Curio Citizen is in 4th place! This is great news, but 5th place isn’t far behind, and 3rd and 2nd are gaining pre-orders fast! Please keep asking your friends, family, and any other fans of sci-fi you may know to pre-order their copy of Curio Citizen. We are so close to getting in the top 3, and once we get there, we have to keep getting more pre-orders to stay there for the next two weeks! 

Here’s today’s fresh look into the world of Curio Citizen:

Family Structures--Houses:

Every person on Paz belongs to a familial "house". Every person within a house wears a unique pin as an emblem for their house. In addition to a pin, each individual family unit wears the same color clothing to unite them further. 

But instead of creating rivalry, the house social structure is a way of encouraging and maintaining peace throughout the globe. They connect not only immediate relations, but also distant relatives with shared ancestral beginnings. Why should you care about someone in a far away city and their problems? Because they are a part of your house! 

            "I stood, getting the distinct impression Marea did not want me dirtying her furniture.

            Inquieto hurried over to my side. ’Mother,’ he said stiffly. ’May I introduce you to Carmen?’
   
            Marea’s eyes scavenged my appearance, and they finally landed on the small jewel upon my breast.
  
            ’Inquieto,’ she said in a polite tone that was iced around the edges, ’why is it wearing our pin?’
  
            I drew a breath.
  
           ’She lives in my household, Mother,’ Inquieto answered steadily. His words were careful and precise, as if he had practiced  ahead of time for this conversation.
 
           ’So, get her a tag,’ Marea uttered coolly in breathy elegance."


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Orphans exist on Paz as they do everywhere else. The Paz government provides the Salvan House for these special cases. 

            "’What did Oyente mean when he suggested I be placed in the Paz House?’ I asked.
 
            Inquieto sighed. ’The Paz House, Salvan, is that of the government. It is rare an individual does not have a house of their own, but Salvan provides a place for such instances, most often due to orphans who were lost and could never be reunited with their parents. Salvan offers all the services a house would normally provide. Medical decisions when an individual is too ill or injured to make them alone, representation in court if needed, that sort of thing.’

            ’Oh,’ I said. I frowned. ’Inquieto...that does make sense. Why would you put me in your house? Clearly, your family doesn’t like it.

            ’Carmen,’ Inquieto said. ’You were taken from your family. I know I may not be much...and I know today was not a good impression of my family, but...you need a family. You deserve a family.’"

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 As perfect as Paz strives to be, there is still an undercurrent of resentment among some of the Salvans.

             "...I stopped in front of this paz woman, dressed in robes as gray as her skin so she resembled a pale ghost. She wore no pin. Her eyes glared at mine on my chest. I wanted to say something, though I didn’t know what, but Inquieto placed his hand on my hair and nudged me away.

        
             ’Come on, Carmen,’ he said, nodding politely to the woman as we left, and I noticed that her bitter enmity was aimed at Inquieto just as much as it was at me." 

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I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into paz life. Please pre-order a copy of Curio Citizen to dive deeper into this universe. I can’t wait to share this world with you! 

--Katherine