The Sanctum: The Boy by Madhuri Blaylock - Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Madhuri will be awarding a $25 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banners to see the other stops on the tour.

5 THINGS YOU WOULD NEVER GUESS ABOUT ME

1. I have horrible hearing which I’m pretty certain is a result of way too many concerts and living with a Walkman, and then iPod and now an iPhone, plugged into my ears. It’s gotten so bad that I find myself either reading lips or asking people to repeat themselves, especially if they have deep voices. My parents warned me that would happen...

2. I was a HUGE Duran Duran fan. Huge. I think at the time they called girls like me and my friends Duranies. Simon, John and the boys were our New Kids on the Block and N’Sync and you could not tell us they were not the sh*t. My walls were covered with posters of them, I had every album I could get my hands on and recorded hours of their interviews and videos on numerous VCR tapes (remember those, old folks?). It’s amazing the amount of energy and effort a thirteen year old girl will put into something she’s passionate about. God, I loved those dudes.

3. When I was in high school, I was very serious about acting. I took voice lessons, performed in my high school’s musical theatre productions, and had every intention of pursuing it as a career choice. My parents were one hundred percent supportive, driving me to all of my lessons, attending all of my plays, and even donating money to my high school’s threatre department. They also were put in touch with and invested in a film being directed for one of Ted Turner’s channels at the time. The director told my parents he would give me a credited role in the film so I could get my SAG card, he just wanted to meet with me first and talk about the industry. So we met and although I cannot remember one detail of this man, I will never forget his advice. He told me that he would be happy to help me but that I needed to be prepared because I looked black and would always be given roles that should really go to a black actor, it would be pretty impossible to cast me without angering others, and I would be lucky if I ever got any roles. Two things: 1) I am so mad I met with this man alone, without my parents there to put him in his place or hinder him from making those comments and 2) even today, it steams me up that I listened to him and set aside my acting dreams. I coulda been a contender!

4. I gained 63 pounds when I was pregnant. I don’t think I really need to elaborate on this fact.

5. I am addicted to Cap’N Crunch with Crunchberries. If we have any in our house, I will eat them. Like all day. For every meal.

“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

Enjoy an excerpt:

The clearing in the park still hummed with magic. Her magic. And her scent. It was why he kept coming back to the same spot every night, just for a whiff. Then he could go about his business, whatever that might be.

Darvin Lucius Jefferson was one hundred and ten, going on seventeen. He was a wealthy, bored teenager who became a wealthy, somewhat bored vampire. There were a few things in this life that brought him joy, piqued his interest: from the very first day he saw her, Jools Clayworth, and as of nine days ago, that stunning thing her brother was running around with before he died.

Of course, Darvin had no idea whether or not Wyatt perished subsequent to his ministrations, nor did he care. He simply assumed the too-good looking, sanctimonious warrior was dead, for his wound was hideous and he seemed to be breathing on borrowed time. Darvin had told the pretty thing as much that night, then he'd returned to his perch atop the Dakota and watched her strap the warrior to her back and escape into nothingness.

What a feat that had been.

One moment she was there, in all her stunning beauty and tortured agony, the next she was gone.

Poof.

As if she'd never been there at all.

Darvin went to the spot that night, less to follow her than simply explore. It was glamoured to avoid human detection but he found it easily, having watched the warrior and his beautiful best friend, Ryker Morrison, comb the area many a time over the past year. But try as he might, Darvin could spot nothing to hint at an escape hatch or portal. Whatever the pretty thing had used to vanish into thin air, it was long gone, hidden from prying eyes. All that lingered was her scent, that hypnotizing, intoxicating essence of her that Darvin wished he could bottle and keep hidden in his pocket. Away from Darby.

Darby Winthrop.

The one and only.

The dark queen of New York.

The southern belle from hell.

His maker.

About the Author:

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/thesanctumtrilogy.

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

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