Interview with paranormal author Madhuri Blaylock

Today's guest is paranormal novelist Madhuri Blaylock. She's talking about her Sanctum Trilogy and particularly the newest novel, Book II: The Boy

Madhuri will be awarding a $25 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit other tour stops and enter there, too.

Bio:

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.

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

Welcome, Madhuri. Please tell us about your current release.

In The Girl, I 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?

What inspired you to write this book?

Since this is the second book in a trilogy, and I’m determined to complete the trilogy, one inspiration was my sheer stubborness. But aside from that, I wanted to get Wyatt’s story down on paper. The Girl, which is the first book in the trilogy, was all about my queen of badassery, Dev. She, and The Sanctum Trilogy, sprang from my desire to meet a girl that was hardcore and going to save the world, but also knew it. She didn’t need a boy telling her how great she was or to explain her powers - she knew them already. With The Boy, I really wanted Wyatt to get a chance to jump off the paper and explore his evolution as Dev’s partner a bit more, perhaps making people to love him as much as I do.

Excerpt from The Boy:

“We’re Sanctum, Ryker,” Dot replied as she began a sun salutation, “we do not become emotionally tied. To anything or anyone.”

Ryker remained silent.

Moving into a warrior pose, Dot continued.

“But I suppose you and Wyatt did not get that memo.”

Rather than engage Dot in conversation, Ryker joined her in a warrior II pose.

“Sam and Josiah should have never allowed you boys to become so dependent upon one another. Very few Sanctum have been so intertwined and when they have, the results have been disastrous. Now that he’s gone, you’re incapable of functioning and fulfilling your duties as a warrior.”

“He’s not gone,” Ryker insisted.

Dot heard the pain in her son’s voice and relented a bit.

“I don’t mean it like that, Ryker. I know you know Wyatt is still alive. What troubles me is how you’re handling his absence.”

Ryker broke his pose and sat on the floor, watching his mom go through her routine. He knew Dot was tough, but sometimes that toughness came across as plain, cold-heartedness. She didn’t mean it that way; she loved him and was just worried, Ryker simply wished her mode of conveying that concern was a bit warmer. He couldn’t remember the last time she hugged him, touched him affectionately.

“I’m handling his absence by helping Jools stave off a Sanctum-wide revolution, ma,” Ryker explained quietly, “I’m investigating violations of The Book of Peace by the Breslins, looking into Ava’s murder of Jasper and Kalinda Edwards at the last meeting of The Circle of Ten and speaking to other Founding Family members. So I think I am handling Wyatt’s temporary absence just fine.”

Dot looked down on her elder son and softened, despite the voice inside her head telling her to beware. That was The Sanctum speaking to her, always reaching out and cutting off the ties to her children. First taking them at such a young age and now, telling her to shut them out. But she had always been stronger than The Sanctum, and today was no different.

She reached down and caressed Ryker’s face, a gesture she couldn’t remember indulging in since he was small. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, as if ashamed by his need for her affection. Dot’s heart broke as she watched him, wondering over the years how many times he had craved her touch, needed her arms around him. He was a grown man now but Ryker would always be her baby, so she bent down and did what she hadn’t done in almost a decade: pulled her son into her arms and held him as he cried.

What exciting story are you working on next?

Currently, I’m wrapped up in writing Book III, the finale of The Sanctum. It’s both amazing and bittersweet, as I will be so sad to say so long to these characters. I’m going to have to think of a good Sanctum tattoo so I can keep them with me forever.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I’m just now getting there. My head is starting to wrap itself around the idea that I’m actually kind of good at this writing schtick and everyday, a little bit of the lawyer in me is shed. It’s quite liberating and inspiring.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

Sadly, I do not write full-time...yet. I am an attorney in a large Manhattan law firm by day, and a sleep-deprived, but very, very happy, writer at all other times.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I can get quite a lot of writing done on my ride from Hoboken into Manhattan, right there on the Path train. I stand up, make sure I’m by the doors, so I can lean against them, whip out my iPhone, pull up the Notepad and start writing wherever I left off last. At times, it can be some of the most amazing writing of my day.

Oh! I’m also good for coming up with storylines or last sentences of books in my gym classes.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When? Ha! Here’s the timeline I remember: zoologist, marine biologist, large animal veterinarian, horse ranch owner, writer, actress, lounge singer, actress, writer.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Here is a little more about The Sanctum Trilogy -

The Sanctum, an all-powerful governing body founded by ten families, entrusted to maintain the peace amongst Magicals and ensure the ignorance of humans, has been corrupted by greed and savagery for generations, but is all Wyatt Clayworth has ever known.

A descendant of one of the Founding Families and Class A Warrior, Wyatt has always believed in the ways of The Sanctum, having grown up in the system and thrived under their leadership. A golden boy, renowned for his prowess and skill in battle, Wyatt has never questioned a mission or kill order until the night he crosses paths with a brutally injured and mysterious girl.

Scouring Central Park with his best friend and fellow Class A Warrior, Ryker Morrison, for the hybrid demon prophesied to bring an end to The Sanctum and destroy the world for Magicals and humans alike, Wyatt instead finds Dev and his whole life turns upside down. Told he was hunting a killing machine, hellbent on wreaking havoc and destruction upon all it encounters, Wyatt instead sees nothing more than a broken girl with haunted eyes and a bit of a death wish.

All Dev wants is for Wyatt to either kill her or leave her alone. When he refuses to do either, she finds herself being pulled into his life while being hunted by warriors everywhere she turns. Drawn to one another for reasons they cannot begin to explain to themselves, much less anyone else, Wyatt is determined to protect Dev and help her realize her mission to avenge the deaths of her family at the hands of The Sanctum.

Set against the backdrop of New York City, The Girl is “outstanding, original, complex, deep and intoxicating”, a “well written, unique…fast-paced read” that  begins as one girl’s simple quest for revenge and evolves into a complicated tale of trust, friendship, honor and love.

And the journey only becomes more perilous and intense as the trilogy surges forward with The Boy, “another masterpiece in The Sanctum trilogy”, certain to “keep you up all night reading.” 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?

If you’re interested, you can find me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter or follow my blog.

Thanks so much for having me here today - it was loads of fun!

HOLLA.

Thanks, Madhuri.

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