Welcome to the release day celebration for S.A. McAuley’s Falling, One by One. Today Sam’s sharing her playlist for the book. And, just in case you missed it, there’s still time to enter for the chance to win her giveaway — a 7″ Kindle Fire. CLICK HERE for entry details.
And now, here’s Sam
Most of the music I listened to while I was writing The Borders War series was hard rock, hip-hop and rap. While those categories helped me set the tone and pace for for Merq and Armise, it’s the slower alternative songs that really go to the heart of who Merq and Armise are—together.
The relationship between Merq and Armise shifts in Falling, One by One. They are no longer enemies, but until now Merq wouldn’t have called Armise his lover either. For Merq, love is a foreign concept. To use Merq’s words, “Love is a nice idea in a time and place where nice doesn’t exist.”
It took a whole hell of a lot of repeats of this playlist to get Merq there. According to iTunes, I listened to this playlist 21 times. That’s 36 hours, or 1 and a half full days!
Stranger Ways by Anberlin has this line—“Even though we don’t know each other, and probably never will”—that was like a gut punch every time I heard it.
The Driver by Bastille can be tied directly to a scene mid-way through the book where Merq finds out why Armise pursued him all those years ago.
But it’s What You Wanted by OneRepublic that was the defining song for me, and for Merq as he finally starts to realize who Armise is to him:
“I’ll put your poison in my veins
They say the best love is insane, yeah
I’ll light your fire till my last day
I’ll let your fields burn around me, around me
If that’s what you wanted…”
Falling, One by One is Merq’s awakening.
Series Blurbs
One Breath, One Bullet (The Borders War #1): Face to face, and rifle to rifle. The time and location change, but never the circumstance. Merq Grayson and Armise Darcan are enemies. And neither will be considered successful until the other is dead.
It is the year 2558. A mere decade has passed since the signing of the treaty which ended the three hundred year long Borders War. In the midst of an uneasy peace, the world gathers for the first Olympic games since the war began.
The Rifle competition showcases the very soldiers who fought in the war, pitting former enemies against one another again. Continental States Peacemaker Merq Grayson will once again battle the Dark Ops officer from the People’s Republic of Singapore, Armise Darcan, this time under the flag of their own uneasy truce. The relationship between Merq and Armise is one of violence, secrecy, and a growing intimacy that could have them both branded as traitors.
Buy Links: Pride Publishing || ARe || Amazon
Dominant Predator (The Borders War #2): A relationship is the least of Merq and Armise’s concerns…
With one bullet Merq Grayson set the wealthiest citizens of the world on a collision course with the poorest—with those fighting for their freedom. As the Borders War reignites, the Revolution faces heavy losses. They scramble to maintain their advantage, to strike at the Opposition and crumble their power structure before they are able to rally.
But Merq is in the midst of an internal battle that shakes him to the core. For the first time in his life Merq will have to reconcile the inherent tragedy of war and decide just how much vengeance can be justified by spilt blood. How much can he trust the men and women around him? The President, Neveed, his former soldiers, his parents…and Armise.
Merq and Armise find themselves off grid and on the hunt for Committee members. Merq is just as unsettled with Armise at his side as he was with Armise as an enemy, but they will have to learn how to fight together—or they may just die together.
Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of violence.
Publisher’s Note: This book has previously been released under the same title. It has been revised and re-edited for re-release with Pride Publishing.
Buy Links: Pride Publishing || ARe || Amazon
Powerless (The Borders War #3): He was built to be invincible.
Merq and Armise return to the States after their mission to assassinate the remaining Committee members only to find the leadership of the Revolution isn’t as stable as they had thought.
Outside forces come crashing down on a Revolution stronghold, leaving two of their soldiers gravely wounded. Merq’s history with his brothers in arms Simion and Neveed forces him into making decisions that will impact his future with the Revolution.
Merq has always identified as a soldier first. Always known who deserved his loyalty and who didn’t. But with the uncertainty surrounding the leadership of the Revolution, the mysterious disappearance of the jacquerie and increased activity with the PsychHAgs, Merq knows there are few people he can trust.
The only man Merq wants or needs at his side is Armise Darcan. But his reliance on his former enemy may be a miscalculation that will threaten everything Merq stands for.
Reader Advisory: This book contains reference to genetic experimentation on children.
Publisher’s Note: This book has previously been released under the same title. It has been revised and re-edited for re-release with Pride Publishing.
Buy Links: Pride Publishing || ARe || Amazon
Falling, One by One (The Borders War #4)
Whether Armise lived or died was never supposed to matter to Merq.
As the fight for the kids of the jacquerie begins and the war between Opposition and Revolution heightens, Merq discovers that he may not have as much control over his actions as he thought he did. Further complicating their tangled relationship, Armise may be just as compromised.
Desperate to learn the truth, Merq and Armise put themselves directly in the path of a powerful enemy. They’ve spent fifteen years of their lives on the knife’s edge of trust and loyalty. What they learn about each other’s pasts—and what it means for their future—will bring them together or definitively tear them apart.
Merq’s life has always been at risk—one bullet away from death in sacrifice of his mission. As his focus begins to shift, Merq may be too late to understand what, and who, is most important in his life.
Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of graphic violence, forced genetic modification, genetic experimentation, genetic experimentation on children and torture.
Buy Links: Pride Publishing || ARe || Amazon
Strength of the Rising Sun (The Borders War #5): Merq’s always known there’s only one way Armise and he can end.
The Opposition is losing—both the war and the fight for citizen support—and the Revolution’s victory appears certain. Despite that success, Merq knows his leaders won’t let two of their greatest assets simply walk away. But with Armise fighting for his life, getting out becomes Merq’s primary objective.
Almost two decades of selfishness can’t be alleviated with one right decision, and Merq is faced with the reality of how deeply he has wounded Armise in ways that cannot be seen from the outside. Merq’s world has been upended more times than he can count and he’s always survived, but life without Armise is no longer an option. He just has to prove that to Armise.
Merq believes there are few who are strong enough to challenge them when they stand together. But when the secret Armise has been protecting Merq from is revealed, the truth has consequences neither of them can prepare for.
Reader Advisory: This book contains graphic violence, mention of torture and genetic experimentation.
General Release Date: 26th January 2016
Pre-Order Link: Pride Publishing