Circus Summer: Circus of Curiosities, #1

By Kailin Gow

PRAISE for CIRCUS SUMMER

5 OF 5 Stars "Her characters are imaginative, but live in their certain and casual communication. It lends an easy realism to this dystopian novel that isn't experienced in many YA books of this genre...It is easy to see that Ms Gow is an accomplished writer. This is no first, debut novel. Her writing is strong and mature. The plot is well-developed and interesting in every aspect." - The Bookish Dame

5 OF 5 Stars "Anyone who picks up Circus Summer is in for a wild ride. There's no way to stop reading once started." - Lovey Dovey Books

5 OF 5 Stars "An exciting dystopian filled with danger and romance." – I Love Books

5 OF 5 Stars "Heart-pounding action and original plot makes this dystopian the one to read this summer." – Between the Pages


DESCRIPTION
In post-apocalypse America, known as The United, every season, the Circus of Curiosities visits the city, bringing with it the most fantastic circus acts that are beautiful, majestic, curious, and death-defying. Every season performers for these acts are chosen from the young men and women in each town, trained, and sent to perform in a live grand performance, performed literally to the death. Two performers from Sea Cliff, a beach town at the outskirts of The Center find themselves chosen to be in this Summer's Circus Act. Both must win at any cost, but could they ignore their feelings for each other? Leela Sinclair needs to win in order to get to The Center where she can get medical help from the best physicians for her ailing mother, plague with a condition no one have heard of. For Zachary Nile, his reasons for becoming a performer at the Circus is more mysterious. Only the ringmaster and the Circus of Curiosities owner Dex Hightower (Dr. Dex) knows what the touring Circus is really about amidst the magic and splendor. Despite the Great War and the poverty surrounding the land except for the towns fortunate enough to be near the Center, Dr. Dex and the Circus performers all know, "The show must go on."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sparklesoup.com
• Release date: Jan 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9781597482790

Kailin Gow

It's official! Read about Kailin and her books being adapted into films and tv series here: https://filmdaily.co/obsessions/kailin-gow-loving-summer/ FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KAILIN GOW AT: https://linktr.ee/KailinGow including how to get a free book from her! Kailin Gow is a million-selling international and USA Today Bestselling author of over 680 published books! She writes in many genres under her name and other pen names. She has been an invited speaker on Book Expo America, appeared on CBS News about writing books with social issues, and the Top 15 National radio regularly on women's issues, women in film and Hollywood, and leadership. She holds a Masters in Management from USC and degrees in Social Ecology, Criminology, and Filmmaking. She is an author influencer on Instagram, owns a podcast network with multiple channels, is a multi-award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, actress, and host. Her books have been made into games, animated short films, and series. Currently, a number of her book series have been optioned, are in development, or pre-production, including her YA Fantasy Sci Fi Thriller FADE (which has been optioned) and Red Genesis (also optioned) by Netflix producers. Kailin Gow is a regular guest in radio and television on women in Hollywood and filmmaking, naming the top Women Execs to Watch. She is a judge in film festivals, writing contests, and is also a voting member in the Academy Awards. AWARD-WINNING INTERNATIONAL MILLION-SELLING AUTHOR, PRODUCER, AND TV PERSONALITY Kailin Gow is an internationally-recognized multi-award-winning multi-genres USA bestselling Asian American author and woman director/filmmaker who has written and published over 400 books under Kailin Gow and her pen names. She is both traditionally-published as well as indie. Considered a digital publishing pioneer, her books have been downloaded over 10 Million times around the world. She is known as one of the most prolific authors internationally who not only writes novels but screenplays fast, but of world-class quality they win prestigious awards like the ALA YALSA Awards and Los Angeles Film Awards. Besides having gone to law school, she holds a Masters Degree in Communications Management from USC and Drama/Film and Social Ecology Degrees from UC Irvine. She has also been a longtime member of TED Talks. She is the first Asian American author to have sold over 1 million books and to be featured on Amazon.com's homepage as an indie Author Success Story. Her success as an Indie Author and advocate for Indie authors during the early Kindle days has inspired many to take a plunge to become authors. The first Asian American woman who is independently published to appear on Amazon's homepage as an Author Success Story, she also represented Amazon as an author spokesperson during Amazon's Kindle Family Launch press conference in Santa Monica and at Book Expo America where she was an invited speaker. A digital publishing pioneer, she was one of the first authors and publisher to publish digitally back in 2001. Prior to becoming a full-time author and filmmaker, she worked as an Exec in Legal and Production at Walt Disney Company, a writer/producer for Cable Television, an Exec at high tech start ups, and Exec at Fortune 100 Hotel and Travel Corporations where she has managed and trained hundreds of employees on world-class service and operations. She has also been a professional model, a tour director, journalist, re-organization consultant, a secret mystery shopper/consultant for top brands, and professional speaker who has been an invited speaker at Book Expo America, Girl Scouts, Asian America Heritage Week, and more! FUTURIST AND SOCIAL INFLUENCER A social influencer, she has over millions of views on her YouTube channel and her Vimeo channel with over 1.5 million views on her Bitter Frost trailer and award-winning animated short film alone. She is a judge on writing contests for writing incubator social sites, has been a member of TED Talks, and is one of the most quoted modern living authors today. She has also been regularly published as a contributor on Fast Company magazine on articles about publishing, leadership, business, and social issues. https://www.fastcompany.com/1800256/social-media-and-future-publishing-industry

Book preview

DEDICATION

To the White Knight, my Great Uncle, whose heroism and legend lives on today. He was a super spy who spoke five languages, a pianist, and a martial artist during WW2 for the Allies.  Apparently, he was handsome, charming, and sophisticated, too, able to charm his way into the highest circle of enemy society. Hearing tales about him since childhood, inspired me to write about heroes. 

To all the brave men and women who serve to make life better for the rest of us.

Prologue

Dr. Dex Hightower stood on the sand in the middle of the circus ring, milking the applause from the audience as it rose to a crescendo behind the hard plastic barriers. The tiny town of Bent Roads had plenty of people, it seemed, who wanted to see what his Circus of Curiosities had to offer. In a world with so little else, full of war and the struggle just to survive, could he blame them? Dex’s mouth quirked in a smile. He could see them staring down at him in anticipation, but he kept them waiting.

He knew what they would see. A man in his late thirties, tall and powerful enough to command their attention as he stood there, his dark hair spilling down the back of his long leather coat. The silver buckles and studs on it shone in the big top lights with every movement he made, catching and dazzling, as bright as the green of his eyes. His shirt was a deep red, the color of blood, while he wore pants of tight fitting black, with high boots that were as much about practicality as showmanship. Dex spread his arms as the applause built.

Hello, Bent Roads! His voice carried easily throughout the tent. These past five days, you’ve seen wonders!

They’d seen the genetic monsters spewed from the broken labs.

You’ve seen strife!

They’d seen their own children fighting and occasionally dying.

You’ve seen the full gamut of things our broken world has to offer!

Which wasn’t much. Dex paused again. That was the key to being a ringmaster. Not giving people what they wanted. At least not until they begged for it.

So are you ready for what we have for you tonight?

That got a roar that was almost deafening, and Dex whirled for a moment with his arms outstretched, drinking it all in. Despite everything, even down to the hate he felt for them for letting him do what he did, this moment was always good.

If you’re ready, then I’d like to present to you a performer you all know very well! Already, she has fought alongside other performers from your lovely town! She has fought against them too, and she has won! Dex very carefully didn’t mention what had happened to the losers. The audience had seen it. It didn’t need reminding. The people there were too busy cheering to need reminding. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I give you... Prima Thornsby!

Spotlights focused on the far side of the circus arena, on an ornate entrance that looked like it was the kind of marble and gold doorway a Roman emperor might have stepped through. The fact that it was really a mixture of painted plastic and iron didn’t matter. It was what people thought that mattered.

The girl who stepped out through that entrance was sixteen, her red hair tied back into a ponytail, the glittering leotard she wore clinging to her to show off a gymnastic figure. The costumers and makeup artists had obviously been hard at work, because as well as the leotard, she wore silver gloves and boots, and her face had streaks of all the colors of the rainbow painted on. Just one more hint of show among the rest of it. She walked out with confident strides. She had every right to them. She’d done well so far.

As you know, Dex continued. Prima here has come through almost all our challenges for her. Now we have just one more before she can move up to our national level of performance. Would you like to see what it is?

The crowd roared its approval. Dex turned to Prima, who nodded her readiness. Brave girl. At a signal from Dex, assistants came forward dressed in a harlequin patchwork, pieced together from scraps. They held a selection of weapons and protective items. The girl chose a long, clear plastic sword sharpened to a razor edge, along with a round shield of toughened glass. When she’d done that, the assistants retreated while more wheeled in a large crate. Dex moved to the side of the arena, behind the barriers protecting the audience.

Ladies and gentlemen of the audience! Prima! I give you... the hydra!

The side of the crate fell open, and a shape slunk from within. It was reptilian, far larger than the girl before it, walking on six scaled legs, with nine necks rising sinuously from its bulky body like snakes. The heads at the ends of those necks were snakelike as well, and as Dex watched, one opened its mouth to reveal vicious fangs.

He heard the audience’s collective gasp. He saw Prima flinch, half glancing at him to check whether it was real. It was. So very real. It and many more creatures like it. The creature seemed to sense the girl’s hesitation, because two of its heads struck out, snake fast.

Prima reacted quickly, Dex had to admit that. She got her shield up to block one of the heads, venom dripping down it to the tent’s sandy floor. Her sword lashed out, slicing through the neck of the second, sending the head flying. She stepped back, as though expecting the hydra to fall to the floor dead. Dex shook his head at that. One head wouldn’t do it. Another minute or two, and it wouldn’t even be injured. One of the gifts this one had was regeneration on a scale barely comprehensible.

Still, she’d gotten one head. Maybe the others would follow. Dex had high hopes for Prima. She had obvious talent. The only question was whether it was the level of talent they needed...

Prima spun as the hydra struck again, slamming one of its heads aside, then darting away as the creature lunged after her. She moved like an acrobat; so fast, so graceful. She dodged another strike, bringing around her sword in a simple arc to lop off another of the Hydra’s heads. The creature momentarily reared back in pain, and Dex dared to believe...

Three more of its heads flashed forward at once. Prima blocked one with her shield, and managed to get her sword in the way of another, but the third grazed her side with its fangs. She cried out, obviously holding onto her sword with an effort, and lowering her shield just enough. More heads snapped past her defenses, biting her again and again. She shrieked in sudden pain. Dex wished he could do something for her, but it was too late now. With the way the circus worked, it had been too late the moment she decided to sign up.

Prima fell back, scrambling away from the hydra on her back. The creature let her do it, as though knowing what came next. Out on the sand, the girl started to shake, and the shaking became convulsions, the massive amounts of venom in her body pumping through it with every heartbeat. Dex watched her there, not because he enjoyed it-not because he enjoyed any of it-but because he knew he should. In just a couple of minutes, she was still, her silver costume looking far less vibrant while she sprawled lifeless on the sand.

The crowd started to boo.

Dex made a small signal, and his assistants did their job. A few moved in with tranquilizers to bring the Hydra under control and get it back into the crate. Two of the others, the ones who had brought the weapons, lifted Prima’s body and took it away.

The crowd was still railing against what had happened, some pressing against the plastic walls as they yelled their displeasure. It was always like this. Dex moved out into the center of the circus ring, standing absolutely still as he waited for silence. He got it. His presence wasn’t the kind of thing people could ignore, even if their hometown girl had failed.

He’d failed too, of course. He’d been so certain about Prima. He’d had such high hopes for her. It seemed now those hopes had been unfounded, the way they so often were. Another young performer dead in the dust. Another wasted talent. Dex shrugged, forcing himself not to think about it. In this world, people died every day, and even the hydra was better than some of the things the war did to people.

Ladies and Gentlemen, he said at last. It seems that our entertainment for this evening is at an end.

That got another round of boos. Strange that they’d boo because more of their young people weren’t being killed, but Dex knew as well as anyone what people could be like. By tomorrow, they would probably deny that they had done it. They would probably blame him for the whole thing, until the next time the circus came to town.

Don’t worry, don’t worry! Dex announced. The show will go on! He paused for just a second to let them think about whether they wanted that. Just not in Bent Roads. Your town has provided some very skillful and brave young performers, but we have exhausted their talents now, and none of them remain, so it is time for us to move on. I hope you will join us when we are next in town.

He walked away through the circus, heading out through the door Prima had come through, pausing just long enough to take a theatrical bow. Behind the scenes, things were a lot less spectacular. There were wires and the remnants of machines, circus hands working hard to get ready for the finish of the show and to deal with its aftermath. The ones dealing with Prima Thornton’s body were gone, and the hydra’s crate was out of sight.

Another town. Another failure. That had happened so many times. Some days, it made it hard to remember why they kept going. Dex turned to one of his assistants, a woman in a costume of feathers and leather scraps.

Another failure, Tia.

She shrugged. The crowd got their entertainment. We made money. What more do you want, Dex?

A lot more than that, but it wasn’t something to talk about.

Maybe things will go better in the next place, Tia tried.

"I suppose the show does go on," Dex said, trying to sound upbeat.

The show goes on, Tia echoed, with the kind of fervor everyone had in the circus for that mantra.

The show went on. The show always went on. What else was there? And who knew, maybe there would be someone better than Prima Thornsby. Dex shook his head, putting her from his mind. He didn’t focus on the ones who had failed. There were far too many of them to think about.

Get ready to leave soon, Dex instructed, even though he needn’t have bothered. Everyone in the circus knew not to outstay their welcome. There’s nothing else for us here. It’s time to move on.

Yes, boss.

And Tia, Dex said with his trademark smile, remind me, which tiny town are we dragging ourselves over to next?

You were talking about Sea Cliff, weren’t you?

Dex nodded. Sea Cliff could work. His hometown. So many memories there. Maybe they’d find what they needed, and maybe not, but either way Tia was right. They’d would entertain the crowd, make some money, and perhaps find what he was looking for. He’s searched so long, he couldn’t give up. Maybe Sea Cliff had what he seek. The show had to go on, after all.

Chapter 1

Leela

Sea Cliff

Life in Sea Cliff sucks. Well, what else can I say? That I, Leela Sinclair, think it’s the greatest place on Earth a seventeen year old girl like me could live? That life is easy, and the whole place is some kind of paradise? It isn’t. It so isn’t. About the only thing you can say for it is that the war hasn’t really hit it yet, and even that isn’t completely true. I mean, if I were another year older, I’d probably be in the middle of being drafted, like so many others are when they hit eighteen. Like my brother, Caleb.

The ones who aren’t drafted quickly find other places to go. The big cities, the towns. Anywhere that isn’t Sea Cliff, in most cases. I guess I’m not being fair but who’s fair about the place where they live? Yes, there are plenty of places much worse than Sea Cliff, thanks to the war. Places that don’t have food or running water anymore. Places where the Invaders have wrecked everything, and even the most basic technology doesn’t exist anymore.

Sometimes though, I almost feel like I want the Invaders to show up, if only because it would mean something happening. Sea Cliff’s that kind of town. They say it used to be some kind of vacation resort back in the distant past. Mrs. Abernathy showed us photographs of it hundreds of years ago back in history class. I can kind of see why people would have liked it. There’s the view out over the ocean, and the beaches at the bottom of the cliffs are beautiful. It’s probably a nice place to visit, but it’s a boring place to live.

Take my life, for example. Better yet, take just today. Out of bed early to make it to the restaurant before school and get some work in. Going back to see my mom before I head to school. Making sure my little brother Mason gets to his school okay, before I go to my classes. Coming back and then going straight out to work in the Cliff View pub and restaurant, where the same patrons will probably ogle me in the same way they did the day before, despite my age.

I’m there now. The place is a bit like Sea Cliff. It was probably great once, but it has seen better days. The wood panels of the walls are scuffed and re-painted, the tables are mostly balanced out with bits of old beermat. Frank, the owner, tries to keep it all in shape, and he has me cleaning almost every minute I’m not serving food, but it doesn’t make much of a difference. With some things, they’re just spiraling down into nothing. That’s what Mom says about the war. Spiraling down into nothing. Like Sea Cliff. Like her health.

I pause, looking at myself in the mirrored bar of the Cliff View until I stop thinking about that. I try to work out why so many of the restaurant’s patrons spend their time staring at me while I’m doing it. Is it just that I have long chestnut hair and big green eyes, with a heart shaped face and a nice enough smile? Is it that I have an athletic body, currently