Book Tour: The Boy by Madhuri Blaylock Interview & Giveaway

BLURB: 

“Every now and again an excellent novel will come forth dealing with fantasy and magic that will just grab and hold my attention from beginning to end. That is exactly what THE GIRL did.” -- OOSA Online Book Club

In THE GIRL, Madhuri Blaylock introduced readers to the world of The Sanctum, one corrupted by greed and savagery and hellbent on achieving a single goal: destroying the prophesied hybrid. When one of its most celebrated warriors questioned his allegiances, age-old secrets were unveiled and violence erupted. The journey becomes more perilous and intense as the trilogy surges forward with

THE BOY

Can you cross the plains of death, collect every piece of your soul and make it back to the land of the living?

And if you complete the journey, will your loved ones welcome your return?

The Ramyan have been answering such questions since the creation of The Sanctum. A mysterious sect of Magicals, haunting the blank spaces of time and memory, they serve no one but themselves and their higher purpose. They exist on a plane removed from earthly matters, shifting easily between the living and the dead, moving in time to the beat of their own drummer.

At least they did. Dev and Wyatt change all of that when the prophesied hybrid lands on the steps of Rinshun Palace, seeking help for the wounded Class A Warrior. That decision alters lives and sets old agendas back on course. But at what cost to Dev and Wyatt? And does that really even matter?

“The characters in Madhuri Blaylock's novel...are well written and unique, and the story is just fantastic...I just loved every page of the story!” - Readers' Favorite

INTERVIEW:

Where did you get the idea for the novel?

A combination of what I had been reading - a lot of fantasy and paranormal fiction - and a little inspiration ala Laini Taylor.

I love the paranormal/fantasy genre but found myself getting quite frustrated with the female characters. They possessed amazing powers and were many times expected to save the world, but consistently lacked self-awareness. Frustratingly, these same badass girls often had to learn of their capabilities from someone else, that someone else most often being a boy.

Add that to reading Laini Taylor and just being so moved by how beautiful her books are, the way she uses language and creates these moving pieces of work, and you have my inspiration for Dev, a girl who knows quite a lot about herself, at least when it comes to her capabilities.

Wyatt and The Sanctum came next, and the rest is history.

Regarding the idea for the novels - those came straight out of my crazy, little head.

Your title. Who came up with it? Did you ever change your title?

The titles for both the trilogy and each book are all me.

The names for the individual books never changed, but the trilogy name did. When I first started putting my ideas down on paper, creating my world and developing my characters, the trilogy was called The Code of Ten, which sounds really good, but is very limiting in nature. The Code of Ten contains the guilding principles of The Sanctum and I felt very constrained when it was my trilogy title. As soon as I changed it to The Sanctum, I felt so liberated.

Why did you pick this genre? What do you like about it?

I love the fantasy/paranormal genre because there are no boundaries. So long as you fully develop your worlds and your characters, I think anything goes. And being a girl with a boundless imagination, it just seemed like the perfect fit.

Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?

It’s a tie between the five star reviews for THE GIRL or THE BOY and being contacted by fans of either book. Both are such a thrill.

What book are you currently reading or what was the last book you read?

I’m currently reading Jade by Rose Montgomery. Jade is a little bit shifter, fae, witch, vamp and a whole lot of mysterious. She’s very witty, the story is so unique and against my better judgment (because I have so much work to do on my blog tour and book III), I’ve been totally sucked into Jade’s world.

What is your writing process?

I intended to be a good girl and drafted a very detailed outline prior to starting to write THE GIRL. It was an OCD thing of beauty. But when I actually started writing, I found the outline drove me a bit bananas and I deviated from it constantly. So finally I said eff it, tossed it out the window and let my imagination go. It was a freaking brilliant decision.

For books II and III, I didn’t even bother with an outline. I just made sure I knew how I wanted them to start and end and then started writing.

At a book signing, do you just sign your name or do you write a note? How do you come up with stuff to say? 

I try to write a short note, just a few words of thanks for the reader’s support. I would feel like a tool just signing my name. I’m not at “just name” status. Snort!

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

Horror movies like Friday the Thirteenth and Nightmare on Elm Street terrify me. And I avoided them for years until a slumber party in high school where Nightmare was played. Afterwards, I slept in the same bed with my little sister for at least six months. And to this day, I still know that damn song: One, two, Freddy’s coming for you, three, four, better lock the door, five, six, grab your crucifix, seven, eight, gotta stay up late, nine, ten, never sleep again.

The worst. Total nightmares! I’m probably going to have a nightmare tonight.

How do you react to a bad review?

So badly...haha.

In all seriousness, I try to not let them bother me. And of course, they do because this is my baby and it’s so painful to read when someone really doesn’t like it, but it happens. I just had a girl leave me a bad review because she didn’t like THE BOY enough to read it more than twice, so she decided it wasn’t good.

There’s also the guy who left me a One Star review for THE GIRL, which was absolutely brutal. One star just kills your overall rating and honestly, if I hated a book that much, I just wouldn’t even bother. But he felt it was necessary, so I actually approached him about and he explained that he gave me one star because he felt I didn’t set up and describe my settings thoroughly. Meanwhile, other reviewers have commended me for creating such a detailed and well-thought out world. So really, go figure.

Like they say, you can’t please all of the people all of the time.

How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?

By looking to make my next sale. HOLLA!

EXCERPT:

Jasmine.

The first sense awakened was smell; the first familiar scent was jasmine. It was not overpowering, as it tended to be at times, but rather just a hint in the air, enough to arouse a memory.

Shopping in the market and the vendor giving her a string of flowers for her hair. She wanted to weave them into her braid but there was no time. They were simply wrapped around her neck, a sweet-smelling chain, but not half as pretty as they would have looked in her hair.

The green grass.

Her sight returned next and she thrilled at the vision before her, the tall grass of her home, so lush and brilliant. So soft to her touch which followed and soon she could feel her body returning to itself, feel the ground below her and hear the life around her.

Sound.

The water of the channels, lazily rolling along, the birds calling to one another in an endless conversation of nonsense and the branches of trees, swaying in the wind, scratching against each other.

And finally taste.

Metallic.

Iron.

She wiped her mouth and the back of her hand came away red.

Blood.

She sat up and spit. Bright red against the brown of the dirt. She didn't care. The blood was insignificant; the boy was of much more importance.

The fact that Dev could sit up at all was amazing, a testament to her minute learning curve. Only her second time toying with portal travel and she had no broken bones, not even a scratch she realized as she studied her arms and legs. She stood up slowly, her legs feeling a bit shaky, and wobbled around like a newly-birthed colt. She stretched her arms above her head and shook them out, needing to get the blood flowing through her limbs properly. All the while, she scanned the area for his dark hair, his fair skin.

Wyatt.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Madhuri is a Jersey City Heights girl via Snellville, Georgia, who writes paranormal fiction and is slightly infatuated with tattoos, four-inch heels, ice cream, Matt Damon, scotch, Doc Martens, Laini Taylor, photo booths and dancing like a fool.

She's currently working on The Sanctum trilogy and hopes one day soon, everyone is walking around with copies of The Girl and The Boy in their pocket or on their Kindle.

She wants to get a goat and a burro, but since she lives in the city, will settle for some chickens.

To learn more about her, you can follow her blog at madhuriblaylock.wordpress.com  , follow her on Twitter at @madhuriblaylock or like her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thesanctumtr ...

She's totally chatty so drop her a line any time.

  

GIVEAWAY:
Madhuri will be awarding a $25 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/06/virtual-book-tour-sanctum-boy-by.html

a Rafflecopter giveaway