NBtM Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: The Virus of Beauty (The Virus of Beauty #1) by C.B. Lyall

Welcome to my stop on the NBtM virtual book tour for The Virus of Beauty by C.B. Lyall. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book as well as an interview with the author. There's also the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour for more content. Enjoy!

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Title: The Virus of Beauty

Series: The Virus of Beauty #1

Author: C.B. Lyall

Publisher: Hazel Publishing Company

Publication Date: November 16th 2020

Print Length: 243 pages

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

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Ugliness is power, and the Virus of Beauty is spreading causing panic throughout the witch population.

Wilf Gilvary is a teenage wizard who is terrified of using magic. When his father dies under mysterious circumstances, Wilf is plunged into the middle of a political struggle between the witches and wizards in the Magical Realm. He’d rather play soccer than practice magic, but he’s forced to make a choice between the life of a normal Hong Kong teen and one of wizardry after a powerful virus begins to decimate the witch community. The cure is spellbound in a journal Wilf inherited from his father and when his friend Katryna contracts the virus, Wilf understands that he must overcome his fear of magic to unlock the journal’s secrets – but will it be too late to save her?

Goodreads * Amazon

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EXCERPT:

A woman stomped down the central aisle towards him. He observed the purple silk slippers she wore. Shoes that delicate shouldn’t sound like soccer cleats marching across a metal basement hatch. She stopped at the counter.

His gaze lifted from the woman’s feet to her face. Her leaden complexion and doughy face were enough to make him recoil. But the enormous wart at the end of her long, beaked nose was his undoing. He gasped.

She pursed her lips and her eyes flared. Wilf took in the rest of her appearance, from the severity of her hair bun to the red carpetbag, the size of a professional tennis player’s racket bag, slung over her shoulder. He furrowed his brow. She reminded him of someone, but he couldn’t quite remember who.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? Not many are blessed with a wart of such magnitude,” she said.

The hairs on his arms all stood up at the sound of her scratchy voice. Blackened nails poked out of the ends of her fingerless gloves, but thankfully, she wasn’t offering to shake hands.

“Have we met?”

“Not that I recall,” she said.

“You’re probably right. I think I would remember seeing you before.” He tried to avoid meeting her hypnotic, brown eyes. They seemed like mud pools wanting to suck him into their fathomless depths.

“Is that so?”

His stool rocked of its own volition and forced him to stand.

“Ermentrude Wakefield is the name.” She glanced around the small store. “You may call me Witch Wakefield.”

Wilf stepped back, braced against the wall, and shoved his ringed hand into his pocket. His heart raced. The Wizard Council had dispatched this witch to collect him. Well, it didn’t make any difference who they sent. He wasn’t leaving Hong Kong.

“Now, I don’t usually deal with wizards” — her face wrinkled the way Myra’s did when she took his soccer kit out of its bag for washing — “but this time I have to.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carolyn Lyall was born in Stockton-On-Tees, United Kingdom. As a child Carolyn growing up in Northern England in the sixties Carolyn loved sports, reading and amateur dramatics. She joined a renaissance group, practiced the broadsword and dreamed of visiting other worlds. Her passion for what could be drove her forward when faced with everyday struggles. Her first memorable skirmish with gender inequality came at nine-years old when she was told that only boys were allowed to play soccer. In response, she simply refused to do any classwork until they changed their old-fashioned policies. She won that battle.

At the age of 18, she took a role as typist for a nursing school in Middlesbrough. She then moved to London and enrolled in night school. She was quickly recognized for her ability to fit in anywhere and for not being afraid to push back on the predominantly male leadership. She eventually became a project manager in software development and micro-computers, bridging the gap between computer programmers and management.

Her dream to travel was finally realized in 1990 when she moved to New York City, USA with her husband and the first of three sons. This was the steppingstone to a lifelong adventure that has taken her and her family to India, Belgium and Hong Kong.

Raising her family in multiple countries around the world, she saw that each move, while a shock, was an opportunity for her sons to redefine themselves against new challenges and different cultural norms. Now, that her sons have left home, Carolyn has used her passion for the fantastic to create a world where every day gender inequalities are at the forefront of a world ending conflict. She shares this story through the eyes of a young man who is suddenly thrust into this new world along with all of his own woes and prejudices. The introduction to this world is in Carolyn’s debut YA fantasy novel, “The Virus of Beauty,” due to be released July 31, 2019 under C B Lyall.

Carolyn has published two short stories in an annual anthology by 25 Servings of Soop. She wrote a number of articles for the American Women’s Associates Magazine. Fueled by her love of the works of Terry Pratchett, Sarah J Maas, Cassandra Clare, Brandon Sanderson and others, Carolyn has completed a number of writing courses, which included a Master Fantasy/Science Fiction writers course with Gotham Writers’ Workshop, a YA Voice class and Advance Novel Writing course at Sarah Lawrence College’s Writing Institute.

Website * Amazon * Facebook *

Goodreads * Instagram * Twitter

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

- What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

I have recently discovered Pistachio Gelatino and could eat a whole tub in one sitting with no trouble at all.

- Which mythological creature are you most like?

I’m not sure there is a mythological creature I’m like. A writing, tidy, golf playing, mother/ grandmother who is very organized and a geek. Haven’t heard of that creature in any mythological book I’ve read.

- First book you remember making an indelible impression on you.

A copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. I’m dyslexic and when I was 8 years old my coping mechanism in class was to always take out the same Fairy Tales book from the school library. I learned to read it my heart. Then when called on in class to read aloud from my library book I could do so without stumbling and being laughed at by my peers. In those days dyslexia wasn’t recognized as a learning disability.

- How do you develop your plot and characters?

I like to interview my characters. I have a list of questions for them. This usually leads to insights on their internal and external struggles. From there I can develop the story plot line.

- Describe your writing space.

My office is in the above ground basement. The doors open out onto a small courtyard patio next to a pond. I have bookshelves surrounding my desk, photographs of my family and friends on a side table. There is also an electric tea kettle and a tea caddy full of my favorite teas. The space is bright, warm and inviting.

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GIVEAWAY:

C.B. Lyall will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to one randomly chosen winner via Rafflecopter. To increase your chance of winning, leave a comment at a different stop on the tour each day. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway