TV, Movies, and Books, Oh My!: Unfurl Blog Tour! Guest Post & Giveaway (2-6-12)

What I asked Cidney to write about today:
Have Samantha (the main character) tell us a little bit about what Rippler Syndrome is, and what her life is like with it.

Emily, I’m so happy be visiting today! Since most people have never heard of the disease my main character suffers from (or benefits from, depending on your point of view), I thought I would have her share a few words. Here’s what she had to say to some teens who recently learned they had Rippler’s Syndrome, a condition (only found in my Ripple Trilogy) that makes your body ripple or turn invisible.

Hey,

So. You’ve been diagnosed with Rippler’s Syndrome. You probably have a lot of questions. I know I did. First off, because doctors and scientists tend to underestimate the importance of things like this, let me assure you that Rippler’s won’t kill you. Got it? I really needed to hear this early on, even though it is obvious to me now. So in case you haven’t heard, well, now you know.

Second. You are probably worried about disappearing in front of your friends or during school or at the mall. Yes, it could happen. The word is getting out about Rippler’s, thanks to recent events in France, and there is an up-side and a down-side to the world-in-general knowing about Rippler’s.

I’ll cut to the chase. You could be in serious danger if word gets out about what you can do. Our planet may have fewer bad guys on it now than it did a few weeks ago, but there are still plenty of people out there who would, um, kill to have what you have: the ability to sneak around without being seen.

Unfortunately, this means there are people who would like to kidnap you and possibly sell you to a very unscrupulous individual or nation. Most likely, your personal safety would be preserved, because you have what people want. Unfortunately, no one you love would be safe anymore. I.e., to keep you willing to do bad things, bad people would be willing to threaten or harm those you love.

So, the bottom line is: secrecy. Do not let anyone who doesn’t absolutely have to know, know what you can do.

Now that we got that out of the way: there are actually some pretty cool aspects to having Rippler’s Syndrome. Have you ever wanted to fly? Walk under-water? Walk through solid objects? Spy on your little brother? Ha! Just kidding. That last one probably isn’t a good idea. You’re not usually going to hear anything worth listening to anyway.

And this brings me to an important point: who are you, anyway? I believe that having an ability like this comes with responsibilities. Do you want to grow up to be Harry Potter or Lord Voldemort? Frodo or Sauron? Katniss or President Snow? Each decision you make with regard to your ability takes you a step down one of those two pathways. Make sure you are making decisions in line with what you value.

Well, I hope that gives you a few things to think about as you get used to the idea of having Rippler’s Syndrome. As long as you don’t solidify inside anything but air, you really have a very rich, wonderful, and potentially long life to look forward to.

All my best,

Samantha Ruiz

Linkies:

cidneyswanson at gmail dot com

http://cidneyswanson.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/cidneyswanson

http://twitter.com/#!/cidneyswanson

Books for sale: http://amzn.to/x8grXl

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/search?query=cidney+swanson

Librarything:http://www.librarything.com/author/swansoncidney

I am so grateful to Cidney for stopping by today!
If you want to win e-books of ALL THREE of her books in the Rippler series, look below.

GIVEAWAY