Scott G. Skinner – Writer

Hooray! After 2.5 years of writing, rewriting, more rewriting, and still more rewriting, I’m pleased to announce that my debut novel, “Displaced – Part One,” is available for sale on Amazon as a Kindle ebook. Although I missed my pre-Thanksgiving publishing goal mentioned in my previous post, I did succeed in my back-up goal of publishing before Christmas. Shew! At the time I write this – 12/16/23 – the only pending task with some urgency is to share the link for the hardcover once Amazon adds it to their inventory (anytime over the next 14 days). Meanwhile, here’s a picture of the author proof copy that I will forever treasure:

Next steps aside from sharing the hardcover purchase link include approving cover art for “Displaced – Part Two” so I can get the story’s conclusion published in early 2024. Kudos to Zoe Price, the illustrator of Part One, for her terrific artwork, particularly her depictions of my three main characters, Bob, Pete, and Lori (the top figures on the cover). You can follow her work on Instagram at @_Art.ificer_.

Aside from the cover art and the final reread and polish, Part Two is in terrific shape. A more daunting task, meanwhile, is to self-market the heck out of Part One. If you follow me on my author or personal Facebook pages, I offer apologies in advance. If you’ve purchased Part One and wish to help me out, I ask only that you talk up the novel to your bookworm friends and leave reviews on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Once Part Two is out, I hope to do book signings locally in East Tennessee and elsewhere, if sales allow.

What’s it about, you ask?

Good question. Without further ado, here is the synopsis for “Displaced – Part One.” Thanks for reading…and happy holidays!

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What do you get when you send teenagers from 1987 to a cold, dark future where freedom is in short supply? Something totally radical, of course. 

High school seniors Bob Wilkinson, Pete Dimkowski, and Lori Rainsmith find their affluent suburban lives upended after they arrive late to prom and find their classmates missing and among those abducted and sent forward hundreds of years in time and millions of miles through space to work as forced laborers on Mars, colonized and rechristened as “New Earth.”

Gone are fun times spent hanging out at the local arcade. Bob, Pete, and Lori reluctantly set out in search of the truth. Bob, whose relationship with his politician father is strained, is only too happy to find himself in Lori’s company, as he’s yearned for the head cheerleader from afar for years. 

Meanwhile, Lori’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Josh Brewer, finds himself among the abducted. The leadership skills he developed as captain of his school’s football team serve him well after he is liberated by a resistance group led by the tireless Susie Walker, who longs for an end to the abductions and hopes for a peaceful sharing of labor and resources. The aging Chancellor Ross, who rules with an iron fist, has other plans, as does his counterpart in our world, enigmatic businessman Wesley Arendt. 

With bodies piling up around them, our displaced heroes in both worlds are naturally wary of the authorities, but suspect that involving them may be inevitable. Several questions arise. Who can we trust? What should we tell our parents so they don’t worry? How do we keep our demons at bay? Finally, that ageless, all-too-familiar query: I like you, but do you like me, too?

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“Displaced – Part One” – a novel by Scott G. Skinner – is now available.