Liza: Today, we sit down with Ember Wilson, the leader
of a team known as Amethyst. Ember, thank you for joining us. I'm going to do my best to behave, because she's got a big gun with her.
Ember: Thank you for having me.
Liza: All right, let’s get started. You have a very
unique look to you.
Ember: Do you mean my purple eyes?
Liza: For starters
Ember: I love my eyes.
Liza: How did your eyes become purple?
Ember: I assumed you had done your research on me.
Isn’t that why we’re here?
Liza: *clears throat* Um, yes. I have a little
information on you. You were in the Air Force before joining a special project.
I don’t have much more information than that.
Ember: No, you wouldn’t. No one does.
Liza: Are you still with the Air Force or are you a
member of the Intergalactic Security Commission?
Ember: We are classified under the ISC, but Commander
Emmitt Stewart knows he couldn’t control us if we go against his orders.
Liza shifts uncomfortably in her chair: I see.
Ember: The thing you have to understand is this: We
don’t work well with others.
Liza: Does that include a certain Air Force Major?
Ember: You mean, Liam Ross? It sure does.
Liza: I’ve met Major Ross before. He’s really
handsome.
Ember: It takes more than a handsome face to turn my
head.
Liza: And what would it take?
Ember: I am a strong, powerful woman. I would need a
man tough enough to handle me. Quite frankly, I don’t think he exists.
Liza: You have a close bond with Michael Lewis
Ember: I’m close with all three men in Amethyst. We
have a special bond.
Liza: Are you as close to your father and sister as
you are to them?
Ember *narrows her eyes*: Amethyst is the only family
I need.
Liza: What do you love?
Ember: I never use that word.
Liza: Love?
Ember: Yes. That word has too much power behind it. I
would never give anyone that much authority over me.
Liza *quickly changes the subject*: Do you have any
fears?
Ember: Do you have anything other than dumb questions?
Liza: Um… probably not. Their my forte.
Ember: Then I’m going to leave before you waste
anymore of my precious time.
Liza: Let's check out the book. (I think I would have been happier if I had interviewed it.)
Winter's Kiss
Amethyst Chronicles
by KG Stutts
Amethyst is a secret team of genetically
enhanced humans which is Earth’s greatest defensive weapon. Leading the team of
super soldiers is Ember Wilson, a tough woman with a huge chip on her shoulder.
The team gets their name from the after effect of the Genesis Project which
turned their eyes and even their blood purple.
For decades, Earth has been ravaged by
unpredictable weather which began to cause crops to fail. Most of the planet’s
food sources have deteriorated. Dr. Clayton Rudo has proclaimed he has the
means to save the soil. He has created a weather machine to regulate and help
replenish. But Ember knew the truth. He didn’t want to save the planet. He
wanted to control it. Amethyst destroyed the machine, but was placed in stasis.
Two years later, Rudo recreated the device and has frozen Washington, DC and
the west coast of the United States.
General Tom Blanchard brought Amethyst out of
stasis to work with an elite Air Force team, led by Major Liam Ross. Tensions
between Ember and Liam rise as they butt heads. Can they work together before
Earth is completely under ice?
General
Blanchard pulled a large painting of him and his daughter, Laura, from a wall
and revealed a security key pad. He punched in a security code and motioned
Ross over. A portion of the wall gave way to reveal a secret room. The room
looked like a lab with white walls, a gray marble floor, and various computers
and equipment he didn't recognize. Against the back wall were four pods with
people asleep in stasis.
The
General stood in front of the first pod, stroking his unkempt bearded chin. The
sleeping man had extremely short black hair and was the shortest and skinniest
of the four in the tubes. As they approached, a holographic image appeared on
the glass next to the man’s face. The picture was of a smiling man with
wire-rimmed glasses on his thin nose, brown eyes, and longer hair.
"This
is Bryan Morris," the General introduced. "Best tech man I've ever
seen. Smart, quick on his feet, and crafty."
Liam
looked at the General curiously, but he didn't elaborate further. Blanchard
moved down to the next pod. The man inside was slightly taller than Morris and
had curly red hair. The holographic picture displayed another smiling man with
light blue eyes and hair sticking out everywhere.
"Alexander
Nova. He was the best pilot Earth had to offer. And this," the General
pointed to the third tube, "is Michael Lewis. Brilliant military mind. He
was second-in-command."
Ross
wrinkled up his nose as he gazed upon the strong specimen of a man. Lewis was
tall and clearly well-built with brown hair that stopped just above his
eyebrows. The image displayed was of a serious man with brown eyes.
"Command?"
Ross questioned, but the General didn't address it.
He
moved down to the last pod which had a woman in it. Ross looked at the tall
woman with jet black hair who was somehow scowling even though she was asleep.
The picture showed a strikingly beautiful blonde woman with blue eyes.
"Ember
Wilson," General Blanchard softly said. "She's the leader of this
team known as
Amethyst."
His
voice pulled Liam’s attention away from her. "Amethyst, sir?"
"A
group of genetically enhanced super soldiers. They were Earth's greatest
defense."
"I've
never heard of Amethyst."
"Nor
would you. The gene program was top secret. They were named after a side effect
of the genetic manipulation causing the quartet's eye color to change to a
brilliant shade of dark purple."
"Gene
program? Purple eyes? Sir, this is a little unbelievable."
"They
had it all," General Blanchard continued, still not answering the Major's
questions.
"Super
strength, speed, endurance, skill, stamina, healing, and intelligence. They
could withstand several kill blaster shots before they even felt a twinge to
their central nervous system. Their natural talents increased tenfold."
Liam
let out a low whistle. "What happened? What led them here?"
"You
remember two years ago when the weather computer designed by Dr. Clayton Rudo
was destroyed?"
Liam
nodded. Of course he remembered. Rudo was proclaimed a hero when he introduced
a super computer that could control Earth's climate.
"Ember
came to me and said Rudo had plans to control Earth, but I didn't believe her.
As a result, Amethyst attacked Rudo’s lab in Abilene and destroyed the system.”
“They
were the ones behind the assault? Sir, I helped designed the security
protocol for
Dr.
Rudo’s base myself.”
“I’m
aware, Major. I haven’t met a security platform which Amethyst couldn’t
disable.
Because
of their actions, they were on trial for treason and convicted. Due to the
team's enhanced abilities, it was decreed they would remain in stasis until
they could be rehabilitated."
"But
we later found out she was right."
"Yes.
Of course it would take us two years to realize. It took, but Rudo rebuilt his
machine. I even assigned several top scientists to help speed the process along
after Amethyst thoroughly destroyed all of his work. And now ..."
And
now Rudo used his weather system to bring the world to its knees. Washington,
D.C., New Mexico, and Texas were now completely under ice. Everything was
frozen solid.
Growing
up in Texas and later South Carolina as the youngest in a house full of
science-fiction fans, K.G. Stutts had her natural curiosity and imagination
nurtured since birth by family movie nights where they would watch Star Wars,
Indiana Jones and even timeless Disney favorites.
A
prolific writer of sci-fi, romance and mystery, K.G. draws much of her
inspiration from those amazing works that gave her an appreciation for telling
rich, compelling, character-driven stories for all audiences.
Book
one in her science-fiction writings are out now by the wonderful group at http://distinguishedpress.com and a romance ebook launched at the beginning of June from http://lazydaypub.com. She is also a contributor to http://iwassociation.com and http://thewritingnetwork.com.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Brad and works for a customer
service call center full time. She's a lover of Star Wars, Star Trek (original,
TNG, and Voyager), Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis, Muppets, Garfield, Disney,
Indiana Jones and is a big football, wrestling, and hockey fan.
