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About UnStrung…
- “After turning in my first draft of UnWHOLLY, my editor, David Gale suggested that I write a story that would link Unwind and the second book — after all, it had been over three years since UNWIND had been published, and we wanted to whet readers’ appetites. I wanted to tell a story that was inspired by the fans — and a lot of fans wanted to know what happened to Lev between the time he left CyFi, and turned up at the airplane graveyard.
- “The story follows Lev’s time at an Indian reservation — (a fictional one that has been shaped by the dystopian world around it). I enlisted the help of a good friend, and brilliant writer Michelle Knowlden to co-write the story with me, and together, what was supposed to be a short story turned into a 60 page novella! We’re very proud of UnSTRUNG — in fact, it really helped to shape what came in UnSOULED and UnDIVIDED. You don’t need to read UnStrung to read the last two books of the dystology, but it will give you added insight into the characters.
- “Currently UnStrung is only available as a digital download, on all digital platforms — however it will be published in an actual book in early 2016 — a new collection of novellas and stories that take place in the Unwind world. An official announcement about the collection will be coming soon!”
An excerpt from UnSTRUNG
1) LEV
“Do it for him,” a woman says, her voice quiet but steeped in authority.
Mired in a numbing grey fog, Lev feels her cool fingers on his neck, taking his pulse. His throat hurts, his tongue feels like chewed leather, his left wrist aches, and he can’t open his eyes.
“Not yet, Ma.”
Like his eyes, Lev’s lips won’t open. Who is it who just spoke? Maybe one of his brothers. Marcus, perhaps? No, the voice is wrong. And no one in his family is so informal as to call their mother “Ma.”
“Alright,” he hears the woman say. “You decide when he’s ready. And don’t forget your guitar.”
The sound of footsteps recedes, and Lev slips back into darkness.
#
When he wakes again, his eyes open, but only a sliver. He’s alone in a large bedroom with blinding-white walls. A red woven blanket covers him. Beneath him he can feel smooth and expensive cotton sheets, like the ones he once knew. He’s on a bed that’s low to the ground, and beyond its foot, he sees the fur of a mountain lion on the slate floor. He shudders at the sight of it. An oak bureau faces him. It has no mirror, and for the moment he’s glad.
Forcing his eyes wider, he sees unshuttered windows on the far wall, the light beyond them weakening to dusk. Or is it strengthening to dawn? There is a bed stand next to him. A stethoscope is coiled there, and for a brief, devastating moment, he thinks that he’s been discovered and taken to a harvest camp. Despair presses him against the cotton sheets, and he sinks into the fog that fills his head, confusing dreams with delirium, and making a mockery of time. He drifts through the fog until he hears —
“When he wakes, get his name.” It’s a different voice. Deeper. “The council can’t give him sanctuary without a name.”
Cool fingers touch his wrist again. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He senses the woman leaning over him. He can hear her breathing. She smells of sage and smoky cottonwood. It’s comforting. “Now leave us be.”
He feels a prick in his upper arm, like a tranq dart, but not. The world goes hazy — but not like the fog. This is a different kind of sleep.
Suddenly he’s standing in a yard, near a briefcase covered in mud which lies halfway down a hole. Outside the picket fence, police are sidling toward him. No, it’s not him they’re interested in — it’s the skinny umber kid with him. CyFi’s hands overflow with gold chains and glittering stones of every color. He’s pleading with the sienna-colored man and woman, who clutch each other, staring at the kid in terror.
“Please don’t unwind me.” CyFi’s words are hoarse and choked with sobs. “Please don’t unwind me…”
A cool hand touches Lev’s cheek, and the memory is sucked in like a mental gasp. He left CyFi days ago. He’s somewhere else now.
“You’re safe, child,” the woman’s reassuring voice says. “Open your eyes.”