Samantha MacLeod's Blog, page 28
February 24, 2017
Guest Post: Janine Ashbless Interviews Milja from In Bonds of the Earth
I’m a HUGE fan of fantasy erotica author Janine Ashbless, and I’m thrilled to have her on my blog today!
[image error]Would you defy God, for love?
Ashbless’s novel In Bonds of the Earth comes out on March 1st (read my review here), and today I’m lucky enough to host her interview of protagonist Milja. Enjoy!
JA: I’m interviewing Milja Petak, heroine of In Bonds of the Earth (Book of the Watchers vol. 2). Hello Milja! You look like you’re packing for a trip—are you going somewhere nice?
MP: Ethiopia.
JA: Awesome! It’s an amazing country, really beautiful and full of surprises… And I should know; I went there researching this book [laughs].
Now, when we left you at the end of Cover Him With Darkness, you’d released the demon Azazel upon the earth and he’d sworn to free all his Fallen Angel brothers and wage war against Heaven.
MP: You make him sound like a bad guy! He’s not evil, whatever anyone says—he just…rebellious. He can’t abide being ordered around.
JA: Just rebellious?
MP: And horny. And a bit short-tempered, okay.
JA: And really hot, right?
MP: Yeah…
JA: How’s it going with finding the other Watchers?
MP: That’s why we’re off to Ethiopia. We think Penemuel, the Angel of the Written Word, is imprisoned there.
JA: Hah—I should have known that the angel of writers would be Fallen. So you and Azazel and Roshana are going to free her?
MP: You know about Roshana?
JA: Of course—I’m the author. It became increasingly obvious as I was writing Book 1 that if there was going to be a sequel, Roshana would have to show up. What do you think of her?
MP: I don’t like her. She’s super-rich and super-smug and sort of creepy. She keeps hugging me like we’re supposed to be best friends, but we’re not, and it makes my skin crawl. And she wears these really inappropriate clothes around Azazel… I don’t trust her. Is she even on our side?
JA: She is at the moment. She’s one of those people who’s your best friend forever, right until the moment they decide you’re their bitter enemy.
MP: But I’m not her enemy. I know Azazel has a right to her… it’s just…
JA: Are you jealous, by any chance?
MP: …
I suppose I am. Azazel was mine. He was my family secret for thousands of years. He was my secret. My special love. And she’s just turned up and muscled in, and now he’s listening to her. And it’s not just the two of us against the world anymore.
JA: Talking of which, do tell me about how you’re getting on with Egan, Milja.
MP: [very uncomfortable] I don’t want to talk about him. He made me trust him and then he lied to me. He betrayed me. He was going to turn me over to the Vatican to use as a hostage against Azazel!
JA: But he didn’t, did he? He let you go in the end. You persuaded him it had to be your choice.
MP: [small smile]
JA: And there is the fact he’s wildly in love with you.
MP: …Is he?
JA: Oh yeah. Head-over-heels. You’re the love of his life. There’ll never be another woman for him after you.
MP: Oh… He’s such a strange guy…he seemed so nice and calm and together at first but when you push through that ‘nice’ there’s this wall, and there’s huge secret life hidden behind it, this special forces thing…
JA: Milja, you’ve hardly started on his secrets. There’s wall after wall as far as Egan goes. He is king of secrets.
MP: What do you mean?
JA: You’ll find out, slowly. He’s following you to Ethiopia—
MP: Oh no!
JA: —and you’re going to be so glad he’s there when it all hits the fan. If it makes you feel any better, no matter how far I make you wade through hell, I make Egan wade twice as far and twice as deep.
MP: Why do you do this to us? Why do we have to suffer?
JA: It’s okay—Trust me! I am working my butt off to get you a happy-ever-after at the end of three books, I promise!
MP: So it’s “suffer now for reasons I don’t deign to tell you, but ‘all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well’ at the end, just have faith”? You know who you sound like, Ashbless?
JA: Ow…!
MP: You should probably go now and let me finish packing.
JA: Okay. Bye then.
…
Sorry Milja…
Links:
Janine Ashbless website: http://www.janineashbless.com/
Janine Ashbless blog: http://janineashbless.blogspot.co.uk/
Janine Ashbless on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janineashbless
Sinful Press website: https://www.sinfulpress.co.uk
Ebook:
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bonds-Earth-Book-Watchers-ebook/dp/B01N6W7EL4
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Bonds-Earth-Book-Watchers-ebook/dp/B01N6W7EL4
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/in-bonds-of-the-earth/id1201654085?mt=11
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/in-bonds-of-the-earth
Print:
Sinful Press: https://sinfulpress.co.uk/product/in-bonds-of-the-earth-by-janine-ashbless/
Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/in-bonds-of-the-earth/janine-ashbless/9781910908082
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-bonds-of-the-earth-janine-ashbless/1125264279?ean=9781910908082
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bonds-Earth-Book-Watchers/dp/1910908088
In Bonds of the Earth will be available from all major online bookstores in both digital and print. Please contact Lisa Jenkins at admin@sinfulpress.co.uk for any further information.
February 21, 2017
“Well worth a peek…”
Jo from A British Bookworm’s Blog just reviewed my erotic short story Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates!
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“It’s surprising to me how it is possible to tell a story within just 20 pages,” she writes. Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates is “worth a peek.”
You can read the full review here.
And, of course, you can peek at Persephone yourself on Amazon or elsewhere.
Like what you’ve read? Subscribe to my newsletter for updates, teasers, and free stories!
February 20, 2017
Honeymoon now available EVERYWHERE!
Mythology expert Caroline Capello agreed to marry Loki, the Norse god of fire and lies.
She didn’t realize the most dangerous part of their marriage might be the honeymoon…
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Honeymoon, my erotic novella about the continuing adventures of Loki and Caroline, is now available pretty much everywhere!
If you’ve got a Nook and you’re dying to know what Loki and Caroline do with themselves – and each other 
February 17, 2017
Friday Feature on Maddie James!
The lovely Maddie James is hosting Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates TODAY as a Friday Feature!
[image error]You’ve heard it was the pomegranate…
If you’d like to read a PG13 excerpt from Persephone (which is, to be honest, just about the only PG13 part of the whole story), check out the Friday Feature here!
Of course, you can also order Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates on Amazon or tons of other places.
Happy Friday, my virtual friends!
Like what you’ve read? Subscribe to my newsletter for updates, teasers, and free stories!
February 16, 2017
Bit of Snow…
I was going to call this post SNOWPOCALYPSE!!!
But I live in Maine now, and Mainers aren’t bit on hyperbole. So I’m going to continue the time-honored tradition of being a dour New Englander by referring to the 3+ feet of snow we’ve gotten in the past ten days as a “bit.”
[image error]Ayuh, bit a’ snow.
As in, my back is a “bit” sore after all that shoveling.
But hey, it is beautiful.
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And very, very deep…
[image error]Yes, I’m standing here. On top of MORE SNOW!
I’ll have to dig out my cross country skis to make it to the compost pile.
But hey, it does mean we’ve got enough snow to build a snow cave! Yes, this means I finally have a writing cave. 
February 14, 2017
Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates
You’ve heard it was the pomegranate.
Those six juicy, ruby seeds, staining my lips and fingers. Sealing my fate. Damning me.
Well, maybe so.
But that’s not entirely the truth…
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Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates, my erotic short story about the God of the Underworld and the Goddess of Spring, is available now!
You can pick up a copy on Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Inktera, Angus & Robertson, or Mondadori.
Yes, I’m all about the options.
And if you want to get a little taste before you buy, you can read the first kiss right here.
Happy Valentine’s Day, my friends!
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Like what you’ve read? Subscribe to my newsletter for updates, teasers, and free stories!
February 13, 2017
What could be sexier than being abducted to the underworld by Hades?
The amazing Janine Ashbless, who is easily one of my very favorite authors, has a sexy excerpt from Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates on her blog!
[image error]You’ve heard it was the pomegranates…
If you want to read something that will absolutely get you in the mood for Valentine’s Day, here it is!
And if you want to know what happens next, you can order Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates on Amazon or tons of other places.
Like what you’ve read? Subscribe to my newsletter for updates, teasers, and free stories!
February 10, 2017
Book Review: To Trust a Wolf by Danielle Hardgrave
Oh, this book is fun!
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I’m not much of an expert in werewolf romance (more’s the pity, really) but this story sucked me in from the first mention of ancient Norse treasure.
Helen Jurist works a minimally satisfying job at a small museum. When the book opens, her museum has just received a new excavation of ancient Norse artifacts, and she’s in charge of organizing the annual fund-raiser gala where the artifacts will be displayed to a crowd of (hopefully) generous donors.
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When a handsome, mysterious stranger named Rune shows up and expresses an interest in both the Norse artifacts and Helen herself, life gets a lot more complicated. And how does Helen react?
In the most believable, hilarious way possible.
Helen’s narrative voice is an absolute delight. This little book made me laugh so hard my husband actually asked what was so funny (FYI: “lady problems”). The action escalated beautifully, and the romantic tension was both believable and very, very hot.
To Trust a Wolf is clearly the first in a series. Hardgrave has done a wonderful job establishing her characters (I’m especially excited about Benji) and setting up a world where werewolves and vampires blend seamlessly with incompetent bosses, job stress, and uncomfortable shoes.
I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Check it out for yourself here, and you can follow Caldwell Publishing, the minds behind the book, right here.
Like what you’ve read? Subscribe to my newsletter for updates, teasers, and free stories!
February 8, 2017
“Up there amongst the best!”
The wonderful Tina Williams of A Reader’s Review Blog just posted her thoughts about Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates!
[image error]You’ve heard it was the pomegranates…
“If you thought you knew everything about the legend of Persephone and Hades then think again!” she writes.
“Samantha Macleod puts a sexy and beautifully crafted new spin on the Greek myth in this delightful short story……This erotic romance, which is can be devoured in one sitting, is up there amongst the best.”
Awwwww, thank you!
February 7, 2017
Persephone Teaser
My erotic re-telling of the Greek myth about Hades and Persephone comes out in a week!
[image error]SO EXCITED!!!
You can pre-order it on Amazon, or just about anywhere else (iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Angus & Robertson, and Mondadori) for just .99!
What’s that you say? You can’t wait seven days for your Hades and Persephone erotica?
Well, okay… I suppose I could give you just a little peek…
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Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates Excerpt
I was young when he found me.
Young, beautiful, and haughty, in the way only young and beautiful girls can be. I’d played at kissing with the dryads, when they could be persuaded to appear, and I’d learned to flirt with Apollo and Hermes, although they were both far too upstanding to be much fun.
In fact, I’d spent the previous day kissing one of the dryads, a handsome, robust oak spirit named Elatus. He wore a beard; the stubble rubbed my face and made me giggle. His kisses made me burn. He ran his hand down my waist and lingered on the cleft between my legs until I was wet and gasping, crying out for him.
“We can do more than kiss,” he growled, as his teeth closed around my lower lip.
Oh, how I wanted him! My entire body sang for his touch. But at that moment, with his tongue in my mouth and his hand up my chiton, I remembered my mother. How she would rage if she found us, if she realized what I’d allowed to happen.
She wanted me for Apollo. Being young, I was inclined to agree with her, although Apollo was so perfect, so distant. I could scarcely imagine kissing him, not like I kissed Elatus in the shade beneath his oak tree. Marriage to Apollo was an abstract concept, a contract drawn up by others while I was not present.
Don’t get me wrong. I loved my mother then. I love her even now, but even now I fear her temper. Even with my body burning under Elatus’s touch, fear of her rage stopped me. I pushed him away, shaking my head. He pulled my hand to the hot bulge between his legs, but he was respectful. That was the end of our kissing.
Looking back, I suspect he also feared my mother.
*
Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates comes out February 14th!
Like what you’ve read? Subscribe to my newsletter for updates, teasers, and free stories!
