Building Character with Mercy from Scavenger of Souls by Joshua David Bellin

Yay – it’s Friday! Friday’s begin the weekend and weekends offer all sorts of READING time! So to help you make your reading decisions, I’d like to introduce you to Mercy from her newly released book Scavenger of Souls by Joshua David Bellin. She's brought a giveaway along with her, so be sure to read to the end.

Welcome to Strands of Thoughts, Mercy. Can you tell us a little about you, please?

You want to know about me? Really? Do I look like I have time for this?

Okay, fine. My name’s Mercy, I’m eighteen years old, and I’ve been stuck all my life inside this piss-poor excuse for a base commanded by my grandfather. Occasionally I manage to sneak out to hunt for Skaldi and other objectionable life forms, starting with my whack-job of a father. But that’s a long story, and I’m really not in the mood right now, okay?

Sure, Mercy. I understand. Let’s focus on the part you play in Scavenger of Souls. What conflict are you up against?

Not that it’s any of your business, but my entire life is one nonstop conflict. Yeah, I know, poor poor pitiful me. But I’m serious. I already told you about my dad and grandpa, plus now I’ve got to deal with this scrawny kid named Querry, who comes strolling into base claiming to be some kind of Skaldi-killing machine. Personally, I think he’s a spy. Or a fool. Take your pick. Either way, he’s a royal pain in the ass.

Well, from what I know of your world, Querry would be pretty darn handy if he truly is a Skaldi-killing machine. You might not want to dismiss him so quickly. Let’s see, maybe there’s a bright spot in all of this. Tell us about your best friend.

My best friend at the moment is my gun. Actually, that’s been my best friend for the past ten years. When I was little, I had my older sister, Beryl, and my older brother, Ardan, as playmates. But (see above) my whackadoodle father took both of them away from me. Like I said, long story. Not really in the mood.

Yeah, okay, so no bright spot. Is there anything about you that people are always giving you a hard time about? How do you feel about it?

You ask a lot of personal questions, you know? I’m not sure I like you so much.

But okay, one of the biggest problems I have is that I’m the only girl on a base filled with teenage boys. I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not the problem. The problem is that they seem to think they’re so freaking much better than me just because they’ve got a pair. So I find myself having to put them in their place from time to time. Which gives me a reputation as being kind of hostile. Which is just fine with me.

You, hostile? Imagine that. Though, admittedly, I don’t live in survival of the fittest environment. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Alive would be nice. Next question.

If you could change one thing in this world, what would you change?

Have you visited my world lately? It’s a freaking desert knee-deep in monsters. We’re holed up in this dump, and my dad’s out there causing no end of trouble, and my grandpa’s afraid of letting me outside the gate for fear that I might stub my toe or whatever, and now this Querry character is trying to trick me or put the moves on me or something equally annoying, I don’t even know.

So what would I change about this world? How about people leaving me alone? Starting with you.

Very well, Mercy. I’ll leave you alone. I appreciate you taking the time to visit with us. I imagine anything as frivolous as an interview can cost you dearly. Readers, here is some more information about Mercy’s book, Scavenger of Souls.

Querry Genn is running out of time.  He may have saved his survival colony and defeated a nest of the monstrous Skaldi, but that doesn’t mean he has any more answers to who he is. And Querry’s mother, Aleka, isn’t talking. Instead, she’s taken over the colony and is leading them through a wasteland of unfamiliar territory. But when they reach Aleka’s destination, everything Querry believed about his past is challenged.

In the middle of a burned-out desert, an entire compound of humans has survived with plenty of food and equipment. But the colonists find no welcome there, especially from Mercy, the granddaughter of the compound’s leader. Mercy is as tough a fighter as Querry has ever seen—and a girl as impetuous as he is careful. But the more Querry learns about Mercy and her colony, the more he uncovers the gruesome secrets that haunt Mercy’s past—and his own.

With threats mounting from the Skaldi and the other humans, Querry must grapple with the past and fight to save the future. In the thrilling conclusion to the story that began with Survival Colony 9, Joshua David Bellin narrates a tale of sacrifice, courage against overwhelming odds, and the fateful choices that define us for a lifetime.

Scavenger of Souls (Amazon): http://www.amazon.com/Scavenger-Souls-Joshua-David-Bellin/dp/148146244X/

Survival Colony 9 (Amazon): http://www.amazon.com/Survival-Colony-Joshua-David-Bellin/dp/1481403559/

Barnes & Noble, Simon & Schuster, IndieBound, etc.: http://joshuadavidbellin.com/my-books/

And here is a little info about Mercy’s author. Don’t worry; I’ll wait while you order the book. I understand…

Joshua David Bellin has been writing novels since he was eight years old (though the first few were admittedly very short). He taught college for twenty years, wrote a bunch of books for college students, then decided to return to fiction. Survival Colony 9 is his first novel, with the sequel, Scavenger of Souls, set to release on August 23, 2016. A third YA science fiction novel, the deep-space adventure/romance Freefall, will appear in 2017.

Josh loves to read, watch movies, and spend time in Nature with his kids. Oh, yeah, and he likes monsters. Really scary monsters.

Website: http://www.joshuadavidbellin.com

Blog: http://theyaguy.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheYAGuy

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joshuadavidbellin

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7393959.Joshua_David_Bellin

a Rafflecopter giveaway Happy reading!