Terrorists have invaded Sydney, and Allison King barely escapes her brother’s wedding reception alive. She and her siblings flee, but their parents are killed by firing squad.
Now Ali’s on the run and terrified. While searching for other survivors, she is captured by the General who leads the invasion. He’s smitten by Ali, and when she refuses to submit to his whims, he brands her for death. In a wild act of defiance, she snatches the branding rod and sears the mark onto his face. Marking not only him but also sealing her fate. Ali manages to escape and flees into the bush once more where she finds a group in hiding. Even with the scars left by the General, Ali learns to love and falls in love with the young man who found her—Damien Rogers.
But the General is hunting her. When he discovers their location, and finds her with another man—Damien—his wrath is kindled and his obsession is inflamed. Ali must put herself on the line or the General could kill her family, those who help her, and most significantly, the man she loves.
The Story Behind This Book
In Branded, there is a scene where Ali runs through a field of canolas to draw the attention of the enemy soldiers. This scene, although about two thirds of the way through the book, was the very first scene for the book. Back in eleventh grade English, our teacher hung several pictures up on the board and asked us to write a short story based on one of them. I remember the image clearly; a field of yellow flowers, blue sky. So, I through carnage into it. Dead bodies, a girl being hunted while only wanting to find her husband from whom she’s been separated because of the war. Add some guns, explosives and grenades, some graphic description and I’d finished. I remember my teacher reading it and being concerned about my mental state. Over the years, other scenes formed; her first capture and branding, the “gang chain”, the four horsemen and the bushfire. Then for NaNoWriMo of 2012 I put it all together. Several years in the making and here you have it.
