Blog Tour & Guest Post: Stalked by Death (Touch of Death, #2) by Kelly Hashway

I'm always super excited to get the chance to participate in a blog tour featuring a great book and fabulous author!  Today is no different as I get the opportunity to host the next stop for Kelly Hashway's sequel Stalked by Death in her Touch of Death series.  When I came across her series opener, I could not have had more fun with it and couldn't wait to dig into the sequel.  Kelly's been kind enough to stop by for a guest post and I won't keep you waiting any longer to check it out....

The Lesser-known Myths

I’ve been in love with Greek mythology since my senior year in high school when my English teacher taught an extensive unit on the Greek gods. I couldn’t get enough. After that I devoured anything on the topic. But after a while, you’ve heard all the common myths. So I dug deeper.

I was fascinated by the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus, and while most myths say he got his healing powers from a snake, I wasn’t buying it. First, I’m
terrified of snakes. They love me, apparently, since they find me everywhere I go, but the feeling isn’t mutual. So I kept researching and found a myth that said Ophiuchus’s power came from a gift bestowed upon him by the goddess Athena.  Now Athena gave Ophiuchus two vials of blood from the Gorgon Medusa. The vial containing the blood from the right side of Medusa’s body had the power to restore life to the dead. Ophiuchus used that vile and pissed off Hades big time because he was stealing souls from the Underworld.

Well, this made me wonder what Ophiuchus did with the second vile of blood. That vile was from the left side of Medusa’s body, the side that was poisonous. I knew there was a story there. I wanted characters who had both abilities, and I wanted the world to know more about Medusa because as far as I had heard, she was a monster who killed people by turning them to stone. How did she have the power to restore life?

Again, I did some research, and what I found was a very different Medusa. A beautiful girl who was sought after by Poseidon and as a result was cursed by Athena, the very goddess she served. I didn’t think it was fair. Medusa got a bad reputation through no fault of her own. So I wrote her as the person I wanted to believe she was. And that’s why you’ll see a very caring, motherly, yet totally
powerful Medusa in the Touch of Death series.

So why did I choose lesser-known myths for my books? Because I liked discovering something new, and I wanted to share it with my readers.

**Thanks so much again Kelly for stopping by the blog and for that fabulous guest post!!

And on top of everything, we've got a great giveaway for everyone to enter.  What's up for grabs?

A signed ARC of Stalked by Death (Touch of Death, #2) by Kelly Hashway

 

Stalked by Death Button

 

Stalked by Death Stickers

 

Zombie Limb Candy

 

Signed Touch of Death Bookmarks

 

Touch of Death Stickers

Who wouldn't want the chance to win this great book and all that awesome swag??!!

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