Touch of Death (Touch of Death #1) by Kelly Hashway Blog Tour Stop

Jodi Marshall isn’t sure how she went from normal teenager to walking disaster. One minute she’s in her junior year of high school, spending time with her amazing boyfriend and her best friend. The next she’s being stalked by some guy no one seems to know.

After the stranger, Alex, reveals himself, Jodi learns he’s not a normal teenager and neither is she. With a kiss that kills and a touch that brings the dead back to life, Jodi discovers she’s part of a branch of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. A branch of necromancers that are descendents of Medusa. A branch of necromancers with poisoned blood writhing in their veins.

Jodi’s deadly to the living and even more deadly to the deceased. She has to leave her old, normal life behind before she hurts the people she loves. As if that isn’t difficult enough, Jodi discovers she’s the chosen one who has to save the rest of her kind from perishing at the hands of Hades. If she can’t figure out how to control her power, history will repeat itself, and her race will become extinct.

MY REVIEW 

5 OF 5 MEDUSA AND HADES

HOLY MEDUSA AND HADES!

A HUGE THANK YOU to Spencer Hill for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Touch of Death. As anyone who knows me I absolutely love love love Mythology and Kelly Hashway has the corner market on a new spin to Mythology with this series.TOD is one of those books that grabs you right from the first sentence and keeps you reading until you finish. At the end I was screaming at the book because I wanted so much more. I kept thinking okay please don't end because I needed more of Jodi and Alex.

Jodi is not your typical teenage girl. She was home schooled her entire life and then she and her mother decided she could go to a regular school for high school. So as she starts her Junior year she is excited about being in school and making friends and getting a great boyfriend. Then things start to get weird for her and she realizes she is being stalked by this guy she has never seen before. As she and her boyfriend get closer the stranger starts to stalk her more and even tries to speak to her but she is leery of him because she does not know him and does not know what he wants.

Then a strange thing happens to Jodi and the stranger reveals himself to her. He explains that he is an Ophiuchus who are descendants of Medusa and were born under the 13th sign of the Zodiac. As Alex tells Jodi about himself and what she is she is in shock at first but then things start to fall in place. And when she accidentally hurts someone she loves she is ready to find out what she is and why she has these powers.

Come along for the greatest ride of a lifetime. You will love the mythology retelling and the cast of characters who will become family to Jodi. She will have to sacrifice somethings but in the end it is for the greater good. She will also come face to face with Hades and what he offers her she can not refuse. Kelly has done an excellent job with the beginning of this series and I am sure this series will be one people will talk about for years to come. Thank you Kelly for sharing a new world with us readers! 

MY INTERVIEW WITH KELLY

Kelly first I would like to thank you for stopping by A Diary Of A Book Addict to share your time and talk about a book that I hold near and dear to my heart! I have to tell you when Touch of Death came in the mail I started squealing like a teenage girl who just got her first kiss. I was so excited that I put my house on lock down and sent the kids to their grandmothers house and locked myself in my room so I could read until I finished the book and LORD HAVE MERCY it took me five hours to read it because I could not put it down. I mean I was like OMG is that going to happen too really did he just do that????? 

Wow, thank you so much for the kind words. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to know you enjoyed the book so much. 

How did you come up with Touch of Death? 

I was researching for another book at the time and came across a lesser-known myth about Medusa and the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. It involved two vials of Medusa’s blood, which would give Ophiuchus the power to restore life or kill. He used it to restore life but I thought, how awesome would it be to have a cast of characters that could do the same because they were descended from Medusa? Touch of Death was born from there. 

Do you like Mythology? 

I’ve loved mythology ever since I was in school and heard about the Greek gods. The stories were always so exciting that I wanted to jump right into the books. 

Was it hard to write the story and incorporate mythology in it?

 I have to say that I just loved how you combined the two things to make this story incredible. 

Thank you. Actually, it was a lot of fun. I read up on a lot of different myths about Medusa and focused on ones that portrayed her in a way that fit my story. It’s fun to take something that’s already known and make it your own. 

What was Jodi thinking when she found out she was a Necromancer and a special Necromancer at that? 

Probably something like, “Holy crap, you have to be kidding me!” LOL. She’s scared of what she can do, and I admire that. The power doesn’t go to her head. 

When did Alex realize he wanted more out of the friendship between him and Jodi? 

Alex is attracted to Jodi the first time he sees her. He stares and acts like a stalker, even though he doesn’t mean to, and Matt being in the way just eggs him on. 

What was Alex feeling when he found out the truth about his parents? 

Alex grew up into this life so not much surprises him, but his focus is on Jodi and protecting her if he can. 

Hades and Medusa play a huge role in this book can you tell me why you chose Medusa and Hades and what the significance is for each character? 

Well, Medusa was chosen because of the myth I mentioned earlier, and Hades came into play because he was the reason Ophiuchus was placed in the sky as a constellation. He was upset that Ophiuchus was bringing people back to life and not letting them move on to the underworld where Hades rules. So Zeus struck Ophiuchus down with a lightning bolt and made him a constellation. I figured if Hades was upset by one person bringing the dead back to life, he’d be furious about a group of necromancers doing the same thing. 

How many book are going to be in this series and will there be Novellas in between to hold us over till the next book? 

There are three books in the series, but I’m toying with the idea of writing a novella from Alex’s point of view. It would take place before he meets Jodi. I love his character and he has such a great back story I really want to tell. No promises though. ;) 

When is the next book coming out? I know I know I am so dang inpatient! 

Stalked by Death releases July 23, 2013. 

Kelly hugs and kisses from all your readers for stopping by and sharing the gang with us and HOLY HADES I need more! Thank you so much and I hope you stop by again soon with book two or even Hades or Alex….. ***wiggles her brows *** 

Thank you for having me, and I’d love to come back.

I write for children of all ages from picture books up to young adult. I am proudly represented by Lauren Hammond of ADA Management. My debut YA, TOUCH OF DEATH, releases January 15, 2013 through Spencer Hill Press. Also look for my other upcoming YA novels: STALKED BY DEATH (Spencer Hill Press, July 23, 2013), THE MONSTER WITHIN (Spencer Hill Press, April 2014), THE DARKNESS WITHIN (Spencer Hill Press, TBA), and INTO THE FIRE (Month9Books, spring 2014). My debut MG series CURSE OF THE GRANVILLE FORTUNE releases in 2016 through Month9Books.

For more about me and my published works, please visit my blog at http://kellyhashway.blogspot.com or check out my Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelly-H....