Marked

 

 

Marked

by K. A. Gandy

GENRE:   YA Dystopian Romance

On the run from the men who murdered her parents, there's only one way to save herself. Marriage to a genetically-matched stranger.

Demy has been on the run since she was thirteen years old. Mysterious men in black cloaks have been chasing her, and so far she's evaded them. Something, though, has changed since she turned eighteen. Their attempts to capture her have gotten closer and closer, until she's only got one option left: turning herself over to the NLC, for the compulsory marriage program.

She doesn't want to get married, but with her would-be captors on her heels, she's got no choice but to hope the NLC's strict security protocols will be a safe haven. Marriage is a small price to pay for her life, after all. And maybe, just maybe, she'll finally have the space to discover why she's being hunted.

***
Marked is a new entry point in the Populations Crumble world, but many familiar characters will be present from the original trilogy.

Excerpt:

“Do you think one of the guys got here early? I already picked two of my three.” She does an excited little shoulder shimmy at the thought, but I want to run back to my room. I’m not ready to meet my guys, and I really hope we’ll get a little more time. 

I still haven’t even opened the app. Though, if people are going to start showing up . . . I need to get on that. I trail behind Cammie and Leilani to the top of the grand staircase, and we only make it halfway down before a chipper, feminine voice calls out. 

“Whassup, my ladies?!” 

My head snaps up from the woven stair runner, and I see another blonde girl waiting in the middle of the foyer. 

Cammie and Leilani both call out excited greetings, and I belatedly add a, “Hello,” to the mix. 

We make it down into the foyer, and she’s bouncing on the balls of her feet like a boxer. Though, as a boxer I can’t imagine she’d do much. She’s maybe a hundred fifteen pounds soaking wet, short and delicate-looking in a slouchy green t-shirt, ripped jeans, and scuffed-up tennis shoes. 

“My name’s Nell, and I’m joining you three for this round of matches! Have you guys met your dudes yet?” 

“Uh, no? We just did all the medical exams this morning. The schedule in our e-planners says we have a week of training classes before the introductions,” Cammie answers, mirroring Nell’s peppy tone. 

A week before any guys show up? Oh, thank God. 

“Okay, so the fun is just beginning, nice!” 

“Uhm, have you done this before or something?” Leilani asks. 

“Oh, yeah. Couple years ago, now. But, uh, things didn’t work out.” She shrugs one shoulder blithely, but doesn’t offer any other explanation. “So, this is round two for me. Sucks I couldn’t have gotten here after the boring classes, though.” Nell rolls her eyes dramatically. 

“So, what was it like?” I blurt the question, suddenly needing to know everything, while simultaneously afraid to hear what she has to say. 

“Which part? The matching? The honeymoons? The breakup?” 

“The matching—let’s start with that,” Leilani cuts in, anxiety ratcheting her voice up to a higher register than usual, and for a moment, I feel a sense of camaraderie. We’re all going through this roller coaster of unease and unknown. 

About the Author:

K. A. Gandy was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and is married with two kids. She has worked as a restaurant hostess, library book shelver, ranch hand, tour guide, Realtor, tech whiz, landlord, and small business consultant, all in addition to pursuing her passion of writing. She likes to write late in the evenings and thinks drinking hot tea and baking great cookies fuels hopes and dreams. If you would like to find more of her works, you can sign up for her newsletter at https://www.subscribepage.com/kagandy. You can also get updates on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KAGandyAuthor. I’ve also recently started a facebook group for readers, who enjoy YA Dystopian books, and am available by email at kagandyauthor@gmail.com as well, if you’d ever like to drop me a line directly!

Q&A With the Author

What did you enjoy most about writing this book? 

It was really fun visiting an existing world, but putting a new spin and fresh faces into it. I've grown a lot as a writer since I started writing Dwindle in 2020, so getting to come back and write Marked was like visiting an old friend. 

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about? 

I'm always working on something! I've got the next fantasy book in my An'Loran Chronicles in progress now, the final book in the Endless Desert Trilogy later this year, and a few surprises up my sleeve that haven't been announced yet. There may be werewolves. ;) 

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future? 

More books! I'm only half-kidding. Most of my time is split between mom duties (I have a three-year-old and a kindergartener), and writing. We also have a few fun family camping trips coming up this summer; I'm very excited to escape the Florida heat and spend a week in Tennessee soon! 

How long have you been writing? 

I've been writing my whole life as an outlet, but didn't start my first book until 2020 . . . unless you count childhood ramblings inspired by a reading of Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans? 

I appreciate you! The Populations Crumble world has been more popular than I could have imagined, and I really appreciate how many readers have taken their time to read it and leave kind reviews. As an author, it's a little terrifying to publish, and put your heart and soul out there on the page for others to read and react to. So, the readers' enjoyment of my work? That's priceless. 

Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/stores/K.-A.-Gandy/author/B08NLQQTZF?ref

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