Guest Post & Giveaway: My Life in Epics by Laxmi Hariharan (The Destiny of Shaitan Blog Tour)

We are here today to celebrate the blog tour of The Destiny of Shaitan by Laxmi Hariharan, a dystopian YA novel that will leave your breathless. Laxmi was kind enough to write a wonderful guest post that gives us a glimpse into her life and her emergence as a reader and author. She talks about the books that inspired her writing, and it's books we are all very familiar with. The blog tour is also holding a giveaway, so please see below for details.

Summary
Kindle bestseller The Destiny of Shaitan is a delicious blend of gods & humans, sacred & profane; a gripping ride offering a glimpse into your own power.

Partially set in a futuristic Bombay, this coming of age story is painted against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world.

When Tiina accompanies Yudi on a mission to save the universe from the ruthless Shaitan, she seeks more than the end of the tyrant; she seeks herself. Driven by greed and fear for his own survival, Shaitan bulldozes his way through the galaxy, destroying everything in his path. Tiina wants Yudi to destroy Shaitan, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Shaitan being killed by his son. But she finds that Yudi is hesitant to do so. The final showdown between Tiina, Yudi, and Shaitan has unexpected consequences, for Shaitan will do anything in his power to win the fight. The stakes are high and the combatants determined. Will Shaitan's ultimate destiny be fulfilled? ~  Add on Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

My Life in Epics

by Laxmi Hariharan

Her favourite purple cotton nine yards saree, starched to within an inch of its life, rustled in protest as my sixty-five-year-old grandmother leaned towards the five-year-old me. “She is the goddess of wealth and good fortune, the consort of Lord Vishnu. The festival of Diwali, the Indian new year, is celebrated in her honour.” My heart beat fast as I was introduced to my namesake the goddess Lakshmi. She looked so beautiful—a curvaceous woman, with a serene smile on her face, she was normally clad in a pink saree, and shown standing on a lotus which signifies both purity and fertility. A stream of gold coins gushed from her right palm signifying her generosity on those she was pleased with. Would I one day grow up to be as beautiful as her I wondered, running my fingers through my unruly mop of curly hair.

My first brush with science fiction was thus the adventures of these Indian gods and goddesses. Soon I graduated to reading Amar Chitra Katha - a series of Indian comic books, which introduced me to the magnificent treasure trove of Indian mythology. Flying chariots that sailed soundlessly through air travelling vast distances in the twinkling of an eye; handsome princes teleporting to rescue their beautiful true loves; swarthy gods who could reduce humans to ashes by dint of opening their third eye; battle scenes with clashes between millions of humans, gods, half-human-half-animal creatures wielding bows, arrows, swords and those incredible swirling discs which could be hurled with unerring precision at their enemies. I loved the blood, the gore and the romance. The gods had super powers, but very human hearts. They fell in love, cheated on wives, took mistresses, had affairs, cursed their children, killed in battle and were killed themselves, bequeathed their kingdoms to their children, finally renouncing the material world for the spiritual when they reached middle age.

On the other side, I lived in the world of Enid Blyton with the Famous Five, Secret Seven and the Five Find-outters—I was there when they tracked down the bad guys, while wishing for a real sip of their lemonade and biting off more than they could chew from the ginger biscuits. I also went to boarding school at Mallory Towers and enjoyed many midnight feasts in the darkened hallways before graduating to join the Legion of Superheroes. I felt the pain of the origins of Batman and my heart fluttered with the arrival of the Man of Steel in my life. His romance with Lois Lane captured my heart, and I loved his double life. If only I too could slip from one skin into another, just like that.

Shortly, I discovered a different kind of Men of Steel. It was love at first sight with the TDH (tall, dark & handsome) Mills & Boon hero. Long summer days were spent dreaming of a knight in shining armour, carrying the torch for a first crush, heart racing at close encounters of the lovable kind, crying over lost love, getting through heart breaks—I couldn’t wait to grow up and experience it all.

Real life graduation from High School, brought me to Earth with a thud. For the next many years I slaved under the weight of the crushing expectations of Indian academia leaving university as a befuddled B.Sc in Biochemistry, don’t ask! All the while longing to hold a pen in my hand and write. I left home, wanderlust making me run away through the dusty trails of Malaysia, the rain forests of Ubud, the crowded beaches of Kuta, the shimmering sorrow of Siam Reap and the exquisite artistry of Angkor Wat, until I touched down at the futuristic city of Hong Kong.  Tall sky-eating towers looked down on little me, the apartments jostled knuckle-to-knuckle, more than seven thousand souls squeezed into each square mile—I couldn’t breathe. My palpitating heart wrung out broken words and so the author was born.

To the swoosh of Harry Potter’s broomsticks, I swam underwater with Percy Jackson, couldn’t decide if I loved or hated Bella, absolutely adored Katniss, picked up swordplay from Arya Stark and was reborn in my new Avatar. Author, meet thyself.

Laxmi Hariharan's Bio:

While born in India, Laxmi Hariharan has lived in Singapore and Hong Kong and is now based in London. She has written for various publications including The Times of India, The Independent, Inside Singapore, Inside Hong Kong and Asian Age. Indian mythology inspires her work. When not writing, this chai-swigging technophile enjoys long walks in the woods, growing eye-catching flowers and indulging her inner geek. Her debut novel is The Destiny of Shaitan.

Here is the information for the Blog Tour Giveaway:

~ Any one who comments is entered into a drawing to win $15 amazon card.
~ Also best comment will get profiled on Laxmi's Reader Avatar series on her blog.


Links of Interest:
Laxmi Hariharan's Web Site
Laxmi Hariharan's Blog
Laxmi Hariharan's Facebook
Laxmi Hariharan's Twitter
Laxmi Hariharan's Goodreads
Laxmi Hariharan's Google Plus
Laxmi Hariharan's Pinterest
The Destiny of Shaitan Goodreads
Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook
The Destiny of Shaitan blog tour site