Title: The Colony
Author: RM Gilmour
Genre: Dystopian Romance, Sci Fi Romance
Book Blurb:
Lydia felt him before she heard him. His presence filled her; he warmed her soul. His voice moved her, awakening the life inside her that she thought was lost forever. For he was her soulmate, Jordan, and he lived in another plane of existence.
When he pulled her through spacetime to be with him in his dimension, she found herself in a world without him. A world controlled by an artificial intelligence – the Guardian, whose sole purpose was to protect the power source that ran the planet. But it did so at the cost of all who lived outside of its perfect city.
Within the Colony, she was sheltered and protected from the Guardian by two advanced races, who were also from other dimensions. But even they didn’t know how far the Guardian would go to get to her.
To survive, she must find within herself the courage and strength to fight for her life. But how far will she need to go to save Jordan and the colonists from the Guardian?
Excerpt:
And when I stepped through to the other side I breathed once more, thankful to have my faculties return. I beamed at the plain, white wall before me; I was in the city! Jordan's city. I grinned at this thought, despite the danger. And with my very next breath I could feel him, as though he was right beside me. His warmth stirred within me, summoning my essence to tingle upon my skin. But I kept it locked inside. Instead, I tried to determine in which direction I would find him. And then it became clear. A road map was forming in my head with the paths before me leading the way. I knew exactly where he was, and I knew exactly how to get to him.
"Jordan," I whispered.
But I shook him from my mind, remembering the reason why I was in the city in the first place. I could easily call him to me, but I wanted him nowhere near. I was about to become a ward magnet, and I couldn't risk him getting hurt.
I looked back at the dark doorway, thankfully it was still there, though it looked just as eerie from this side of the wall. Then moving several feet toward the left, I followed my floor plan down the first short pathway.
Pausing for just a moment, I peered out of the city wall at the forest beyond, to see if everything appeared the same when looking outward as in. At first the trees were just a blur of green and brown, but as I moved closer and focused my eyes upon them, the images became clear. The city on this side of the wall also reflected off the surface and mingled with the vague greenery on the other side. And I wondered if there was only forest along the entire outside of the wall, blocking any view, preventing its inner residents from seeing the outside world.
I followed the line of the ceiling - which seemed to be made of the same material as the wall - toward the city center, as far as I could see. The Spire wasn't yet visible, but what I could see was a ceiling that slanted upward at an angle, and off to my left, was another angle that slanted away.
The sun did not shine through the ceiling and the blue sky held no presence. Instead, the ceiling glowed softly, creating an overall lighted effect across the city, and I wondered how the city would look at night. Would it be covered in complete darkness? Or would it offer a gentle glow? Or would it attempt to mimic a starry sky?
Shaking off the distraction once more, I dropped my gaze, ready to march along the city streets, but before I could take a step, the building before me began to permeate color. It was taking on a new form. The walls turned a red brick, and on top slanted a dark-grey roof. Windows appeared complete with shutters, along with a wooden doorway. Small trees and a stretch of grass spread around the outside. I turned to the next building and it also became infected with color, except with pale orange walls, a porch and a flower garden.
The white, angled walkway between the two houses was now a light-grey, concrete path and I made my slow way out, and into the first street. The next house before me also began to change, and I watched the colors and textures as they spread from where I stood, across all of the plain, white buildings before me, giving them life, making them real.
My steps slowed as I traversed the next angled laneway, and I then turned left once more. I was mesmerized by the transformation, from a collection of dull, white shapes into a neighborhood of color and grace, and it reminded me of the neighborhood I'd happily grown-up in. I easily recalled images of my brother and I, as we dominated the sidewalks and the empty streets on our bikes, lost in our own world.
And the very next house I came upon, became my house. The house I'd grown up in. Complete with my mother's failed attempts to raise two flower rows along the garden path, and our bikes, mine red, Sam's blue, laying side by side upon the grass.
My breath caught as I waited to see if the children inside, would come running out of the house resembling Sam and I, recreating some memory from the background of my mind. And I realized I'd stopped walking once more, while waiting for that memory to take shape.
I forced my feet to keep moving, tearing my eyes away from my home, and I inhaled the stunning beauty the city was shaping into. The gentle light overhead had also become infected with color as it transformed into a deep-blue sky complete with wispy, white clouds.
One house to my right, lost its color, and returned to its plain, white shape. It was the only house that reverted, the rest seemed happy to retain their new look. But it was enough to remind me of where I was and I glanced about, looking for the wards, not even sure I would know them if I saw them. I wished I'd been better prepared though, to expect such pleasant distractions, and I hoped I hadn't strayed from the path I'd intended to take.
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/jb23huj
My Bookstore: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-colony
Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/zf6aqao
What makes your featured book a must-read?
Exciting and imaginative sci-fi-adventure of love between two soulmates that reaches across dimensions to bring them together. The Colony will keep you enthralled as the story moves you body and soul from page one through to its heart-stopping end.
Giveaway –
Enter to win an e-book bundle of all 17 books featured in the Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic Bookish Event:
Open Internationally.
Runs February 23 – March 2, 2021.
Winner will be drawn on March 3, 2021.
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