Dollhouse Asylum Launch Party

Posting this recap as part of my Event Recap Month makes my heart hurt a little bit. Mary Gray is one of my local authors, and I always try to be very supportive of them. I bought an extra copy of The Dollhouse Asylum with every intention of posting this recap around the book's launch in October, but I got overwhelmed with life and kind of forgot about it, which makes me feel horrible! But at least I can try to make up for it by posting it now.

Different kinds of love

Elizabeth & Darcy (Pride & Prejudice)- healthy
Casablanca - unselfish
Katniss and Peeta - first forced, then honest
Lars and the Real Girl - unhealthy
Marc Antony & Cleopatra - selfish
V for Vendetta - complicated
Rumplestiltskin and Belle (Once Upon a Time)- imbalanced
Romeo + Juliet - love at first sight
Wuthering Hieghts and Anna Kerenina - destructive
Anna Karenina - destructive

The Dollhouse Asylum fun facts: First title was My Fragility. The trailer was made before the book sold.

Q1. What are you most proud of in the book?
Mary: I'm most proud of the most difficult aspect. It's not commercial; it's very artsy. Not everyone will love this story. I wrote what was in my heart. I wrote what was important: escaping unhealthy love. It's a very private kind of story.

Q2. Who do you relate to the most?
Mary: Cheyanne. I haven't gone through what she has, but I've been around it. Not everyone is Buffy, the kick-butt heroine. Even the underdog deserves to tell her story.

Q3. What would you change for your next book?
Mary: I learned a lot about the process and won't go through those pitfalls. I'll trust myself more and be more open to criticism.

Q4. What's on the horizon?
Mary: I've tried four separate projects. It's hard to love something and follow it through to the end. Right now I'm working on something historical.

Q5. Did the story change through the process?
Mary: It began and ended the same and kind of stayed the same on the way, but scenes were deleted and added. I wrote flashback scenes before Elusian Fields, and those became my favorite.

Q6. Teo or Marcus
Mary: I've got a soft spot for both of them. Marcus is based on my husband, so how could I not? *audience awwwwws* Teo was my bad-guy kryptonite. He's graceful, but what does he do with that grace? He controls people.

Q7. Where did you get your characters?

Mary: From real life. My villain is based on real people, not killers, but they have that manipulation and power. I've seen that control used, and it's the most haunting, horrible feeling.

Giveaway:

This giveaway is open to the US & Canada and ends at 12 AM cst March 21. 5 winners will be chosen. 1st place (US & Canada) will receive a signed copy of The Dollhouse Asylum and a signed bookmark. 4 2nd place winners (US only) will receive signed bookmarks. Good luck! Please read all my giveaway policies stated in the Site Policies tab at the top. Any entries not in accordance with those policies will be disqualified. Also, PLEASE make sure you know what email address you use with Rafflecopter is that is how I notify my winners! Don't let your prize go unclaimed and passed to someone else!

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