The God Organ Blog Tour! (+$20 Amazon GC Giveaway!)

Title: The God Organ

Author: Anthony J Melchiorri

Series: N/A

Pages: N/A

Date Published: October 14th, 2014

Publisher: Thunderbird Media

Format: Paperback

Genre: Futuristic Medical Thriller

Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours
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Synopsis:

In 2063, a biotechnological revolution sweeps the nation. Behind this movement is Chicago-based medical giant LyfeGen. The company dominates the biotech industry with their Sustain, an implantable artificial organ designed to grant its recipients near-immortality. But many of those recipients are suddenly dying.

Biomedical scientist Preston Carter developed the Sustain to improve and save lives. Yet there are others that would see him fail. Extreme religious groups, radical movements, and competing corporations would prefer to see LyfeGen collapse rather than allow “the god organ” to fundamentally alter medicine and the human body. In a race against time, Carter must learn to trust resourceful journalist Audrey Cook. She may hold the key to discovering who is sabotaging the Sustain. And with the organ already implanted in his own body, Carter must uncover the truth before he’s killed by his invention.

~Guest Post!~
Ten Things You Won't Know About Anthony Melchiorri

So by the end of this, I’m fairly certain you might think I’m crazy. But I’m at least hoping you’ll find this somewhat amusing. Here it is, in all its glory, ten things you wouldn’t know about me:

1. Anytime someone asks me about an interesting or surprising fact about myself, there’s one particular memory that comes to mind. At the age of eleven, I ran—yes, literally ran—into a tree so hard that I ended up with a concussion and temporary amnesia. I forgot everything I did that weekend and it took me months before those memories slowly returned. I’m sure for my parents that was a heck of a scary time, but it makes for a story that I can at least laugh at now. I told you these ten things might make me seem a bit crazy!
2.  At the University of Iowa, I earned two bachelor’s degrees: one in Biomedical Engineering and one in English. I started out studying only engineering but quickly realized that I could not give up my love of reading and writing, so I picked up the second degree.
3. My current day job consists of performing full-time research with materials designed for 3D printing implantable cardiovascular devices while working on my PhD in bioengineering.
4. I have three pet rats. I know people think that’s nuts, but if you can get over their reputation, rats are awesome pets. They act like miniature dogs, learn tricks, know their names, and don’t bite—unlike the many hamsters I’ve met over the years…
5. Speaking of pets, as a kid, I wanted to be veterinarian. I’ve helped raise/owned all kinds of animals, including dogs, geckos, turtles, fish, salamanders, frogs, toads, iguanas, rats, hamsters, snakes, scorpions, and baby ducks rescued when their mother died. Probably some that I’m forgetting, too.
6.  I love to listen to Irish pub songs when I write. I don’t have a good reason for this, but listening to The Green Fields of France or Whiskey in a Jar gets my fingers typing and my brain moving.
7.  I’ve been to Europe once to visit the Baltic States. A friend and I traveled through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The people were nice, the food was great, and the countries were beautiful—part of that trip inspired the first setting in The Human Forged…
8. I’m an avid runner and completed my first full marathon last year. Since I never was one to make a touchdown or basket, I enjoy sports involving water, ranging from skim boarding to scuba diving. I guess frozen water counts, right? So skiing should be in there, too!
9. Through my research and work, I’m co-inventor on three patents and one patent pending.
10. My first foray into biomedical engineering was working on a project involving stem cells (harvested from adult bone marrow) and nanoparticles as a first-year undergraduate at the University of Iowa. Since that day, I’ve been hooked to the research field. I find that staying involved in medical research not only makes me feel like I’m doing something that could potentially help others, but it also inspires my science fiction writing. The world of scientific research is rife with fresh ideas!

~Try an Excerpt!~

Monica Wolfe sat in the Corner Street Bakery, sipping on a chai tea latte. The scent of freshly baked muffins and bread floated around the bakery, mingling with the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee. While the clatter of dishes and dripping coffee sounded from behind the counter, the morning patrons came and went quietly. Most everyone entered bundled in coats, a smattering of neutral grays, browns, and blacks, dripping with the snow that melted off their clothes. Low-hanging mist clung to the windows and fogged up the air outside as passing cars whipped up blusters of snow in their drafts.

The warmth of the latte crept into her fingers as she held the cup, combating the icy feelings that had followed her in from the streets. When a chilling blast of air followed another patron into the store, she scrutinized the new face.

Again, it wasn’t him.

She was sure he would show up, as he did most every day. And, today, she would risk everything. She would steal everything from him; she would steal the secrets of the LyfeGen Sustain, the god organ.

~Meet Anthony!~ 

I grew up in Normal, Illinois. After a regular (it’s hard, but I refuse to make a pun of it) childhood in Normal, I left for the University of Iowa to get a degree in Biomedical Engineering. But, I couldn’t give up reading and writing and there really wasn’t enough of that in engineering (unless you’re into thick, no-thrills books on thermodynamics and polymer physics). I picked up a second degree in English while working on the Biomedical Engineering degree and have since counted myself fortunate for making that decision. Iowa City, North America’s only official UNESCO City of Literature, is a thriving hotbed of writers and readers, with some of the best visiting the city for their renowned workshop or famous authors dropping by to read a story they’ve written and chat.  I had the opportunity to meet plenty of great writers and storytellers that inspired me to keep writing, even when I graduated and entered a doctoral program at the University of Maryland for Bioengineering.

Today, when I’m not writing and reading, I’m primarily working on tissue engineered blood vessels, gearing my work for children with congenital heart defects. I get to work with awesome 3D printing technologies and am always astounded by the rapidly advancing technologies coursing through the veins of universities and research settings. Much of my writing has been inspired by those advancements and my conversations with other researchers, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and many others interested in our evolving world.

Anthony will be awarding a $20.00 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner, and an autographed copy of The God Organ will be awarded to four randomly drawn winners (US ONLY); all awarded via rafflecopter during the tour. A $20.00 Amazon gift card will be awarded to a randomly drawn host.
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