Venture beyond your comfort zone ~ Megan O'Russell
Venture beyond your comfort zone
I’ve been on the road since October. I mean that very literally. For the past seven-and-a-bit months, I’ve been traveling on a tour bus and living out of a suitcase while hotel hopping.
There have been good times. There have been lock myself in the room with my husband and some wine and hope we survive the night times. But here are a few highlights you should check out should you ever find yourself on a massive cross-country adventure.
If you ever find yourself in Alma, Arkansas, stop at the Sargent 66 gas station for barbeque. Not even kidding. It’s some of the best ribs, pulled pork, and brisket I’ve ever found, and the portions are giant.
Detroit, Michigan may have a bit of a bad rep, but they know how to do Christmas! Downtown is beautiful, the Fox Theatre is amazing, and the whole area is filled with Christmas wonderment. From a skating rink to a pop-up beer garden, there is something for everyone come the holiday season.
If you’re ever in South Dakota, check out Mount Rushmore. It’s cool, and finding your way to South Dakota is hard, so don’t miss the chance.
Yvonne’s in Boston, Massachusetts is a great speakeasy-style bar. It’s even set up like a hair salon out front so you really don’t know what you’re walking into. And try a cannoli from Modern. I was not a cannoli person until I tried one in Boston.
The City Museum in Saint Louis is a grown-up playground on crack. With tunnels to climb through, slides, hidden rooms, and a parkour palace, it’s a super great time. Even if walking the next day was really hard. And don’t forget to stop by Pappy’s for some more really great ribs.
Siesta beach near Sarasota, Florida is awesome. The sand is so white, it doesn’t hold the heat of the sun, so walking barefoot is great. The wide stretch of beach has tons of room for everyone to spread out, and the gentle waves are great for playing.
I could go on and on about the cool places I’ve been on this tour alone, but that would take paragraphs upon paragraphs. So I’ll end by saying this: Leave your backyard. Venture beyond your comfort zone. You never know what adventures may await you if you don’t take the first step.
GIRL OF GLASS
by Megan O'Russell
Fiery Seas Publishing
December 6, 2016
Young Adult Dystopia
Two worlds...one glass wall...no turning back.
The human race has been divided. The chosen few live in the safety of the domes, watching through their glass walls as those left on the outside suffer and die. But desperation has brought invention, and new drugs have given the outsiders the strength to roam the poisoned night unafraid – but it comes at a price.
Seventeen-year-old Nola Kent has spent her life in the domes, being trained to protect her little piece of the world that has been chosen to survive. The mission of the domes is to preserve the human race, not to help the sick and starving. But when outsider Kieran Wynne begs for Nola’s help in saving an innocent life, she is drawn into a world of darkness and danger. The suffering on the other side of the glass is beyond anything Nola had imagined, and turning her back on the outside world to return to the safety of the domes may be more than she can stand. Even when her home is threatened by the very people Nola wants to help.
BOY OF BLOOD
by Megan O'Russell
Publisher: Fiery Seas Publishing
Series: Girl of Glass
Genre: YA Dystopia
Release Date: April 10, 2018
After Nightland’s vicious attack on the domes, the safety and perfection of the world within the glass has been contaminated. Desperate to rebuild, outsiders are allowed into the domes to help, breaking the cardinal rule: outsiders and Domers must always be separated. But the city is in shambles, crumbling into chaos without the Vampers of Nightland to keep order, and one name is carried on the wind: Nola.
Clinging to Jeremy, Nola struggles to find a way to exist in the domes, turning her back on all she learned in the city. But when one of the outsiders brings the dark secrets of the domes to light, the line between survival and murder blurs against the spectre of the dying world.
Can Nola follow the dark path laid out by the Domes? Will the dangers of the night become her new sanctuary?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Megan O’Russell is the author of the young adult fantasy series The Tethering, and Nuttycracker Sweet, a Christmas novella. Megan’s short stories can also be found in several anthologies, including Athena’s Daughters 2, featuring women in speculative fiction. Megan is a professional performer who has spent time on stages across the country and is the lyrist for Second Chances: The Thrift Shop Musical, which received its world premiere in 2015. When not on stage or behind a computer, Megan can usually be found playing her ukulele or climbing a mountain with her fantastic husband.
SOCIAL MEDIA
