#blogtour #guestpost The Gemini Connection, by Teri Polen @shanannigans81 @TPolen6

The Gemini Connection by Teri Polen

Publication Date: June 7, 2018

Genre: YA Dystopian

Teen twin brothers Evan and Simon Resnik are fiercely loyal to each other and share an unusual bond—they experience each other’s emotions as their own and can sense where the other is.

On their dying planet of Tage, scientists work tirelessly on its survival. Like the twins’ parents, Simon is a science prodigy, recruited at a young age to work with the brilliant creator of Scientific Innovations. To the bitter disappointment of their parents, Evan shows no aptitude or interest in science. As a Mindbender, he travels into the minds of scientists to locate buried memories, connect ideas and concepts, and battle recurring nightmares.

When Simon mysteriously disappears, Evan is plunged into a world of loss and unbearable guilt. For the first time, he can’t ‘feel’ Simon—it’s like he no longer exists. Evan blames himself. No one knows that he ignored his brother’s pleas for help on the night he went missing.

A year later, Simon is still gone. Evan lost his twin, but Tage might have lost its last hope of survival when it’s discovered that Simon’s unfinished project could be its salvation. Evan is determined to find him—somewhere—and bring Simon home. Their unusual connection might be more extraordinary than they know, and the key to locating Simon.

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About the Author

Teri Polen reads and watches horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. The Walking Dead, Harry Potter, and anything Marvel-related are likely to cause fangirl delirium. She lives in Bowling Green, KY with her husband, sons, and black cat. Her first novel, Sarah, a YA horror/thriller, was a horror finalist in the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Visit her online at http://www.teripolen.com

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GUEST POST … A BIT OF ADVICE FROM THIS AMAZING AUTHOR!!!

The Gemini Connection is the first sci-fi novel I’ve ever written.  I didn’t set out to write science fiction, it just happened to be the genre of the story my characters told me.  When throwing your hat into the sci-fi arena, there are several things to consider.

What kind of science fiction story is it?  If you ask a person to name a sci-fi movie, the top answers are likely to be Star Wars and Star Trek–both excellent examples.  But there are several types of sci-fi:  Aliens–science fiction horror, Spaceballs–science fiction comedy, Ender’s Game–military science fiction, and more.  Figure out where yours fits in. The Gemini Connection is a sci-fi thriller with a bit of a mystery.

Create characters people care about.  Luke Skywalker is far more likeable as a farm boy who saves the princess and becomes a Jedi Master, than if he was a cheating, conniving podracer who disassembled C3PO and R2D2.  In TGC, my main character twins are dealing with some issues many of us can relate to. Simon may be a scientific genius, but he also attends his twin brother’s sporting events in place of their unsupportive parents, and is experiencing the euphoria of first love.  His twin, Evan, strives to prove his worth to his parents and himself, and clings desperately to the hope that his twin is still alive, while sorting his feelings for someone close to him. They’re also flawed–Simon chooses to hide secrets rather than be honest with his twin, and Evan possesses incredible anger and self-loathing issues–but that makes them more relatable, because we’re all flawed in some way.

World-building can make or break a story.  Any world needs rules and guidelines to make it believable.  What is your world’s government like? What do its citizens eat?  What do they wear? Think about Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling literally created another world, established rules of magic, and was detail-oriented down to the type of candy Dumbledore preferred.  It’s perfection, in my opinion. In TGC, Tage is a dying planet and its citizens are in imminent danger. Food and water are scarce, rationing has been in effect for years, the livestock population has been nearly depleted by an unidentified virus, and scientists work around the clock for a solution.  The Realm is where its worst criminals are sent. Rules make the world credible.

What’s a sci-fi story without cool weapons and gadgets?  Who didn’t want a light saber after seeing Star Wars?  My sons had them in multiple colors–with awesome sound effects.  The transporter room in Star Trek is all kinds of wicked, with folks beaming from one place to another.  So what if your atoms are rearranged just a tad. In TGC, Evan is a Mindbender.  He enters the minds of others to connect concepts and ideas, in addition to battling nightmares.  An unfortunate side effect is that if he dies inside a dream or nightmare, his physical body in the Bender lab also expires (this goes back to rules of world-building).

One of the cool things about writing fiction is that you can make up stuff–especially with science fiction.  Let your mind wander to the extreme, because there are no limits. Just make sure you’re following the established rules of your world, and then have fun with it!

 

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