The Samantha Project
The Samantha Project Book #1
Stephanie Karpinske
Genre- YA Sci Fi
Blurb
Seventeen-year-old Samantha has a
seemingly perfect life; great parents, early admission to Stanford,
and a boyfriend who happens to be the hottest guy in school. But
Sam's life takes a dark turn when she starts developing powers
brought on by her unknown involvement in a global corporation's
genetic enhancement project. Now the corporation decides it's time to
take Sam back and turn on the genetic switch that will unleash all
the powers of her enhanced genes.
During a heart-pounding race to flee
from the people who created her, Sam encounters another person who
was part of the experimental project. He's been living in hiding for
years and now that Sam's found him, she's put both their lives in
danger. But they can't run for long. A technological safeguard
embedded in their cells ensures that if the corporation can't have
them, nobody will.
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Excerpt
“What
is this? Why am I here?” I asked, still feeling like I was half
asleep.
More
footsteps entered the room. “I think she’s slept most of it off,”
I heard Erik say to whoever walked in.
I
felt Erik’s other hand on my arm and then felt a prick from a
needle. Soon I could feel the grogginess go away and the strength in
my muscles return. I opened my eyes and could see normally.
Erik
was sitting at my side, still holding my hand. “Ready to get up
now?” His smile was so warm and kind that the anger I had prepared
to unleash on him was quickly disarmed.
Jack
stood behind him, arms crossed, studying my every move.
“Amazing,”
he said. “But I can’t quite understand it.”
Erik
shot him a glance of annoyance.
“Um,
yes. Well, let’s get started then, shall we?” Jack said, sitting
on a chair at the end of my bed.
Erik
sighed, disappointed in how the old man was handling things. He
turned back to me. “I know it may not seem like it, but we’re
actually trying to help you.”
I
gave him the look that I had heard that line before.
“Sure.
You don’t believe me,” he continued. “I wouldn’t believe me
either. Someone drugs me and I wake up in some strange place, I’d
be pretty pissed.” He flashed a slight smile. “But here’s the
deal. We have a lot of stuff to tell you and we’d like you
to tell us
some stuff, too.” He paused, sensing my hesitation. “If, and only
if, you want to. Okay?” He waited for me to shake my head yes.
“I’ll
start with the basics.” Erik let go of my hand and sat in the chair
next to my bed. “I
don’t know if you noticed, but I’m a little like you.”
I glanced over at him, unsure of what he was trying to tell me. “You
see what I mean? Not everyone can do this.”
I
looked at him confused. Not do what? I thought. This guy is cute but
not at all good at explaining things in clear and simple terms.
“So
you think I’m cute, huh?”
I looked up to see him smiling. “And
by the way, I think my explanation is very clear. You just need to
pay attention.”
“I
AM paying attention!” I said loudly. And then it hit me. My voice
had filled what had been a silent room. Nobody had spoken for at
least a minute. Erik hadn’t said anything. And yet we were having a
conversation. A two-way conversation—without spoken words. He could
read thoughts! That’s why he said we were alike.
The Golden Couple
The Samantha Project Book #2
Samantha Karpinske
Blurb
In this action-packed second
installment of The Samantha Project series, Samantha and Erik go on a
search to find a way to save themselves from the genetic time bomb
ticking away in their cells. Along the way, they discover a shocking
secret that changes everything.
Although Samantha's boyfriend, Colin,
is back now, she can't deny her feelings for Erik. It isn't long
before she learns the real reason why she can't resist Erik. But only
after she's gone too far with him. So far that Colin may never
forgive her.
GlobalLife Genetics continues to pursue
Samantha and they'll stop at nothing to get her. Sam still doesn't
understand GlobalLife's plan for her but she knows it's something
big. And she knows it isn't good.
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Excerpt
A
few minutes later, a black limo pulled up. “A limo!” Brittany
yelled. “Oh my God! I’ve never been in a limo! I’ve gotta see
this!” She ran outside and into the limo.
“Brittany!
Wait!” I ran after her, followed by Erik. We poked our heads into
the limo and found her already seated at the far end. Erik and I
stepped in to grab her. “Brittany, get out,” I yelled at her.
“You don’t even know—”
The
door slammed shut behind us. “Erik, open the door,” I said,
pulling on Brittany. “The wind must’ve slammed it shut.”
Erik
went to open the door but it was locked. He pressed the unlock button
but it didn’t work. I tried the door closest to me. It was locked,
too. We both tried the remaining doors. All locked. Then just outside
the limo we saw a man in a dark coat and hat who appeared to be the
driver.
I
banged on the side window to get his attention. “Hey, we need to
get out! There’s two other people back there!” I pointed to the
airport building.
The
driver saw us but didn’t react. We watched as he walked to the
front of the limo and got inside. Erik pounded on the piece of dark
glass that divided us from the driver. “Wait! We need to wait for
two more people!”
The
driver ignored him and started driving away from the airport with the
three of us trapped in the back.
“Erik,
make him stop!” I screamed. “This is the wrong car! They didn’t
even ask for the code word.”
Erik
banged even harder against the glass divider. “Hey! Stop! Let us
out!”
Brittany
and I kept trying to open the doors and windows but they were all
locked. We heard a loud bang and looked back to see a bright, fiery
light in the dark night sky. It was coming from the airport building.
Part of the building had exploded, leaving fire and plumes of smoke
in the air.
I
moved closer to the back window. “Oh my God! Erik, look!”
“What
the hell? This can’t be happening!” Erik beat on the glass again,
trying to get the driver’s attention. “Who are you? Let us out! I
swear I’ll break this thing!” But the glass wouldn’t break. It
didn’t even crack. If we still had our abilities, Erik would have
broken the glass without a problem. But now both he and I had normal
strength, which wasn’t enough to help us.
“They’re
in that building!” I screamed. “Colin and Jack are in there! We
have to go back!” Brittany and I pounded on the back and side
windows.
Erik
sat back. “You can’t break it, Sam. It’s reinforced glass.”
I
stopped, frozen in disbelief as I watched the airport get farther and
farther away. “It was a set up. The whole thing was a trap.”
A Chosen Destiny
The Samantha Project Book # 3
Samantha Karpinske
Blurb
Samantha's destiny was chosen long ago.
At least that's what she's told by the people who created her. Her
enhanced genes and genetic software were meant to do everything from
mold her personality to pick who she falls in love with.
But can destiny be changed? Ever since
Samantha learned the truth about herself, she's struggled to figure
out who's really in charge of her life. Can she make her own choices?
Or is her future determined by her genes?
Old enemies reappear and new ones
emerge as Samantha and Erik use their powers to fight the people who
are after them. But it's getting harder to figure out who's good and
who's evil. The enemy they've been fighting may not be the one who's
truly after them.
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Excerpt
“No!
Please! Not now!” I said aloud to myself. I’d never been stopped
for speeding before. And I couldn’t be stopped now. GlobalLife had
connections with the police. The cop would look me up in his database
and I’d be back in GlobalLife’s custody within the hour.
“Calm
down.” I continued to talk to myself. “Maybe he’ll just give me
a ticket and leave.”
I
slowed the car and pulled over. My hands were shaking as I waited for
the officer. Escape scenarios began playing in my head in response to
the stress hormones being released in my blood. It was one of my
abilities, but it wasn’t always that helpful. The scenes showed me
different roads to take in an attempt to get away. But the last thing
I needed was a police chase.
I
took a deep breath to calm myself. It didn’t work. As the officer
approached the car, I heard his thoughts.
“Stupid
teenage drivers. She looks to be around 16. Probably just got her
license. Bet she’s one of those rich kids from The Academy. Taking
Daddy’s fancy car for a spin.”
“You
were going 81 in a 55, young lady,” the officer said as I rolled
down my window. “License and registration.”
I
kept my head down. “I have to get it in the glove compartment. Is
that okay?”
“Go
ahead.” The officer let out a long sigh as he crossed his arms and
stared down at me. “So do you go to The Academy?”
“Um,
no. I don’t know what that is.” I reached over and opened the
glove compartment. It was filled with papers. I started searching for
the registration.
“It’s
that private school. Just up a few exits from here.” The officer
leaned down and poked his head through the window. “Nice car you
got. Is your daddy one of the execs at that research place?”
“I
don’t know what place you’re talking about.” I found the
registration and handed it to him. It had Owens’ name on it. Once
the officer saw Owens’ name, I knew he’d be suspicious. Some
teenage girl driving a well-known billionaire’s car?
The
officer didn’t look at the registration. Instead he kept talking to
me. “You know, that research place that does something with genes?
It’s a big corporation. GlobalLife something.”
I
tried to act normal. “Um, no. I’ve never heard of that place. Is
it around here?”
“It’s
down in White Plains. But a lot of the bigwigs who work there like to
live out here in the country and send their kids to The Academy.”
He paused. “License, please.”
I
froze. I didn’t have a license! It was sitting in my bedroom back
in Minnesota. My mind began racing so fast that I developed a massive
headache. How could I be so stupid speeding like that?
“License,
please.” The officer repeated the request as he leaned down closer
to me. “What’s the problem? You don’t have one? You’re
driving without a license?”
I
said nothing and stared straight ahead.
He
sighed again. “Okay, then. You’ll need to come with me. Your
folks will have to come get you at the station. Gather your things.
I’ll be right back.”
The
officer returned to his squad car. My headache intensified as my mind
tried to hear what he was thinking. But I heard nothing as he walked
away.
“Please,
please just let me go,” I whispered to myself as if doing so would
somehow help. “I’m begging you. Let me go. Just forget this ever
happened and go away.”
My
head now felt like it was splitting into pieces. I closed my eyes and
tried harder to hear the officer’s thoughts. I still couldn’t
hear anything.
I
opened my eyes again. The bright sun made the pain in my head even
worse. I checked my mirror to see if the officer was still in his
car. But the police car was no longer behind me. I looked out the
front window and noticed an expensive black car with dark tinted
windows. Had another car been pulled over? Or did the car belong to
someone from GlobalLife?
I
wasn’t sure what was going on, but I knew this wasn’t going to
end well. I decided I had to at least try to escape. I reached down
to turn the keys in the ignition, but something didn’t look right.
Then I noticed the dashboard was different. It had all kinds of
equipment attached to it. I quickly realized that I was sitting in
the front seat of the police car. The black car in front of me was
the one I’d been driving. How did I get in the police car? I looked
to my left and caught a glimpse of myself in the side mirror. But it
wasn’t me! It was the officer!
Stephanie is a freelance health writer
by day and novel writer by night. She's been dreaming up stories for
as long as she can remember but finally put a few down on paper (or
ebook) with her YA trilogy, The Samantha Project. She's currently
working on a new adult romance series that’s coming out soon! When
she’s not writing, she’s reading (usually YA/NA romance or a
mystery thriller), cooking something really good, or running (to burn
off the calories of whatever she cooked that was really good).
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