When transcending humanity is the prize,
winning the Game is all that matters.
Seventeen-year-old Elijah Brighton wants to become an ascender–a post-Singularity human/machine hybrid–after all, they’re smarter, more enlightened, more compassionate, and above all, achingly beautiful. But Eli is a legacy human, preserved and cherished for his unaltered genetic code, just like the rainforest he paints. When a fugue state possesses him and creates great art, Eli miraculously lands a sponsor for the creative Olympics. If he could just master the fugue, he could take the gold and win the right to ascend, bringing everything he’s yearned for within reach… including his beautiful ascender patron.
But once Eli arrives at the Games, he finds the ascenders are playing games of their own. Everything he knows about the ascenders and the legacies they keep starts to unravel… until he’s running for his life and wondering who he truly is.
The Legacy Human is the first in Susan Kaye Quinn’s new young adult science fiction series that explores the intersection of mind, body, and soul in a post-Singularity world… and how technology will challenge us to remember what it means to be human.
Thomas-Adam Habuda – Center of His Universe – From ‘The Freak Inside‘ album
“…but you mustn’t rush it,” she says. “You have to have patience, Eli, not push beyond what you’re ready for.”
Eli. My name on her lips torments me. Her purple-blue eyes are close and concerned. Her face is so near, I could lean forward and kiss her right now. But her lips are drawn into a tight line of disapproval. And I can’t imagine Marcus would tolerate a kiss, even if I could steal one.
“You were the one rushing me five minutes ago.” I stay in her embrace even as I protest with my words.
“It wasn’t five minutes ago, Elijah.” She drops her hands from my face. The alarm is back in her eyes. “You painted for an hour.”
An hour. I forgot there’s always a time loss with the fugue. Only this time, she watched it happen. They both did, watching me paint in a trance for an hour then end up on the floor. She and Marcus both have to know something is seriously messed up with my process.
I have absolutely no idea how I can possibly master something that hits me like a freight train, but I have to try. It would bring everything into my reach. Including her. “I can do this, Lenora. Please. Let me do this. I’ll prove it to you.”
“No.” For a second, the gray pallor of her skin flickers, and a ribbon of darker gray trickles across it… then it’s gone. “I’m not going to let you attempt this when you’re not ready. I won’t sponsor you.” She gives me a stern look. “And you can’t go without my approval. I will terminate your patronage.”
Breath escapes me, but the hurt is still trapped inside. She means it: she would cut me off if I even tried to go. My mind can’t wrap around it. Does she have so little faith in me?
Or worse: maybe she’s afraid I’ll actually win.
© 2015 Susan Kaye Quinn
In The Legacy Human, the main character, Elijah, is an artist who can only create great art when in a fugue state. He struggles to master the “beast” within.
Share a personal story about your own artistic struggles in the comments section below by March 12th, for a chance to WIN a signed copy of The Legacy Human and a digital copy of The Freak Within album!
What difficulties do you encounter when creating and how do you overcome them?
WINNERS
Signed copy of The Legacy Human – Djinnia
Digital copy of The Freak Within album – Pavarti K Tyler
Congrats to our winners & many thanks to everyone who shared their stories! Winners, please contact me with your mailing/email address to receive your prizes!
WriterlySam 
I have a hard time getting to through the middle of my novels when I write. My mind starts to wander and I end up starting a new project before my current is finished. Now I have three novels started and none finished, but I am still working on the first.
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Congratulations, Susan!
I can only pick one thing? I’m picking two – first drafts and titles. I struggle getting a first draft down on paper. Once I have it though, revisions are fun and easy. Book titles are also a struggle. My publisher came up with two of my titles for me. (Thank God!)
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It’s that #!@!!! first draft that sends me into paroxysms of despair. Will I ever find the heart of this story? Will I ever nail those characters so they have personalities instead of one dimension? Will I know when The End should come? I feel as if I’m holding the reins of a runaway team of horses. It’s only when I’ve got that draft down that I feel I’ve written something worth re-writing. Torture every time.
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I think the struggle has actually been to ever find what artistic talent I might have. I enjoy writing but am not very good at it, never have been able to draw or paint or what have you. I am finding that I can create some nice scarves with crochet though!
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I started writing a book 3 years ago but unfortunately got writers block 90,000+ words in. But the bulk of it is there for when I go back to it.
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figuring out how to make baked goods look and taste good; keep tweaking the recipes
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I have a moving projection of scenes in my mind when I write. I’m talking technicolor and surround sound, but once I write it, it goes away. So it’s difficult to rewrite a scene that I’ve finished. Also, I have a horrible habit of skipping across a book’s storyline and writing all the awesome actiony bits and the ending but have a heck of a time writing the transitional parts between. In essence, I have characters in five different places doing six different things!
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Movie projection not move! Stupid autocorrect!
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My main struggle is always noise. I have an auditory processing disorder and ambient noise really bothers me. Even cars going by the apartment building can pull me off track. When my kids and husband are home I use headphones and listen to classical music to create my own white noise (anything with words and I end up typing the lyrics!)
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