Conflict of Identity in Clones - Guest Post by Jessica E Subject

Thank you so much, Pippa, for having me on your blog! It’s a pleasure to be here, again.

You're very welcome, Jessica!

Hello everyone! In my latest release, Made For Her, I broach the topic of cloning. It’s a futuristic setting where the science has been perfected, and clones are created for a military desperate for people to enlist. But the clones themselves have issues they must deal with. Who are they? Are they a new person, or simply a carbon copy of the person who donated their DNA?

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, the clones are not exact replicas of the original person. Their DNA has been genetically modified to enhance certain characteristics, such as intelligence.

Upon creation, each clone is given a “name” consisting of a letter and a number. The letter represents the person who donated their DNA, and the number indicates how many clones have been created with the same DNA before them.

Now, many clones have no issues. They do their duties as assigned by the military, and don’t question their calling, living to the fullest within their given boundaries.

Then there’s D32, or Dare as his friends call him. He knows the man who donated his DNA is the one who perfected the process of cloning. But he doesn’t want to remain in the labs, creating other clones, as his “brothers” do every day. He wants to serve in the military—the reason for the clones to be created in the first place.

But then he meets the widow of the man who donated his DNA. And everything he thought he wanted changes. He wants her. He wonders if his attraction to her is genetic, or if they were simply meant to be together. Then he notices strange habits starting to show up, like his foot-tapping when he’s impatient. And Mikayla notices, too, avoiding him.

He fills with the need to know if he is exactly like Daniel, and if so, was he made for her? But he has to find a way to talk to Mikayla first. Because she is the only one with the answers he wants.

Made For Her Blurb:

After terrorists murder the love of her life, Colonel Mikayla Jones trains squadron after squadron of the clones he brought to life, to take to the skies. When she discovers a young clone of her husband in her newest class, her world spins out of control. How can she command the look-a-like when she can’t help but yearn for him to fill an ache in her heart?

Dare was created to be the best. As the first Daniel clone to leave Onatria labs, he needs to prove he is more than just a DNA copy. To do that, he must rely on the wife of the man who donated his genes. But when she refuses to train him, Dare faces discharge and returning to the labs. Can he convince Colonel Jones to finish his training and find a way into her bed? Or will long kept secrets unhinge the entire clone project?

Buy Links:

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Excerpt:

Colonel Jones eyed each one of her new cadets, examining the neatness of their uniforms, while inspecting for signs of stress or over-anxiousness. She’d never seen the telltale muscle twitches or sweats in any previous clones, only in human-borns, but she had to look for them anyway.

The first generation of clones didn’t live long enough to become cadets. Their hearts gave out within a year after incubation. But the scientists at Onatria had plowed on, utilizing more of Daniel’s research, speeding up the aging process with hormones to create the perfect generation she saw before her.

She’d had female clones in previous squadrons, but the government filled the one in front of her with testosterone-driven masculinity. If she’d been younger, she’d have a hard time concentrating. But her days of crushes and fantasies were long over. She was devoted to serving her country and planet, and nothing else.

That didn’t stop her from going out on the town for a stress-relieving fuck from time to time. But these young men in front of her appeared so virile, sure to last longer than any of her previous sexual partners.

No. As junior officers, and more importantly, as clones, they were off limits.

Inspecting them gave her the opportunity to check out more than their fatigues and tics, but if they knew her thoughts, they’d walk all over her. She’d be done.

They were of varying nationalities, builds, and heights, all fit to serve the planet. None of the cadets revealed any indication he would put the lives of others in jeopardy. This will be an easy squadron, every one of them ready to fly in a matter of weeks.

She reached the last cadet and froze. Her stomach clenched. No, they couldn’t have!

She pivoted on her heel and rushed off the tarmac, leaving the squad without an instructor.

Bio:

Jessica Subject started writing to encourage her daughter to read. Now she writes to keep herself grounded. Although she reads many genres, she enjoys writing Science Fiction Romance the most and believes everyone in the universe deserves a happily ever after. She lives Southwestern Ontario, Canada with her husband and two kids and loves to hear from her readers.

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Giveaway!!

For your chance to WIN swag from my new releases and an ebook copy of one of my backlist titles, leave a comment answering the following question: What would you do if you found out you were a clone? Winner will be notified by email on January 26, 2013. Good luck!