The Explosive Conclusion to the Award-Winning Resistance Series
To Deny Freedom is to Deny the Human Spirit.
Fugitive Resistance fighter Tommy Bailey has come out of hiding to help rescue Careen Catecher from the clutches of the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense, where she’s been held and interrogated for information about the rebel group. The OCSD is poised to launch the Cerberean Link, a security device that will put all minors under constant surveillance under the guise of protecting them.
Fearful that OCSD director Madalyn Davies’s bid for control won’t stop there, the Resistance puts its own plan in motion to sabotage the Link and oust Madalyn from the directorship. Just when everything seems leveraged in the Resistance’s favor, treachery, lies, and long-held secrets threaten to derail it all.
Will even a life together on the run be impossible for Tommy and Careen? Or will the Resistance’s efforts convince the public to put their fears aside and demand freedom?
Thanks to author Tracy Lawson, GTB was lucky to score an interview with one of the main characters of REVOLT! Here is her story:
When we first meet Careen Catecher of the Resistance Series, she’s a first-semester college freshman at a prestigious university. But in Careen’s world, most of the freedoms that today’s young adults enjoy have been curtailed, in the name of preventing terrorist attacks. The Civilian Restrictions that have been in place nearly all of Careen’s life forbid people to gather in public places. Cash has been eliminated, and any buying or selling of items between individuals is not permitted. Only a select few, mostly high-ranking government workers, are granted driving privileges, and even grocery stores have been outlawed to protect the food supply from being tainted. Yet somehow, the OCSD’s efforts haven’t worked. As the story opens, the OCSD makes the public aware of a looming threat that will change Careen’s life forever.
Careen is at the center of the action in Counteract, Resist, Ignite, and now Revolt, the fourth and final book in the Resistance Series. She’s answered some questions about how she went from scholarship student to freedom fighter.
1) What was it like growing up under the OCSD’s Restrictions? In my earliest memories, I’d have to guess that my life wasn’t all that different from anyone else’s. We weren’t rich, but no one in our neighborhood was. My parents owned a café. I can remember when the Restrictions relating to food sales went into effect, and it got harder to obtain the variety of foods they’d been used to. They had to take a lot of things off the menu, and once people were required to subscribe to meal plans through the government, hardly anyone could afford to eat out. If terrorists hadn’t bombed the plaza and destroyed the restaurant, I’m pretty sure it would have gone out of business on its own.
I was nine years old when it happened. My dad and I had gone over to the café, on an evening when it was closed. I don’t even remember why anymore. We were inside when the bomb went off, and by the time rescue workers found us, my dad had bled out. My childhood ended that day. After that, it was just my mom and myself, and somehow, I became the adult in the family.
2) Did you have a favorite toy or game when you were little? I loved books more than anything. They were my escape from my not-so-happy teen years when I didn’t fit in with my peers. I did keep one toy, a stuffed animal cat from when I was little. Dee Dat went to college with me in my duffel bag. It was the only truly personal thing I took with me when I left home.
3) What’s the best thing about being a member of the Resistance? I think I’m truly following my heart for the first time in my life. I understand now that a lot of my discontent stemmed from helplessness. I had learned early to hide my feelings, and I believed that the only way to get along in the world was to shut other people out and be self-centered. Just before I became aware of the Resistance, I realized that the problems that affected me were everyone’s problems—not just mine. When I had the opportunity to speak out and tell the truth, I was too angry to be afraid.
4) What’s the worst thing? I never got used to feeling like I was on display and recognizable—especially when Tommy and I were on the run after I was accused of a murder I didn’t commit. I was terrified of being captured by the OCSD and going to jail. When we became part of the Resistance, it was my job to reach out to the public and share our message in a series of bootleg anti-government videos. But the worst thing was when being a recognizable member of the Resistance backfired on me. Big time.
5) What happened? You’ll have to read the series to find out!
6) What do you miss about your old life? Not much. (laughs) I guess that shows how low my expectations were, doesn’t it? After my dad died, I wanted someone I could count on to take care of me. That didn’t happen, so I learned to rely on myself, and I guess I became kind of a control freak. I convinced myself that a good education and a good job were the only things that would lead me to the kind of life I wanted. So there I was, in my first semester of college, on my way to realizing my goals. When the OCSD announced the chemical weapons threat, I was afraid not to take the antidote because I couldn’t ignore the danger.
And I never went back to class. Even though my life was more out of control that it had ever been, the antidote had a kind of lulling effect, so I didn’t care.
7) What about romantic involvement? A relationship wasn’t part of my plan. But I can say that the heart of my story isn’t whom I choose to love, but that I choose to love, in spite of everything that’s going on in the world around me. When I first met Tommy, I didn’t want to get close to him because I thought I’d get hurt. But that changed after I got to know him. One of the things I like best about Tommy is he keeps me from taking myself too seriously.
8) So do you see a future with him? Whether we’ll end up together is pretty up in the air, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings for him. It’s so confusing, because Tommy’s hard to resist, you know? He’s cute and funny, and really charming when he wants to be. He promised to always protect me, but that was a promise he couldn’t keep. Without giving any spoilers, I can say our trust level is at an all-time low as Tommy and I head into the final book in the series. We need to work past that, and it’s difficult.
I can’t believe we’ve only known each other a few months. The day we met was the day of the supposed chemical weapons attack. We’d run out of the antidote that was supposed to keep us safe from the airborne poison, and I was so sure we were going to die. But he didn’t put the moves on me or invoke the “what if we die tomorrow?” cliché. Instead, we sat up late talking, getting to know each other. When we didn’t succumb to the poison, we tried to figure out why. We saw what the antidote was doing to the people who were still taking it, and we realized the real threat came from the OCSD, not the supposed terrorists.
After we detoxed, it was like we were the only people on earth. Everyone else, well, besides the quadrant marshals and some of the government workers, was high on the antidote. Tommy and I learned to rely on each other, and as I grew to care deeply about him, we also came to realize there was no way to escape our situation. It was only a matter of time before we ended up in jail or were forced into the civilian army. We sought comfort in each other, and to be honest, he didn’t seem to mind when I made the first move. (winks) Even though I committed my heart to Tommy that day, I’m not clingy or dependent. I can think for myself. Tommy and I don’t agree on a lot of things.
9) So what is happening in Revolt? Again, I can’t get into plot specifics, but the OCSD has developed the Cerberean Link, a GPS tracking and monitoring device, which they say is the ultimate tool to keep children safe. Many people think it’s another plan to control the population. I’m in a tough position because I can see both sides of the issue and understand why parents would be desperate to try and protect their children. I wish someone had been able to protect me when I was little. The Resistance is extremely opposed to sentencing innocent children to a lifetime of surveillance, and puts its own plan in motion to sabotage the Link and oust Madalyn Davies from her job as the OCSD director. Just when it seems like the Resistance’s plan is going to work, things spin out of control.
Want your own copy? You can pick it up [easyazon_link identifier=”099661088X” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]here[/easyazon_link].
Visit Tracy Lawson on Instagram: @tracylawsonauthor or Facebook!
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