ON FRACTURED GROUND (The Shattered Lives Chronicles #1) by Subject BGD-Review & Interview
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 1, 2019.
There are no heroes here. Only survivors.
As a child, Tylar Daislea was abandoned at Cellar Institute. A despicable fortress with just one directive: to brainwash, train and traffic women. Introduced to her first trainer at sixteen, she excelled through the initial two years of skills. Until one fateful afternoon, when it all fell apart.
When Tylar leads a second skill trainer to ruin, Corbin Manning receives the call. His father’s unsolved murder left him in charge of the illicit facility his family established decades ago. Forced to return to an underground world he always loathed, Tylar’s behavior threatens to drive him past the brink of his tolerance.
Thrust into the middle is Corbin’s most trusted employee, Chase Tiburon. Faced with a distasteful decision, Chase must return to his former life as a skill trainer or take on a task that will haunt him for the rest of his life.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
Welcome to the universe of Shattered Lives. Dare to take a glimpse into the dark world of the Manning Bloodline. A patriarchal extremist family known for being reclusive in life and ruthless in business. Raised with disregard for everything except bloodline reputation, preservation of genes and success, their heirs are shrewd and without remorse. Over the past three hundred years, all marriages have been arranged and only men have been sired. The leading cause of death is each other.
This series is not for the weak of stomach or the soft of heart. It will challenge the crux of nature versus nurture, as it explores the extremes the mind will go to ensure survival and quality of life.
On Fractured Ground is just the beginning…
*** THIS SERIES IS DARK. IT CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT AND POTENTIAL EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS *** It is unsuitable for readers under the age of 18. Sexual content is frequent, but the story is not formulated erotica and should not be considered romance.
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REVIEW: ON FRACTURED GROUND is the first instalment in Subject BGD’s contemporary, adult THE SHATTERED LIVES CHRONICLES dark, psychological thriller focusing on Tylar Daislea, Corbin Manning, and Corbin’s best friend Chase.
NOTE: Due to the story line content including sexual slavery, assault, rape, non-consensual acts and murder ON FRACTURED GROUND may contain triggers and that may not be suitable for all readers.
Told from several third person perspectives including Tylar, Corbin and Chase ON FRACTURED GROUND follows Tylar Daislea throughout her ‘training’ as a sexual slave. Left at the Cellar Institute as a young child, Tylar would begin a lifetime of discipline and instruction on how to be an obedient sexual slave. Having never known anything other than the ‘guidance’ and instruction of her proctors and trainers at the Cellar Institute Tylar Daislea is coached and indoctrinated into the illegal world of sexual slavery, setting the groundwork for her sale to an unknown buyer. Stripped of their humanity, the ‘slaves in training’ are brainwashed, mentally and emotionally abused in preparation for a world they know nothing about. Having defied her ‘handlers and trainers’ on more than one occasion, our heroine Tylar Daislea must endure solitary confinement, isolation and deprivation for having questioned and disobeyed the people in charge. If not for the desperate act of the reluctant Cellar Institute owner Corbin Manning, and his right hand man Chase, Tylar’s life may have been forfeited months before.
Tylar Daislea is drawn to a man who makes the life and death decisions at Cellar Institute. Power and control, discipline and obedience, form the basis of the Institutes drive to succeed in an attempt to provide a service to the rich and well-connected but Corbin Manning keeps secret the truth about Tylar’s connections to the Cellar Institute, a connection that prevents Corbin from relinquishing total ownership and control.
ON FRACTURED GROUND is a well written, sweeping and detailed, dark, gritty, raw and bleak look at the lengths some people will go to in order to control and destroy the lives of the most vulnerable; a sick and twisted game in order to break the strong, and weed out the weak. The premise is blunt and heart breaking; the characters are broken, damaged, fragmented and torn.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
TRC: Hi and welcome to The Reading Café.
Congratulations on the recent release of ON FRACTURED GROUND.
Subject BGD: Thank you!
TRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?
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Subject BGD: Born and raised in Western Washington, I grew up with horses, and dirt bikes. As an adult, I’m huge into gaming. Tabletop games dominate my non-writing life, though video games also hold a special place in my heart. My favorite mechanics are resource management and worker placement. Party games are fun, but I’m not a huge fan of social deduction. I never turn down a game of 7 Wonders, with our without expansions. Always down for a night of Dungeons and Dragons, or a weekend of Kingdom Death Monster. When console gaming comes into play, it’s usually Borderlands, Destiny, Witcher, Dragon Age, or Skyrim.
TRC: Subject BGD is a mysterious choice for your author name. Would you please address the use of Subject BGD, and any significance it has to the series?
Subject BGD: Due to the theme of the Shattered Lives Chronicles, I wanted to keep my real name separate from the series. I thought it would be neat for my penname to foreshadow a reveal in Book 3, Broken by Blood. Gayle Schnaber is also a pseudonym, since Facebook would not allow me to create a profile as Subject BGD. Not every FB group will allow authors to join as pages, and they are full of great resources. A reoccurring character, readers will meet the inspiration for Gayle in On Fractured Ground.
TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?
Subject BGD: The series was as an outlet for tragedies that struck throughout my life, and it was never intended to be published. It helped me work through everything from childhood hospitalizations, assaults, DV, emotional abuse, an earth-shattering discovery about my family, and even a miscarriage. I “finished” the story in 2008, but rewrote it whenever I felt devastated. I would alter reality to make things 10x worse for my characters, and force them to be stronger than I ever could. I cursed Corbin with the ability to shut down, though at the price of sometimes exploding. I granted Tylar the courage to stand up for herself, no matter the risk. And I gifted Chase with the level head I never had, but not the sense to avoid working for a corrupt establishment.
TRC: What challenges or difficulties did you encounter writing and publishing your first novel?
Subject BGD: Writing was easy, I pantsed the entire series (in Layman’s, no outline or mapped plot, though I did create a retroactive timeline to keep everything straight). The challenge came when a friend read part of the story in 2018 and convinced me to publish. Luckily, she offered help with marketing and editing (she has experience with both). But I had to learn to identify and remove passive voice, and change telling to showing. At over 1,000,000 words, the story also had to be split into volumes. Rewriting to fix pacing has been no small task, but the reward of reading a tighter manuscript is exhilarating. I’ve been thrilled by the reaction from readers!
TRC: Would you please tell us something about the premise of ON FRACTURED GROUND and the Shattered Lives Chronicles?
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Subject BGD: Most people find a way to normalize atrocities when they feel powerless. It’s a survival mechanism, and it is prolific in victims of long-term abuse. Corbin’s psychological abuse began at birth; Tylar’s when she was 4-years-old. On Fractured Ground introduces what they endured, demonstrates how it made them who they are as it continues to shape their lives, and reveals its impact on the people around them. This is NOT a story about heroes. It’s a tale of survival, and the cost is different for each of the 3 main characters.
TRC: There are a number of potential ‘triggers’ for more sensitive readers. What would you like to say to the readers to address their fears?
Subject BGD: Although the settings, events, and people are fictional, the situations that compelled me to write them are real. My self-administered therapy is not suitable for all readers, but creating an adaptation of devastating experiences saved me from suicide more than once. It was how I survived sexual assault by an ex, and another by a coworker a decade and a half later. The Shattered Lives Chronicles was the only means of escaping my darkest hours. I hope others can find the strength I did through Tylar, Chase, and Corbin.
TRC: How many books do you have planned for the series?
Subject BGD:The finished story will be divided into 5 or 6 novels. Remaining Shards will be the final installment for this story in the Chronicles, though I have a second that takes place 19 years later. At 371,285 words, it focuses more on the Texas Mannings and delves a little deeper into the realm of eugenics. I have no idea how it ends, so it’s hard to tell how many books it will add. Probably another 3 to 5.
TRC: From where did you get the idea for ON FRACTURED GROUND?
Subject BGD:Sexual frustration and too much daytime TV. It was supposed to be a short erotic fanfic based on General Hospital in the early 2000s. Next thing I know it’s a GH-less monstrosity with sex included, although no longer the focus. Oops?
TRC: What kind of research/plotting did you do, and how long did you spend researching /plotting before beginning ON FRACTURED GROUND and the Shattered Lives Chronicles?
Subject BGD: I wrote first and asked questions later. When reading back through, I dug for plausibility on certain scenarios that might seem outlandish. Since the story deals with experimental psychology, fact-checking dropped me down a number of conspiracy theory rabbit holes. These always lead to some aspect of the modern-day interpretation of the Illuminati. Yes, I know their real history (way more boring than what people think of them nowadays). No, the series does not contain their theories or ideology. They are mentioned in passing by a character in Book 3. It’s a nod to the conspiracy theorists and to make fun of myself for spending too many hours reading myths about world domination.
TRC: What was the most challenging scene to write?
Subject BGD: Tylar’s extreme naiveté was often a difficult thing to portray. Cellar Institute censors education, reading material, music and videos. Its students can count and tell time, but do not know simple math and have never seen money. Though taught enough to be conversational, they are undereducated to a degree that makes them seem “dumb as a pile of rocks” to outsiders. As someone who benefitted from formal education, I had to rack my brain over what they would or wouldn’t know. Then came the task of figuring out how an intelligent woman raised under such conditions would make deductions the others wouldn’t. Later in the story, I had to give her a believable train of thought for learning the impossible. It was a very interesting challenge.
TRC: Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the process of selecting a book or new series to read?
Subject BGD: Yes. It’s a reader’s first impression when browsing online or in bookstores. They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but truth is most people do.
TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?
Subject BGD: I sit down with an idea, a beverage of choice, and the best of intentions. Everything that happens from there takes on a life of its own. Things do not always go my way and most plans fly out the window. It’s another reason I run with ideas, instead of outlining. Too much work for something the characters and plot will deviate away from.
TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writer’s fail in this endeavor?
Subject BGD: In Dnd, we call it ‘character vs. player knowledge’. The Author must know their character inside and out, and be able to put themselves in the situation AS that character. Fleshing this out goes so much deeper than a simple character description sheet (those are a great start, though). You need to know exactly what your character would do in any given situation, which often means living as your character for a time. It means rewriting, and backstories. Side fiction also helps A LOT, because it gives the opportunity to flesh out not just who they are, but WHY they are.
I’ve read a number of books where the characters are either underdeveloped, or I get yanked from the story when they do or say things that don’t align with their values/personality.
TRC: Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does the style of music influence the storyline direction? Characters?
Subject BGD: I need complete silence when creating. If people are moving about the cabin, it pulls me out of the universe and I get irritated. However, there is a story arc involving a band called Tight Merge, and I created a soundtrack for the series in Spotify. So, music is still an important part of the process!
TRC: What do you believe is the biggest misconception people have about authors?
Subject BGD: That we are what we write. Sure, most of us pour our souls into our manuscripts, but we are still a separate entity. After reading what my series was about, a friend said: “I didn’t know you felt that way about men.” The story doesn’t reflect my views on men or women. My devastated brain gave birth to a work of fiction, which developed a personality of its own as it grew.
TRC: How should authors measure a book’s success?
Subject BGD:By how the inspires its readers to feel. We create a way for people to escape their everyday lives. For a novel to be truly successful, it must transport its reader to another universe and allow them the opportunity to be someone else for a time.
TRC: What is something that few, if anyone, knows about you?
Subject BGD: I am an extrovert who suffers from a social anxiety that often feels debilitating. Whenever I reveal this, people are shocked. Apparently, I hide it very well.
TRC: Who is your favorite author (living or dead)?
Subject BGD: Brandon Sanderson, hands down. Before I discovered him, it was Dan Simmons.
TRC: On what are you currently working?
Subject BGD: Rewriting Book 2: Fragmented Past. Hoping to have it ready before April, 2020!
TRC: Would you like to add anything else?
Subject BGD: I have a free flash fiction backstory for the Shattered Lives Chronicles available on my website, and I plan to write more. At less than 1,000 words, ‘Collared’ recounts the day Corbin’s parents met in Sicily. Unrelated to Cellar Institute, this 5-minute read can be enjoyed as a stand-alone for those who have not yet read On Fractured Ground. If you have read the first installment of the series, it provides some insight and has an Easter egg for Book 4: Malunion.
I’ve written another short stand-alone called ‘Pixies in the Night’, which uncovers some of the mystery behind Tylar’s parents. It’s been submitted for publication in an online flash fiction magazine. If it’s accepted, I’ll post its link to my site!
LIGHTNING ROUND
Favorite Food
Sushi
Favorite Dessert
DQ Blizzard
Favorite TV Show
I’d probably have to say Rick and Morty. I own a number of their board games, as well.
Last Movie You Saw
Mortal Engines
Dark or Milk Chocolate
Milk Chocolate, all the way!
Secret Celebrity Crush
Ian Somerhalder
Last Vacation Destination
Japan (spent 3 days in Tokyo, and 3 in Okinawa).
Do you have any pets?
I rescued a Siamese kitten 7 years ago, and trained her like a dog. She knows ‘no’, ‘come here’, ‘get down’, and comes to her name.
Last book you read
A post-apocalyptic novella called “Life after the Fall” by G.J. Ogden. It’s a prequel to his Planetsider series. I’m currently reading the next installment, aptly named ‘The Planetsider’. I’m also listening to the Harry Potter series on Audible.
TRC: Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of ON FRACTURED GROUND. We wish you all the best.
