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Saturday, October 17, 2015

Savvy Saturday with Veronica Helen Hart and Taylor Female 8635

For Savvy Saturday we are going to shake things up with Veronica Helen Hart and a character from her book Silent Autumn. Hart is the much loved author of the Blenders series, and now this science fiction romance. Her books are sure to please any reader, and we are very excited to have her character with us today.

Hello Veronica! And who is this lovely woman sitting with you?

I’m honored to introduce Taylor Female 8635 who comes to us from the year 2179. (I’ve told her story in Silent Autumn, from Champagne Books.)You’ll have to forgive her if she seems a little disoriented; she’s just been blown out of a helicopter in a vicious attempt to take her life and that of her mate, Max, and their baby, Acorn.

It’s a pleasure to meet you! Please, Taylor, tell us a little about yourself and how you got here.

It’s exciting to be here. These past several months have been such a change for me, I hardly know where to begin. In my life in The North, I was a chemist, specializing in cosmetics for women. You see, my country’s leaders believed we were getting back on track with our population and could now begin reproducing in the old fashioned way instead of using AI. Women would have to start attracting men on their own. But, in that life, I had no idea of the true history of our country. It was only when Max found me in that little charging station in the countryside and we fled The North together did I realize the whole world didn’t live as we did. I didn’t realize our food was automatically medicated to reduce our libidos to nearly zero! After a few weeks in the wilderness, let me tell you, being around Max was the most exciting and stimulating thing I’d ever experienced.

I’m sure your adoring fans would like to get to know you a little more, so are you up to answering some questions?
Questions are good.

Good! First up, what makes you laugh the most?

Seeing Acorn laugh and giggle. I’ve never experienced the life of a child before. When we first got her, I feared she would starve to death. But on our journey with our message to The West, there were so many kind people who helped us. Though her life was in danger much of the time, once she began receiving real food, she perked up. At three or four months she began to smile at me. By then my medications had worn off and I was able to experience the tingle of joy in my heart and laugh for the first time.

Of course, Max is funny, too, but those moments are too personal. I find myself blushing when I recall our first sexual encounters.

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Definitely fresh foods from a garden. I got to experience those in The South for the first time and only then was I able to savor the difference in the fragrance and flavors of a variety of vegetables. I’d say a medley of vegetables finished off with a blackberry liqueur.

If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?

From what little history I’ve learned from Max, it sounds like the post WWII years were fascinating. I think I’d like to try the 1950’s, but not for long. From what Max tells me every century, every decade had its troubles. Right now, we have to find a place in the world for ourselves.

List two pet peeves.

There were two societies we encountered on our journey that taught me the meaning of prejudice. The Cave People who live in the old coal mining regions were the worst when it came to treatment of women. That’s where we got Acorn. Her mother had mated with an outsider and she feared for her life. She wanted Acorn to have a life of freedom and education. I certainly didn’t want her at first, but it didn’t take long for me to learn to love her.

The other was when we were in the south and came across Archie and Jason living in a cabin in the woods all by themselves. They were partners, like mates, except they couldn’t reproduce, so they had to flee The North. The good people of The South were happy to have them. And that’s another thing, apparently following The Devastation in 2077, the leaders decided to separate the few survivors into colors. If you recall the population of the old United States was just under four hundred million. After the accident, it was about 40 million. Brown skinned people got The South, fair skinned ones, The North and everybody else, The West. Except when we arrived in The West, nothing was as we were told.

And finally, what's the most daring thing you've ever done?

Perhaps trusting Max and leaving that little country store with him. Prior to that, I was like an automaton, doing my job day in and day out. It was a huge risk, one I wasn’t convinced I wanted to take.

It was great to have you with us today, and thanks Veronica for making this all possible.

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