A is for Antiope, a Unique Amazon #AtoZChallenge

Welcome to Post one of the A to Z Challenge. My theme is mythical goddesses and ancient queens. My post for the first day is arguably both.

Antiope is an Amazon princess, daughter to Ares, the Greek god of war. In some stories, she is also an Amazon queen.  What brought her to my attention is that Antiope is the only known Amazon ever to formally marry. Her husband was Theseus, king of Athens, companion to Hercules, and famed for defeating the minotaur. The ending is sad, as most myths tend to be.   Theseus kidnapped Antiope when traveling with Hercules on the quest to gain the girdle of Hippolyta, the Amazon Queen.  In the process, she fell in love with him. The Amazons attack to reclaim the girdle and rescue Antiope, who was killed by the Amazon Molpadia in the process. As with most myths, there are other versions of this story, such as Theseus killed her in order to marry Phaedra. Here she is:

 

No matter which version is true, if any indeed are, it makes a great story.  I had wanted to develop a romance series around the Amazons and I couldn’t resist rewriting Antiope’s story to kick it off. Its called Thirteen Nights, because in myth, the Amazons would procreate once a year with their neighbors, the Gargareans, a group of male-only warriors. It was believed that spending thirteen nights together ensured conception.

I updated that pair matching to an annual speed-dating event.  If you like hot romances, check it out. If you just like kick-ass female mythical leaders. come visit during the A to Z challenge. I’ll be doing one each day. I promise not too much promo. But I have two heroines from my mythology-based series whose names happen start with A and B.  As historical figures, they are interesting because they are not as well known.

While you’re blog hopping, don’t forget to visit other A to Z Participants. Here’s the full list.

 

Thirteen Nights Review Roundup

My blog tour is just about over, and I had a fun time wandering all over the blogosphere, meeting new folks, and reading reviews of Thirteen Nights. Thanks to all of you for participating on the blog tour.

I’m so pleased the reviewers liked Thirteen Nights. Here’s what they’re saying:

Nicky Peacock Author (Five Stars)

What a great book! As romantic reads go, this really takes the reader that extra mile. There’s lots of steamy scenes in here, but they are legitimate and pretty much built into the plot. I also loved the idea of Amazons and Greek warriors entering into a breeding ritual. It set it up nicely that love could bloom and it was a refreshing change for the male protagonist to be the one really pushing the relationship forward.

The writing style was effortless. The whole book incredibly thought out and thoroughly engaging. Definitely for over 18s though!

TNT Reviews (Five Stars)

This was a very hot novella.

Overall, this was a well written and easy to read book.  I was able to finish it in one sitting.  I couldn’t put it down.

So, if you’re looking for a hot and steamy read, pick up Thirteen Nights.

Paranormal Romance Fans for Life (Four Fangs)

Rich and imaginative, this story has depth, humor, and plenty of heat.

I enjoyed the characters, their chemistry, and the intrigue that surrounds their determination to be together – no matter what. Well done.

Ramblings of a Book Lunatic (4 stars)

This was a great read, interesting lore and well written.  Well done, Sabrina.

 

About the Rose #Giveaway

When asked what key element defined the the essence of Thirteen Nights, my answer, as you would probably guess from the book’s cover, was a rose.

Yes, there is a rose scene and its fun, sexy and sets down the nature of the relationship. Here, take a peak. Its rated R so by reading forward you are agreeing to be at least 18 years of age.

“Your pleasure belongs to me, Antiope.”

Satisfied he’d proven his worth, she bent forward, inviting him in. “May your seed conceive a new warrior.” She said the required words to begin the first taking. Instead of a powerful entry, a whisper of silk glided up one thigh, floated across her mons and slid down the other. The rose. An offer of a different kind—a test of who they’d be.

“Call me Annie.” The name she used in the human world, an alternate identity—one that reflected her whole self, not just the warrior.

Tai, being the creative kind of guy he is, finds a few uses for that rose. But I’ll let you read that yourself.

As you can see, the rose represents more than the beauty and bite of love. In this story, it signifies the gentling of the warrior; the acceptance of a new way of being. When Annie takes the flower, accepts Tai’s unexpected use of it, she opens herself up to new possibilities—possibilities the life she was born into has denied her.

Even though we may not be Amazon warriors, we do understand what it takes to lift the veil of expectations that the world puts on us as we grow up and grow into our own skin.  The rose is both the symbol of love and of Annie’s acceptance of her truest, best self.  It’s also pretty sexy.

As part of my blog tour, I’m giving away three copies of Thirteen Nights and an  amazon/barnes and noble gift. You can participate  on rafflecopter.

Thirteen Nights Back On Tour for the New Year #romance #myth #paranormal #eroticromance

Thirteen Nights is Back on its blog Tour. Thanks to Bewitching Book Tours for organizing a good part of it and to my author peeps for hosting me on some of the dates not covered. Here’s the schedule. Come visit. There’s a rafflecopter giveaway at most of these sites, giving away free copies of the book and a gift card. Hope to see you out there.

January 6:  Buried Under Books  and Nicky Peacock Author  (check out the five star review)

January 7:  Paranormal Romance Fans for Life

January 8:   Mythical Books

January 9:  Making my Mark

January 10: Ramblings of a Book Lunatic

January 13: Cover Reveals

January 14:  Smile Somebody Loves You

January 15:  Viki Lyn

Thirteen Nights On Tour #romance #myth #paranormal #eroticromance

Thirteen Nights is going on Tour. Thanks to Bewitching Book Tours for organizing a good part of it and to my author peeps for hosting me on some of the dates not covered. Here’s the schedule. Come visit. There will be opportunities to win copies at of the book at various times throughout the tour.

December 16: Lisa’s World of Books

December 16:  The Romance Nook

December 18: Roxanne’s Realm

December 19: Fang-tastic Books

December 20: Pembroke Sinclair 

December 22: Erotica For All

December 23:  Erzabet Bishop

December 23: Nyxx’s Nook

December 30:  Pippa Jay

January 6:  Buried Under Books  and Nicky Peacock Author

January 7:  Paranormal Romance Fans for Life

January 8:   Mythical Books

January 9:  Making my Mark

January 10: Ramblings of a Book Lunatic

January 13: Cover Reveals

January 14:  Smile Somebody Loves You

January 15:  Viki Lyn

Thirteen Nights Starts Its Tour #romance #eroticromance #fantasy #myth

Thirteen Nights, (Divine Temptation, Book 1) is going on Tour.  I’m still finalizing the full schedule, but today come visit me today while I”m being interviewed at Tara Quan’s place, read an excerpt at Darker Temptation or discuss creating cultures with me at the SFR Brigade.  Here are the links.

December 9:  Tara Quan

December 1o:  Darker Temptations and SFR Brigade

Thirteen Nights Releases Today, December 6 #Romance #Fantasy #Myth

THIRTEEN NIGHTS

IS NOW AVAILABLE FROM

ELLORA’S CAVE

Thirteen Nights Blurb in Progress

Annie’s always been different. An empathic Amazon, she hides her emotional anomaly beneath her legendary fighting skills. To avoid passing on her genetic disorder, she’s always avoided the Thirteen Nights Ritual—the annual breeding rite among the warrior races of the Greek Pantheon. Only months away from 30, she is now duty-bound to participate. When she meets Tai, a half-human warrior who revs her up beyond legal limits and nurtures the gentleness she’s had to keep secret, thirteen nights of pleasure don’t seem nearly enough.

As a half human, Tai has survived by being faster, more lethal, and a whole lot smarter than his brethren. While the male warriors accept him for his achievements, the Amazons have never given him a second look. Until he meets Annie, whose smile is warm and real and whose body shudders with desire—for him. Determined to have her, he hacks into the Thirteen Nights database and rearranges the pairings to make Annie his breeding partner. Together, their strength and tenderness combust into pure love.

But Tai’s actions are forbidden under Amazon law, subject to a death. To stay together and alive, they must take on the Greek Pantheon and win.

Divine Temptation:  Series Description

The ancient gods live hidden among us. Their powers are waning, stripped away by modern life. To survive, the pantheons shun the mortal world.  Rebels, called game-changers, challenge the rules and join with humans.  Passion, they’ve discovered, creates its own kind of magic.  And they want more.

Buy Links:

Ellora’s Cave

Amazon

Kobo

Goodreads

Details on the Blog Tour Coming Soon.

My First SFR Brigade Presents: Snippets from Thirteen Nights

Rules: Snippet from my WIP for PG-13 audiences.  No problem. However, the book cover is not, so I’ve kept it small.

My modern myth romance, Thirteen Nights, Book 1 of Divine Temptation, releases from Ellora’s Cave on December 6.  Let me know what you think and then visit all the other amazing authors participating on the SFR Brigade.

Background

Thirteen Nights is an updated myth based on the Amazons in ancient Greece.  In my series, the gods and their pantheons still live in modern day under the radar but are losing their power due to the lack of human worshipers and the slow destruction of the natural world from which they gain their powers.  In Amazon history, the female warriors would mate on an annual basis with the Gargareans, their male warrior counterparts, to bear children. Females stay with the Amazons, males are given back to the Gargareans. It was believed that they should stay together for 13 nights to maximize the chance of a child. In this book, that ritual has been recreated as a speed dating event. Here’s a snippet of how that works. Our heroine Annie meets the first Gargarean during the event ( he is not our hero).

Snippet

A giant of a man swaggered into the now-open seat, all testosterone and appetite. Linebacker shoulders, six-pack abs straining against a muscle shirt chosen to show them off, thighs so big they could choke a horse—and probably had. Elaborate tattooing covered his left arm from shoulder to wrist, detailing every victory, every kill. Similar markings ran diagonally across Annie’s back.

He touched his card to the pad and instantly his resume popped up on her screen. Black belts in karate, kendo and Kung Fu, expert sniper, awarded the Golden Shield—the Gargarean symbol for valor—six times, hobbies included hunting, archery and jousting. Okay, the man could kill, but who was he really?

Winners: Wicked Warriors Halloween Hop (and my favorite costume)

Congratulations Winners

Thanks everyone for visiting my blog during the Wicked Warriors Halloween Blog Hop hosted by Angela Knight and BTS E-Mag.

On my site, I am giving away one e-copy of Fires of Justice and one e-copy of Next Move to two commenters who answer the question what has been your favorite halloween costume, ever? 

First my favorite costume.  Some friends of mine in college–a couple–dressed as an M&M and an M&M with nuts.  Thinking about that still makes me small.

Now for the Winners:

Pam won a copy of Next Move.

Krysta won a copy of Fires of Justice.

 

 

 

Coming soon from Ellora’s Cave. Thirteen Nights, Divine Temptation, Book 1.

Thirteen Nights Blurb in Progress

Annie’s always been different. An empathic Amazon, she hides her emotional anomaly beneath her legendary fighting skills. To avoid passing on her genetic disorder, she’s always avoided the Thirteen Nights Ritual—the annual breeding rite among the warrior races of the Greek Pantheon. Only months away from 30, she is now duty-bound to participate. When she meets Tai, a half-human warrior who revs her up beyond legal limits and nurtures the gentleness she’s had to keep secret, thirteen nights of pleasure don’t seem nearly enough.

As a half human, Tai has survived by being faster, more lethal, and a whole lot smarter than his brethren. While the male warriors accept him for his achievements, the Amazons have never given him a second look. Until he meets Annie, whose smile is warm and real and whose body shudders with desire—for him. Determined to have her, he hacks into the Thirteen Nights database and rearranges the pairings to make Annie his breeding partner. Together, their strength and tenderness combust into pure love.

But Tai’s actions are forbidden under Amazon law, subject to a death. To stay together and alive, they must take on the Greek Pantheon and win.

Divine Temptation:  Series Description

The ancient gods live hidden among us. Their powers are waning, stripped away by modern life. To survive, the pantheons shun the mortal world.  Rebels, called game-changers, challenge the rules and join with humans.  Passion, they’ve discovered, creates its own kind of magic.  And they want more.

Come Over and Play: Wicked Warriors Halloween Hop

Happy Halloween

Welcome to the Wicked Warriors Halloween Blog Hop hosted by Angela Knight and BTS E-Mag.  I’m so glad you could join us.  The Grand Prizes are 1 Kindle Paperwhite and 5 autographed copies of Unbound…so there will be 6 winners!! You can link to the Rafflecopter using the link below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

On my site, I am giving away one e-copy of Fires of Justice and one e-copy of Next Move to two commenters who answer the question what has been your favorite halloween costume, ever?  Could be yours, a friends, or just some random folks you saw on the street. Please remember to leave your email.  And also remember to visit all the other wonderful authors participating on the hop here.

Before you go, let me introduce my warrior couple. Coming soon from Ellora’s Cave. Thirteen Nights, Divine Temptation, Book 1.

Thirteen Nights Blurb in Progress

Annie’s always been different. An empathic Amazon, she hides her emotional anomaly beneath her legendary fighting skills. To avoid passing on her genetic disorder, she’s always avoided the Thirteen Nights Ritual—the annual breeding rite among the warrior races of the Greek Pantheon. Only months away from 30, she is now duty-bound to participate. When she meets Tai, a half-human warrior who revs her up beyond legal limits and nurtures the gentleness she’s had to keep secret, thirteen nights of pleasure don’t seem nearly enough.

As a half human, Tai has survived by being faster, more lethal, and a whole lot smarter than his brethren. While the male warriors accept him for his achievements, the Amazons have never given him a second look. Until he meets Annie, whose smile is warm and real and whose body shudders with desire—for him. Determined to have her, he hacks into the Thirteen Nights database and rearranges the pairings to make Annie his breeding partner. Together, their strength and tenderness combust into pure love.

But Tai’s actions are forbidden under Amazon law, subject to a death. To stay together and alive, they must take on the Greek Pantheon and win.

Divine Temptation:  Series Description

The ancient gods live hidden among us. Their powers are waning, stripped away by modern life. To survive, the pantheons shun the mortal world.  Rebels, called game-changers, challenge the rules and join with humans.  Passion, they’ve discovered, creates its own kind of magic.  And they want more.