Friday, July 17, 2015

What People Don’t Know About Twins: Guest Blog and Giveaway with Mary Sage Nguyen



My name is Mary Sage Nguyen. The current series I am writing is about a parasitic twin. Here are some intriguing facts about twins that I picked out from various sources.


1.     Twins can have two different fathers! This process is called heteropaternal superfecundation occurs when a woman has sex with more than one man during ovulation. Sperm from each man fertilizes an egg, resulting in twins. Though this phenomenon is common in dogs and cats, it's extremely rare in humans. (Shea, Taylor)

2.     China has the lowest rate for multiple births averaging 1 in 300. (Bregman, Lori)

3.     Nigeria has the highest rate of multiple births and more identical twins. (Bregman, Lori)

4.     Some conjoined twins can feel and taste what the other one does. (Jacques, Renee. 2014)

5.     Women who eat a lot of dairy are more prone to conceiving twins. (Jacques, Renee. 2014)

6.     Tall women are more likely to have twins. (Jacques, Renee. 2014)

7.     Some estimates suggest 1 in 8 people started life as a twin while 1 in 70 actually are a twin. (Bregman, Lori)

8.     Twins bond in the womb. Fetuses start deliberately interacting at 14 weeks. (Bregman, Lori)

9.     40% of twins invent their own language. (Bregman, Lori)

10.  About 1 in 250 pregnancies results in identical twins. (Bregman, Lori)


            Number two startled me. I always thought there would be more twins in China. The population there is enormous, so you would think they would have a lot of twins. I am shocked Nigeria has the highest number of twins. On the issue of twins having different fathers. I liked how the author pointed out the issue is more common in cats and dogs. Now as far as the conjoined twins tasting and feeling what the other does. That is totally freaky, and I should have added to The Malevolent Twin. I don’t know how much research was conducted on the women eating dairy and tall women producing more twins. It sounds suspicious to me.

            Now you know about twins. This leads me to the alternate ending of The Malevolent Twin. Both Avery and Venice walk out alive, and live their own lives. Avery goes on to graduate college and become a nurse. Venice goes on to become a distinguished actress. But, how much fun would that really be? After all Robert A. Heinlein ended up killing all of his notable characters in I will fear no evil. My antagonist Venice is a murderous twin, who has been inside her twin since birth. In the end she becomes free, and has a body of her own. It makes sense she goes after Avery for all those years of oppression, and disrespect. Are you worried about Avery’s safety? You should be…


 Works Cited:

Jacques, Renne, 2014. 11 Facts About Twins That Make Them Even Cooler Than You Already Thought, The Huffington Post
Shea, Taylor, 8 Fascinating Facts about Twins. Reader’s Digest
Bregman, Lori, 20 Fun Facts About Twins. Modern Mom



The Malevolent Twin
Book One
Mary Sage Nguyen

Genre: Young Adult, Suspense, Thriller,
Mystery, and a little bit of science fiction.

Date of Publication: April 2015

ISBN: 978-0996256100
Kindle ISBN: 978-0996256117
Smashwords ISBN: 978-0996256124

Ebook: 123 pages
Word Count: 37,560

Cover Artist: www.ebooklaunch.com

Book Description:

A murderous wicked twin.

An innocent, law abiding, and oblivious girl.

The ultimate brawl between contrasting sisters!

Murder, mystery, suspense and more

In The Malevolent Twin

Avery is a normal teenager, except for Venice. Venice is Avery’s imaginary friend or so she thinks. When the two begin to fight. Avery starts her investigation, to figure out what Venice really is. She encounters a wise old exorcist, and an albino psychic who assist her, with attempting to remove Venice. Which comes too late as Venice goes on a murdering rampage using Avery’s body. Does Avery survive the Wrath of Venice?

Find out in…

The Malevolent Twin


Available at BN   Amazon




Chapter Ten
The Cerebrum

            “Ah, the renowned Avery Tran. Pleased to meet you.”  Dr. Faulk extended his hand and Avery graciously accepted. “So, shall we get on with it?”
            The group followed Dr. Faulk into the back of the clinic. The walls were grey in here as well and there was a long row of patient rooms. Barton Faulk led them to a room at the end of the hall. It was unlike what Avery thought it would be. She had envisioned something more horrifying. The room was very bright and painted a pale yellow, however. The walls had been painted with a jungle theme: monkeys, elephants, gorillas, and tigers filled the room with life, making it look quite whimsical. The CT scanner stood alone in the middle of the room. The outside of the machine was square but it had a round opening and a mechanical bed placed inside it. On the mechanical bed was thin paper. A piece of folded up cloth lay on the bed. Doc- tor Faulk picked it up.
            “Avery would you mind putting this on?” he asked. “Sure, that’s fine. Where is the bathroom?” she replied.
            “This way, Avery.” Doctor Faulk showed her where the bathroom was.
            “Please take off your bra. You can leave your underwear on. Thank you, Avery.” One of the police officers, a female one, went into the bathroom with her.
            “Is this really necessary, Lorenzo?” Avery asked. “Yes.” Avery sighed.
            She closed the door and examined the clinic’s gown. It was white with blue diamond shapes printed on it. It was not very comfortable and exposed her back. To make matters worse, the female police officer stared at her intently.
            “Enjoying yourself?” Avery asked.
            “You think I enjoy being locked in a room with a serial killer? The answer is no, but this is part of the job. I signed up to serve and protect.”
            “I didn’t do it. My twin Venice did all of it.” The officer laughed, and didn’t respond. She flipped her blond ponytail in displeasure.
            Finally, Avery faced her fate. She was placed on the exam- ination table of the CT machine. The officers couldn’t cuff her to the table, since Dr. Faulk complained it would distort the images.
            As the CAT scanner took pictures of her body, Avery thought of her mother Muoi. She wondered who would bury her mother. Peter was too unstable to plan funeral arrange- ments. Anna and her husband would probably step up to the plate and do the heavy lifting. She dreaded the thought of spending life in prison, or even facing the death penalty. What she dreaded even more was the thought of going to the nail salon without her mother. All the gossiping and  memories there with Muoi: it would never be the same.
            After the CT scan Avery sat in one of the small patient rooms, waiting for Dr. Lisa Sen to come into the room. She was running late. There were only two police officers in the room. The rest stood outside. Lorenzo paced back and forth. He was nervous. What if Avery didn’t have a parasitic twin in her? What would his argument be to the jury? He was going up against Clark Singleton. This Dallas district attorney has a ruth- less reputation.
            “Oh, my, I am so sorry, I am late,” Lisa Sen said, opening the door. She glanced around the cramped room. She had an olive complexion and dark eyes to match her hair color.
            “You guys can wait outside,” Lorenzo mentioned to the officers. “She isn’t going anywhere. Don’t be buffoons, there are no windows. How can she escape?” he answered as one of the officers opened his mouth to protest.
            “So, let’s see what we have here.” Lisa Sen put one of the images up on the board. She switched on the light.
            “Oh, this is a horrible image. Let’s use another one.” “Doctor, is  it  possible  the  parasitic  twin  can control Avery?” She had never heard the term parasitic twin, but now it made sense to Avery. It clicked perfectly with Venice’s story about them being sisters.
            “Anything is possible, I just need to get a better image.” Dr. Sen adjusted her black-rimmed glasses.
            “Ah, I see it now. Yes, there it is connected to her spinal cord.” She pointed to a massive cerebrum. “I didn’t expect this at all. Oh, wow. It looks like it is even functioning. Just like a regular cerebrum would.”
            “What is a cerebrum?” Avery asked.
            “A brain, dear.”
            “What, so Venice is a brain?”
            “I believe so… the medical definition of a parasitic twin is an undeveloped twin who is completely dependent on the complete fetus called an autosite.” Dr. Sen started shuffling through more images. “I can’t believe it, amazing! Just fascinating, I have never seen anything like this.”
            “Dr. Sen, can you prove that this twin can take control of her body in court?”
            “Why, certainly. I just can’t believe it. This is a scientific discovery. It must be studied and recorded.”
            “What do you think I am? Some lab rat to be used at your disposal?” Avery was enraged by the doctor’s reaction.
            “Now, now, Avery. Calm yourself. Remember she is here to aid you.”
            “Can’t you get rid of it?” Avery asked Lisa Sen.
            “This is a breakthrough to science! How can I destroy it? It is beautiful! I have never encountered an unequally conjoined twin that was alive!”
            “That’s it! I am going to destroy her once and for all. I know where she’s located now.” Avery grabbed a needle off the counter. Lorenzo lunged at her and tried to restrain her.

            “Guards, guards, guards!” he screamed. The police officers came busting through the door and restrained the deranged Avery. Dr. Sen injected Avery with a tranquilizer.


About the Author

Mary Sage Nguyen is the youngest daughter of Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants. Vietnamese was the language spoken at home, so the only way she was able to learn English was through the public school system. Even though English was not spoken at home, Mary became an avid reader as a young child and always dreamed of being a writer someday.





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