Kara's News and Musings: ELECTED by Rori Shay

Today is my stop on the blog tour for ELECTED by Rori Shay! She's agreed to share with us how she built the world for ELECTED and the process she used. So, without further ado.... Take it away, Rori :)

I woke up one morning with the general idea for ELECTED in my head. I think the world just naturally came after that. Since technology isn't allowed, it's basically a place without any machines. And it's dilapidated and devastated because of the eco-crisis and following world war. But there are still a few cool, futuristic inventions leftover from before the world leaders banned technology. The hard part, for me, was actually building the world for the 2nd ELECTED book! I can't wait until people get to that book in the series.

The one thing authors always say about world building is to be true to the rules. Make up rules and limits for your world, and stick with them. For example, if it's a magic world that you're creating where wizards use spells and wands to enact actions, then there has to always be a chant or a wand involved. In Harry Potter, for example, Harry could not have made some magical thing happen just by saying, "come on wand, flick that bad guy's wand out of his hand." No, he had to stick within the rules of the world JK Rowlings created and use a specific chant to expel the wand from an adversary's grip. I think this world building advice is very true for sci-fi and fantasy books of all kinds.

ELECTED by Rori Shay

Silence in the Library Publishing

YA Sci-fi

April 22, 2014
Be sure to check out the KICKSTARTER campaign for lots of extra special goodies!

Amazon

Blurb:

It's the year 2185, and in two weeks, Aloy will turn eighteen and take her father's place as president of the country. But to do so, she must masquerade as a boy to avoid violating the Eco-Accords, four treaties designed to bring the world back from the brink of environmental extinction. Aloy hopes to govern like her father, but she is inheriting a different country. The long concealed Technology Faction is stepping out of the shadows, and as turmoil grows within her country, cryptic threats also arrive from beyond the borders.

As she struggles to lead, Aloy maintains her cover by marrying a woman, meanwhile battling feelings for the boy who knows her secret - the boy who is somehow connected to her country's recent upheaval. When assassination attempts add to the turmoil, Aloy doesn't know whom to trust. She understood leadership required sacrifice. She just didn't realize the sacrifice might be her life.

Author Bio:

Rori Shay is an author living in the Washington, DC area with her husband, daughters, black lab, and cat - just not quite in the same exciting circumstances as ELECTED’s main character, Aloy. She enjoys running, gardening, reading, doing yoga, and volunteering with the Dwelling Place non-profit. Rori is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

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Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

~Kindle

~Items seen in ELECTED such as a marriage binding (temporary tat-too)

~Hemlock soap

~Necklace as seen in ELECTED

~Signed paperback copy of ELECTED

~Optional FaceTime or Skype session with the author for 1/2 an hour (can be used one-on-one or at the winner's book club, etc.)