Janine Ashbless's Blog, page 29
December 4, 2017
5th Day of Blissemas 2017: Befana the Xmas witch
Welcome all!
This is a Blissemas post - which means that if you comment on it you will be entered into a draw for a Kindle Fire 7 pre-loaded with kinky lit and hot romance! What's more, if you comment on all the posts on the Blissemas blog-hop, you will be entered multiple times! (Oo-er!)
La Befana, the Christmas Witch
Pictured above are two Christmas tree decorations I bought in Italy a few years ago. Yes – both are Christmassy, and have nothing to do with Hallowe’en!
“But … the witch! On a flying broomstick!” you might be saying. Well, there’s an Italian Christmas story that you may not have heard before…
Once there was a widow woman called Befana who was very tough despite her years and ever so house-proud. She couldn’t stand to leave her home untidy. One day she was sweeping out her kitchen when three men rode up and stopped to ask for food and drink. This she gave gladly, because she was a generous woman, but she could see that these were not ordinary beggars or travelers. They wore crowns and their eyes were bright with the vision of their purpose.So that’s an Italian folk story for you. In my latest novel, The Prison of the Angels, my characters Milja and Egan are actually in Italy in the run-up to Christmas – in Rome to be precise – but they don’t meet Befana … just several archangels ;-) My heroes are trying to stop the imminent Apocalypse, btw.
“We are three Wise Men from the East,” they told her. “And we’re traveling in search of the Christ Child who was promised. Come with us to find him!”
Now Befana was tempted, because she loved children and longed to see the Christ and give him a gift. But she said, “First I have to finish sweeping my floor and tidying the house. I can’t leave it in a mess. What would people think?” So when the Wise Men rode away she stayed behind, and only at the end of the day did she lock up and set off after them, her broom in her hand and a basket of cakes, to seek the Christ Child.
But she never found him, from that day to this. From that day onward she has wandered the world with her broom, giving out gifts to every good child (on the 5th of January, the night before the Feast of the Kings) just in case one of them is the Christ.
My Blissemas Kiss Present to you all is this little excerpt from that book:
Excerpt from The Prison of the Angels:
Egan grabbed my shoulders. “You okay?”
I nodded, still gulping oxygen. We had arrived, it seemed, exactly where we’d been aiming for. The little piazza, barely more than a junction of three alleyways. It was daylight, and it was drizzling; a cool rain that seemed like a balm after the emptiness, and a joke in comparison to Ireland’s scything, horizontal precipitation.
My legs wobbled as he pulled me to my feet.
“Please, let’s not do that again,” he said.
“I’m not sure I could.”
“It worked though.” He laughed. “And if we survive any of this, at least I’ll be able to boast that I’ve literally been to Hell and back.”
My stare must have been questioning.
“C’mon, Milja,” he said, shouldering his bag. “Where did you think your short-cut was taking us?”
Ohhh…
Nobody seemed to have witnessed us, so we gathered ourselves and slipped out onto the main street. We pushed across stationary traffic and onto the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II. The flow of pedestrians was that way too; a vast crowd heading toward Vatican City just over the water. Many were praying out loud. Everyone looked nervous. I glanced up and wondered at the strange look of the clouds overhead; they were clotted and writhing, like spoiled milk.
“Where’d all the people come from?” I gasped, bumping along at his elbow.
“Rome’s filling up with pilgrims for Advent; they come for the Papal Blessing. I’m guessing they’re heading for St. Peter’s Square right now. Happy birthday, by the way.”
“What?”
“You’re a December baby, aren’t you?”
Today’s date hadn’t even occurred to me. “How do you know?”
“I had a whole dossier on you to memorize when I was sent to Montenegro, remember.”
My mouth flapped a bit. I did remember. Of course, the Catholic Church had been keeping tabs on my family for years. “Birthdays weren’t a big thing in my family,” I said. “Our patron saint’s day is seen as much more important.”
“Who’s yours?”
The Archangel Michael. “One who doesn’t like me.”
Egan stopped abruptly, pulling me into the lee of a statue’s plinth. He put a warm hand around the back of my neck, inside my hood, and pressed into me for a sudden kiss that took me wholly by surprise and made my heart flutter and sing. “Happy Birthday,” he whispered.
“Well, I am a bit worried how it will all end,” I said in a small voice, “but at least I’m spending it with the man I love.”
Buy The Prison of the Angels at:
Sinful Press
Amazon UKAmazon USKoboGoogle PlayBarnes and NobleiTunes
And don't forget to COMMENT FOR A CHANCE TO WIN
Blue Monday VIDEO
Buy The Prison of the Angels at:
Sinful Press
Amazon UKAmazon USKoboGoogle PlayBarnes and NobleiTunes
December 3, 2017
December 1, 2017
The Prison of the Angels - release day!
The angels have been released from their prison! Yes, the final part of the Book of the Watchers trilogy is NOW ON SALE - and what's more, the first Amazon review has been posted!
Ian Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story from a turbo-charged imagination
This is a romance with a lot of super-heated steam and the darkest shadows you can imagine, and I think it’s a fantastic conclusion to a story which has built up a serious head of steam over the previous two books.
In principle, this could be read as a stand-alone story, but I strongly enourage you to read the first two in the series. It’s imaginative, sweeping, full of twists and turns, and I genuinely had NO idea where Janine’s story was going right up until the end. She brings together myths from different cultures as well as archangels and angels who, being truly inhuman and created in a particular way, have a multitude of what we call human failings as well as unimaginable powers.
Wow.
And the ending was, well, endearing.
THANK YOU IAN!
November 29, 2017
Janine goes to a stripshow
Ooh - look at me all dressed up like Chrissie Hynde and taking an actual selfie!
(On a borrowed phone, to be fair)And the occasion? I was off to see this:
The East London Strippers Collective is an activist/feminist community aiming at empowerment and equality for their members. Here's their statement video:
Here's their WEBSITE - check out the "Lip Glossary" page; that's an education.
The show I watched took place at Club Aquarium in London and had a definite old-school-Rock theme with just our kind of music (AC/DC, Motorhead, Rammstein)
(On a borrowed phone, to be fair)And the occasion? I was off to see this:
The East London Strippers Collective is an activist/feminist community aiming at empowerment and equality for their members. Here's their statement video:
"ELSC are a group of feisty, articulate and fiercely independent women, who also happen to be strippers, challenging stigma and smashing stereotypes with their refreshingly honest and open discourse about their culture, working conditions and feminist beliefs. They have come together as a collective, united in their shared grievances about poor working conditions and exploitative business practises within their industry. They also lament the stigma surrounding their jobs; the lack of wider public understanding about what they do, compounded by negative connotations that come from poor mainstream media representation and “feminist” campaigns that seek to erase their industry and destroy their livelihoods.
To counter all this they have begun self-organising their own pop-up events to raise awareness, invite new audiences to explore their world and see what they do from a new perspective.
Strippers of the ELSC seek to challenge the patriarchal conventions on which their industry is built, and we warmly invite women, couples and trans/queer individuals into our world of wondrous titty-twirling, booty-clapping, pole-dancing and underwear-peeling."
Here's their WEBSITE - check out the "Lip Glossary" page; that's an education.
The show I watched took place at Club Aquarium in London and had a definite old-school-Rock theme with just our kind of music (AC/DC, Motorhead, Rammstein)
November 27, 2017
Blue Monday SPECIAL
Every Monday I post a naughty excerpt for your entertainment... But TODAY I have a naughty bit from my soon-to-be-released novel The Prison of the Angels - out FRIDAY 1ST DECEMBER
November 26, 2017
The Sky is a Neighborhood
My fave track and video of the moment
November 24, 2017
Totally Sinful
Hahahah! I appear to have taken over Sinful Press! When you visit their website my four books are plastered across the top of the homepage (well, temporarily, for about 5 seconds until the rolling banner moves on... all glory is but brief, eh?).
And yipeee - the new "Sinful" version of Named and Shamed is already appearing up on sale in various places, with more to follow!
How much more sinful could you ask for?!
November 22, 2017
"Crying over my Kindle" - FIRST REVIEW and pre-order links
The first review for The Prison of the Angels comes from Samantha MacLeod! I was scared! She was scared! (No, honestly... we were both really worried I couldn't pull the trilogy off...)
Her verdict?
"Both surprising and ridiculously satisfying, in a heart-breaking, crying-over-my-Kindle sort of way.
I wanted a lot of things out of this series. And I won’t say The Prison of the Angels met my ridiculously high expectations. Because, somewhere between sneaking through the Vatican’s secret chambers and skiing the mountains of Norway, The Prison of the Angels took those expectations and blew them out of the freaking water."
FULL REVIEW HERE
Thank you so much Samantha!
Here are the buy-links for pre-orders; The Prison of the Angels is released on DECEMBER 1ST:
Amazon US paperback :: KindleAmazon UK paperback :: Kindle
I thought I was a good girl. I thought that no matter what others did for my sake, I could stay innocent. I thought that as long as I acted out of love, I’d be blameless.
I was wrong, wasn’t I?
Milja Petak’s world has fallen apart.
Her lover, the fallen angel Azazel, has cast her aside in rage and disgust. The other contender for her heart, the Catholic priest Egan Kansky, was surrendered back into the hands of the shadowy Vatican organization, Vidimus, after sustaining life-threatening injuries.
She has killed and she has betrayed. She is alone, homeless, and at the end of her tether - torn apart by guilt and the love she has lost.
But neither Heaven nor its terrifying representatives on Earth have finished with Milja.
Both her lovers need her in order to further their very different plans, and both passionately need her, though they may try to deny it. Milja is once again forced into a series of choices as she uncovers the secrets Heaven has been guarding for centuries. But this time it is not just her heart at stake, or even the fate of a fallen angel.
This time, the choices she make will change everything.
This time it’s the End of the World
November 20, 2017
Blue Monday: Samantha MacLeod guests
Every Monday I post a naughty excerpt for your entertainment!
Samantha MacLeod is back today as the second part of a double treat (her excerpt from Claiming Thor's Hammer is HERE). Today's sexy snippet is from her new fantasy story The Night Watch, which will be released on November 28th.
When Prince Liam returns to his kingdom after five years away, there's only one person he wants desperately to see: Cerdec, his closest friend since childhood. But Cerdec is now a knight sworn to protect the kingdom, and Liam fears he is the only one who remembers their stolen moments together.
Newly-sworn knight Cerdec has had no shortage of lovers since Liam left, but he's never felt as close to them as he once felt to the prince. Now that Liam has returned, Cerdec is prepared to serve as his personal guard, even if the position torments his with longing he's terrified to voice.
Even if it means he must welcome and protect the bride Liam's father has selected.
Liam paused at the intersection. "If you would be so kind," he said in a level, measured voice. "Please show me to my room."
He did not turn to meet Cerdec's eyes. In the torchlight, Liam looked pale and exhausted. He looked, Cerdec realized, like he could really use a guard.
"Of course," Cerdec said. "You're almost there."
Liam trailed him down the corridor, his steps seeming to slow as they approached the wing reserved for the royal family. They'd spent years renovating; Cerdec had examined the plans along with his father, discussing their defensibility, their tactical implications. And Cerdec had tried, desperately tried, not to think of Liam sleeping there. Of the way his beautiful body would move through those empty rooms.
"This is it," said Cerdec. "It's all new. I... I hope you like it."
Cerdec stepped back, wanting Liam to be the one to open the doors to his new quarters. Liam hesitated at the entrance, running his fingers over the smoothly polished wood.
"Eagles," he muttered, tracing the delicate carving on the door.
"I hope they're still your favorite," Cerdec said. The eagles had been his idea, suggested very discreetly through his father.
Liam closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nostrils. Cerdec was struck with the sudden, bizarre impression that he was trying not to cry. Then the moment passed and Liam pushed open the doors.
The torches had burned low, bathing the room in soft golden flickers. Liam shook his head as he entered, his fingers lingering on the massive wooden desk. "It's enormous," he said.
"This is just the antechamber," Cerdec said. "Beyond is the, uh, the bedchamber."
"All this for one person," Liam whispered.
Cerdec fell silent. He slept in a bunk in the barracks, in a room he shared with seven other knights. Liam turned toward the bedchamber, but hesitated on the threshold. His shoulders hunched, as if he were in pain, and Cerdec moved toward him.
"If there's anything else I can do for you," Cerdec said.
Liam's hand darted out and caught Cerdec's wrist. His fingers shook as they closed over Cerdec's skin. Liam turned toward him, his eyes burning with mute longing and loneliness, with fear and desire. The space between their bodies trembled.
I might hang for this, Cerdec thought.
And he pressed his lips against Liam's.
Liam's body exploded under Cerdec's touch. His fingers plunged into Cerdec's hair, pulling him closer as he moaned into Cerdec's mouth, opening to his tongue. They pressed against each other, destroying the space between them. Liam pulled away from their kiss to run his lips over Cerdec's jaw, his breath hot on Cerdec's neck and ear. Cerdec wrapped his arms around Liam's waist and lifted him, carrying him through the antechamber as Liam wrapped his legs around Cerdec's back.
The door to the bedchamber was closed, and Cerdec braced Liam against the polished wood, their hips pushing against each other as Cerdec fumbled with the latch. Liam was devouring him, licking and sucking on his bottom lip, digging his fingers into Cerdec's shoulders, his cock throbbing against Cerdec's thighs, and Cerdec could not for the life of him figure out the damn door. It was just a doorknob for fuck's sake—
The door swung open and Liam fell backward. Cerdec caught him, his strong arms around Liam's waist, and their lips crashed together again, their tongues furiously mating as Cerdec pulled at the waist of Liam's pants. Buttons pinged against the stone floor as he ripped open the slacks and shoved them over Liam's hips. Liam's entire body shuddered as Cerdec wrapped his fingers around the hard heat of Liam's manhood.
Cerdec hesitated, his heart in his mouth. Gods, he wanted this—he'd wanted this for years. But he wanted this to be good. He moved his fingers along the length of Liam's cock, rubbing his thumb over the head. Liam moaned into his neck, his body trembling in Cerdec's arms. Cerdec turned to kiss the length of Liam's exposed neck, and Liam's hips began to rock against Cerdec's fingers.
"Shall we test the bed?" Cerdec whispered.
Liam moaned something that may well have been assent, and Cerdec brought his hands to Liam's thighs, lifting him. Liam pressed his lips to Cerdec's and the whole room spun as they kissed and kissed, deeply and hungrily. Liam's hips thrust rhythmically against Cerdec's when they found the bed, his cock hot and hard against Cerdec's stomach, his breath coming in gasps.
Cerdec sat on the bed, releasing Liam's thighs as he brought his hand back to Liam's glorious cock. He ran his fingers along its length, and Liam moaned in response, his entire body trembling. Cerdec smiled, his hand moving faster. Liam panted and then cried out, tilting his head back as he came hot and thick across Cerdec's chest. Cerdec pulled him close, kissing his collarbone, his neck, taking in his scent, the feel of his prince's body in his arms.
Liam's shoulders began to shake. A heartbeat later, a ragged sob escaped his lips. Cold panic coursed through Cerdec's veins. What have I done?
"My prince?" Cerdec whispered. "Liam, are you —"
Liam sobbed again, his arms tightening around Cerdec's shoulders. "Oh, gods," he gasped. "I thought—I thought I was the only one."
Relief spread through Cerdec like sunlight. "My gorgeous prince, you are certainly not the only one."
Liam sobbed louder, his entire body heaving in Cerdec's arms, and Cerdec kissed the top of his head, kissed his neck. "You're not alone," Cerdec whispered over Liam's tears. "You're home."
Preorder The Night Watch at:
Less Than Three Press
Born and raised in Colorado, Samantha MacLeod has lived in every time zone in the US, and London. She has a bachelor’s degree from Colby College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago; yes, the U. of C. really is where fun comes to die.
Samantha lives with her husband and two small children in the woods of southern Maine. When she’s not shoveling snow or writing steamy sex scenes, Samantha can be found teaching college composition and philosophy to undergraduates who have no idea she leads a double life as an erotica author.
Samantha’s Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Tumblr
Amazon Author Page
BookBub
Samantha MacLeod is back today as the second part of a double treat (her excerpt from Claiming Thor's Hammer is HERE). Today's sexy snippet is from her new fantasy story The Night Watch, which will be released on November 28th.
When Prince Liam returns to his kingdom after five years away, there's only one person he wants desperately to see: Cerdec, his closest friend since childhood. But Cerdec is now a knight sworn to protect the kingdom, and Liam fears he is the only one who remembers their stolen moments together.
Newly-sworn knight Cerdec has had no shortage of lovers since Liam left, but he's never felt as close to them as he once felt to the prince. Now that Liam has returned, Cerdec is prepared to serve as his personal guard, even if the position torments his with longing he's terrified to voice.
Even if it means he must welcome and protect the bride Liam's father has selected.
Liam paused at the intersection. "If you would be so kind," he said in a level, measured voice. "Please show me to my room."
He did not turn to meet Cerdec's eyes. In the torchlight, Liam looked pale and exhausted. He looked, Cerdec realized, like he could really use a guard.
"Of course," Cerdec said. "You're almost there."
Liam trailed him down the corridor, his steps seeming to slow as they approached the wing reserved for the royal family. They'd spent years renovating; Cerdec had examined the plans along with his father, discussing their defensibility, their tactical implications. And Cerdec had tried, desperately tried, not to think of Liam sleeping there. Of the way his beautiful body would move through those empty rooms.
"This is it," said Cerdec. "It's all new. I... I hope you like it."
Cerdec stepped back, wanting Liam to be the one to open the doors to his new quarters. Liam hesitated at the entrance, running his fingers over the smoothly polished wood.
"Eagles," he muttered, tracing the delicate carving on the door.
"I hope they're still your favorite," Cerdec said. The eagles had been his idea, suggested very discreetly through his father.
Liam closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nostrils. Cerdec was struck with the sudden, bizarre impression that he was trying not to cry. Then the moment passed and Liam pushed open the doors.
The torches had burned low, bathing the room in soft golden flickers. Liam shook his head as he entered, his fingers lingering on the massive wooden desk. "It's enormous," he said.
"This is just the antechamber," Cerdec said. "Beyond is the, uh, the bedchamber."
"All this for one person," Liam whispered.
Cerdec fell silent. He slept in a bunk in the barracks, in a room he shared with seven other knights. Liam turned toward the bedchamber, but hesitated on the threshold. His shoulders hunched, as if he were in pain, and Cerdec moved toward him.
"If there's anything else I can do for you," Cerdec said.
Liam's hand darted out and caught Cerdec's wrist. His fingers shook as they closed over Cerdec's skin. Liam turned toward him, his eyes burning with mute longing and loneliness, with fear and desire. The space between their bodies trembled.
I might hang for this, Cerdec thought.
And he pressed his lips against Liam's.
Liam's body exploded under Cerdec's touch. His fingers plunged into Cerdec's hair, pulling him closer as he moaned into Cerdec's mouth, opening to his tongue. They pressed against each other, destroying the space between them. Liam pulled away from their kiss to run his lips over Cerdec's jaw, his breath hot on Cerdec's neck and ear. Cerdec wrapped his arms around Liam's waist and lifted him, carrying him through the antechamber as Liam wrapped his legs around Cerdec's back.
The door to the bedchamber was closed, and Cerdec braced Liam against the polished wood, their hips pushing against each other as Cerdec fumbled with the latch. Liam was devouring him, licking and sucking on his bottom lip, digging his fingers into Cerdec's shoulders, his cock throbbing against Cerdec's thighs, and Cerdec could not for the life of him figure out the damn door. It was just a doorknob for fuck's sake—
The door swung open and Liam fell backward. Cerdec caught him, his strong arms around Liam's waist, and their lips crashed together again, their tongues furiously mating as Cerdec pulled at the waist of Liam's pants. Buttons pinged against the stone floor as he ripped open the slacks and shoved them over Liam's hips. Liam's entire body shuddered as Cerdec wrapped his fingers around the hard heat of Liam's manhood.
Cerdec hesitated, his heart in his mouth. Gods, he wanted this—he'd wanted this for years. But he wanted this to be good. He moved his fingers along the length of Liam's cock, rubbing his thumb over the head. Liam moaned into his neck, his body trembling in Cerdec's arms. Cerdec turned to kiss the length of Liam's exposed neck, and Liam's hips began to rock against Cerdec's fingers.
"Shall we test the bed?" Cerdec whispered.
Liam moaned something that may well have been assent, and Cerdec brought his hands to Liam's thighs, lifting him. Liam pressed his lips to Cerdec's and the whole room spun as they kissed and kissed, deeply and hungrily. Liam's hips thrust rhythmically against Cerdec's when they found the bed, his cock hot and hard against Cerdec's stomach, his breath coming in gasps.
Cerdec sat on the bed, releasing Liam's thighs as he brought his hand back to Liam's glorious cock. He ran his fingers along its length, and Liam moaned in response, his entire body trembling. Cerdec smiled, his hand moving faster. Liam panted and then cried out, tilting his head back as he came hot and thick across Cerdec's chest. Cerdec pulled him close, kissing his collarbone, his neck, taking in his scent, the feel of his prince's body in his arms.
Liam's shoulders began to shake. A heartbeat later, a ragged sob escaped his lips. Cold panic coursed through Cerdec's veins. What have I done?
"My prince?" Cerdec whispered. "Liam, are you —"
Liam sobbed again, his arms tightening around Cerdec's shoulders. "Oh, gods," he gasped. "I thought—I thought I was the only one."
Relief spread through Cerdec like sunlight. "My gorgeous prince, you are certainly not the only one."
Liam sobbed louder, his entire body heaving in Cerdec's arms, and Cerdec kissed the top of his head, kissed his neck. "You're not alone," Cerdec whispered over Liam's tears. "You're home."
Preorder The Night Watch at:
Less Than Three Press
Born and raised in Colorado, Samantha MacLeod has lived in every time zone in the US, and London. She has a bachelor’s degree from Colby College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago; yes, the U. of C. really is where fun comes to die.
Samantha lives with her husband and two small children in the woods of southern Maine. When she’s not shoveling snow or writing steamy sex scenes, Samantha can be found teaching college composition and philosophy to undergraduates who have no idea she leads a double life as an erotica author.
Samantha’s Blog
Tumblr
Amazon Author Page
BookBub
