Empire of Dust by Eleanor Herman Blog Tour

We’re incredibly excited to be a part of the blog tour for EMPIRE OF DUST by Eleanor Herman and we’re so happy to be able to share a guest post from Eleanor!

But first… How about a little about the book!

Empire of Dust by Eleanor Herman Blog Tour

Empire of Dust by Eleanor Herman
(Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Also by this author: Legacy of Kings, Empire of Dust, Dawn of Legends
Published by Harlequin on July 1st 2016
Genres: Action & Adventure, Ancient Civilizations, Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Fiction, General, Historical, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 304
Format: ARC

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.

What Inspires Me To Write

by Eleanor Herman, Author of Empire of Dust

I have always envied those who go about their lives without wondering Who am I? What is this life all about? What is God? How can we ever know? I have always had a lot of bone-grinding, mind-numbing soul-searching going on, and since there really are no clear answers, it can make me sad and depressed. You know the girl who puts her feet up after a long day and life at that moment is completely perfect? That’s not me. No moment is ever really perfect for me because there is so much I don’t know, and there’s this weight on my shoulders that maybe I should be doing something different or achieving something better.

By writing, by telling other people’s stories (which become mine as I write), I feel that I am finding answers, at least partial ones. I see patterns of light and dark. I see the consequences of bad decisions. I see people changing, learning, and growing, and can apply these lessons to myself.

Through my writing I have learned that the world is something more than a stressful place of wildly random and meaningless events. I can see that each person is a thread, weaving his or her way through a complex tapestry of time and space, of thought and action and matter, interacting with other threads and creating shapes and colors. I begin to understand the meaning of my own life, who I am and what I stand for. And that’s amazing. Because it keeps me sane, and sometimes I can even relax.

Because I write, I better understand love and hate, jealousy and anger, sacrifice and fear. Instead of railing against pain I’ve suffered, I understand its value, the lessons it teaches, and the fact that at a certain point I will be strong enough to move beyond it. I have learned that laughter can magically improve anything in a heartbeat, that forgiveness is the healing balm of the world, and that the only truly worthwhile ambition is kindness.

I understand that this life can take away everything you own, including your body, but it can’t take away your heart. And inside that heart you can cherish and store whatever and whoever you want, even if they are no longer on this earth or they don’t love you back. Through my writing I have learned that our true treasures aren’t money or houses or job titles, but precious feelings and memories that we store in the eternal and unbreakable vault of our heart.

About Eleanor Herman

New York Times best-seller Eleanor Herman brings her skills as a historian to an exciting new Young Adult series on Alexander the Great at sixteen, the four-book Legacy of Kings: Blood of Gods and Royals.
“History is so fascinating that it never has to be presented in a boring way, even in non-fiction,” she explains. “These were flesh and blood people, just like you and me, facing war and plague, falling in love, living among splendid art and gut-wrenching poverty, evanescent beauty and devastating illnesses. Blending real history with the conversation, action, emotions and fantasy aspects of Legacy of Kings makes the story explosively exciting. I want readers to smell the blood on the battlefield, hear the delicate strumming of a lyre, feel the heat of an ancient Greek summer sun on their faces, see the beauty of the temples and palaces, and taste the dark wine, full of lees, poured from a red-and-black painted Greek vase."
Eleanor calls herself a “Sherlock Holmes of history.” For Legacy, she studied and visited most of the major sites of the ancient world, usually with an archeologist in tow, and read just about everything, ancient and modern, written on the Greek world of 340 B.C.
Major press have lauded Eleanor's non-fiction histories as highly entertaining. The New York Times Book Review wrote that Eleanor writes “enlightening social history that is great fun to read.”

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Tour Schedule

Week One:

6/20/2016- The Cover Contessa– Interview

6/21/2016- Zach’s YA Reviews– Review

6/22/2016- Fiction Fare– Guest Post

6/23/2016- My So-Called Book Reviews– Review

6/24/2016- Two Chicks on Books– Interview

Week Two:

6/27/2016- Lisa Loves Literature– Review

6/28/2016- A Dream Within A Dream– Guest Post

6/29/2016- Mundie Moms– Review