Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: The New Enchantress (Alyssa McCarthy's Magical Missions #3) by Sunayna Prasad

Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for The New Enchantress by Sunayna Prasad. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book as well as a great guest post about book ideas from the author. There's also the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $25 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 New Enchantress

Series: Alyssa McCarthy's Magical Missions #3

Author: Sunayna Prasad

Publication Date: March 15th 2021

Print Length: 170 pages

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

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Cursed by a sorcerer’s hex, Alyssa McCarthy finds herself in a fight she can’t afford to lose, or everything she knows will be lost!

After she finishes her final year of junior high, fourteen-year-old Alyssa faces an uncertain future in more ways than one when a sorcerer casts a hex that leaves her with involuntary magical powers that are too dangerous to remove.

Unable to control her newly gained abilities Alyssa’s end-of-middle-school sleepover ends in disaster when she knocks her friends unconscious when her powers go out of control. If Alyssa can’t learn to master her magic soon, she will be cursed to forget her loved ones and serve as the warlock’s slave for all of eternity.

Her only hope is to focus on controlling her emotions if she is to break the curse. However, the difficulties of adolescence, along with the perils and growing disasters she faces, make Alyssa struggle even more. From putting her friends’ lives at risk to losing their trust, she continues to fear what will become of her if she fails.

Will Alyssa be able to break the hex and become the enchantress that she was meant to be, or will she become enslaved to the sorcerer forever?

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Barnes & Noble * Kobo

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EXCERPT:

Alyssa could not risk performing sorcery anymore after ridding herself in autumn of the powers that a warlock had forced upon her. A skeleton called Errol had jinxed her with involuntary magic, landing her in lots of trouble, including near-expulsion from school. He had claimed that it’d been the only way for him to regain his old, human looks. Alyssa had needed to boost her confidence and bravery levels in order to overthrow Errol. That had taken a few weeks.

She would not allow this new hex to force her to remain home all summer. Otherwise, she’d have to miss travel camp at the end of this month and a trip to New York City with Alex in August.

Her palms heated, and beams shot out, bouncing against the ceiling and splitting in different directions. One tipped the bookshelf, and all the books tumbled out onto the wooden floor. It merged with the other shaft, smashed into the desk—knocking everything down—and disappeared in a snap.

Alyssa stared, her fist clenching and her face reddening. Without admonishment, another glimmer flew out of her hands and hit her bed, causing everything to tumble into the air. The blankets crumpled, and a few pillows were tossed onto the rug by the mattress. The ray vanished.

Alyssa gazed into her palms because that catastrophe reminded her of the enchantments she’d performed in the fall.

“Ugh!” She covered her face.

The downstairs door shut, suggesting that Alex had returned from walking Scooter, the yellow lab.

“Alyssa, is everything okay?” he asked.

“No!” She sat on her bed, not wanting to remake it, even though Alex required it when she didn’t have school. I’m never going to get through this stupid mess.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sunayna Prasad enjoys writing fantasy books for children, as well as cooking, creating artwork, watching online videos, and blogging. She has also written The Frights of Fiji and A Curse of Mayhem. She is passionate about modern-day life in fantasy stories, world-building, and even humor. She is constantly brainstorming new ideas and using her creativity.

Sunayna has graduated from college in 2017 and lives in New York.

Website * Amazon *

Facebook * Goodreads * Twitter

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GUEST POST:

Where My Book Ideas Come From
by Sunayna Prasad

Unlike many authors, real life experiences hardly ever inspire the content for my books. They usually come from fictional sources, whether they are from books, movies, or legends.

A character in the 2nd book of my “Magical Series,” “A Curse of Mayhem,” was inspired by the grim reaper. In fact, he was very much similar to him in early drafts. But as I revised the story numerous times, I changed his characterization. Now he is a depressed skeleton who years to be human and is unhappy with his appearance.

Another character in the 3rd installment was inspired by Medusa from the Greek myth, “Perseus and Medusa.” Unlike Medusa, this character has a genetic condition where she loses her beauty by age 30 and looks hideous with 3 eyes and tentacles as hair.

The plots of the films, “Frozen” and “ParaNorman” have influenced the plot of the sequel in the series. But the biggest inspiration source is the “Harry Potter” franchise. Reviews have constantly compared my books to that. One character was inspired by Sirius Black, and that is my MC, Alyssa’s, godfather, who also has long hair and a goatee. However, his backstories and development differ drastically. He is very sweet and nurturing to Alyssa.

Another character inspired by one from “Harry Potter” is Alyssa’s magic mentor, Mr. Reuber. He was inspired by Hagrid. Like Alex, he does have traits differ from Hagrid, such as not being half-giant, obviously. He wears glasses, has a different colored beard, and is passionate about manners and safety. He also can embarrass people at times. However, he is still caring and nice.

It not just fictional sources that inspire my content. Geographical locations have also contributed. In the 1st book, “The Frights of Fiji,” Alyssa is kidnapped to Fiji. Many of the animals that are native there were based off of Australian creatures.

Technology also inspires my story elements. Wizards actually use them, and they are far more advanced that the regular kinds. A couple of brands include Microchant (inspired by Microsoft) and Watercress Electronics (inspired by Apple).

Regardless of what I said at the beginning of the post, there are exceptions of when real life experiences inspired certain elements. For instance, after my MC gets to live with her godfather, although he let her replace her flip-phone with a smartphone, he made her work for her own laptop prior to the events of “The New Enchantress.” Not only did she have wait until her next birthday, which is in April, but also maintain good grades at school. This is based on when my dad had me work for an iPod back when I was in middle school by keeping good grades.

There you have it.

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GIVEAWAY:

Sunayna Prasad will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Good luck!

(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prize. Goddess Fish Promotions and the author assume all responsibility over this giveaway.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway