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Monday, January 29, 2024

Blog Tour- THE END OF THE WORLD by @hsgilchrist With An Interview and a #Giveaway!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the  THE END OF THE WORLD by H.S. Gilchrist Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: THE END OF THE WORLD

Author: H.S. Gilchrist

Pub. Date: February 5, 2024

Publisher: Dystopian Sunrise Press

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 474

Find it: Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/THE-END-OF-THE-WORLD

The End of the World is coming!

In a broken future governed by the oppressive Technocrats and their parasitic technology, enslaved warrior Animkii's mind is a battleground for control. After an act of sabotage shatters her bondage, she faces a dire mission: ridding herself of the invasive tech implanted inside her before it consumes her remaining humanity. Seeking salvation, she forms an uneasy alliance with Mica Stone, a troubled black-market recycler, whose dreams hold the power to awaken an ancient alien god known as the After Lord.

Fleeing the bloody machinations of the After Lord's dark cult, Animkii and Mica embark on a perilous odyssey that takes them out of the dystopian depths of the undercity and into the remote and icy Witherlands. There, amidst the ruins of an ancient world, they face a force that hungers for more than just flesh and bone.

With reality crumbling and Earth's survival at stake, a battle between two worlds begins, leaving Animkii and Mica to confront the ultimate question: can they retain their humanity in a world on the brink of oblivion, or is the end of the world inevitable?

 

Interview 

Hey Heather! First I want to say welcome, I’m glad you could stop by for a chat! THE END OF THE WORLD sounds AWESOME and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about THE END OF THE WORLD and the characters?

·         Set in a dystopian, future Earth – about a thousand years after an event called the Sundering tore the Earth into pieces. Life sucks. Former U.S. is a technocracy ruled with an iron fist by the Technocrats, who use technology to control the minds of their subjects. Former Canada is a wasteland riddled with massive ‘rifts’ in the earth that spew forth soul-sucking monstrosities called Dreamers. You’ll see both lands in THE END OF THE WORLD.  

·         Animkii is a mod – ‘modified’ human (think: cyborg)– controlled by the Technocracy’s hive mind, the Alphaknot. She manages to break free from their control, only to find out a new tech her masters implanted into her is literally consuming her humanity and replacing it with machine. Despite this grim fate awaiting her, she’s determined to fight all way to the end and protect the people she cares about.   

·         Mica Stone is a deeply troubled young woman. She has this great potential blunted by a drug addiction she uses to escape the vivid nightmares from her past that she suffers. She can fix just about anything, but she needs a ‘fix’ to do it. Unfortunately, the nightmares are more than simply dreams-gone-bad. Within them is hidden the Blood Gateway.  If the Blood Gateway is opened / destroyed, then bad things are going to happen. And of course, there is a Cult dedicated to making sure the bad thing happens.

·         The After Lord is the alien god responsible for the Earth’s Sundering. And he wants to come back and finish the job… Guess who has to stop him?      

What are you working on now?

I am about a quarter of the way through the good draft of Book 2 of the Primordial Engine Series, called SEPARATE WORLDS: THE GATHERING STORM. Hoping to release it October 2024. I have five books in total planned out in detail, with room to add two more if the series gains traction.

Were any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?

Not intentionally!  

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?

My favorite character to write was The After Lord. In Book 1, he’s the ‘Big Bad’ who wants to end the world, and there’s not much chance to explore his motivations—what with the characters trying to survive. In reality, his backstory is pretty complex and Book 2 (SEPARATE WORLDS: THE GATHERING STORM) will be exploring a lot of the reasoning behind his actions.

My least favorite was a minor character I introduce near the end named Harvester. She was a drag to write in my earlier drafts, but I tweaked her enough that I’m happy with how she turned out.

What is your favorite passage/scene in THE END OF THE WORLD?

Animkii’s end fight scene. I felt I did a good of making her sacrifice impactful.  

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

Animkii’s people are largely descended from various Anishinaabe nations in Canada, particularly the Ojibwe people. They have retained some traditional knowledge (pre-Sundering), but between the Dreamers and the After Lord’s influence, they have strayed from the correct path. Book 2 involves a return to the correct traditions, which in turn hold the key to healing the Earth.  

Lightning Round Questions

 

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

My own book. Looking for last minute typos!  In all seriousness, I have multiple books on the go (books everywhere in my house – bathroom, bedroom, living room, kitchen table, Kindle… haha).  List:

Cage of Souls (Adrian Tchaikovsky)

Salem’s Lot (Stephen King)

Mirrormaze: A Dreampunk Anthology (Cliff Jones Jr.)

Elf Quest Volume 1

Moose Meat & World Rice (Basil Johnston)

SQL Server Query Performance Tuning (I’m a data analyst in my day job)

Embers of War (Gareth Powell)

Favorite social media site?

I’ve been jumping between the different sites, trying to decide which one to focus on. X/Twitter is still the site where I get the most engagement with other folks, but I’m searching for a viable replacement. Bluesky and Mastodon don’t have enough going on yet, but I recently started using Threads and I’m finding some good interaction with writers and readers. I feel like Threads is the top contender (for now).

Favorite Superhero or Villain?

Superhero: Raven

Villain: Magneto

Favorite TV show?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, forever.

Sweet or Salty?

Sweet. 

Any Phobias?

Not keen on spiders, but I’ve learned to humanely dispose of them (gloves > plastic container > outside)

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

Dream Theater – The Ministry of Lost Souls

2024 Movie you’re most looking forward to?

Beetlejuice 2

Do you play video games? If so what are some of your favorites?

When I used to have time! Final Fantasy 7’s remake was the last one I finished. I’ve started Baldur’s Gate 3 and Harry Potter Hogwart’s Legacy recently, but I haven’t put any time into them. If I want something a little more strategic, my go-to is Civilizations 6. It gets a lot of play when I’m stressed.  

Thanks so much Heather for answering my questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read THE END OF THE WORLD!

 

About H.S. Gilchrist:

H.S. Gilchrist’s ambitions of becoming a real-life Indiana Jones (degree in Anthropology) spurred her love for world cultures and history but conjured no realistic job prospects. So, she set aside the thrill of chasing ancient curses for the rigors of a twenty-year career in information technology, where she’s worked as both a technician (“I fix broken stuff”) and a data analyst (“I save management a lot of work”).

Outside of work, she's gently nudging her daughter toward embracing her inner nerd (with some success). And in those rare quiet moments, she pens the adventures she's always dreamed of experiencing.

To follow my book-writing adventures and see some fun character art, check out my website: https://hsgilchrist.com and subscribe to the newsletter.

 

Website | Twitter | Bluesky | Facebook | Instagram | Threads | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card, International.

Ends February 27th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/29/2024

Two Chicks on Books

Interview/IG Post

1/30/2024

Jaime's Book World

Excerpt

1/31/2024

Kountry Girl Bookaholic

Guest Post/IG Post

2/1/2024

@darkfantasyreviews

IG Post

2/2/2024

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Excerpt/IG Post

Week Two:

2/5/2024

A Dream Within A Dream

Guest Post

2/6/2024

@fiction._.fuss

Guest Post/IG Post

2/7/2024

Lady Hawkeye

Guest Post/IG Post

2/8/2024

Writer of Wrongs

Guest Post

2/9/2024

@anitralovesbooksanddogs

IG Review

Week Three:

2/12/2024

Rajiv's Reviews

Review/IG Post

2/13/2024

GryffindorBookishnerd

IG Review

2/14/2024

Country Mamas With Kids

Review/IG Post

2/15/2024

jlreadstoperpetuity

IG Review/TikTok Post

2/16/2024

A Blue Box Full of Books

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post

Week Four:

2/19/2024

Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's

Review/IG Post

2/20/2024

Confessions of the Perfect Mom

Review/IG Post

2/21/2024

The Guild

Review

2/22/2024

Books and Zebras

IG Review

2/23/2024

The Momma Spot

Review


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