About the Book

Book: The Chaos Grid

Author: Lyndsey Lewellen

Genre: YA Science Fiction

Release Date: April 9, 2024

Cross the grid. Survive the storms. Let your destiny burn.

When mankind’s attempts to control nature backfire, Texas descends into a wasteland. Storms rage and ravenous beasts roam the Outer Grid. The only safe havens rest inside the tech-obsessed domed cities. But when her parents are murdered inside the Plex City dome, seventeen-year-old Juniper Conway wants revenge.

Ties to her extended family threaten to pull her back as she runs from city to city. The Plex is endangering its citizens by legalizing a deadly nano drug, and Juniper’s family needs her help to deliver the counteragent. Saving the city who orphaned her goes against everything she stands for. The only way out is to brave the wasteland.

Juniper joins a shipping crew fearless enough to transport food across the Outer Grid. But when a string of bad luck turns lethal, she fears something, or someone, is dragging her back to the Plex. As her world sinks into chaos, Juniper must decide if revenge is worth the lives of the crew she has come to love.

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About the Author

Lyndsey Lewellen grew up on a healthy dose of comic books, punk music, and sci-fi. She infuses all three loves into novels written for young adults. Inside her “what if” worlds, her characters take risks, grow, and fight for what matters. When she’s not writing or whittling down her endless TBR, she designs novel covers and paints on shoes. She lives on a small Texas farm with her best friend/husband, five children, and what some might call a zoo of animals (especially after meeting the peacocks).

More from Lyndsey

“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.” – Matthew 21:29

No. It’s a word I’ve heard many times over in my early days of parenting five children. In fact, after mama and dada, no was one of their earliest exercises of the English language. My eldest son held the word on the tip of his tongue like a cowboy during a high-noon showdown. Clean your room. No. Do your homework. No. Say you’re sorry. No. My children’s fondness of the word no is not a fluke, they come by it honestly. When something seems too difficult or overwhelming, I let loose the word no without giving it a second thought. At least in my heart I do. Yet, these days, I find myself saying yes while the no lingers on. Which, unless I actually do it, I’m sure is worse.

I think it is easier to follow a no with a yes when you can clearly see your wants are wrong. But what if the no seems justified? Then what?

In The Chaos Grid, Juniper Conway runs into this problem. Growing up in a domed city with all the comforts of weather regulation and short distance teleportation, on the surface, Juniper seems to want for nothing. Nothing except revenge. After her parents are murdered in the city that was supposed to keep her safe from the wasteland outside, she vows never to lift a finger of help for anyone under the Plex City dome.

Her plan goes well at first, bouncing from domed city to domed city, never returning to the Plex. But one day, she is plagued with visions calling her to either help those who took away her family or watch Plex City burn to the ground. Deep emotional wounds cloud Juniper’s judgement. She could never rescue people who caused her such trauma. So, out comes the no.

Only, to say no, Juniper chooses a path through the dangerous Texas wasteland, known as the Outer Grid, filled with mutated beasts, wild storms, and vicious nano drug smugglers. Her only hope of survival rests in the shippers, truck drivers who deliver natural food from the protected farms to the domed cities. But becoming a shipper carries its own costs. Unfortunate events rain down on her as she crosses the Outer Grid, spilling over onto the crew. Eventually, she can no longer write the chaos off as bad luck and must face what it really is—discipline.

It’s in those realizations that we come to a crossroads. When we know our parents, bosses, or especially God disciplines us for what we do wrong, do we change course? It’s a humbling action, I know, specifically when you feel so strongly that you were in the right. But we humans don’t live in a vacuum. The actions we choose today tend to splash consequences onto others, whether good or bad. When that happens, it may cause us to look at ourselves with more of a critical eye. Am I being refined during this difficult time? Or is there a no I’ve said when I should’ve said yes?

For this reason, I believe the Psalmist writes, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” – Psalm 139: 23-24

As far as my children go, I’ve noticed wonderful changes as they grow. My son, for instance, now in high school, still answers my instructions with no at times. But more and more, he stops, assesses the situation, and comes back with a yes, doing what was asked over simply telling me he’d do it. And while I’d like to say his corrective behavior is due to my parenting skills, I know it comes from the Holy Spirit urging him to follow the commands God set up in the beginning. But I think it also comes from watching those in his church community do the same. When we do what we should do, others see it. The practice of doing God’s will over simply saying you’ll do it, whether anyone sees you do it or not, can greatly change our culture. Because God sees it. And His discipline is loving.

Sometimes it takes a good smack upside the head for us to recognize His loving discipline. For Juniper, a wild ride through the post-apocalyptic wasteland might just do the trick. I hope you will follow her down a road of twists, turns, and the journey to do what’s right when every fiber of you being tells you not to.

Buckle up and relish the drive,

Lyndsey

Author Interview

Can you share 5 random facts about you that we will not find in your bio?

1. I once sang on stage at Disney World standing five feet away from Mr. Rogers.

2. The first comic book I drew was about the Norse god Loki way before the Marvel movies came out.

3. I am neither a coffee nor a tea drinker. Though I don’t mind coffee flavored ice cream.

4. I used to be a night owl, but after becoming a farmer’s wife, I enjoy early mornings and sunrises much more than late nights.

5. My favorite animal is the octopus. It’s weird, and creepy, and so fun to watch.

When did you first discover you had a passion for writing?

I first discovered my love of writing when I took a creative writing class in sophomore year of high school. In that class, we wrote our first short story. Mine was about a prince who traveled his kingdom in search of a bride before he lost his inheritance. On the way, he found none but instead fell in love with the female bodyguard sent on the journey with him. As a struggling reader, I didn’t find that passion again until after I had my first two children.

Are you a planner or a pantser?

I am a bit of both. I discovery wrote my first novel much more than I did The Chaos Grid. With this story, I had a general bare-bones outline of the plot, knowing where it would end but not how to get there. I discovery wrote all the in between points until they lined up with my plot in as naturally as possible.

If you had to describe your main character(s) in just three words, what would they be?
Reluctant

Sarcastic

Sacrificial

Where can readers follow along to see what’s coming next? 

My newsletter is the best place to see what’s coming up next as well as get more insight into my author journey. You can join on my website, www.lyndseylewellen.com. You can also find me on Instagram @lyndseylewellen.