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Series: Longevity #1
Release date: December 1st 2014
Synopsis via Goodreads:
Carles "Carlie" Enoche's world is one that can barely be imagined. In it, babies have micropharmeceutical devices inserted in their hearts within hours of birth. The MicroPharm implant holds code that secretly counts down until the date of that baby's death (as determined by its genetic analysis) and contains drugs that are released in such a way that chemicals and hormones are in perfect balance at all times, making illness almost unheard of.
Theoretically, the known but unexposed date of the babies' deaths and the maintenance drugs geared toward giving the baby a long life have benign consequences. It is the unknown and unbelievable and unexpected way President John Barone gathers data about every child and the way he releases contraceptives from the device in order to control the population and terminate pregnancies when embryos are identified as weak or mutated that makes the device and its technology as dangerous as any malignancy.
For President Barone, seventeen-year-old Carlie isn’t just a MicroPharm first generation; she is the great-granddaughter of the man who discovered the ability to determine life expectancy down to the day and the daughter of the woman who invented the MicroPharm chip. Carlie and her family are important to President Barone's political career and the plans he has of creating a nation of strong, healthy, and superior people, who give more to their country than they take.
Jayden St. Romaine, one of the Facet's most loyal Surrogate Soldiers, is ordered by President Barone himself to find the Enoche family and kidnap Carlie. Through blackmail, he plans to leverage control over the Enoche's scientific research and the ability to develop even more tools that can be used to genetically engineer a superior race.
When President Barone sends Jayden on his mission, he never expected his perfect soldier to develop a conscience… betray his trust… fall in love with Carlie, but he's dispatched a backup Surrogate Soldier just in case. With the ticking of the clock and the second Surrogate chasing them, Jayden's chances at redemption and Carlie's chances of living a life where she is free to make choices about her life and her body are in jeopardy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
T. R. Graves is the author of several new adult series.
She lives in Texas with her husband and two children.
Besides being blessed with a supportive family, T.R. counts her career as an administrator and registered nurse in not-for-profit hospitals among her most fulfilling accomplishments.
When did you start writing?
After my father's death. My
father was a man who could tell a story that was so vivid and dramatic
that people hung on his every word, flocking to our house morning, noon,
and night just to hear them. A few
months after he died, story plots and their characters began haunting
me. They were so demanding that I had no choice but to write them
down... to share them. Before his death, writing a book was not anything
I'd ever imagined doing. Since his death, writing
books is all I imagine doing.
What makes you want to write?
I get inspiration by lots of different things, and it can come from anywhere at any time.
For example, the inspiration behind Left (Still Standing, #1)
came after suspecting
that several young, beautiful, and intelligent women that I know are
living in relationships with men who are abusive. Because I appreciate
how special these women are and what amazing qualities they offer to the
world, I couldn't stop asking myself why they
were staying with someone who treated them with anything less than
respect... with someone who didn't shower them with the unconditional
love they deserved. From that internal dialogue, Left was born.
Do you ever get writer's block and what do you do to get over it?
Writer's block is nothing more
than a state of mind. Even when I'm in the throws, I continue writing. I
don't sit around worrying that I'm not going to create a profound book
or if the words I write that day
are going to be life shattering. I don't beat myself up or give those
moments in time any more attention than they deserve. Instead, I find
something else to do, or I keep writing knowing I can always delete the
unnecessary excerpts later. Secretly, I hope
that I 'accidently' write one of the best scenes of the book.
Do you have a special way of going about writing?
Feet first works best for me. 
All
kidding aside, I agree with George R. R. Martin's opinion that, "There
are architects and gardeners. The architects do blueprints before they
drive the first nail, they design the entire house, where the pipes are
running,
and how many rooms there are going to be, how high the roof will be. But
the gardeners just dig a hole and plant the seed and see what comes
up."
All
kidding aside, I agree with George R. R. Martin's opinion that, "There
are architects and gardeners. The architects do blueprints before they
drive the first nail, they design the entire house, where the pipes are
running,
and how many rooms there are going to be, how high the roof will be. But
the gardeners just dig a hole and plant the seed and see what comes
up."
I'm a gardener. I write and let
the story go its own special way based on the actions/reactions of the
characters. With that in mind, I need four things before I can begin a
book:
1) Hook
2) Book Name
3) Synopsis
4) Book Cover
Do you have any works in progress?
I'm in the process of preparing
for NaNoWriMo 2014. I have the hook. It's one that no one will see
coming. I have the book name, Chasing the Dragon, and the synopsis
(approved and solidified by my beta readers).
Finally, I'm in the process of working with my book cover designer for a
cover that impassions me and makes me want to tell my characters'
stories. It's mainstream and modern and not like anything I've seen
released in decades... if ever.
What are your hobbies?
Writing, reading, and lending my voice to wrongs that need to be righted.
How did you choose the character names for Cheating Time?
For Cheating Time,
I decided that I loved the name Carles. The problem
was that I didn't want people to think her name was a version of
Charles. Instead, it's a two-syllable name (Kar-les), one that is
unique. I love unique names.
Like I've said before, I love
picking character names almost as much as I love to collaborate in the
book cover design. I search baby name books and sites. I know the type
of person I'm envisioning and read
names until I happen upon one that fits. If the character is to unique
for a common name, I create them myself. A perfect example is one of my
most favorite characters in Since
Inception. He was a man who
deserved a name never given to anyone... one that is as unique and
unforgettable as he is. In the end, I named him Soule Ojourne.
Who is your favourite character in Cheating Time?
Believe it or not, my favourite
character is President Barone. He is the antagonist, and I hate him as
much as any vile character I've ever read about in a book or watched in a
movie. Making him vile is the
fact that President Barone is her father's best friend and her mother's
boss and has an unnatural (and taboo) crush on Carles. In fact, he's so
obsessed with her that he's masterfully created a world that prevents
her from admitting her true feelings for any
other man... including Jayden, the man whose absolutely won her heart.
How did you get the idea for Cheating Time?
As a nurse, I'm always
interested in what we could do better to maintain optimal health. The
implant whereby our bodies are constantly/consistently getting exactly
what it needs seems ideal... and it is until
you think of all the ways disingenuous people could use it against you,
turning something that has the power for good into something straight
out of a nightmare.
What was your favourite part of writing Cheating Time?
My favorite part is that of building a new and dystopian world, one that is futuristic but still familiar. There are definitely have's
and have not's, and a government determined to keep it that way.
The most interesting aspect of
the book is the way genetic anomalies are treated like second-class
citizens, ones that President Barone is working to eradicate. That
storyline came from my years as a pediatric
intensive care unit nurse. I had the privilege of taking care of and
meeting Down syndrome babies, toddler, and teenagers. I don't like
making generalizations, but in my experience, they loved and were loved
unconditionally. I was fortunate to find that everyone
I met had a gentle and endearing temperament. When I began writing Cheating Time, I understood that because of people's
- President Barone's - ignorance, they would be at risk.
What are you currently reading?
I'm rabidly reading everything Colleen Hoover and am embarrassed
it's taken me so long to begin reading her books. My God... she's amazing!
What is your favourite book?
This is a really, really tough
question because there are so many great books. Since I'm basically
stalking Colleen Hoover right now, let me stay focused on her books and
say that I loved Ugly
Love. There is something so
ingenious about the telling of that story that I want to go back and
read it again because I'm sure I've missed opportunities to learn from a
very talented storyteller.
Who is your favourite author?
Again, there are too many great ones for me to have just one. Since I'm going through Colleen Hoover's
stories right now, I'll stick with her as my answer and pray that I'm not offending all of the other amazing authors I've read.
What is your favourite film?
My favorite film of all-time is 'Gone with the Wind'. No matter how old it is, the story of unrequited - unappreciated
- love is timeless.
What is your favourite TV show?
Recently, my husband and I discovered The
Killing, and I fell deeply and
madly in love with the show's premise and its main characters, ones who
are so flawed and lovable it almost hurt.
Quick-fire questions:
Chocolate or ice cream? Chocolate
Paperback or ebook? eBook
Dogs or cats? Dogs
Go out or stay in? Stay in
Summer or winter? Summer
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