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Out of Sight by Matthew S. Cox - Book Tour + Giveaway

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Out of Sight
Matthew S. Cox
Publication date: August 13th 2018
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult
Most Citizens hold Outcasts in dim regard, but Sima never expected they’d throw her off the planet.
In 2411, overpopulation has spread a plaque of filthy, congested city to the corners of the Earth. Government has raised corruption to an art form, and no one hears the cries of those left to die in the dark passageways of civilization. Following the End of Nations, people cling to the only division left: social status.
Since running away from home four years ago, she’s managed to stay a step ahead of death―or worse. At sixteen, she’s getting too old to survive from begging, despite her best effort to pretend she’s younger. Worse, the sidewalks teem with little kids edging in on her turf, monopolizing Citizens’ charity with their wide, pleading eyes and genuine innocence.
A chance meeting with suspiciously nice cops leaves her more confused than ever. Between deadly gangs, unforgiving security forces, and a terrifying madam eager to exploit a girl her age, merely getting older is the biggest threat to her life. With no good choice to make, she risks the least of three evils.
Sima thought her life on Earth had been dangerous…
She hasn’t seen anything yet.

Excerpt
Sima approached the older, friendlier-looking cook, squeezing up to the counter between two empty stools. “Excuse me, sir. Could you maybe spare some plain broth and noodles? I haven’t had any food in over a day.”
The man waved at her like he swatted a fly in the air. “Get lost or pay like everyone else.”
One rule she followed: never pull out glint and buy food from a place she failed to beg from. They’d remember her as a manipulator. Head hung, she trudged off. She only made it three steps before a hand reached out and caught her right arm at the bicep.
“Hang on, kid,” said a man. His grip didn’t hurt, more intended to get her attention than hold her.
Sima glanced at a hand wrapped in black cloth strips approximating a fingerless glove. From there, her gaze climbed a roughed-up grey sleeve. Scraps of tech embedded in the fabric blinked and flashed. She looked along the arm to the shoulder, where more small metal boxes adorned his tunic, bedecked with wires and a mixture of displays both physical and holographic. The tiny hardscreens all showed strings of numbers, some changing every few seconds while the holographic ones showed small face pictures, like from IDs. She shifted her attention to a brownish beard, then up to the face of a man in his thirties with hazel eyes and thick brows. His brush cut hinted he might’ve been former EGSF, but his clothing called him an Outcast. Dusty black BDU pants and beat-to-hell combat boots confirmed it.
“What?” asked Sima.
He let go of her arm and patted the stool next to him. “Have a seat. Let’s talk. I’d like to buy you a meal and pay you for a little errand.”
Sima looked him over again. His gaze didn’t strike her as too predatory, at least not in the sense he intended to hurt or take advantage of her in a sexual way. No, he seemed like one desperate person looking for an even more desperate person to do something dangerous or illegal. After a moment of standing there weighing the idea, another growl from her stomach convinced her to slide onto the indicated stool.
“Excellent,” said the man, offering a hand. Dirt smudged at the sides of his eyes parted to reveal thin webs of clean skin in wrinkles as he smiled. “Nalas Corvin.”
Sima tentatively accepted the handshake. “Sima Nuvari. What kind of errand?”
“Nothing terribly difficult. I need a package delivered to a woman who goes by the name Magdalena.”
She stiffened. “Umm.”
Nalas shook his head. “Relax, girl. This isn’t some trick to get you kidnapped and forced into prostitution. Magdalena does not do that. I’m a simple coordinator of goods and shipments. People need things done or things moved from one place to another, and I arrange it.”
“Oh.” She looked down at her lap, brushing her hands over her black pants. They, too, might have been BDUs at one point, before she repaired them into something else. “So you just want me to carry a package there?”
“That’s right.”
She shifted her eyes toward him. “It’s drugs, isn’t it?” Her stomach growled, loud and long.
Nalas didn’t flinch, continuing to stare at her with the same placid smile. “Do you really care?”
“How much are you paying?” asked Sima.
“Hundred glint.”
Whoa! screamed Sima in her mind. Unfortunately, being only sixteen, she couldn’t quite keep her shock from showing on her face.
Nalas chuckled and gestured at the man working that side of the counter. “One order of whatever she wants.” Nalas nodded toward Sima.


 

Author Bio:
Born in a little town known as South Amboy NJ in 1973, Matthew has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Somewhere between fifteen to eighteen of them spent developing the world in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, and The Awakened Series take place. He has several other projects in the works as well as a collaborative science fiction endeavor with author Tony Healey.
Hobbies and Interests:


Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom systems (Chronicles of Eldrinaath [Fantasy] and Divergent Fates [Sci Fi], and a fan of anime, British humour (<- after="" also="" and="" awards:="" badlands="" cats.="" deliberate="" excerpt="" fiction="" fond="" future="" happens="" he="" honorable="" intellectual="" is="" it.="" life="" mention="" nature="" of="" p="" prophet="" questions="" reality="" science="" that="" the="" what="" writers=""> <- after="" also="" and="" awards:="" badlands="" cats.="" deliberate="" excerpt="" fiction="" fond="" future="" happens="" he="" honorable="" intellectual="" is="" it.="" life="" mention="" nature="" of="" p="" prophet="" questions="" reality="" science="" that="" the="" what="" writers="">


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3 Comments

Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.