About Awake in Olaiya
Awake In Olaiya (oh-lie-uh):
Nat doesn’t know who she is or why she’s in Olaiya. This community in Territorial California seems pleasant enough, but the terrifying dreams she has every night tell a different story. Nat can’t remember anything about her life before a few days ago, although that’s more than other unit brothers seem to recall. She’s also figuring out that she has to be careful what she says—careless words can end with people going missing.
Nat longs to leave this orderly but dangerous place. Is escape even possible? She’s becoming more aware, yet most of her time is wasted pretending to be clueless and trying to avoid the guards’ attention. The more alive she feels, the harder it is to blend in.
Hoping to find answers about the community and her own lost memories, Nat joins a secret group called the Rebs. Still, Nat has difficulty knowing who in Building 8 is safe, and even the Rebs she trusts the most seem unwilling to tell her anything about her past. The cruel Olaiya Masters are trying to figure out who’s making noise at night and causing disruptions during the day, searching for the answer to one question. It’s the same question Nat is asking. Who is awake in Oliaya?
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Author Bio:
About M.E. Duffield
I’ve been reading and/or listening to books for as long as I can remember. I grew up homeschooled, with my nose always in a book. Long car trips were spent listening to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and overcast days were for drinking something steaming while curled up on the couch with a book. Begging for one more chapter to be read out loud before being sent to bed was a regular occurrence.
I didn’t have the specific goal of becoming an author, although it did drift in & out of my dream hobby list. A better way to describe my journey toward being an author is that I can’t remember a time in life when a story wasn’t in my head. For example, things like math or doing the dishes took hours for me as a kid as I stared out the sunny window, lost in my own world of make-believe.
If you know me, M.E. Duffield, you might know that a deep sign of my love for you is if I drag you to my office and read some random picture book to you. Or send you a Lord of the Rings meme. Or assume that you’ll know what I’m talking about when I quote some obscure phrase from a beloved book. (“Very ridiculous of you, Frodo.”)
I’ve always loved middle-grade books, mainly because they have such high rates of hope and adventure. When I began writing, I wanted to add those ingredients to a book that wasn’t about a ten yr old, a twelve yr old, or a rabbit. An adult & young adult book, but without the crap that so many adult books have, and with all the goodness of friendship, loyalty, and hope.
Words are rhythm and rhyme, and cadence. They’re meant to settle down into you and give you courage, strength, and humor. This is what I long to read, and it’s what I aspire to write.
I like to think of myself as a student of hope. As such, you may find the following scattered about the house: Narnia books, Lord of the Rings, Gillian Bronte Adams, Stories about Holocaust survivors, poetry books, the Hunger Games, and the beloved Green Ember series.