Series Feature: The dwellers (including a giveaway)

Posted December 8, 2012 by Lola in Dystopia / 12 Comments

I got this idea based on the monthly feature series that Kay came up with on K-books. I am not sure if I can feature a series every month, but I like the idea of featuring a series on my blog. So today I will do a post to feature The Dwellers series by the awesome David Estes.

The Dwellers series is a dystophia series written by David Estes and so far consists of 3 books: the Moon Dwellers (the dwellers #1), the Star Dwellers (the Dwellers #2) and the Sun Dwellers (the Dwellers #3).
I will share with you the blurb of book 1 and the covers of book 2 and 3 and my ratings of them, I won’t post my reviews of these books today because this post get’s way too long if I also post that. I also have an interview with David Estes about the Dwellers series and a giveaway (the lucky winner will win an e-copy ofchoice of either the Moon Dwellers, the Star Dwellers or the Sun Dwellers).

cover of the Moondwellers by David EstesThe Moon Dwellers (the Dwellers #1)
by David Estes

Blurb from Goodreads: In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms.

After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents’ crimes of treason.

Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.

In their world, someone must die.

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cover of the star dwellers by David Estes


Star Dwellers (the Dwellers #2)
by David Estes

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cover of the sun dwellers by david estes

Sun Dwellers (the Dwellers #3)
by David Estes

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I love the Dwellers series, it is an original dystophia and I really like David Estes writing style and the double pov’s in this series. The characters are strong and likeable and I liked reading about them. David also did an awesome job at creating a great world, the world building is done really good and every book you learn something more about this world. This is one of my favourite dystopia series!
And now my interview with David about the Dwellers series:

Hello David,
Welcome to Lola’s Reviews. I am so excited to have you here today! I really enjoyed reading the Dwellers series and it’s one of my favorite dystopia series, so I really wanted to do a series feature about it.

Thanks so much Lolita!! I’m so excited to be here and truly honored you chose The Dwellers Saga to feature.

Where did the idea or inspiration for the Dwellers series come from?

Awesome first question.  When I fell in love with dystopian novels a year or so ago, I started thinking about writing one.  I thought about all the great dystopian novels I had read and came up with a list of what elements they had in them, and what had already been done in terms of setting and political climate.  I wanted mine to be different and unique, but still fit nicely within the genre.  I realized that most dystopians take place on earth and everything has been changed.  So I thought it would be cool to have everything take place underground, which would make my novel quite different and give me plenty of challenges in creating a world where people have never even seen the sun or the moon or the stars.  A world without rain or wind or flowers or trees.  Once I had the idea, I just started building my world from the bottom up.  What forced humans underground? What changes would occur once they moved underground?  How would politics change?  I LOVED the process of creating this world from scratch developing a backstory to it all, and creating characters within all the turmoil.  I almost feel selfish, like I got to have all the fun creating and my readers only get to read the finished product! Anyway, I became rather obsessed, which is what someone with OCD does, to the my-wife-wants-to-strangle-me point, which is why I churned the books out so quickly. From start to finish, the first three books took me 7 months to write, edit, and publish.

Why did you decide to write a dystopia series? What attracts you to this genre?

As I sort of talked about in the first question, I just love the idea of recreating a world, or creating a new world from scratch. Although it requires a lot of imagination, there are more boundaries than when writing a paranormal series, where you can create new creatures and limitless powers. With dystopians you have to stick to the confines of our planet while allowing for the possibility for significant technological changes. I alsolove how real dystopian books feel, particularly those written in first person present tense, like Divergent or The Hunger Games. They draw you into the world, make you feel like you’re part of it, so that you genuinely care about the tragedies that befall the characters. That leads me to another reason I love dystopian novels. There’s so much tragedy in them, but amidst it all is a chance for the characters to rise above it all, to defeat evil, to become stronger and better than they were when their journeys began.

Are there any characters that you enjoy writing more than others?
I prefer writing characters that have a good sense of humor. I like making people laugh, because it’s good for the soul, so if I can write a character that’s likeable and funny, then I’m pretty happy with myself. It’s also great to laugh at my own jokes while I’m writing (Yeah, I totally do that!). However, I’ve also been known to enjoy writing an evil character or two mwahahaha! A dystopian will fall flat if the evil characters aren’t believable or scary or…well, evil. As a goody-two-shoes all my life, writing about bad people doing bad things is a bit of my inner rebel coming out I suppose, although I’d NEVER do the things my bad guys do. They’re real bad.

Are there any particular types of scenes that you enjoy writing more than others? For me it’s a tie. As all my readers know, I love getting my heart pumping with a good action scene, and my books are all filled with action. However, I’ve found that unless that action leads to some kind of an emotional response in the characters, then they don’t work. So my second favorite type of scene to write is a highly emotional one, which regularly follows my action sequences. For example, you might have a big battle with crazy stuff happening, the main character’s family being threatened, injured, attacked, and the main character is striving desperately to save them. Maybe it works out in which case you have a beautiful, happy-tear filled reunion that gets your readers smiling from ear to ear. Or…maybe it doesn’t work out and one of the characters gets killed, in which case you have a sorrow-filled scene that hopefully has your readers crying along with the characters, who are devastated. Either one works if done the right way. Spoiler alert: my books usually contain a bit of both, so be warned!

The latest book in the dwellers series is just released, so what are you writing next? And when will this book be released? And what can we expect from you after that?
As I mentioned above, I’m completely OCD, so I’m always working on the next project, and I tend to pump at books at a clip of one every 2-3 months, so the next one’s not far off!  

First up is Fire Country, my new YA dystopian, which takes place on a very-different earth than what we’re used to, where the sky is blood red and the clouds yellow, where the sun is boiling hot all year round and various tribes are spread across the desert. One such tribe, the Heaters, are faced with a terrible disease that they call the Fire, that’s left them with a dwindling population and an average life expectancy in the low 30s. To fight for their very survival, they institute the Call, where all females aged sixteen are assigned to a male eighteen or older, to Bear children with. This is their duty as Bearers. Fifteen-year-old Siena is less than a year from her Call, when she discovers a conspiracy led by her father that threatens everything she believes. Will she be forced to fulfill her duty as Bearer, or will she discover the harsh truths behind the conspiracy?  

Fire Country will be available February 1st everywhere ebooks are sold and in print on Amazon.com! 

What’s after that? A break? Nah! On to the next one, which will be the sequel to Fire Country, called Ice Country, with a likely release date of April 1st. Then I’ll round out the series with a third book, Water and Storm Country, to be released on June 1st. Finally, I’ll round out the year in late August/early September with the final book in The Dwellers Saga, The Earth Dwellers, (I’m so sorry to make everyone wait a year for the final book, but I swear you need to read The Country Saga first!). That’s it! Four more books planned for 2013. If I have time at the end of the year, I plan to add the fifth book to my Children’s series called The Adventures of Nikki Powergloves. Gotta keep the kids happy! 

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions about the Dwellers series. I cannot wait to read what you write next!
Thanks so much Lolita, it’s been a true pleasure coming on your awesome blog!!

The Moon Dwellers is now available everywhere ebooks are sold or in print via Amazon.com (links below).  Also, I’ve pledged when I started writing to always respond to readers, and love getting comments and questions, so please contact me using one of my favorite social networking sites below.  As always, happy reading!! 
Where you can find David Estes hanging out:
My blog/website: http://davidestesbooks.blogspot.com
My Facebook page/s: http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Estes/130852990343920
My Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/davidestesbooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davidestesbooks

Where you can buy The Moon Dwellers: 
Kindle Ebook: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FJV8SQ/ref=r_soa_w_d 
Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Dwellers-Saga/dp/1478150742/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342076706&sr=1-8&keywords=the+moon+dwellers 
B&N Ebook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-moon-dwellers-david-estes/1111871065?ean=2940014644938 
Smashwords Ebook: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/172596

And now for my very first giveaway on my blog, you can win an e-copy of one of the books in the Dwellers series. So you can choose either the Moon Dwellers (The Dwellers #1), the Star Dwellers (The Dwellers #2) of the Sun Dwellers (The Dwellers #3). Enter the rafflecopter below for a change to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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12 responses to “Series Feature: The dwellers (including a giveaway)

  1. David Estes is getting promoted a lot recently! I have only read Angel soemthing by him? I wasn’t a huuuuge fan but I like him and his style and would love to try something different from him! I love your blog design (you already know that) and I wish you good luck with your blog!! 🙂

    • I haven’t read his first series yet, but I heard from some people who read both series that the dwellers series is better. I think David is an author that keeps improving his writing style.

  2. I feel so bad because I’ve had The Moon Dwellers on my to-read list for awhile and just haven’t read it. It sounds like it will be really good though! I love what the blurb has to say and it sounds original. 🙂

  3. Thanks Lola!! I love it and am so honored to be your first feature on your new AWESOME blog!! I can’t wait to see what you readers think of The Dwellers Saga 🙂

    • I think the 2nd book is the best book in the series. I get the $ issue, I am currently on a book buying ban and I keep hoping I win some books so I don’t have to buy them 😉 (although on the other hand I don’t mind paying for this giveaway, lol).

    • It’s one of my favourite dystopian series, it has everything a good dystophia book must have, like awesome world building and interesting characters.

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