Guest Post from author of daynight, Megan Thomason - daynight’s controversy of “Cleaving”

On Tour with Prism Book Tours...

It's time to leave Earth and cross over to the other side... it's not as far away as you think!!

daynight’s controversy of “Cleaving” 

Find Part 1 at Pause Time and Part 2 at A Backwards Story

Extremes are extreme by nature and intended to shed very bright light on societal parallels and make the reader think, feel uncomfortable even. There might be a few people who’d like to live in Aldous Huxley’s world, but I think most people would be a little disgusted by the expectation of having “no choice” in the matter, especially if attraction is taken out of the equation. In the case of Cleaving in daynight, I wanted the reader to think about several things (note that the idea is to get people thinking…not to get everyone to come to the same conclusion):

- How would behavior change for us if the equivalent of Cleaving was introduced (if there were extreme consequences for commonplace actions)? What would the impact be on marriage and divorce rates?

- All actions have consequences. On Thera, if two people have sex, they are Cleaved for life. How is this different from making the same decision, getting pregnant, and being responsible for a child for life?

- How does the use of mind-altering substances affect judgment?

- How prevalently is sex discussed amongst teens today? Is the level appropriate? If the phraseology were as obvious as Cleaving, would it seem as ridiculous as it does in daynight?

- How does our current societal focus on sex (whether by action, books, pornography, music, TV, movies) affect our perceptions?

- Is there a cautionary tale here?

Did I have to pick "Cleaving" to focus on? No, nor will the follow-on books to daynight focus on Cleaving (The Second Chance Institute has many controversial agendas they are testing on Thera, and in the case of clean slate complex and book 2, arbitrate, bringing to Earth). Did I know it would be controversial? Yes, though perhaps not to the extent it has been. In my mind, Cleaving meant "irrevocable lifetime union". Because many readers equated Cleaving with sex, that obviously caused more issues than I intended. But, the general principles still apply. Extremes bring out the very worst in society and shed light on the "worst" happening in our own society.

Is the level of focus on "Cleaving" ridiculous or amount of talk about it over the top? Well, yes, but isn't that the point? It is meant to be extreme, jarring, disturbing, and unsettling. And perhaps to make us all be a little introspective and think of what aspects of our own life or society as a whole may be a little extreme, jarring, disturbing and/or unsettling. One need only read the news to see we’re not as far off from Thera as we’d like to be.

Megan Thomason lives in paradise aka San Diego, CA with her husband and five children. A former software manager, Megan vastly prefers writing twisted tales to business, product, and marketing plans. When she isn't typing away on her laptop, she's reading books on her phone—over 600 in the last year—or attending to the needs of her family. Megan’s fluent in sarcasm, could potentially benefit from a 12-step program for road rage, struggles with a Hot Tamales addiction, loves world travel & fast cars and hates paperwork & being an insomniac. Daynight is Megan's first published novel, but fourth written one.

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daynight
by Megan Thomason
Paperback, 324 pages
Published November 26th 2012 by Creatspace

Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Earth’s benevolent non-profit by day, Thera’s totalitarian regime by night. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance™. Reality: the SCI subjects Second Chancers to strict controls and politically motivated science experiments like Cleaving—forced lifetime union between two people who have sex. Punishment for disobeying SCI edicts? Immediate Exile or death.

Meet Kira Donovan. Fiercely loyal, overly optimistic, and ensnared by the promise of a full-ride college scholarship, Kira signs the SCI Recruit contract to escape memories of a tragedy that left her boyfriend and friends dead.

Meet Blake Sundry. Bitter about being raised in Exile and his mother’s death, Blake’s been trained to infiltrate and destroy the SCI. Current barrier to success? His Recruit partner—Miss Goody Two Shoes Kira Donovan.

Meet Ethan Darcton. Born with a defective heart and resulting inferiority complex, Ethan’s forced to do his SCI elite family’s bidding. Cleave-worthy Kira Donovan catches his eye, but the presiding powers give defect-free Blake Sundry first dibs.

Introducing...  the new Novella:  FREE for the Tour!
On Smashwords!

clean slate complex
by Megan Thomason

Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Worldwide non-profit and do-gooder organization. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Life(TM). Reality: hidden behind every kind act is a dark agenda designed to gain control and force societal and moral extremes. Currently, the SCI’s pushing Project Liberate, a program to woo the poor and downtrodden into their Clean Slate Complexes—where “everything is provided” from jobs to food, shelter, clothing, and education. Unfortunately, as with all things that sound too good to be true, there’s a catch…

Meet Alexa Knight. Feisty, tough and currently homeless in Los Angeles, Alexa agrees to help the SCI in return for medical care for her sick mother. When she starts to suspect there’s more to the SCI than meets the eye will she believe Adam—the boy who saved her life and the SCI’s biggest champion, or Joshua—the attractive enigma who sings about conspiracy theories and pretends to be someone he’s not?

Full of action, humor, romance, twists and turns, clean slate complex is a companion story to the highly-praised dystopian novel, daynight. It can be enjoyed before or after readingdaynight.

LINK: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CFQY0JY

daynight Second Chances Giveaway:

Choose what you enter to win wisely. Your stay on Thera may be extended indefinitely.

Highlighting a different giveaway every daynight of the Tour... International Winners will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate and US Winners may choose $25 GC in lieu of Prize Package.

US only. International winners will receive $25 Amazon gift certificate. US winners can opt to receive $25 Amazon gift certificate in lieu of any prize package.Open only to those who can legally enter. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter and announced on Rafflecopter and Grand Finale posts as well as emailed and the winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Burgandy Ice @ Colorimetry and Prism Book Tours and sponsored by Megan Thomason. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Become an SCI Recruit
The Second Chance Institute (daynight's Dystopia)

April   22 - Launch!
                - My Seryniti - Review
                - Little Library Muse
           23 - Tressa's Wishful Endings
                - Buckeye Girl Reads - Teaser
                - Marked by Books - Review
                - Red Headed Bookworm

Welcome to Thera!
Building Thera

           24 - Coffee Books and Me
                  Stressed Rach
                  Snuggling on the Sofa - Review
           25 - Christy's Cozy Corner - Teaser
                - All Fantasy Words - Review

Kira * Blake * Ethan
Character Backgrounds & Posters

           26 - Susie Q-Pons and Giveaways - Review
                - My Passion for Books - Review; Ethan
                - Paranormal opinion - Blake
                - The Cozy Reading Corner - Kira
                - Book, Books, the Magical Fruit - Teaser
                - Bookaroo-Ju - Teaser
           27 - Bookworm Lisa - The Characters
                - Getting Your Read On - Review

Cleaving
daynight's Controversy of "Cleaving"

           28 - Fantastical World of Wonders - Review
                - Pause Time
                - A Backwards Story
                - Beck Valley Books
           29 - I Am a Reader, Not a Writer - Teaser
                - Books Mystify - Review
                - Mel's Shelves - Review

Vacation on Earth!
Escapism

           30 - The Broke Book Bank - Review

                - Letters to the Cosmos - Review

                - Arriane Cruz 

                - Candace's Book Blog

May      1 - Life of a YA Girl - Review

                - Fuonlyknew - Teaser

                - Jack's Junk Drawer - Review

Risking Exile
Dystopian Survival 101

             2 - A Tiffyfit's Reading Corner - Review
                - Lovin' Los Libros - Review
                - Paulette's Papers
                - Becky's Barmy Book Blog 
             3 - Backing Books - Teaser
                - Book Snob - Review
             4 - Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
                - Living a Goddess Life - Review; Recipe

Clean Slate Complex

             5 - Mortality Bites
                - The Book Eater
                - Deco My Heart - Review
             6 - Passion and Life - Teaser
                - The Reading Diaries - Review
             7 - Grand Finale Blast!!

Sharon x

   
http://www.beckvalleybooks.co.uk 
http://www.beckvalleybooks.blogspot.com