About the Book
Title: RUN Ragged
Author: Kari Aguila
Genre: Suspense / Science-Fiction / Women’s Fiction
Would anything change if women
ruled the world?
In a devastated country, those in
charge rule by fear, inequality, and oppression. Rhia, a strong and independent
sea captain, just wants to keep her head down and do her job, unitl she finds
herself trapped in a re-education facility designed to help people fit into the
rules of the New Way Forward. The warden claims to be guiding those in her
care, but Rhia quickly sees the cracks in the system. As she is faced with
torture and brainwashing, those cracks become gaping holes that threaten to
pull her down into the depths of despair. Can Rhia resist the slow subversion
of re-education and become the reluctant hero the new world needs?
RUN
Ragged is the thrilling second story by the award-winning
author of Women’s Work. This
brilliantly imagined novel is both a scathing satire and a profoundly poignant
look at the price we are willing to pay for peace and what we are willing to
ignore to keep our conscience clear.
Author Bio
Kari Aguila was the
recipient of an IndieReader Discovery Award for her first novel, Women’s Work. Her stories are gripping
and thought-provoking looks at gender stereotypes and relationships set in a
dystopic future. She is also an avid gardener, geologist, outdoor enthusiast
and mother of three. Aguila lives in Seattle with her family. RUN Ragged is her second novel.
Links
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Buy on Amazon
(Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/RUN-Ragged-Kari-Aguila/dp/0991165039/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448891161&sr=8-1&keywords=run+ragged
Buy on Amazon (eBook):
http://www.amazon.com/RUN-Ragged-Kari-Aguila-ebook/dp/B017Y6SNKQ/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1448891161&sr=8-1
Book Excerpts
His
dark, weather-rough hands turned her shoulders to face him, and his brow
furrowed as he began to tighten the straps of her PFD.
“It’s tight
enough, Dad.”
“Just checking.”
“Stop! You’re
squishing my breasts.”
“Hey, girlie,
those breasts aren’t gonna keep you afloat if you fall in the drink. You think
you’re indestructible, but you’re not. Make sure you’re snugged up.” The
gruffness of his voice was canceled out by a quick wink as he looked up at her
young face.
Rhia smirked.
“You, too, old man. Make sure you’re snugged up.”
Three hours
later, they huddled together in the berth, holding the wooden rail that ran the
length of the wall as the boat slammed down into the trough of another wave.
Rhia could see the pallor of her father’s face in the constant flash of
lightning. His chin was tucked low to his chest, his eyes focused on the floor
several feet in front of him. Suddenly, they felt a snap as the anchor line
parted, and the boat began to yaw hard to the side. He jumped to his feet and
flew up the steps to the main cabin.
“I’ll deploy the
sea anchor! You make sure you . . .”
The constant roar
of air and water pounding at the boat drowned out his shouted directions. By
the time Rhia reached the main cabin, salt water was spilling over the
starboard rail and sloshing across the deck. It would take her father only a
few minutes to pull the series drogue bag from its locker, attach the bridle
legs to the corners of the transom at the stern, and drop the weight chain
overboard. A hundred five-inch yellow cones would feed into the sea, catching
the power of the wind and the waves and swinging the boat into position stern
to storm.
Struggling to
remain standing as the boat twisted below her, Rhia dug out a bail bucket and
checked the switch for the bilge pump. Once the series drogue was deployed, all
they would have to do was hunker down and wait out the storm. She began to
think about the annoyance of pulling in all the line for the drogue when the
wind abated tomorrow. Joseph always made her recover it and stow it back in its
bag, and it took hours.
“Ah, there we
go,” she said to herself as the boat swung around and caught. Her legs wide to
absorb the motion, she waited for her father to return to the cabin. Thick
sheets of rain ran down the windows as she watched the sky, the flashes of
light, and the spray of water all around her. But as the minutes passed, the
sound of the raging storm seemed to disappear. Standing alone in the dark
cabin, she became aware of the sound of her breathing and the growing emptiness
in her chest. Her
father did not return.
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