BLOG TOUR: I Am Not Your Chosen One by Evelyn Benvie (Excerpt & Giveaway + Q&A with Author)

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: I Am Not Your Chosen One

Author: Evelyn Benvie

Publisher: Mischief Corner Books

Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

Release Date: June 14, 2022

Genres: High Fantasy Humor, M/M Romance, Demisexual romance

Tropes: Refusal of the Call, Slow Burn Romance

Themes: Found family, self-acceptance, finding home

Heat Rating: 1 flame

Length: 102 000 words

It is the first book in a new series and does not end on a cliffhanger.

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Magic in Allune is dying.

The stars and the goddess call out for a Chosen Hero to save it.

Unfortunately, all they get is Kell.

Blurb

IKell Hồ Sinh Porter is twenty-six years old and desperate to leave his unhappy life and his dead-end town. One night his wish is granted by a mysterious voice—though not in any way he would’ve imagined—and he finds himself in the semi-magical land of Allune where everyone thinks he’s the “Chosen One.” Kell politely disagrees, and absconds from his duties. On the search for an adventure that doesn’t come with world-saving responsibility attached, he’s joined by companions. Every adventurer needs them, but his turn out to be Ansel, a sheltered fallen angel, and Fre, a half-orlk who wants to be a hero.

Destiny, bad luck, and the gods conspire against him. The Dawn Goddess wants him to take up his Chosen One mantle, which Kell is sure means becoming cannon fodder in an ancient divine war. The Lich King’s demonic minions carry out sporadic attacks in an attempt to kill him and prove he is not the Chosen One. Temperamental elves, talking stars that aren’t all that helpful, image-conscious demons, maddening pieces of prophecy that everyone thinks Kell should already know, and his growing feelings for Ansel all mix in a frustrating stew as Kell tries to juggle his feelings, his duties, and all the things trying to kill him. No one asked him if he wanted to be anyone’s Chosen One, and he can’t begin to understand why he was chosen. Kell needs to figure out who to trust and how to forge his own path before it’s too late for Allune and for him.

Excerpt

Kell woke up slowly. Awareness filtered back to him in pieces. Rough wood under his palms. The warmth of the sun on his skin. The low, tumbling murmur of gathered people. Something weighing hot and heavy against his ribcage. The scent of fresh baking and old sweat mixing on his tongue. He wrinkled his nose and blinked his eyes open.

He was lying on a platform near the middle of town, judging by the smell and the noise. That wasn’t necessarily troubling in and of itself. But the sky …

It was blue, yes, and the sun was midmorning high and bright enough to make his eyes water. But there were stars speckling the sky all above him, little pink pinpricks of light dusting what should have been a solid-blue backdrop. Kell stared at them hard for a long moment, then closed his eyes again.

Weren’t dreams supposed to end when you woke up? What was this, a dream within a dream?

Whatever it was, he didn’t feel up to dealing with it right now.

Apparently the world wasn’t going to give him a choice. Someone nudged at his leg, gently at first but with increasing insistence.

Someone, Kell thought, with perhaps an edge of bubbling hysteria, or something. He giggled a little, biting his lip to keep the sound in. God, what is with me?

Maybe he had heat stroke. It was unusually warm out now for only being March.

What had happened last night? Fuck it. He didn’t remember getting drunk enough to pass out in the middle of the street. He didn’t remember planning on drinking at all.

A throat cleared above him, polite but impatient. Oh, well. Time for him to get up anyway before he got cited for public drunkenness or whatever. Kell made an effort to lift his head, but it was hard, and he was tired, and staying here a little longer couldn’t hurt, right?

Was public drunkenness even a real crime?

“Oh for the love of Skuache …” someone muttered, and then Kell found himself being gripped firmly on either side and hauled upwards. He let out a yelp of surprise, flailing around as strong arms did their best to hold him steady. The world spun as he opened his eyes, and it took a moment to get his feet under him. He staggered a bit, keeping his eyes trained on his feet for balance until he felt he wouldn’t fall over at any moment. Not that his rescuers had any intention of letting him go any time soon, with the way they held onto his arms just this side of too tight.

Shouldn’t have wished for the cops last night if this is where it gets me.

“Really, goddess,” the person continued to mutter. They sounded close. And important in a kind of college professor way. The kind used to lecturing and looking down on failing students. Kell dubbed him Professor Throat Clearer and entertained a brief image of a stuffy man in tweed giving lectures on how to properly interrupt conversation with discreet noises. It sounded like a fun class. Kell would have taken it.

“I have faith in your efforts, I truly do,” Professor Throat Clearer continued, speaking low and to himself. “But I swear, these Chosen get worse every time.”

Q&A with Evelyn Benvie

Q: Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know.

The first writing I ever “published” was fanfiction, and it is something I’ve gone back to over the years when I feel burnt out or unable to write. Writing fanfiction and getting feedback on it was what gave me the confidence to start writing original fiction and submitting it for publication to indie presses. Without that community I might not have made it to where I am today, with a full length 100k original novel (and the first of a series) written, edited, and delivered to you 😀

Q: What’s your favorite scene in your latest book and what makes it a fave? Would you care to share an excerpt from the scene with us?

This is a scene from my overall favorite chapter in the book. It’s very fun chapter with a lot of shenanigans going on—incompetent demon underlings, not-quite-poisonous mushrooms, the usual—and this scene is leading into all that fun stuff!

“This is the most subdued reign of terror I’ve ever seen,” Kell complained with the confidence of someone who had never seen a reign of terror but had very particular ideas about what one entailed. “The worst thing we’ve run into so far is a disagreeable goat!”

“It did bite you,” Ansel pointed out.

“Yes, but I didn’t have to fight it.”

Ansel hummed but didn’t comment.

Kell sighed, kicking a rock out of the road in frustration. “How am I supposed to work my way up to the Lich King if I can’t fight a goat?”

“I believe you could have fought the goat,” Ansel said, comfortingly. “I think you might have won.”

“Thank you.”

“I could have stepped in to assist if it seemed otherwise,” Ansel added, twisting his hands together nervously.

Q: Let’s take off your author cap and put on your reader cap for a moment: what do you look for in a book, what sort of protagonists do you love, and do you have a favorite genre?

The main thing I look for in a book is humor! I really can’t read books that are too serious or scary. I like imperfect protagonists and have a weak spot for run-of-the-mill folk who get caught up in extraordinary circumstances. My favorite genres are fantasy and fantasy-adjacent. I’ve been really into portal fantasy, isekai, and transmigration novels lately.

Q: What books and authors would you say influenced you to become a writer?

Patricia C. Wrede and Tamora Pierce were my biggest influences as a young reader, before I even knew what I wanted to do or who I was. But I loved the kinds of worlds they made and I wanted to be able to do that myself someday. Admittedly, my initial attempts back then were unpublishable, but I think I’ve improved since.

As I got older I became more influenced by Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. It was the perfect blend of fantasy, humor, and social commentary. While I’m not as big on (or good at) the social commentary aspect myself, comic fantasy is my go-to genre right now.

Q: What are your least and most favorite things about being an author?

My favorite thing would be the actual writing and plotting and planning of the books! Working on a story and actually making it come to life is the best part of being an author. My least favorite part is the nitty-gritty stuff, the editing and the publication and the waiting months for a final cover. The more businessy side of being an author is just as necessary as the writing, but I don’t find it nearly as fun.

Q: What’s the best piece of writing/author advice you’ve ever received that you’d pass on to someone just getting started in the business?

It’s okay not to write. It’s okay to only write 100 words a day. It’s okay to be lenient with deadlines and have low goals. The writing will get done eventually.

This advice may not be good for everyone, but as writing is not and will probably never be my full-time job, it was actually really good advice for me.

Q: Have you ever written a line, paragraph, or passage, and thought, “Darn, that’s pretty amazing, even if I do say so myself”? What was it?

I get to write a lot of fun things for Kell, the main character. This is a passage from the second book where he’s really starting to figure out what being the chosen one means.

Kell could see it, the way things were supposed to be. The magic couldn’t sustain itself alone, the stars couldn’t touch the land without burning it, and the chosen couldn’t stay in their own world any longer. A mutually beneficial solution, a free pass to a new life for the low, low price of being a living conduit for forces beyond your understanding.

Q: What’s the one genre/sub-genre you haven’t written yet, but would love to? What’s kept you from it so far?

I would love to write a real space opera and I have a few tentative plans for one. The main thing holding me back is the techno-talk and general vibe of sci-fi. It’s more mechanical than fantasy. You can’t quite handwave why a spaceship is broken as just being “well the magic only works if the stars are happy.” I’m more comfortable coming up with fantasy plots because I read and watch more fantasy media, so I’ll probably have to do some research before I begin writing anything science fiction.

Q: Let’s talk tropes: do you have a few favorites that you enjoy both writing and reading? If so, what are they and what makes them your favorites?

I’m a big fan of an extended and humorous Refusal of the Call. The more desperate the Call is and the more ridiculous the Refusal gets, the better. This comes up in I Am Not Your Chosen One quite a bit.

And I am forever a sucker for The Grumpy One Is Soft for the Sunshine One. This dynamic will never get old. Though it’s not something I actually write that often because not a lot of my character make it to Sunshine status, it will always be a favorite. It may apply to two of the side characters in I Am Not Your Chosen One, but you’ll have to keep reading the series to see how the relationship evolves 😉

Q: If you had to choose between becoming a superhero or supervillain, which would you choose and why? What would your superpower be?

Definitely a supervillain, because less is expected of them. Supervillains just have to do one over-the-top villainous thing every once in a while and people will remember them. Heroes need to consistently show up and save people all the time. I can’t handle that type of pressure.

As for powers … the ability to control anything electronically or digitally. The internet of things is now the internet of ME! Muhahahahhahaha!!!

Q: If you could travel back in time, with all your years of experience and wisdom intact, what advice would you give to your teenage self?

Do us both a favor and look up asexuality and aromanticism online. And go to therapy.

Q: If you were to sit down and write your autobiography today, what would the title be?

(placeholder title)

Q: Star Trek or Star Wars – both or neither? Explain.

Firefly! I just think it’s shiny.

Q: If you could be any fictional character who would you like to be and why?

This is a tricky question because I have never been fully convinced I am a real person to begin with.

About the Author

Evelyn Benvie is the wooly jumper in a family of black sheep. Both a cynic and a romantic at heart, she writes diverse poetry and queer-positive spec-fiction with strong characters, quirky romances, and (almost always) happy endings.

Sometimes she’ll try to be funny, to varying results.

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