Darlene's Book Nook: Guest Post and Giveaway with Melissa Douthit, author of The Firelight of Maalda

Friday, February 10, 2012

Guest Post and Giveaway with Melissa Douthit, author of The Firelight of Maalda

Hi, everyone!

I am pleased to participate in Melissa Douthit's The Firelight of Maalda Virtual Book Publicity Tour hosted by Premier Virtual Author Book Tours.

About Melissa:

Melissa Douthit grew up in North County of San Diego, California. After graduating with a Computer Science degree in Southern California, and working for a summer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico, she moved to the Bay Area to work at NASA Ames Research Center for a year and then at Lawrence Livermore National Lab for another four years.

From there, she moved to Monterey, California, to work at the Naval Postgraduate School on a government project for two years. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, working with the Army Corps of Engineers on another government project. Since high school, she has been a voracious reader of books of all genres, with an emphasis in fantasy and science fiction. Her literary work is strongly influenced by her professional experience and includes many elements of her scientific background.

CONNECT WITH MELISSA ONLINE:

Welcome to Darlene's Book Nook, Melissa!

Melissa has written a guest post, so I will now turn the floor over to her.

Excerpt from: The Firelight of Maalda, chapter: The Secret of Portalis, pages 82-83:

They both backed away to let her pass. Before them, stretched another long corridor that led to yet another set of doors. As they walked in, Ben waited until the doors shut behind them before turning to Chalice.

“Chalice,” he said. “Before we go in, I need to tell you something. There is a reason the members of our family are called the Protectors of the Realm. You two will see today what it is exactly that we are protecting and why it is important, not just for us but for every living thing in our world.”

Chalice narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see,” he said and they continued until they reached the doors. Chalice let her stone pulse again and the ground shuddered at the rumble of the massive marble slabs as they slowly opened, revealing what lay behind. Chalice stood frozen. What she saw before her not only glued her to the spot, but also stopped her breath and before she could even open her mouth, Jeremiah uttered the exact words that lay upon her lips.

“What … is … that?”

Those who have read the first book, The Raie’Chaelia, have been calling the story an epic fantasy, or a high fantasy, comparing it to Jordan’s or Tolkien’s world, but it is neither. It is not an epic fantasy but rather a futuristic fantasy set in this world. This becomes apparent in The Firelight of Maalda when Chalice and Jeremiah visit the Archive in the chapter called, The Secret of Portalis. The second book touches upon themes that are really related to our world and the problems in it. These themes are the reason why I began writing the trilogy in the first place. I wanted to see if it was possible to take the harsh realities of our world and juxtapose them with problems in a fantastical world. I wondered: How would the heroine and hero react to problems and dangers that are real for us today? How would it compare with their own problems in their world? Would it be just as frightening?

The futuristic aspect of the story plays an integral part of the plot and in the end ties everything together. The themes the story explores are: nuclear warfare, environmental issues, racial and gender injustices, and political corruption. I am interested to see how readers react to this - if they like it, if they don’t like it, or if they just think it’s okay. What I’m hoping, though, is that they will find it different from other fantasies they’ve read.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Melissa!

FREEBIES!

You can download Book 1 and the Prequels for free right now at Amazon and Smashwords:

Book 1
Amazon
Smashwords

Prequel

Prequel

Giveaway:

One lucky winner will win an e-book copy of The Firelight of Maalda, the second book in The Legend of the Raie'Chaelia.

This giveaway is open to all with a valid email address.

SYNOPSIS:

Chalice and her group leave Barenthren to travel to Portalis. There she and her friends discover the beautiful city, its people, its history, and its secret that has been kept hidden for thousands of years. During their stay, they learn that Dar’Maalda has the firestone and that he plans to use it.

What is the firestone and what does Dar’Maalda plan to do with it? What are the Naezzi? What does the title, The Firelight of Maalda, really mean? And … what is the secret of Portalis, the secret that has been guarded so jealously for so long – so jealously, that many have given their lives to protect it?

In The Firelight of Maalda, the second novel of the trilogy, The Legend of the Raie’Chaelia, you find out. It is a tale of intrigue and wonder where two opposite worlds collide in an explosive journey that leads Chalice and her friends to the dark islands lurking just beyond the horizon of Ielieria, where the Firelight of Maalda sits … and waits.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

To enter the giveaway, please fill out the Rafflecopter entry form below.

This giveaway is open to entrants worldwide until 12:01 AM EST on February 17, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Melissa is also hosting a giveaway for a Free Kindle!
To enter the draw, you must answer the following question:
What was the reason for starting the trilogy, The Legend of the Raie’Chaelia?
To answer the question go to this link and fill in the information (place answer in Message field).
Contest ends March 10, 2012.
Winner will be announced March 11th on Melissa Douthit's Blog.