Guest Post & Giveaway: The Ylem by Tatiana Vila

Titiana Vila is the author of The Ylem and she is here today to talk about "Fantasy Courting Reality". She's also been kind enough to offer 3 ebooks of The Ylem for giveaway. 

FANTASY COURTING REALITY

     Have you ever wondered why is that fantasy plays a big role in our lives? I was wondering that the other day. It was my sister's night off and we wanted to watch a movie in Netflix. She asked me what genre I was in the mood to watch and my answer popped up in my head right away: fantasy. That answer not only came that night, it comes up every single time someone asks me the same thing. Fantasy. Fantasy. It's like a carnivorous plant trapping every single foreign cloud of ideas. So, I asked myself "isn't there something else you like to watch besides hobbits and fairies and evil wizards?" To my relief, there was a big survivor: romance. Yes, if it isn't obvious, I love chick-flicks, and I think they are way underestimated. There are really good ones out there thanks to wonderful writers like Nicholas Sparks. Even guys don't flinch at the thought of watching his movies. Astonishing if you ask me.   

Everyone knows love is a crucial ingredient in every story, the pinch of salt to a bland concoction, and for people like me who never tire of having butterflies in their stomachs, love is everything. I can't remember any of my friends not having dreamed of a brooding knight, or a sexy Spider-man, coming to save them from their soaring tower.  At one point or another, we, Venus descendants, have dreamed of being rescued by a dazzling man, rescued from that tower that confines our spirit, that tower that embodies the monotony in life. We secretly wish for an "out-of-the-box" story, not one that limits us to kitchen duties or paperwork. Deep inside ourselves, we know there's more to life than that. And fantasy is a key to realize that.

But more than a key, it's an escapade. A journey that takes us far away from our linear, mundane dimension.  It's a big gulp of air. That's why I love to write about things that aren't tangible. It offers us a chance to experience something beyond our reality, to fuel our dreams with excitement. Fantasy, like love, expands our spirit. And we need that.

We also need an anchor. Have you heard of the yin yang? Complementary opposites? How there's always something good in the bad and something bad in the good?  It's an ancient Chinese understanding of how things work in life. For me, it all comes down to this. If we don't embrace our problems, our distresses, or our "dysfunctional" husband or boyfriend, the landing to reality will be a killing one, face down with bits of our brains splattered everywhere. Reality is our anchor. We need it as we need fantasy. They feed off each other. A good story always keeps this balance, and I try to stick to this formula as close as I can in my books. Just ask Kalista, my wonderful leading character in The Ylem Trilogy. She knows this Yin Yang philosophy by heart. Perfect things aren't as fun as imperfect things. As we secretly wish for white knights, we secretly ask for dark knights. As we secretly wish for fantasy, we secretly wish for reality, too. Imperfection drives our lives and that's what makes it so good, don't you think?

The Ylem by Tatiana Vila
Publisher: Smashworks (November 23rd, 2010)
Format: ebook
Reading Level: Young Adult
Series: The Ylem, #1

An ancient book, a love-struck teenage girl and an exotic boy from a supernatural world hold the key to freedom for a long-oppressed race, but that freedom could come at the cost of the human world.

Seventeen-year-old Kalista is suffering from a broken heart, so when her playwright father proposes they move their lives from New York to New Mexico because he is in need of inspiration Kalista is 100% on-board with him. New Mexico proves to be the perfect balm for her wounds and she is just starting to feel some of her old spunk when Tristan Winfield comes into her life and pulls all of her barriers down. Kalista is captivated by Tristan's unusual silver eyes and feels an inexplicable connection to him, which begins to manifest itself in her dreams with bizarre images of a waterfall and an orb.

While searching for an explanation for her troubling dreams, Kalista discovers an ancient book which holds the secrets of a supernatural race of creatures. But when Killings hit town, she realizes her finding has come at a high price. She's in the middle of a power struggle now, a struggle that seems to be linked to the secret wrapped within the pages of that book. A secret she and Tristan part of...

Prize: 

• 3 winners will receive an ebook of The Ylem by Tatiana Vila.

Rules:

• You must be at least 13 to enter. 
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is International and ends April 21st.
• Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
• The form must be filled out to enter. 

Find Tatiana Vila
Blog   |    Goodreads   |    Twitter    |    Facebook


Purchases The Ylem
Smashworks   |    Barnes & Noble   |    Diesel