MAD TV: “Protogenesis: Before The Beginning”, a novel by Alysia Helming inspired by Greek mythology
MAD TV, July 7th 2018
One thing is for sure: if you liked the stories of Harry Potter, the Twilight or Wonder Woman, then the novel “Protogenesis: Before the Beginning” is ideal for you!
Here’s the book synopsis:
With her unusual violet hazel eyes hidden behind heavy glasses, American teenager Helene Crawford is the kind of student that always has an answer; yet, she doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. One fateful day, life as she knows it comes to a grinding halt. There was a fire. Her mother is gone. But something is not right...
The Greek Mafia may be involved. Vivid dreams of ancient deities consume her sleep. A maze of clues leads her to believe that her mother is still alive... She must go to Greece. The answers to her perilous quest lie there, as Helene braves into the unknown of a new life, torn between two Greek guys and a new world that literally awaits her.
And who knows, maybe the Greek gods and goddesses are on her side... or maybe not. After all, nothing is as it seems.
Author Alysia Helming unites mythology and the Olympian Gods with science fiction! The first book out of the Protogenesis Novel Series has already been listed as a best-seller on Amazon!
Protogenesis Critical Acclaim
“…a thrilling story full of plot twists and turns…” –Children’s Book Review
"I love strong women and Helene embodies that. This book is a great reminder to dream deep.” –Whitney Reynolds, Host/ EP The Whitney Reynolds Show on PBS
“If you love mythology, magic, teen love, and mystery this read will definitely satisfy your need for answers and make your heart swell with love.” –The Teen Magazine
“Helming intelligently sets figures from Greek myth amid the modern-day Greek debt crisis to comment on greed, hubris, and how ordinary people survive. She offers complexity of detail and adventure with intriguing tie-ins to mythology and science.” – Kirkus Reviews
“It kept my curiosity and imagination guessing all while giving an authentic and knowledgeable representation of Greek culture and mythology!” –Jennifer Stahl, Principal Dancer with the San Francisco Ballet
“A fascinating story of love, adventure and mystery, all twirled up in a world where fiction meets reality.” –Kostas Martakis, platinum awarded Greek singer
“This book bridges Greek & American communities with creativity, fantasy and a strong woman main character who learns what she’s really made of.” –Aly Walansky, lifestyle journalist & contributor to Today.com, Popsugar & Woman’s Health
Author Alysia Helming was invited to the TV Show Loca at MAD TV and talked about her novel with VJ Ilenia Williams.
Helming is American and before writing Protogenesis: Before the Beginning she had absolutely not relation with our country apart from one time when she visited Greece through a summer cruise where she only managed to only see the Parthenon. Greek mythology mesmerized her and that is how the idea of writing the story of Protogenesis was born.
After beginning the writing of the book, Alysia visited Greece about 18 times for her writing research. Little did she know that on one of her trips to Greece something very bizarre was about to happen. As she told Ilenia on the show, before beginning to write her story the author likes to visualize the heroes of the story and therefore for the writing of Protogenesis she had placed on the wall of her office pictures of faces she had random picked off the internet for each one of the novel’s heroes to gain inspiration in their creation.
The image of a man she had picked off the internet suddenly appeared before her. When she arrived in Greece on the streets of Athens she saw the image of this man on a large billboard in front of a live night club venue. She could not read Greek in order to find out his name but she could tell he was a singer. She began a quest to find out who he was. Later on that day when she went to the beach a man was sleeping in the beach chair next to her. This man had a bird tattoo on his arm which attracted her attention.
When she went back to her hotel she discovered that the man on the billboard, her inspiration for one of the books heroes, was the same man that was sitting next to her on the beach. This man was the Greek singer Kostas Martakis.
Watch the music video here: foreverandtonight.com
That’s insane right? After that she came in contact with him and they ended up recording a song for the novel where he sang the official soundtrack for Protoenesis with music written by composer Marios Psimopoulos and the lyrics were written by lyricist Vicky Gerothodorou.
See what else Alysia said to MAD TV on her interview with Ilenia and discover more about the author!
Author Alysia Helming on MAD TV in an interview with VJ Ilenia Williams discussing Protogenesis and the Athens Book Presentation which took place on May 10th 2018.
via mad.tv
