I’ve known Terry Tyler on Twitter for years, and she’s always been a sharp commentator and an interesting writer. Terry’s new book, Hope, is her nineteenth published work. It’s a psychological thriller set in a dystopian nearfuture – the UK, Year 2028. Check it out! Also, don’t forget to sign up for her Rafflecopter giveaway!

Synopsis

Blogger Lita Stone and journalist Nick Freer live and work online, seeing life through

soundbites, news TV and social media. Keeping the outside world at bay in their cozy flat,

they observe the ruthless activities of the new PM and his celebrity fitness guru wife, Mona

(hashtag MoMo), with the mild outrage that can be quelled simply by writing another blog

post.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, multinational conglomerate Nutricorp is busy buying up

supermarket chains, controlling the media, and financing the new compounds for the

homeless: the Hope Villages.

Lita and Nick suspect little of the danger that awaits the unfortunate, until the outside world

catches up with them – and Lita is forced to discover a strength she never knew she

possessed.

Excerpt

MoMo's gift to the nation, as the festive season draws near, is her campaign to help the long-term unemployed.  Today she sits on the Afternoon Tea sofa, her brilliant white smile so broad that the cameramen must have had to dust off their wide-angle lenses.

"I am fully committed to getting Britain fit for work!" she declares, and presenter Gavin joins her in a high five.

Enter stage left: The Unemployed.

A graduate who hasn't worked since leaving university a year ago and has spent the last twelve months lounging on the sofa eating Ben and Jerry's.

Three thirty-something factory/warehouse workers whose jobs have been taken over by robots and have spent the last twelve months lounging on the sofa, etc.

The token Older Person: a man of fifty-five who admits that long-term unemployment has driven him to drink.

All five are clad in sweatpants and baggy t-shirts bearing the slogan #FitForWork.  A MoJo fitness coach puts them through their low-impact aerobic paces at the back of the stage, while our friendly First Lady tells Gavin about the #FitForWork scheme taking place at MoJo centres throughout the land.

The unemployed get the first three sessions free, after which they can take part at a reduced rate.

"So she's not making money out of the poor under the guise of actually giving a crap, then," says Nick, then heaves himself off the couch and mooches back to his room in disgust.

I stay and watch, in revolted fascination.

"And don't forget," says presenter Gavin, "if you're out of work and hoping to receive benefits, demonstrating your commitment to get fit for work will add great weight to your claim―no pun intended!"

It gets better.  After you've attended ten classes you get a free #FitForWork t-shirt.  Wow! I mean, just wow.  I'd rather go for a run three times a week and buy my own clothes, but, of course, that wouldn't 'demonstrate my commitment'.  

Yes, Gavin, we understand.

Your prize for attending twenty sessions is a #FitForWork sports kit bag.  I'm on the website now, by the way; oh, and the next bit is a beauty. Fifty sessions earn you a #FitForWork duvet and pillow case set.  Presumably because if you've been unemployed for long enough to get them, it's unlikely you'll ever get a job and you may as well stay in bed.

About the Author

Terry Tyler is the author of nineteen books available from Amazon, the latest being ‘Hope’, a dystopian, psychological drama set in the UK, a decade into the future. She is currently at work on ‘Blackthorn’, a post-apocalyptic stand-alone story set in her fictional city of the same name. Proud to be independently published, Terry is an avid reader and book reviewer, and a member of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team.

Terry is a Walking Dead addict, and has a great interest in history (particularly 14th-17th century), and sociological/cultural/anthropological stuff, generally. She loves South Park, Netflix, autumn and winter, and going for long walks in quiet places where there are lots of trees. She lives in the north east of England with her husband.

Find Terry on:

Twitter: @TerryTyler4

Goodreads

Bookbub

If you’re interested in more of my writing or my book recommendations, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter!