Dangerous Ideas - About Control. A Guest Post by Tracy S. Lawson.

Today, I'm welcoming an exciting dystopian fiction author to the blog with another in my ongoing series of guest posts around Dangerous Ideas. 

Tracy S. Lawson circled into my orbit recently with her outstanding Resistance series, chronicling a near future America that has come under authoritarian control. A group of freedom fighters emerge from the shadows, railing against the administration's enforcement regime and an epic contest ensues that will decide the fate of the country's freedom. 

So without further ado, here's Tracy;


What if you’d been told you were in danger every minute of every day? What if you were told to take extraordinary precautions to stay safe–until extraordinary started to feel…ordinary? It’s hard to stay afraid all the time. Maybe, after a while, you’d just learn to tune it out. But if you did, whoever it was that needed you to be afraid would have to up their game…

Author Tracy S. Lawson.

In my Resistance Series books, Tommy and Careen, the eighteen-year-old protagonists, live in 2034, in an alternate-reality version of the United States. Most of the freedoms that today’s young adults enjoy have been curtailed, in the name of preventing terrorist attacks. 

The Civilian Restrictions that have been in place nearly all of their lives forbid people to gather in public places. Cash has been eliminated, and any exchange of goods and services between individuals is not permitted. 

The Resistance Series by Tracy S. Lawson.

Only a select few, mostly high-ranking government workers, are granted driving privileges, and the food supply has been brought under government control to protect it from being tainted. 

When I started writing this series back in 2010, the premise seemed a bit far-fetched. I’d never want any of the young people I know to suffer what my characters endure. But now when I turn on the news, it seems like they’re stealing my stuff.  

In Counteract, Tommy and Careen meet during a terrorist attack, and when they discover their government is pulling strings behind the scenes, using the attacks to keep people frightened and begging for protection, they join an underground rebel group that will stop at nothing to expose the truth.

Careen & Tommy (art by Will No Name).

There are plenty of books about dystopian societies in which people are treated as children or slaves, ostensibly to protect them. Eventually, the protagonists’ dissatisfaction and/or curiosity come to the fore, and the circumstances of their society’s structure are revealed as an attempt to destroy humanistic attitudes and desires, such as curiosity, creativity, innovation, and hope for the future.

There is an optimal level of safety and security. We just don’t know what it is. When we seek security, we must expect to give up some freedom. 

In today’s society, many kids look forward to the typical teenager’s rites of passage—going places without their parents, dating, and obtaining a driver’s license. 

Tommy and Careen inhabit a society in which the few remaining restaurants are patronized only by the wealthy. Most people can barely afford the cost of their weekly food allotment, which is assembled and distributed by the government’s Essential Services department.  A simple “let me buy you breakfast” is an extravagant gesture, and a pizza date would be completely out of the question. 

Shopping malls and cinemas have been closed in the name of safety, because large, open places where groups of people gather are easy marks for terrorist attacks. Professional sporting events and concerts are televised, but safety dictates the athletes and artists perform to empty arenas. No one but government officials are allowed to drive cars, because it’s irresponsible to allow just anyone access to something that can be used as a weapon.

Growing up is more than just enjoying the privileges of a certain age. In a society where freedoms are curtailed, how would the young people learn to take care of themselves?

The teens I asked said that growing up means, in part:

-taking responsibility for one’s actions

-solving one’s problems, not expecting someone else to drop everything and come to the rescue

-not going along with the crowd

-being yourself

-standing up for what is right

Tommy and Careen, who are among the first generation to grow up with the Restrictions, are lucky to have parents who’ve taught them some of the skills they’ll need to survive. But what of the younger children? And those yet to be born? How long before the individual’s survival skills are completely lost, and the only way to live is at the mercy of the guiding hand that promises safety?

The government’s mantra in the Resistance Series books is: “It’s a small price to pay for your safety.” Not just the individual, but society as a whole, will pay the price.

Learn more about Tracy and her books at the Resistance Series Fan Site here. 

Find Tracy on Instagram here. 

Facebook with Tracy Lawson here. 

Tweet with Tracy Lawson here. 

DFA.

Countering Resistance - A Look At Counteract by Tracy S. Lawson.

I'm always up for a compelling dystopian tale - especially one that is frighteningly possible. From the outrageous Mad Max series to the seminal cyberpunk classic Blade Runner to the oppressive The Handmaids Tale, visions of the future that play on our fears of what we see happening in the present a ripe for great storytelling. A series of books from Ohio native Tracy S. Lawson have really captured my attention this past month. Titled the Resistance series, this collection of four books follow a group of freedom fighters in a near future America that is straining under the yoke of a totalitarian regime who seek to control the population through fear and oppression.

Having completed the opening salvo in the series, "Counteract", I've moved onto book two, titled "Resist" and I am completely in thrall with Lawson's storytelling, characters and world building. For today, I'd like to showcase "Counteract" in the hopes it will whet your appetite for the series. 

Two teens discover the government is staging terrorist attacks to exploit and control the public in Tracy Lawson's eerily believable YA debut novel.

In an alternate reality version of 2034, terrorist attacks on American soil continue after the events of 9/11. The Office of Civilian Safety and Defense, created in 2019 to oversee domestic security, rises to unprecedented heights of power by exploiting the people's overriding fear of terrorism.

When Tommy Bailey and Careen Catecher meet during one of the bogus terrorist attacks, they discover the OCSD's darkest secret: an antidote distributed by the government to "protect" people from the effects of imaginary toxins in the air is really being used to lull them into a state of submission.

Tommy and Careen face a difficult choice: stay quiet about what they know--or risk their safety and anonymity to join an underground rebel group that's determined to break the OCSD's grip on the nation.

Counteract explores the nature of power and the consequences and difficulties created when government attempts to control minute details of citizens' daily existence.

I found Counteract to be a taut, engaging & thrilling first entry in Lawson's Resistance series. Its alternative future setting remains anchored in our own real world so, visually, it wasn't a stretch to see it in my minds eye. 

Our post 9/11 paranoia around terrorism has reached a fever pitch, and Lawson explores this and the lengths to which some will go to take advantage of a nations collective fear. Lawson's cast of characters led by the appealing, earnest and resourceful Careen and the enigmatic Tommy - a young man beset by tragedy that is intertwined in the politics of the time, Counteract moves at a crisp pace. 

Its unfolding drama is rife with tension, great character moments and occasional levity that see saws effortlessly with the action. Lawson's writing style is at once accessible and she balances this with an intelligent plot and a fully realized future world that is scarily possible.

As a first entry, Counteract set me up for the subsequent entries and I'm eager to see where the series heads in Lawson's capable hands.

               
Once upon a time, Tracy Lawson was a little girl with a big imagination who was obsessed with telling stories. Her interests in dance, theatre, and other forms of make-believe led to a twenty-year career in the performing arts, where “work” meant she got to do things like tap dance and choreograph musicals.

Tracy S. Lawson (image credit: the author).

Her greatest adventures in musical theatre included creating disco choreography for forty middle schoolers on roller skates in Xanadu, building cast members’ endurance during an extremely aerobic jump rope number in Legally Blonde, and wrangling a cast of amazingly enthusiastic teenaged tap dancers in Crazy For You. She can also spin plates on sticks while she tap dances. Just ask her. She’ll be happy to demonstrate!

Though teaching dance and choreographing shows was a great outlet for her creativity and boundless energy, Tracy never lost her desire to write. Faced with her only child leaving for college and her husband’s simultaneous cross-country job relocation, it seemed she’d found the perfect time to switch her focus. But fear not—she has maintained her ties to educational theatre by returning to choreograph a few shows a year at Bexley City Schools in Columbus, Ohio, so she can continue to nurture students and share her passion for putting on a great show. 

The Cincinnati native now has to her credit an award-winning nonfiction history book, Fips, Bots, Doggeries, and More: Explorations of Henry Rogers’ 1838 Journal of Travel from Southwestern Ohio to New York City (McDonald & Woodward, 2012), based on the writings of her great-great-great grandfather. Pride of the Valley, a companion volume to Fips, Bots, Doggeries, and More, followed in 2017.

With the release of Revolt on July 18, 2017, Tracy's award winning YA dystopian Resistance Series is now complete. Counteract, Resist, Ignite, and Revolt chronicle the adventures of Tommy and Careen, two teens who meet during a terrorist attack and discover a conspiracy that could destroy their country.

In her spare time, she blogs about YA and classic dystopian books and hosts Between the Covers with Tracy Lawson, an author interview program on the Liberty.Me network.

Tracy, who is married with one grown daughter and two spoiled cats, splits her time between Dallas, Texas and Columbus, Ohio.

Purchase the Resistance series here.

Visit Tracy S. Lawson here. 

Tweet Tracy S. Lawson here.

DFA.