Mimic
C.L. Denault
(The Prodigy Chronicles, #2)
Publication date: April 3rd 2021
Genres: Dystopian, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Three simple rules. One secret skill. Let the game continue.

In 2012, one cycle of an ancient calendar system came to a close. Humanity predicted its downfall, but it wasn’t the end of their evolutionary climb. It was the beginning.

Willow Kent is discovering that life as a second-phase prodigy comes at a price. Trapped in the London Core, her choices are limited, made difficult by her forbidden romance with Reece and the presence of a new commanding officer who establishes harsh rules. With unpredictable skills and a growing distrust in her birth parents, she is struggling to play the Core’s game. But when opportunity arises in the form of a mysterious shapeshifter, Willow realizes there’s more to her own evolution than meets the eye. She soon learns that keeping secrets is a key move, and the more dangerous they are, the greater her need to evolve into the powerful prodigy nature intended her to become.

But those closest to her have their own secrets, and her status has made her an easy target for betrayal. Who will she turn to…when nothing is as it seems?

Mimic is the second book in The Prodigy Chronicles, a Hunger Games meets X-Men dystopian romance series about a young girl struggling to control her immense powers and find her place in a city filled with enemies.

MORE IN THE SERIES:
Book 1: Gambit
Book 2: Mimic
Book 3: Gauntlet (coming soon)

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

“Gem.” I put my hand on her arm. “What did you see on that screen?”

She raised her eyes to meet mine. “A prediction.”

“Prediction?” I immediately thought of the gypsy seers that traveled between villages. They tagged alongside the musicians, setting up tables with rich fabrics and candles, coaxing a jingle out of anyone drunk enough to fall for their silky promises. “About my future?”

“About your skill level.” Ignoring the food, Gem rested her arms on her folded legs and clasped her hands. “After the machine stopped, did you see the way that commander worked with the data?”

“You mean, when he was spinning it around?” I made circles in the air with my fingers.

She nodded. “Something about your frequency shut down the program, but he forced it into making a guess about your skill level. The prediction popped up on the screen.”

“That’s the message you saw?”

Again, she nodded.

“What did it say?”

She pressed her lips together, thinking. “Do you know anything about Callayo Roanoke?”

I blinked. “A little. He was my great-great-something or other, I think, but—” I shook my head, confused. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“He was like you, Will. He had telekinesis. Really strong telekinesis. He used it to keep London from being totally wiped out during the prodigy wars.”

“Okay, but how does—”

Waving her hands, she stopped me. “He was a Level Three prodigy. That’s the highest level on record. Anywhere.”

Slowly, the tiger uncoiled in my belly. “Go on.”

“His DNA frequency sets the standard for all programs—here, and across the sea. The parameters don’t go any higher, because no one thought . . . well, it’s just a guess, but . . .”

I reached out and grabbed her shoulders. “What are you saying?”

She took a deep breath. “The program thinks you’re a Level Four.”

Thunder rumbled outside the window, but it was nothing compared to the sound of the tiger laughing in my ears. Her delight swept through me, followed by a strange sense of awakening. Something potent and powerful unfurled in my belly as she rose to all fours. Then her laughter faded, and Gem’s voice broke though.

“—change the software and run the test again. If it’s true, Will, then everything has to be reconsidered.”

Blood pounded in my ears. “Everything?”

“Security, location, testing, even your betrothal contract.”

Nausea set in. “What do you mean?”

Peeling my hands off her shoulders, she held them tightly between us. “I mean that no one knows what you can do, and that could scare a lot of people. If Callayo Roanoke was able to save this city, you could easily be capable of . . .” She trailed off, the tiger finishing for her.

Destroying it.

Author Bio:

C.L. Denault is a speculative fiction writer who loves dreaming up tales of adventure and intrigue. A former systems analyst, she gave up her nerdy code-writing skills to care for her family (including a son with special needs) and currently lives among the vast stretches of cornfields in Illinois.

Writing and working out are her biggest passions, along with coffee and sci-fi. When she’s not hanging out with her husband and kids, she can usually be found at a library or tucked away in the shadowy corner of a hip coffeehouse. She’s also been glimpsed sneaking into her garage, late at night, to work on her time machine.

She enjoys connecting with people—especially those from other planets, nearby dimensions, and the future. To find her, just visit her website or social media pages. Or use a Stargate. Whichever is easiest.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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Becoming Brooklyn
Amanda Deich
Publication date: January 5th 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Eighteen-year-old Brooklyn never knew her father. Rex Blackburn died in the 9/11 attacks four months before she was born.

And even though she never met him, she always dreamed about what he must have been like before he died. In her mind, he was a hero.

Little did she know.

After an attack at a 9/11 memorial gala, Brooklyn learns her father had been a member of an elite, anti-terrorism, military task force, made up of a very select group of people who had superhuman abilities. On the day the towers fell, he died using his power to save people.

The Army believes she inherited his gift, and Brooklyn is invited to train at West Point in order to hone her skills. Knowing deep down she is different than anyone else her age and wanting to learn more about a father she never knew, she readily agrees to become a cadet at the prestigious military academy.

She and five other 9/11 babies strengthen their superhuman abilities and spend weeks preparing themselves for their future in the army, fighting terrorists at home and abroad. And in the process of training, they identify with their deceased parents in a way they never knew they could.

Brooklyn knows she’ll go to war someday, but when terrorists find out about the group’s gifts, they don’t bother to wait.

They bring the war to West Point.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

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EXCERPT:

“Why do you need to talk to…just us?” Bree asked, her stare critical and questioning. “Why not all the 9/11 Babies?”

The general nodded, acknowledging the fairness of her question. “You would probably instinctively group yourself with the rest of the kids who had parents die in the attacks of 9/11. And while the entire group of 9/11 Babies have been branded heroes – appropriately, I might add – the six of you are different than the others who attended the dinner the other night.”

He brought his hands in front of him, clasped them together casually in front of his broad torso. “In fact, I’ve been assigned to talk with you all this evening regarding this difference. But before I begin, please know I am about to tell you something that is quite possibly the most sensitive, most valuable, most protected secret in our military today.”

My heart picked up speed. Suddenly I felt like I was sitting in the principal’s office, in trouble but not quite sure why.

“Sensitive, how?” Adrianna asked.

The general pursed his lips. “It may take a while to explain. If I may, I’m going to ask for your patience as I attempt to do so.” He walked slowly toward us, clicking a button to lower a white screen behind him. It hovered above the fireplace as if it were a painting.

“I was thinking about the best way to inform you on the topic, and I decided I should start with what you already know: what you see in the papers and what you’ve learned in History Class.”

Ugh. History Class.

The six of us took turns shooting uneasy glances to one another, and the general, like so many teachers, pressed on, despite our obvious lack of enthusiasm.

“Even before the terrorist attacks on 9/11,” he explained, “the United States of America was the world’s leader in stopping terrorism. We continue to fulfill this role today.”

As if to prove his point, the screen behind him exploded into pictures of ongoing warfare. Bombs, tanks, and horrific blasts filled the screen.

“Terrorists know no geographical boundaries,” he continued as the pictures ceased, “but neither do we, when it comes to humanitarian issues. When the U.S. was young, we were spoiled by our location. Oceans separated us from the rest of the world’s conflicts, so we were primarily concerned with our own. But after the atrocities of the Second World War were exposed, we knew we needed to make a global effort to combat the evil that existed outside our borders.”

“The way we did this was to develop our best, most gifted citizens. We identified them at a young age and used our training facilities to nurture their gifts, pushing them as hard as they could be pushed, and making sure those gifts weren’t wasted. Soon, we had enough of these gifted warriors to form an elite military group. Its earliest members named it The Crest.”

“And what does this have to do with us?” I asked. I mean, it was nice of him to give us a history lesson and all, but the anticipation of why we were meeting with a general was killing me.

“Patience, Brooklyn,” General Richards replied, his tone implying he was losing his own. “I promised I’d explain, and I’m about to.” He turned to address the whole group again.

“You are six of the so-called ‘9/11 Babies’,” he began. “But you are a special six. The hundreds of other 9/11 Babies lost their parents heroically on that horrible day, and you did, too. But your parents were more than heroes.”

He paused, making sure he had our undivided attention. We weren’t breathing; we couldn’t.

“You would probably think of them as superheroes, members of the very same group I described.”

His gaze intensified. “They were part of our most secret, gifted branch of the military: The Crest: Chosen, Rare, Elite… Superhuman and Triumphant.”

Author Bio:

Amanda Deich is an author out of Littleton, CO. In her non-writer life, she is a teacher and coach to hundreds of kids, and she is a mama to two. If you meet her, she'll talk Jesus and identity like no one's business.

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