Sally Mitchell & 'Eden: The Eighth Day' @sallymitchell17 @GoddessFish #DystopianFantasy

Today we have author Sally Mitchell visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* I was brought up in a small country village in North Yorkshire, UK. I had always been brought up to work hard and to push myself, skills which came in useful for writing the Eighth Day. I suppose it also helped that I’ve always been a huge bookworm with a love of all things fantasy and all things romance. Pride and Prejudice is my all-time favourite.
* Granted those genres are miles apart but I find something incredibly romantic about escaping to a world that has been lovingly created by an author. I enjoy trying to connect with them through their imagination, wondering where they were and what they were doing when they developed such magical worlds.
* Writing my own novel was the best experience I’ve ever had career wise, and it makes the struggles I have faced in my past careers all worth the while.
* After losing my career as a nurse following a car accident, I began a promising psychology career, even winning an award for my undergraduate degree. However, I became a single parent three years ago and sacrificed another dream to set up a laundry and ironing business, which enabled me to be at home with my son.
* Despite many commitments, a further relationship breakdown and 3 family bereavements, I was determined to develop a rewarding career and make my little man proud.
* That’s when I decided to begin a writing career and I developed the Eden Saga. Such a path enabled me to stay at home and give him all the extra support he needed whilst also having something for myself.
* I’m now the happiest I’ve ever been, I’m closer to my son than ever and I’ve finally released my novel as an e-book which is available on all major platforms.

Today Sally Mitchell will be talking about what sparked the idea for the story/series.
* The idea for ‘Eden: The Eighth Day’ was a natural process really. I don’t remember any spectacular lightbulb moment, rather a combination of different influences which lead me to an idea that I was happy with. When I decided to become an author I initially had a plan for another story, and Eden was developed initially as a practice piece, only the story took on a life of its own. I read somewhere that you should write about what you know and for me my expertise lay in astrology.
* This was the first step. The original plan was to write something with a much stronger astrological theme than Eden possesses, but when you begin writing and planning one idea leads to another and suddenly you have a jigsaw of ideas that need to somehow fit together.
* The next step was to think about something that I would be able to complete, something which would keep me interested. If I didn’t enjoy writing it, I couldn’t expect the readers to enjoy reading it. I thought about my favourite novels; The Da Vinci Code, Game of Thrones, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, anything with zombies or supernatural themes, and an old favourite, Pride and Prejudice and decided to write something to try and combine the different genres. This is why I chose a dystopian horror with mystery, magic, religion and romance, all my favourite genre’s rolled into one.
* Once I had decided this, the ideas started to flow and before I knew it I had an idea so complex I realised that the idea of a one off practice piece was long gone. Eden would have to be written as a series. I decided to learn what I could about the writing process, wrote some short stories and used some critique sites to improve my writing and then set to it. And as they say, the rest is history. A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * Welcome to Mendacia; The city of lies. Saved from a divine apocalypse, its citizens now starve. They are trapped beneath a fire-lit sky and surrounded by a molten river, all to pay for the sins of their ancestors.
* The gods cursed the original generation with eternal life so that their skin would rot and their pain would always remind them of their own horrific crimes.
* These demons now serve the tyrant emperor, Malum Dolus who uses them to terrorise the citizens, all in the name of maintaining order.
* One woman, Vita Dulcas has had enough of his evil ways, but what could she possibly do to help the citizens? They love Malum and hate her, suspecting her of witchcraft after her survival of deadly snake bites. All she can do is stay invisible.
* That is until she finds herself backed into a corner and all she can do is fight. Suddenly, she has more power than she could have ever imagined and it becomes clear she is Mendacia’s last hope.
* If only she could make the citizens see the truth. ~ Excerpt ~ * ‘But then he turned. Vita jumped with the motion, praying she didn’t look as hopeless as she felt, but as his head turned, his eyed skimmed past the lamb and landed on her own, searing into them as if nothing had ever changed. The darkness behind those beautiful eyes was a harsh reminder now though. A reminder of the awful secret they shared. She remembered looking up lovingly into those eyes - how wrong she had been. How dangerous he truly was. The ignorance of vanity, she thought.’
* ‘One by one, more of the citizens scaled the walls, marching a slow and silent trail through the remains of the battle, each to pay their own respects to the man who had taken on the demons and given them the hope of freedom.
* With a cough, Empress Vesta began to speak from the balcony. ‘This has been a truly terrible day,’ she said. ‘One which will, I’m sure, weigh on our minds and hearts for some time to come. But, I decree that this man deserves a respectable death. Who will carry his body to the palace?’
* Nico’s hand shot in the air, his other clasped on his chest. ‘I will.’
* ‘And me,’ said Kayin, pulling himself to his feet.
* ‘Me too,’ said the Survivor.
* ‘Yes,’ said another citizen.
* ‘Aye,’ said Domine Agil from behind Vesta.
* She gazed down to see the sea of her citizens nodding and raising their hands, all eager to pay the man his final respects. She watched her son, the Survivor and Nico haul Theo’s body into the air. Another citizen helped to support his leg and the four of them began a slow exit from the arena, the brave sinner above their shoulders.’
* ‘Vita let the curtain drop behind her and walked confidently onto the balcony. She held her hands behind her back and stopped in the centre, standing silently for a moment to survey the faces below her. Some, she had seen before, others were strangers. Family men, drunkards, men of high and low standing, young boys and even arthritic old men, all here in an attempt to buy her and take her freedom.
* She could feel her heart quickening and for a moment wondered what she was doing. She couldn’t see the Bilo brothers, which gave her cause for relief. A whistle echoed around the yard, followed by an eruption of laughter from the group of her potential husbands. She remained still, letting the sounds wash over her.
* ‘Just come to give us a taster ‘av yer love?’ She gazed down at the toothless source of torment and waited patiently for the ensuing laughter to die down.
* ‘Gentlemen,’ she began to speak slowly. ‘I stand before you today with faith. Faith in the goodness in each of you. I see many different faces below me. I see men I have known and respected, hardworking men, family men and loyal men. I see long standing friends of my father, people who I used to feel protected by. I see people who, like me, have suffered in this land. And I wonder if it is fear that makes such good men gather here today? You label me a witch, but you can see my flesh is just as vulnerable as yours. If I am cut I will bleed. I am not the one to fear.’
* ‘The sound of her mother’s dying scream echoed through Vita’s mind and everything stopped. Time seemed not to exist and with pure clarity only one thought surfaced: they must die. She barely felt the tension of the rusted chain as her wrists snapped the metal, with enough force to send her body backwards.
* She watched as the pole splintered clean in two with the impact of the flail, right where her head would have been. The demon panicked and pulled the flail free, bringing it down again towards her. She couldn’t move fast enough this time and her hands came up, palms forward to protect her skull. She waited for the impact.
* A few seconds passed and she heard a confused grunt. She dared to open an eye and stared, stunned. Her hands were emitting a sort of white/blue light, bright enough to light up the entire room. She gazed in wonder at the flail which had stopped mere millimetres from her palms and was floating calmly in circles. The demon pulled the weapon, but somehow his efforts were hopeless. The flail was stuck fast. She reached out with lightning reactions, grabbing it from the demon’s rotten hands and she could feel the centuries of cruelty the instrument had yielded. The light vanished, leaving only the darkness once more.’ Buy Eden: The Eighth Day here... Amazon (Eden: The Eighth Day will be $0.99 during the tour.) Find Sally Mitchell here... Blog | Facebook | Twitter Thank you for joining us here today, Sally Mitchell! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Sally Mitchell will be awarding $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

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