Two Chicks On Books: Blog Tour- EMPIRE OF DUST by Eleanor Herman An Interview & Giveaway!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on blog tour for EMPIRE OF DUST by Eleanor Herman! I freaking LOVED this book so hard!! I have an interview with Eleanor to share with you today! And make sure to enter the awesome giveaway for a set of the series!

Haven't heard of THE KING SLAYER? Check it out!

Title: EMPIRE OF DUST (Blood of Gods and Royals #2)

Author: Eleanor Herman

Pub. Date: June 26, 2016

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 432

Format: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Find it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Goodreads

In Macedon, war rises like smoke, forbidden romance blooms and ancient magic tempered with rage threatens to turn an empire to dust

After winning his first battle, Prince Alexander fights to become the ruler his kingdom demands—but the line between leader and tyrant blurs with each new threat.

Meanwhile, Hephaestion, cast aside by Alexander for killing the wrong man, must conceal the devastating secret of a divine prophecy from Katerina even as the two of them are thrust together on a dangerous mission to Egypt.

The warrior, Jacob, determined to forget his first love, vows to eradicate the ancient Blood Magics and believes that royal prisoner Cynane holds the key to Macedon's undoing.

And in chains, the Persian princess Zofia still longs to find the Spirit Eaters, but first must grapple with the secrets of her handsome—and deadly—captor.

New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman entwines the real scandals of history with epic fantasy to reimagine the world's most brilliant ruler, Alexander the Great, in the second book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.

Grab the FREE novella VOICE OF GODS Now!

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The novella QUEEN OF ASHES for $2.99!

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Now on to the interview!

Hi Eleanor! First I want to say welcome back to Two Chicks on Books! I loved LEGACY OF KINGS and EMPIRE OF DUST and can’t wait to read what’s next! I am so happy that you could stop by for a visit!

For the readers: can you give us a little recap of LEGACY OF KINGS and the characters? Do you have any actors that come to mind? (For each of the actors Eleanor has for her dream cast I will link to their IMDB page)

Alexander: Macedon’s sixteen-year-old heir needs to prove himself worthy of the Crown. In his first major battle, he will face the best warriors in the world. He finds himself strangely attracted to a peasant girl, Katerina, who helps him quite unexpectedly in the battle, shifting the tides of war. Actor: Daniel Sharman.

Katerina: Comes to Alexander’s palace with a secret mission: kill the queen who killed Kat’s mother. She can’t marry Jacob, the boy she loves, until she has wreaked her revenge. Kat’s plans take a strange twist, and in the kingdom of Halicarnassus she learns about the powerful magic that has always been percolating in her blood. Actress: Emma Watson.

Hephaestion: Alexander’s best friend, Heph is fiercely loyal but finds that his pride and passion often stand in his way. Will the prince forgive him for his betrayal on the battlefield? Actor: Jack Falahee.

Jacob: Wants to make Kat proud of him so she will become his wife. But the path he chooses to do this makes him an enemy of Macedon, rendering his one goal in life impossible. Actor: Matt Lanter.

Cynane: Alexander’s warrior half-sister will do anything to rule and lead armies. Anything. Actress: Caitlin Stasey.

Zofia: Alexander’s Persian fiancée, the runaway princess makes a long journey east to find the Spirit Eaters and change her fate. Actress: Shay Mitchell.

Queen Olympias: Alexander’s manipulative mother wants one thing only: for her lover, trapped in snake form, to come back to her as a man. Actress: Charlize Theron.

What about book 3? Do we have a title yet?

Yes! Book 3 is called Reign of Serpents, and on the last page of Empire of Dust you will understand why.

Who was your favorite character to write (mine was Heph lol)? What about your least favorite?

I love writing all of them. They are, of course, different aspects of myself in concentrated form. It was hard developing each one as a different person at first, but much easier for Book 2. Now I’m halfway through Book 3 and I’ve completely got them down! I like how Alex’s mind works—sort of like an ancient Greek computer, searching for the logical answers. He lives very much in his head. Heph is more human, living in his heart and consequently making mistakes as we all do. I adore Kat’s bravery and spunk, and Jacob’s loyalty and cleverness. I love Zo’s journey because it’s not just the miles she puts in on the Royal Road, it’s a journey of learning who she really is and what she can be. And I adore writing the bad girls—Cynane, so fiercely ambitious for power in a man’s world, and Olympias, especially now that karma is catching up to her.

What is your favorite passage/scene in EMPIRE OF DUST?

I love writing battle scenes so the fight in the tunnel was a load of fun. For this battle I read several ancient books written on warfare and borrowed some of their strategies. I also love the Egyptian scenes where Kat and Heph are sliding down the Nile, amazed at what they are seeing. I enjoyed creating the accursed city of Sharuna and the creepy Ushabti warriors.

What kind of research did you have to do for the story?

I read several books about Egypt in this time period. It wasn’t the heyday of the pharaohs; they had built the Pyramids two thousand years earlier and by the time of Empire of Dust the Persians had conquered Egypt. But it was a timeless land still steeped in ancient traditions. I really want the reader to feel a marked contrast between the vastly different cultures of Macedon, Persia, and Egypt.

What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?

I just finished read Amy Lukavic’s Daughters Unto Devils, a story, as one reviewer wrote, that blends Stephen King with Little House on the Prairie. I was on the treadmill and couldn’t put it down and when I finished after two hours I could hardly step down from the treadmill my legs were so sore. Before that, I read Cait Reynold’s Angel Hands, a historical romance about what happens to the Phantom of the Opera after the opera burns. I fell in love with the phantom, despite whatever was going on under that mask. Next on my list is Julie Kagawa’s Talon series.

Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?

I so loved Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars. He was supportive, funny, smart and amazing, even though he had lost a leg to cancer, even when the cancer came back. I was so sad thinking about the man he would have become, a great husband, father, employee, boss, community activist, etc. There was this hole in the world for me when he died. What a loss. What a waste. I know he was a fictional character but I still think I will never get over him dying. My eyes are stinging just typing this.

If you were to write another YA series from a different time in history what would you write and why?

I think ancient Egypt now that I have done so much research about it, and not just for Empire of Dust, but for Queen of Ashes, the novella of the immortal Princess Laila of Sharuna, whom Kat and Heph travel down the Nile to meet. Queen of Ashes is available to download free on August 1.

Thanks so much Eleanor for answering my questions! I can’t wait to read book 3!

About Eleanor:

Before the Game of Thrones craze swept the nation, Eleanor Herman was hard at work entertaining readers with her extensive research on courtly intrigue and romance. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Sex with Kings, as well as three other works of nonfiction: Sex with the Queen, Mistress of the Vatican, and King Peggy.

Obsessed by all things royal and historical, she lives in McLean, Virginia with her husband and four extremely dignified cats. Legacy of Kings is her first novel.

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Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive a paperback of LEGACY OF KINGS & a hardcover of EMPIRE OF DUST, US Only.