Guest Post by Kathleen Peacock + Giveaway: Signed Hemlock ARC + Swag!

Hi everyone! The domination continues with this guest post by Kathleen Peacock, the author of Hemlock. Stick around for a giveaway later!

Strictly speaking, HEMLOCK isn’t a dystopian. The world it takes place in—a world struggling to deal with a virus that turns people into werewolves—isn’t considered utopia by anyone. Not by the werewolves who live in constant fear of being reported. Not by the people who realize not all wolves are a threat. Not even by hate groups who want the government to be more aggressive in finding and detaining the infected.

But I think there are things HEMLOCK has in common with dystopian fiction and—as someone who loves dystopian books and movies—I hope there are things in HEMLOCK that will appeal to my fellow fans of that genre.

To me, the best dystopians have always seemed plausible. Those are the ones that hit you hardest and linger long after you’ve set the book aside. And while a werewolf virus isn’t exactly likely to sweep the globe anytime soon, I think the way the government—and the general public—deals with lupine syndrome in the book is believable.

In HEMLOCK, the world went from disbelief to fear to chaos to persecution. My characters all grew up hearing public service announcements about the dangers of lupine syndrome. They know there are camps where werewolves are sent, and they’re urged to report suspected infections. A few people question the ethics of persecuting and interning werewolves for life based on the fear that they might attack someone, but most people are too frightened by the virus not to accept the status quo.

And to me, that’s sadly plausible. History is littered with cases where people didn’t ask enough questions or stayed silent when they knew something was wrong.

Maybe that’s why I like the new crop of YA dystopian fiction so much. It’s filled with characters who realize their worlds are broken and who find the strength to do something about it. The settings themselves might be dark, but the characters give me hope.

In HEMLOCK, the situations might be bleak, but the characters draw hope from each other. And it’s my hope that even though it’s not strictly a dystopian, it asks some of the same questions and appeals to some of the same readers.

Thanks so much to Precious and Kai for inviting me to take part!

Giveaway: Signed ARC of Hemlock + Swag

Add Hemlock in Goodreads

Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf. 

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control. 

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.  

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding supernatural mystery series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

 

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Kathleen Peacock spent her teen years crushing on authors and writing short stories about vampires. She put her writing dreams on hold while attending college, but tripped over them when office life started leaving her with an allergy to cubicles. Her debut, HEMLOCK, is coming May 8^th, 2012 from Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, and will be published in the UK under the title DEADLY HEMLOCK from Simon and Schuster Children's Books .

Connect with Kathleen: Twitter | Goodreads | Site