I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE ARCHITECT OF GRAYLAND by Evelyn Arvey Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Title: THE ARCHITECT OF GRAYLAND
Author: Evelyn Arvey
Pub. Date: February 16, 2024
Publisher: Evelyn Arvey
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 498
Read for FREE with a Kindle Unlimited membership!
SCIENTISTS FROM THE FAR FUTURE KIDNAPPED HER.
THREW HER INTO A HORRIFIC EXPERIMENT.
SHE REFUSED TO DIE.
Elaine, a modern-day woman, is abducted by elite Historical Anthropologists of the far-distant future. Spirited forward through time to their university laboratory, she is locked into a vast, empty, gray habitat built for the study of “primitive” humans.
Elaine awakens in this appalling place, alone, naked, and terrified. She has no idea that a hidden audience of university students is studying her every move. Forced to create food, clothing, and shelter using nothing but her ingenuity and her bare hands, she fights a constant battle to maintain her sanity.
Desperately lonely, Elaine searches for other people. After a journey across the featureless gray landscape, she locates two fellow captives: Marc, who might be her soulmate; and Adam, a brilliant but troubled fifteen-year-old. Together, they form a precarious yet vibrant and supportive community of three.
But now Elaine is about to lose it all. The Historical Anthropologist in charge of the experiment, Professor Mirri Daaha, is methodically destroying Elaine's carefully constructed world to study how her “primitive” test subjects will react to escalating threats to their existence. Elaine must confront the Professor and ultimately bring herself, Marc, and Adam safely home.
“GRAYLAND has left a big impression in my mind and heart. It’s truly an original, fascinating, and inspiring piece of work.” —Alan Rinzler, former Associate Editor of Rolling Stone Magazine
“So vibrant and full of life. This made me believe in the power of creativity to overcome the impossible.”—Susan Whiting Kemp, author of “The Climate Machine”
Book Trailer:
EXCERPT
Opening Chapter
It was common knowledge: primitive humans were horrible, revolting creatures.
The males had a stomach-turning stench. The females popped out little ones with no thought as to whether they were needed, leading to rampant overpopulation. Immature primitives carried on like wild things, running and screeching, kicking at balls, even injuring each other. Most perplexing of all was that, even though human beings were repulsive, they had nevertheless managed to produce works of great beauty. Works that stood the test of time.
Architecture. Music. Art. Literature. Film.
How was it possible that ancient humans did what modern people could not?
It was up to Historical Anthropologists to figure it out. Was the brutal fight for existence responsible for such feats of creativity? Was it their inborn aggression? Or was it some other, as-yet-unknown quality? Historical Anthropologists began reaching back through time to study primitive humans, bringing their human captives to their own universities and imprisoning them in tightly controlled enclosures. They aimed cameras. They watched. They took notes. They experimented. They learned.
It was distasteful, but necessary. Who could disagree with knowledge?
Professor Mirri Daaha, Assistant Professor of the Toor-Macta Institute of Historical Anthropology, longed to make significant discoveries of benefit to modern humankind. Her research topic, The Effects of Severe Stress on the Primitive Human, might lead to lucrative lines of study if all went well. A single remarkable human Subject could do it; Professor Mirri had seen it happen for other researchers. Hopefully, it would happen for her.
Professor Mirri checked the time; it would all begin in only fifteen minutes. She eyed the Domain—the habitat where her eight captured primitive humans would be held for study—and saw that it waited, sleek and ready. Then she glanced at the bios of the eight human Subjects who would soon be placed in the Domain, and reassured herself that all would be well.
Those Subjects. Why did they have to be so ugly?
Ugly or not, Professor Mirri had to admit that this batch of primitives was unusually fit.
They'd survived being brought forward through time, and the standard miniaturization process also. None of them had tested positive for parasites. None was missing a limb. Even so, her Subjects weren't perfect; they never were. Each Subject had chunks of metal rammed deep into his or her teeth. Two of them had crude plastic lenses inserted directly into their eyes. One had a poorly repaired spinal injury. The youngest Subject, a male of approximately fifteen years, had shown evidence of recurring migraine headaches.
EXCLUSIVE DELETED SCENE
Professor Mirri Gets Reprimanded
Spoiler Alert! This article reveals information about the end of the book.
This scene is a scorching letter that Professor Mirri receives near the end of the novel, after she has laid waste to Grayland and all but killed the Foundations that make Elaine, Marc, and Adams’s lives possible. Professor Mirri’s superiors are furious that she has ruined valuable assets (the Foundations, not the “primitive” humans such as Elaine who live there.) They are punitive in their punishment of Professor Mirri, a move that is guaranteed to break her heart—if she even has one.
Why was this scene deleted from the novel?
Not because it was too grave a punishment. I decided it upset the flow of the book, and took attention away from the vital last confrontational scenes with Mirri and Elaine. If the reader knows what is going on behind the scenes at the university, will that affect how they read the interactions between Elaine and her nemesis? I decided it did. I wanted the confrontation to stand on its own.
The Deleted Scene
From the official reprimand, to be delivered to Professor Mirri Daaha after her Grand Finale interview with Subject Four has concluded:
“…It has come to our attention that Eight Foundations under your care were not handled in an approved and safe manner. We have found that you willfully applied massive ongoing stressors to them in your quest for data. We are aware that you gained approval for said actions before implementing them, but it was assumed and expected that as a career Historical Anthropologist, you would take steps to safeguard the Institute’s extremely valuable property.
This, sadly, was not the case.
Our internal investigation has determined that your actions caused irreversible injury to the Foundations under your control, and also catastrophic damage to the regulatory systems of Domain Number 7199K. As per your terms of employment (please refer to Section 77A, items 26 and 27), this clearly constitutes gross negligence on your part. The investigation has confirmed that you are liable for any and all resulting damages.
Therefore, we the Board of Directors of Manha Institute, do find it necessary to issue this official reprimand. We hereby serve you with notice of the following three items:
Firstly, you must make arrangements to begin paying the extensive monetary fees you have incurred. The amount may be found beginning on the fourth page of this document, but please be aware that the fees have not yet been calculated in their entirety, and certain fees (such as the cost overruns incurred by our Healing Teams for Subjects in extensive states of self-inflicted harm) may not yet appear in the estimated damages you owe the Institute;
Secondly, pending further notice, you are removed from your current teaching position and are directed to bring to an immediate close any ongoing classes, seminars, or interviews. In order to begin paying the aforementioned fees, you shall be reinstated to a probationary position at the beginning of next year under the direct supervision of your former teaching assistants;
And thirdly, any scholarly paper or book (now or in the future) that you submit for publication regarding this Experiment must be vetted by this Board, who may remove your name as author in favor of our own. If we determine that your name is to appear in such a publication, it shall be at the discretion of the Board, and will be listed as a “consultant” or some such lesser entity…
Board of Directors
Dean Caali-Caali, Chief Executive Officer
Manha Institute of Historical Anthropology
(Action Number SM1000552)
About Evelyn Arvey:
Evelyn Arvey is the author of five novels and many short stories. She works in several different genres: fiction, science fiction, and memoir, and is also the editor of two anthologies.
Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a finished copy of THE ARCHITECT OF GRAYLAND, US Only.
Ends April 16th, midnight EST.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
4/1/2024 | Guest Post/IG Post | |
4/1/2024 | Excerpt/IG Post | |
4/2/2024 | Blog Spotlight/IG Post | |
4/2/2024 | Interview | |
4/3/2024 | Guest Post/IG Post | |
4/3/2024 | Guest Post/IG Post | |
4/4/2024 | Guest Post | |
4/4/2024 | Guest Post | |
4/5/2024 | Excerpt/IG Post | |
4/5/2024 | Excerpt/IG Post |
Week Two:
4/8/2024 | Review/IG Post | |
4/8/2024 | IG Review | |
4/9/2024 | Review/IG Post | |
4/9/2024 | IG Review | |
4/10/2024 | Review/IG Post | |
4/10/2024 | IG Review | |
4/11/2024 | IG Review | |
4/11/2024 | IG Review | |
4/12/2024 | Excerpt | |
4/12/2024 | Review/IG Post |