About Apolonia
What is APOLONIA?
The story line for APOLONIA began to percolate as I watched the video E.T. by Katy Perry. While writing Walking Disaster, Red Hill, and A Beautiful Wedding, APOLONIA was always in the back of my brain, scratching and screaming to get out. When I finally began APOLONIA, like every other book I write, it turned into something different than what I had planned ... and better.
My first idea for this story was that it would be YA, but as I fleshed it out, I realized it was fairly dark, and most definitely New Adult. APOLONIA is a New Adult Sci-Fi Romance, but I would definitely put the romance before the sci-fi. As most of you know, Red Hill had just a splash of romance, and was more about different kinds of love (sisters/friends/mother/children). APOLONIA is romance/relationships all the way through, and contains the steamiest sex scene I've ever written. Those of you that have read my books know that I like to write a steamy lead-up, and don't detail the sex scenes much. Quite honestly, that's not my thing. While APOLONIA is far from erotica and certainly doesn't focus on sex, this particular sex scene definitely made me blush when I wrote it.
Why should you read APOLONIA? Because inside those pages, you'll see that I've returned to what I'm known for: angst, romance, build up, real emotion, and action. When I wrote Beautiful Disaster, I kept going back to read what I'd written, not to edit, but just because it was a really fun read. I did the same thing while writing APOLONIA, so even though it's not straight NA and has sci-fi in the plot, I constantly found myself getting lost in the story.
APOLONIA features college sophomore Rory Riorden. She isn't your typical pretty heroine. She has piercings, wears a lot of black and gray, and pretty much hates everybody. An orphan since high school, she feels it's dangerous to get close to anyone. Other than her professor Dr. Zorba, and the irritatingly persistent and good-looking Benji Reynolds (if you like the preppy, too happy type with a surprisingly amazing body), Rory has achieved loner status. That is, until Cy walks through the classroom door.
Cy is an international student, fresh from Egypt. His warm skin and golden eyes make Rory forget that she loathes him, even though he's brilliant and they're competing for the same research assistant spot. But when Cy finds himself in serious trouble with some very powerful people, Rory's traumatic past makes her uniquely qualified to save him.
*image credit: Jennifer Fischer
APOLONIA is the story of a damaged girl who doesn't need anyone but finds that the entire world will need her to survive. The perfect combination of Providence and Beautiful Disaster, APOLONIA is a dark, entertaining, romantic, action-packed whirlwind that will keep you glued to the pages while on the edge of your seat.
What does "APOLONIA" mean? You'll just have to read it. =)
"They killed me, but I survived.”
Three years after Rory Riordan foiled her own murder, she still trusts no one. Not Dr. Z, the eccentric college professor who has taken her under his wing, not Benji, the endearing, attractive classmate who insists on following her around, and certainly not Cy, the beautifully dark and mysterious boy who sits on the first row in Dr. Z’s Astrobiology class and asks far too many questions.
When Rory witnesses Cy being abducted by soldiers in the middle of the night, she finds herself submersed in a world that holds even more secrets than she could imagine--even darker secrets than her own.
From #1 New York Times Bestseller Jamie McGuire, experience the perfect combination of her bestselling books Providence & Beautiful Disaster. This New Adult Sci-Fi Romance is an action-packed, whiplash-inducing roller coaster ride. Page after page, this unpredictable, dark and sexy nail biter will keep readers guessing until the very end!