The Registration (a Novel) by Madison Lawson - Adult, Thriller - You can’t outrun the Registration.
Book Details:
Book Title: The Registration (a Novel) by Madison LawsonCategory: Adult Fiction (18 +), 320 pages
Publisher: CamCat Books
Release date: September 2022
Content Rating: PG-13 + M. There is violence, including a torture scene, and some language, as well as mention of domestic violence, abuse, murder, and abortions.
Book Description:
Imagine it’s legal to commit one murder in your lifetime⎯if you Register the victim and accomplish the kill within fourteen days. So when Lynell Mize stands in line to Register the man who abused her as a child, she’s shocked to hear a stranger Register her to be killed. Why would anyone who doesn't know her squander his one legal murder on her? Desperate to survive the next two weeks, she must find out who wants to kill her⎯and why.
Easier said than done as Lynell soon discovers that multiple strangers have used their Registration on her. Along the way, she reunites with her estranged husband who is determined to dig up a past Lynell prefers to keep buried. With only days left to live, Lynell fights to uncover the truth and survive a destiny not of her choosing.
Guest Post by Madison Lawson
The
Theme of Family
In almost everything I’ve ever written, family has been a theme. As someone who was blessed with a fantastic blood family that has supported and loved me my entire life and several members of a found family I couldn’t live without, the idea is a constant in my life. I see the pain in others who were hurt by the people who are supposed to love them, and I’ve grieved for friends who have an emptiness in their life where parents or close friends should be.
In my first book, The Run, family is the main theme because I wanted to figure out which type of family has a stronger pull on someone: blood or chosen. In The Registration, I had a similar question I needed answering: How resilient are family bonds, and what sort of duty do we have to family members? As I think about a possible sequel to The Registration, I want to explore how the legacy a family either does or doesn’t leave behind will impact an individual’s life or the entire next generation.
What moves me about this theme and the questions I continually ask as I write is that there are rarely clear-cut answers. Every single person and the family they were given or found is unique and will have different strengths and struggles. While I want to believe that blood family doesn’t mean anything beyond genetics unless we give it meaning, there does seem to be a sort of pull there, whether we want it or not.
I firmly believe that family is more important than most things. But when I say “family,” I don’t mean the immediate people who share your DNA. It can be that, but it doesn’t have to be. Family can be chosen. You get to choose who is in your life and who deserves your love, loyalty, and trust.
In a book I’m currently drafting, two
characters have this short exchange:
“If we were all
judged based on our blood connections, then no generational curse would ever be
broken.”
“I’ve never thought about it quite like that. But you’re right. Expecting someone to be just like their family members doesn’t give much incentive to be better.”
This theme naturally makes itself known any time I work on a new story, and I think that’s because the theme is constantly active in individuals and the collective. Whether a family is blood or found, a source of joy or pain, complicated or average, it is an unavoidable influence on life.
Meet the Author:
Author Madison Lawson writes speculative fiction novels full of suspense, social commentary, and complex relationships. She has published a dozen short stories, many of which won awards such as the Koresh Award and the Gordone Award. She received her B.A. in English from Texas A&M University and is currently earning her M.A. in English at North Carolina State University. Born and raised in a small Texas town, Madison began escaping through reading and writing as soon as she could.
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