: Set in Alaska in 2040, Melissa Marn and Bruce Wilder must work under the iron fist of the SCM, while still trying to maintain humanity. Discovering a world of shifters and hybrids, the scientists must struggle with human prejudice and betrayal.

With the original ancestors, dubbed shifters, still living on earth, humans are in the midst of a fifteen year old war. As the eldest hybrids, Unseen and Diamond, learn about humans the hard way, with the loss of loved ones and sacrifices, love on planet earth proves challenging. 

           

With underlining themes of how prejudice breaks human connections and animal/wildlife conservation, this novel which has received rave reviews will leave the reader flipping through the pages.

THE PITCH:

“I’m pregnant.  Her eyes peered over the edge of the cloth and confronted her mirrored reflection with that truth.  I’m pregnant…by a SHIFTER.  Oh, god!”

In “The Shifters of 2040,” Scientist Melissa Marn finds her world swirling on its axis with that one revelation.  Shifters — a sentient alien species of light — look to Earth for refuge.  In doing so, both shifters and humans are forced to confront prejudice, betrayal, adversity and oppression.

Methodical scientist, Melissa Marn, and her coworker, Dr. Bruce Wilder, conduct experiments on the shifters.  Through her pregnancy, she becomes more compassionate and humane and finds herself defending the very species she’s supposed to eradicate. 

One of the hybrids, Diamond, falls in love with Keenan, a soldier trained to kill her. Between the four, the reader is led from conflict to resolution, from despair to hope, from loneliness to love.

Much of the book’s originality lies in the shifters, common characters in science fiction, but whose origins are rarely explained. In this series, their alien DNA allows them to metamorphose into not just wolves, but a variety of animals. As the plot unfolds, the shifters discover they can have children with humans — hybrids.

Strengths of the novel include the complex characters, its writing style of poetic prose and rich description, and the well developed, thought-provoking, yet highly entertaining plot.

This fast paced book will appeal to the young adult and adult market. It fits nicely into the paranormal romance and science fiction romance genres and would make a great movie, a captivating TV series and an intriguing video game.

Readers will enjoy the fresh approach and original concept of the world thirty years from now, and will find the characters come to life in their minds.  This story will stay with them long after they read “The End.”