Regina Shen Book Tour & Giveaway

The IReadBookTour is in full swing until July 29. We have received quite a few great reviews, interviews, posts, and there is a giveaway as well.

Regina Shen book series (SM)

You can learn more at http://www.ireadbooktours.com/blog—current-tours/book-tour-regina-shen-endurance-book-4-by-lance-erlick-and-whole-series.

Until July 29, we will be discounting the first book in the Regina Shen series at 99 cents on Amazon.

Check out the many reviews and come join in the fun. Here is the revised tour schedule:

June 1 – Mystery Suspense Reviews  – book spotlight / guest post
June 2 – Book Reviews Nature Photos – review of Resilience / interview
June 2 – misty103@HubPages – review of Resilience / interview
June 2 – Haddie’s Haven – review of Resilience / guest post / giveaway
June 3 – New Horizon Reviews – review of Resilience / guest post
June 3 – XOXO Book Blog – book spotlight / interview / giveaway
June 3 – Bookishly Devoted – review of Resilience
June 6 – The Autistic Gamer – review of Resilience
June 6 – Life as Leels – review of Resilience
June 6 – Haddie’s Haven – review of Vigilance / giveaway
June 7 – Rambling Reviews – review of Resilience
June 7 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – review of Resilience / guest post / giveaway
June 8 – 3 Partners in Shopping – review of Resilience / giveaway
June 8 – Don’t Judge, Read – review of Resilience / interview / giveaway
June 9 – Don’t Judge, Read – review of Vigilance / giveaway
June 9 – Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf – review of Resilience / giveaway
June 10 – Don’t Judge, Read – review of Defiance / giveaway
June 13 – The Autistic Gamer – review of Vigilance
June 13 – Writers and Authors – guest post / giveaway
June 13 – Don’t Judge, Read – review of Endurance / giveaway
June 14 – Vic’s Media Room – review of Resilience
June 15 – Vic’s Media Room – review of Vigilance
June 15 – Deal Sharing Aunt – book spotlight / giveaway
June 16 – Vic’s Media Room – review of Defiance
June 17 – Vic’s Media Room – review of Endurance
June 17 – New Horizon Reviews – review of Vigilance
June 17 – Zerina Blossom’s Books – book spotlight / interview / giveaway
June 20 – The Autistic Gamer – review of Defiance
June 20 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – review of Vigilance / giveaway
June 20 – Haddie’s Haven – review of Defiance / giveaway
June 20 – Book Reviews Nature Photos – review of Vigilance
June 20 – misty103@HubPages – review of Vigilance
June 21 – Rambling Reviews – spotlight of Vigilance
June 21 – misty103@HubPages – review of Defiance
June 22 – Life as Leels – review of Vigilance
June 22 – Library of Clean Reads – review of Resilience / giveaway (Laura, Host)
June 23 – Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf – review of Vigilance / giveaway
June 23 – Bookishly Devoted – review of Vigilance
June 24 – Olio by Marilyn – review of Resilience / interview
June 24 – 3 Partners in Shopping – review of Vigilance / giveaway
June 26 – Writers and Authors – book spotlight / giveaway
June 27 – The Autistic Gamer – review of Endurance
June 27 – Tea and A Book – review of Vigilance
June 27 – Haddie’s Haven – review of Endurance / giveaway
June 28 – Rambling Reviews – spotlight of Defiance / giveaway
June 28 – Library of Clean Reads – review of Vigilance / giveaway (Laura, Tour Host)
June 29 – The Travelogue of a Book Addict – book spotlight /guest post / giveaway
June 29 – misty103@HubPages – review of Endurance
June 29 – alwaysjoart – review of Resilience / giveaway
June 30 – Book Reviews Nature Photos – review of Defiance
July 1 – Rambling Reviews – spotlight of Endurance
July 1 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – review of Defiance / giveaway
July 4 – Olio by Marilyn – review of Vigilance
July 5 – 3 Partners in Shopping – review of Defiance / giveaway
July 5 – A Mama’s Corner of the World – review of Resilience
July 6 – Pause for Tales – review of Resilience / guest post
July 6 – alwaysjoart – review of Vigilance / giveaway
July 6 – Library of Clean Reads – review of Defiance / giveaway (Laura, Host)
July 7 – Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf – review of Defiance / giveaway
July 8 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – review of Endurance / giveaway
July 8 – New Horizon Reviews – review of Defiance
July 8 – Book Reviews Nature Photos – review of Endurance
July 11 – Life as Leels – review of Defiance
July 11 – 3 Partners in Shopping – review of Endurance / giveaway
July 12 – Olio by Marilyn – review of Defiance
July 12 – A Mama’s Corner of the World – review of Vigilance
July 13 – alwaysjoart – review of Defiance / giveaway
July 14 – Life as Leels – review of Endurance
July 14 – Library of Clean Reads – review of Endurance / giveaway
July 15 – Bound 4 Escape – review of Endurance / giveaway
July 18 – The Cheshire Cat’s Looking Glass – review of Resilience / giveaway
July 18 – Tea and A Book – review of Defiance
July 19 – Olio by Marilyn – review of Endurance
July 19 – A Mama’s Corner of the World – review of Defiance
July 20 – alwaysjoart – review of Endurance / giveaway
July 21 – Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf – review of Endurance / guest post / giveaway
July 21 – The Cheshire Cat’s Looking Glass – review of Vigilance / giveaway
July 22 – New Horizon Reviews – review of Endurance
July 22 – Tea and A Book – review of Endurance
July 25 – JBronder Book Reviews – review of Resilience / guest post
July 25 – The Cheshire Cat’s Looking Glass – review of Defiance / giveaway
July 26 – JBronder Book Reviews – review of Vigilance
July 26 – A Mama’s Corner of the World – review of Endurance
July 26 – Singing Librarian Books – review of Resilience
July 27 – Singing Librarian Books – review of Vigilance
July 27 – JBronder Book Reviews – review of Defiance
July 28 – Singing Librarian Books – review of Defiance
July 28 – JBronder Book Reviews – review of Endurance
July 28 – Bookishly Devoted – review of Endurance
July 29 – Singing Librarian Books – review of Endurance
July 29 – The Cheshire Cat’s Looking Glass – review of Endurance / giveaway
TBD –      Coffee Books & Art – book spotlight / giveaway
TBD –      Tea and A Book – review of Resilience
TBD –      Bookishly Devoted – review of Defiance

Regina Shen Book Promo

In anticipation of the upcoming release of the 4th book in the Regina Shen series (Endurance), we are having a 99c ebook promotion on the 1st book in the series (Resilience) until June 3, 2016. The book will be available at both Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.

Regina Shen Resilience

New Release/Cover Reveal

After a long period away from posting due to writing and joining grandparenthood, we are pleased to announce the release of the collection of short stories and novelettes: Short Sci-Fi Adventures.

SF Collection D3 Alt (Front) (SM)

This brings together 6 previously published shorter science fiction/fantasy stories. You can check it out on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

We are also announcing the upcoming release in June/July of the 4th book in the Regina Shen series Regina Shen: Endurance.

ReginaShenEndurance ebook (SM)

This series has been a labor of love and we hope you enjoy. We will keep you posted on the specific timing of the release, a planned blog tour, and any special promotions associated with the new release. You can check out the rest of the series by visiting Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other venues.

Promotions and Freebies

Lots of timely news.

Regina Shen Resilience

First, we’re holding a Kindle Countdown for Regina Shen: Resilience, the first book in the Regina Shen series, only 99 cents until December 17, 2015. Visit Amazon to check it out.

Second, we’re delighted to offer free novelettes in the Rebel and Regina Shen worlds for those who sign up for our newsletter.

  Unintended Rebel ebook (SM)

By signing up, you’ll receive occasional notices about new releases, special offers, other free materials, and news related to my stories. To get your free downloads, just tell me where to send them here.

Lastly, we’re in the process of changing the covers on the Rebel series. You can still see the old covers on the print books:

cropped-rebel-collage.jpg

The Kindle covers have already been changed:

3 book banner (SM)

We would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this change.

To create a little excitement over the new covers, we will be offering the Kindle version of the first book in the Rebels series (The Rebel Within) for only 99 cents from December 18-23, 2015 on Amazon.

Help us celebrate the cover change and promotions.

Thanks,

Lance

http://www.amazon.com/Lance-Erlick/e/B00C1PKYSA

 

Regina Shen Interview A

By Lance Erlick

Regina Shen series

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I, Regina Shen, am an outcast, condemned by the World Federation to live on the seaward side of barrier walls they built to hold back rising seas and to create a place to throw those who disobey their rules. My mother won’t talk about it, but she was cast out before my younger sister and I were born for something I presume is too horrible to put into words. On the other hand, I don’t believe a word the Federation tells us, so perhaps I would have done the same.

Six days a week Mom sends my sister and me to the only remaining school in the swamps that the Federation hasn’t closed. She barters dearly for this privilege. It’s treacherous paddling to and from school in a hollowed-out canoe with genetically-enhanced gators, bounty hunters looking to kidnap girls to sell as slaves over the wall, and a host of desperate people trying to live on our shrinking lands. Life in our world is all about survival, but it helps when neighbors look out for each other.

What is your role in the story?

The Regina Shen series is my story. As Resilience begins, I’m just trying to live my ordinary life in the swamps over the flooded city of Richmond, Virginia. Ordinary for me is school, doing underwater salvage for things to barter for food, and avoiding Federation agents who forbid us from doing salvage. They also traffic in slaves shipped over the wall to work in factories, in mines, or on farms. I didn’t count on being anyone special though my teacher has high hopes for me. I just want to survive, take care of my mom and sister, and avoid trouble. Unfortunately, as an outcast, every day brings trouble.

Regina Shen: Vigilance Review

by Tori Shultz (Litpick Reviewer)

Regina Shen is back in this thrilling new sequel!  On the run from Antiquities Agents, Regina is still searching for her sister.  In order to find her, she will have to brave the wall separating the higher-ups and the lower class. If she can make it past the wall, she will be able to blend in and find her sister. Will she be able to succeed?

Opinion:

This sequel to Regina Shen: Resilience is just as good as the first, if not better.  The book gripped me in the beginning and I never got bored. I was excited to see what would happen to Regina throughout the book.

The cover art, like the last book’s, is amazing. It is simple, yet gripping. The symbol they use on the front cover is also very well-made.

The author does an excellent job at telling this adventurous story, and their description of the post-apocalyptic world that Regina lives in is beautifully executed.

With a great plot that’s sure to keep you entertained, Regina Shen: Vigilance is sure to blow your mind.

5* Regina Shen: Resilience Review

by D. Donovan (Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review)

Regina Shen and her family are outcasts in a world being deluged by rising waters from climate change – but a hurricane is proving to be the least of her problems as The World Federation which has condemned her family discovers that her unique DNA may prove the salvation of humanity itself; and so she goes from an unwanted outcast to a wanted outcast.

Only Regina’s knowledge of the swamps and wetlands created by climate change can keep her from the clutches of a savvy and sly Federation: but, for how long? She now has two problems: locating the family lost to her in the storm, and avoiding the bounty hunters and clutches of the Federation that rules her world.

Under a different hand, Regina Shen: Resilience (the first book in a projected series) could have been more one-dimensional (so many young adult dystopian stories are). Using a different approach, it could have focused on the physical challenges of disaster, on a teen girl’s coming of age, or on a family’s obstacles to survival. But any who expect Regina Shen to be your typical teen disaster story are in for a surprise: it tackles issues of freedom, domination, change in the face of challenge, and a feisty girl whose flexibility and love of learning prove her keys to success.

Regina’s acceptance of her world creates a story that is believable and involving on both a political and a personal level – and that’s a fine line indeed, incorporating elements of past and present events to create an atmosphere of future reality firmly cemented in present-day fact: “…life outside the Richmond Swamps seemed unimaginable. This was the only world I knew, unless you counted the literary world of banned books by ancients such as Charles Dickens, Isaac Asimov, and David Brin.”

In such a future, the fine lines between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are blurred – but Regina stands out firmly as ‘good’, even to strangers who encounter her. In such a world, the elements of survival are intrinsically linked to an ability to present a refreshingly honest face to strangers: “Therese couldn’t help wondering why the injured girl so interested Antiquities, the Federation, and her. Regina was a tough girl, a survivor, not unpleasant in the way other desperate souls became during and after storms. It had been the lack of guile that convinced Therese to help her…”

It’s Regina’s perceptions of the wants, needs, and efforts of those around her (strangers she encounters, who become ‘family’) that drives a story line that is personal as well as political (“Guilt. I’d added burdens on her while she tried to help me stay safe. Already, I thought of the twins as my sisters, though they couldn’t replace Colleen. But more bodies meant more heat signatures for patrols and bounty hunters to find.“). These elements, together, create a story line that is compelling, vivid, realistic, and with far more psychological depth than the usual young adult dystopian read.

In Regina’s world, there’s a lot to gain and a lot to lose. Resilience‘s satisfying conclusion leaves the door open for more Regina stories but provides a logical ending for this particular saga, which makes for both a powerful predecessor to a series and a rewarding stand-alone read.

5* Regina Shen: Vigilance Review

by Moniqua (Goodreads reviewer)

The second installment was just as good as the first. Regina is on the run to find her sister. Mo-mere prepared her for life across the wall at university, but things don’t go as planned. Demarco, to save her own career, tries to barter with Regina, saying that if they go with her, she can do more for them than Volpe, and I think Regina was right not to trust her. I know that includes being on the run for the rest of her life, but at least she has Ester by her side. I hope that there’s another installment or so, because I want to know what happens next. If she is able to change the laws of the world and bring these fictional men back, or if she runs into Annabelle (The Rebel Trap Series) on her journey.

5* for Regina Shen: Resilience

by Moniqua (Goodreads reviewer)

Regina Shen Resilience

I must say that Lance Erlick is a mastermind. Regina is a survivor. The copious amounts of misfortune she goes through in this book to evade the bounty killers and Antiquities, while trying to find her sister and mom, is admirable. Although, I had to gasp at the fact that this takes place in a time where books don’t exist. I can’t fathom not reading my favorite authors, let alone my new favorite author, Mr, Erlick.

Regina grows so much in this first installment and she is so brilliant and resilient, which makes for the perfect title. She will stop at nothing to know and learn all she can about why things are the way they are. She’s only 15 and I envy her strength and courage.

She is on the run from being captured to be tested on because her DNA is different from everyone else’s, probably because she doesn’t have a donor mother and actually has a…sorry, can’t spoil it for you. You have to read it yourself. Did I mention, there are absolutely no men in this book? Hmmm…Stayed tuned for my take on the next installment.

Buy now on Amazon. For other outlets, see sidebar.

For periodic updates, promotion announcements, and links to free short stories, sign up for my email newsletter here.

Things You’d Like To Ask Regina Shen 3

By Lance Erlick

Regina Shen series

What do you do when you’re not in school? Because of “detention” it seems I’m always in school. Mom has chores for my sister and me around the house. We have a water purification system that takes contaminated channel water and makes it drinkable and so we can take quick showers. It needs constant maintenance and pumping. We have a garden, a goat to milk, and two fruit trees to tend. We also have to set and check traps to keep scavengers from taking what little we have while we’re away. When I can, I sneak off to dive salvage at sunken homes of what had been Richmond. Most times I find sites that have already been picked clean, but sometimes I uncover a real find, like finding enough stainless cooking pans to barter for a goat so we would have milk.

Who is your best friend? It’s been hard to keep friends. The girls in my class are two years older, since I’ve advanced to the highest level, grade eleven. They think I’m too smart for my own good and would rather hang around with the more mature girls. I’ve had salvage partners. We would watch each other’s backs while diving. But Antiquities agents seized them during prior storms. The ache of losing friends has been hard. Besides, I have to watch my younger sister, who is three years younger and five years behind in school. In some ways she has become my best friend, but I have to keep so many secrets, like the books I read. It makes it hard to keep friendships.

What do you want to do after you finish school? Mo-Mere has visions of giving me an Aristotelian education as Alexander the Great had so I could make something useful of my life. She has this dream that I will somehow lead people to change the world so Marginals weren’t forced to live on the sinking seaward side of the Great Barrier Wall. As for me, I imagine having more time to salvage the depths, as much in the hope of finding more print books as barter to trade for food. However, each year there is less to find and Antiquities patrols become more of a nuisance.


Buy Regina Shen: Resilience on Amazon.

To learn more about free stories, special promotions, and new releases, join my author Newsletter mailing list here. From time to time, I send out new release and special pricing updates, links to free short stories, and writing updates.

Things You’d Like To Ask Regina Shen 2

By Lance Erlick

Regina Shen series

Why is your relationship with your mother so strained? Mom refuses to talk about her work or what she does when we’re away at school. Yet, she brings in enough barter to pay for our schooling. She is also only one of my parents, but she refuses to talk about my other parent. I suspect there is some dark secret. Six months ago, when I stood up to Mom and insisted she tell me, she clammed up. We haven’t spoken much since. There is a gaping hole inside me wanting to know about my past, and wanting my Mom back, but every day she grows more distant and fearful. I can’t imagine what she’s done.

How do you feel about school? School is a waste for me. Don’t get me wrong. I love learning. But in class Mo-Mere is limited to a few official electronic texts she can teach from. With a “photographic memory” that’s more a curse than a blessing, I could memorize all the Federation-approved texts in a day. There aren’t many. Mo-Mere stretches the information out over eleven years, carefully adding her own experiences. What keeps me motivated is detention, which I routinely get. That allows me private time with Mo-Mere. During detention, she shares illegal print books she’s salvaged from private collections beneath the sea in the sunken civilization of Richmond. The Federation could execute her for having these books, or even for salvaging. But I would risk everything for the opportunity to visit Victor Hugo, Isaac Asimov, and other ancient treasures.


Buy Regina Shen: Resilience on Amazon.

To learn more about free stories, special promotions, and new releases, join my author Newsletter mailing list here. From time to time, I send out new release and special pricing updates, links to free short stories, and writing updates.

Things You’d Like To Ask Regina Shen 1

By Lance Erlick

Regina Shen series

What was it like growing up in the Richmond Swamps? If not for the illegal print books Mo-Mere lets me read, I would describe my life as school, salvage from the depths, and chores at home. But her books make me see my world in the context of how other people live. The Federation calls us Marginals and we live a marginal life in many ways. We live with constant dangers from storms, not enough food, contaminated water, and the Federation’s genetically-enhanced alligators. Yet we are free in ways that those living in the Federation are not. There is no one telling us what to do or how to live. Mom sacrifices so my sister and I can go to school six days a week. I don’t know how she spends her days when we’re away, except we have enough to eat and our very own island with an orange and apple tree. At times I feel like Tom Sawyer, except we have to be vigilant to dangers and work hard to find food and keep our home safe.

At the beginning of the first book, why were you afraid of Antiquities agents? Both Mom and Mo-Mere, my teacher, tell me to avoid agents at all cost. Contrary to the implication that Antiquities preserves the past, it is their job to destroy any evidence from before the Federation. Even our calendar begins three hundred years ago with the Federation as year zero. We fear the agents because during storms, their agents kidnap girls from the swamps to work on Federation farms and in factories and mines as slaves.

How do you imagine life on the other side of the Great Barrier Wall? We are told that life on the other side of the Wall is better than the swamps because they don’t have as much to worry about storms stealing their land. They have food, and they don’t have vicious gators. But I wonder since so much of what they tell us is lies, whether this also is a myth. They have a caste system. They take our girls as slaves. That doesn’t sound like a place where I would want to live.


Buy Regina Shen: Resilience on Amazon.

To learn more about free stories, special promotions, and new releases, join my author Newsletter mailing list here. From time to time, I send out new release and special pricing updates, links to free short stories, and writing updates.