Guest Blog - Sarwat Chadda & Giveaway

Books by Sarwat Chadda

 Devil's Kiss (buy this book)

Synopsis

Fifteen-year-old Billi SanGreal never meant to make history. Dragged at the age of ten into the modern-day Knights Templar by her father, the Grandmaster, Billi's the first girl ever to be a Templar warrior. Her life is a rigorous and brutal round of weapons' practice, demon killing and occult lore - and a lot of bruises. But then temptation is placed in Billi's path - an alternative to her isolated life. But temptation brings consequences. In this case - the tenth plague - the death of all first borns and so Billi must choose her destiny. And as she soon discovers, death isn't even the worst.

Dark Goddess (My Review)(buy this book)

Synopsis

BILLI SANGREAL is a Knight Templar and has thrown herself utterly into their brutal regime, shutting herself off from everyone and everything. But when Billi finds herself at the heart of a savage werewolf attack, she knows their target - a young girl - must be rescued at all costs. For this is no ordinary girl. Vasalisa is an avatar with an uncontrollable force within - and it's not just the werewolves who want her.The Dark Goddess wants to sacrifice Vasalisa and use her powers to unleash unimaginable catastrophes and devastation. Can Billi protect Vasalisa from the ancient goddess - and at the same time stop her from destroying the world?

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Guest Post by Sarwat Chadda
 
The Power of Myth
The saga of Billi SanGreal is based on my love of mythology. I think the first books I ever read were about the Greek myths and the heroes like Hercules and Jason and the Argonauts. Since then I’ve read up on myths from Ancient Egypt, India, Norse, Russian, and Celtic and so on. Then there are the stories from Christianity, Islam and Judaism, perhaps the most widespread of them all.

We as a species, are defined by our stories. We take our identity, our belief in nationhood, in religion; by the stories we’re told. They appeal directly to our hearts and that’s why they’re so important. Stories, even if they are fiction, reveal a truth about ourselves.

DEVIL’S KISS is based on the Old Testament story of the Tenth Plague, when the Firstborn of Egypt were killed by the Angel of Death. I was always, even as a young child, horrified by this act. Perhaps as a firstborn I identified with the victims, then later as an adult, when I visited an intensive care unit for babies, I wondered at what divine being would allow such misery.

That was the spark behind DEVIL’S KISS, the idea that the Old Testament plague would strike modern Britain. It allowed me to subvert the idea of what it is to be a hero. The villain of DEVIL’S KISS sees himself as doing God’s work. Now we all know where that leads. He thinks he’ll create a better world but we know throughout history that such utopias are built on the bones of the innocent.

DARK GODDESS has a similar theme, a villain who truly believes they are right. For the second book I didn’t want to repeat the first, so I changed the setting, I took Billi out of her London home and to Russia. I changed the mythology, no longer Judeo-Christian but pagan, and prehistoric at that. I took the idea of the Great Mother goddess and twisted it. My villain, the ancient Russian witch, Baba Yaga, sees herself as the guardian of Mother Nature, she is part of the Great Mother who was worshipped by prehistoric man. She wants the world to return to its pure, uncivilized state. She wants to wipe out humanity so the forests will return to cover the world. She’s seen the damage mankind has done to the planet and has decided to stop him, once and for all.

And who’s to say she’s wrong?

I’ve had as much fun researching the myths as I’ve had writing the books. There was so much more material I could have used, the ocean of mythology is bottomless, but the book would have been a thousand pages long!

Plus I need to save something for book three...
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Thanks Sarwat for this great post....

Giveaway Closed = Winner Announced Shortly

Now for your chance to win Devils Kiss and Dark Goddess all you have to do is Follow my blog(if your not already a follower) then spread the word, leave a link to your post in the comments section.

This Giveaway is INTERNATIONAL
Giveaway ends Wednesday 21st July 2010

Good Luck All