Fire by T.G. Ayer Blog Tour: excerpt and interview

What better way to begin a week than with an author's blog tour? If you like YA fantasy, here's a treat. Today we have T.G. Ayer with us as we place the spotlight on her latest book, Fire (The Hand of Kali series, Book One). We interviewed the author and she is also sharing an excerpt. Thanks for sharing your time with us.

Fire (The Hand of Kali Series, Book 1) by T.G Ayer

YA Urban Fantasy

Paperback/eBook, 350 pages

Publisher: Infinite Ink 

Publication Date: (expected) July 2013

Purchase: Amazon

Normal people sneak out to a party and have fun. Maya Rao ends the evening by incinerating the guy who attacks her. 

Nik Lucas, sexy, new in town and totally forbidden, happens to walk in on her. Normal guys would run for the hills. Nik knows a whole lot more than he's telling.

Maya doesn't believe the gods are real, doesn't waste her time with mere mythology. But when gods, demons and hellhound's become the new normal and wielding fire becomes her new skill, she must decide what it is she really believes. 

Can Maya accept that normal is something she will never be because it isn't normal to be 

...the Hand of Kali.

EXCERPT:

Fear spun Maya around on stricken feet. To defend her back perhaps. She just felt less vulnerable facing her attacker, where she could see his next move. He barreled straight at her. And for all her training in martial arts, she did the one thing her dad always said never to do. She ducked her head and hid her face with her hands. Hands out, as if she could fend off this vicious attacker merely with the soft skin of her palms.

Maya felt the heat before she saw it.

Byron was on fire. A living column of shimmering orange flames. She couldn't breathe. Was afraid to breathe. How did that happen? She glanced around the bathroom as panic filled her veins, her fear taking on a whole new level of hysteria. She had to put the fire out. 

She turned to the faucet to fill her hands with water. And froze. In the mirror she saw the burning reflection of Byron disappear. Byron was there one moment and gone the next. Only a few burnt shards of fabric left to say he was ever there. But she remembered the last thing she'd seen before Byron became nothing: brilliant blue eyes turning a frighteningly blood-red.

And Nik, holding the doorknob, staring at the empty space on the floor behind her.

About the Author:

I have been a writer from the time I was old enough to recognise that reading was a doorway into my imagination. Poetry was my first foray into the art of the written word. Books were my best friends, my escape, my haven. I am essentially a recluse but this part of my personality is impossible to practise given I have two teenage daughters, who are actually my friends, my tea-makers, my confidantes… I am blessed with a husband who has left me for golf. It’s a fair trade as I have left him for writing. We are both passionate supporters of each other's loves – it works wonderfully…

My heart is currently broken in two. One half resides in South Africa where my old roots still remain, and my heart still longs for the endless beaches and the smell of moist soil after a summer downpour. My love for Ma Afrika will never fade. The other half of me has been transplanted to the Land of the Long White Cloud. The land of the Taniwha, beautiful Maraes, and volcanoes. The land of green, pure beauty that truly inspires. And because I am so torn between these two lands – I shall forever remain cross-eyed.

CONTACT DETAILS: website | Facebook | Twitter

This is your third series. Did you approach writing this series any differently than your first two? Does it get easier?
Although I'm a series writer my books have all been written in a bit of a non-sequence. Dead Radiance, the first Valkyrie book was written with a small outline, the first draft completed in 24 days. I wrote Dead Embers next which took me a tad longer (5 months) because I was editing Dead Radiance and doing promo stuff at the same time.

Skin Deep (DarkWorld 1) was written in 2010 and took 11 months to write; not surprising considering it was my first book.

Do you have any special ways of handling/creating your worldbuilding?
I don't really. It depends on the book. For some I've done mind-maps like for the Dark World I sketched a map out of the different parts or levels of the world and where the creatures and characters, what their powers were etc. But it's mostly just how I feel the flow. For the Valkyrie and the Kali series, the worldbuilding was very dependent on the mythology I drew from which was good and bad in its own way- easier but slightly restrictive

Fire wielding. Gods. Mythology. What was your inspiration for Fire? Is Fire also a YA series?
I've always loved mythology and love playing with the idea of 'What if it were true?’ The idea for the Fire series is drawn from Hindu mythology- more so because it’s a mythology that hasn't been done before in YA. And yes it’s a YA series where a rebellious main character comes to terms with the reality of a mythology she has always denied.

Do you have a favorite scene or moment?
There's a little romantic scene between Nik and Maya which starts out as hard work practising her fire power and ends up ... well ... you'll have to read the book. Trust me, you'll like it ;)

What can readers expect in Book One?
Gorgeous gods, deadly demons, freaking awesome fire power and lots of sizzling smooches ... lol

Okay, getting serious now – Maya is just a kid wanting to be normal, rebelling against her upbringing, embarrassed that her parents believe in stuff that’s just myth and legend. But when she smokes a dude by accident she realises there's more to being Maya than she ever knew. When the gods call on her for help how can she refuse but will it be a decision she regrets?

How do you envision the series? Any future sneak peeks to share?
I'd envisioned a trilogy spanning the three main facets of Kali power – Fire, Blood and Time. And maybe, just maybe Maya's adventures will continue in a second trilogy- let’s just see...

What is the best thing about being a YA writer?
I'd have to say I don't see myself as only a YA author. I've written NA (Skin Deep, and Seals of Hades – still to be published), contemporary, horror, epic fantasy and psychological horror (all still to be published) and YA (Valkyrie and Kali series) so I will delve where the Muse takes me. That's probably the funnest thing for me- the ability to mess around in fantasy fiction and nobody can say you can or can't do that!

What is the worst thing about being a writer?
The worst thing I can see is there's so much to write, so many ideas and characters to get into manuscripts that it's sometimes hard to choose which one to get on to next!