Guest Post and Giveaway: YA/MG Author Scott Cramer

Today, Scott Cramer is stopping by for with an insightful guest post and ebooks giveaway! Scott is the author of the YA dystopian novel, NIght of the Purple Moon...

Space germs decimate the adult population. Who will survive?
For months, astronomers have been predicting that Earth will pass through the tail of a comet. They say that people will see colorful sunsets and, best of all, a purple moon.
But nobody has predicted the lightning-fast epidemic that sweeps across the planet on the night of the purple moon. The comet brings space dust with it that contains germs that attack human hormones. Older teens and adults die within hours of exposure.
On a small island off the coast of Maine, a group of teens and children struggle to survive in this new world, but all the while they have inside them a ticking time bomb — adolescence

Handling Death In My YA Dystopian Novel

Scott Cramer

Death, both real and symbolic, is prevalent in both YA and MG literature. When my YA dystopian novel, Night of the Purple Moon, was on submission, one NY editor had concerns with scenes where my characters found dead parents. He suggested a re-write where those discoveries would be handled in flashbacks. For reasons too numerous to mention, that re-write never happened.

With the tagline--Space germs decimate the adult population…who will survive?—death is a recurring theme. What I tried to do was handle it as sensitively and realistically as possible. NOPM is a very clean book, no sex, no violence, with few graphic descriptions, yet the novel has evoked strong emotional responses.

I am watching with great curiosity how readers are reacting. The following snippets came from customer reviews on Amazon and Goodreads:

• A lot of people die in this book: not just the 6 billion adults who die "off stage" but quite a few of the kids and their parents whom we've met. These deaths are described with an unusual combination of sympathy and relentlessness.
• Perhaps a little too much for children younger than eleven or twelve.
• I'm not sure how old your child should be to read this book, but if they're likely to have nightmares after reading about the death of nearly the entire adult population, they should probably wait a few years.
• And here is where the story takes a turn. As you can read from the premise, all older teens and adults die from the dust that everyone is now breathing. Thus leaving only younger teens and...babies. Yes, THIS is where I had a hard time. I blame it on the "mommy" in me, but just the thought of little ones being left to take care of themselves... I was drawn all the more into the story and couldn't read fast enough to find out what happens to these defenseless children.
• It was descriptive enough to picture what was happening, but not to be overwhelming. I didn't want it to end. The strength and perseverance these kids had to have to deal with their traumas and fears and still have hope, create a working society and survive looking towards the future, was amazing. I cried with them and laughed with them.
• Similarly, the characters - especially Abby and Emily - are very well-developed and this makes it gut-wrenching when bad things happen to them. (And believe me, some very bad things happen to some of them - I was stunned by how dark it got at points.)

Overall, I am pleased with the responses and the restraints that I showed as an author. I know that the book is mostly about hope and determination. I do, however, understand that NOPM might be too intense for some kids, so I have since posted a ‘parental advisor’ on Amazon.

Find the author: Website / Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

Win an e-copy of Night of the Purple Moon!

Scott Cramer is giving away 10 Kindle copies of his book!

All that Scott ask in return from the winners is that they write a short review on Amazon if they enjoy the book.

DETAILS

Giveaway will run from 5/1 - 5/6

There will be ten (10) winners who will each receive a Kindle copy of the book

Open to anyone who can read Kindle ebooks (you can download Kindle apps from Amazon)

Fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter

• Must be 13+ to enter
• One main entry per person
• Winners will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours

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