Lately, the most asked question I receive is probably: “Why Ares? Why the notorious God of War as the most-unlikely hero for The Heart of War?”
Decades ago, when I was introduced to Ares via a high school English teacher, I felt that, on the whole, Ares was just like My Guys, that he was one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented gods in the Greek Pantheon. I tried to show some of that in “The Heart of War”. In my eyes, and most everyone else's, I think Ares God of War is the ultimate bad boy. I’d like to say he’s the Ultimate Bad Boy with a Heart, but you have to look deeply for it and it only shows itself to certain people. Finding your way to it isn’t easy but it can be a lot of fun.
The fact that he’s drop-dead gorgeous didn’t hurt the writing process any, Mythology tells us that Ares was a very handsome man, standing near seven feet tall. He was rough and tumble, extremely sexual—oozed masculinity as one book put it—so, taking from different works of art, sculptures, paintings, I drew an updated God of War; 7 foot, muscle bound, leather clad, biker-booted, can’t-get-enough-of-just-looking-at-him badass God with an attitude.
I get warm and tingly just thinking about him!
The true answer is really much deeper than that. See, I was never the girl who went for the jock or the shy guy. Jocks were far too into themselves. The shy guy took much work to get to know. The nerdy bookworm always seemed more interested in his books and his numbers than in anything else. Much to my mother’s chagrin, I never cared for the “nice guy”—he made a great friend but never a lover or even romantic interest.
No, I was always with the Outcasts.
You know, the boys in their well-fitting and well-worn leather jackets, they had black leather wallets with metal chains running to their belt loop, the belt was nearly always double-ringed sitting around a sweet pair of hips under a pair of faded Levis. They had long hair—I can’t tell you how much I love long hair on a man. They raced fast—sometimes beat up—cars down winding New England back roads on a hot summer nights. They hung out on the smoking patio at school smoking what might or might not be tobacco. They were edgy and rough never dull and boring. They were always up to something interesting even if it may have been illegal—usually that was what made it interesting, not to mention fun as well.
Those are my boys, always have been, always will be.
If you know me then you know that's a rather odd combination because I'm always the Flower Child, the Hippie Chick, in any crowd. I was hardly someone who really fit in with them, their roughneck ways and their heated tempers. Often, I was the only female in the group. Oh! Those were the days! I wasn't with them because I wanted to ‘change’ or ‘fix’ or ‘mother’ any of them. No, I just wanted to be around them because they have such fantastic energy! I think that’s a big part of why the Bad Boys and the Outcasts accepted me for who and what I am. Because I did the same for them, they returned the favor. So began a very long romance with the Bad Boy, most especially the Alpha of the Pack.
Why?
Well, because mostly I think, way deep down, we all like to get up to a bit of mischief now and then, keeps the blood pumping and the brain firing on all cylinders. Besides, who wants to play it safe all their life? That’s boring and it’s no fun at all. If you never experience the feeling of rolling the dice on something big, holding your breath and watching them spin in the air as you await the outcome, then you've probably never been fully alive. It's not really the outcome of the roll that matters, it's whether or not you had the balls to toss the dice in the first place.
Blurb: Meet Ares God of War, the greatest Warrior the world has ever known. He's moody, grumpy, dominant, ravenously sexual, and above all, built like a Greek God.Suspected of killing his Daughter in-Law, Psyche, and long in exile from Olympus, the solitude of Ares' secluded Greek Isle is interrupted when Magdalena MacLeod a plucky little Fey washes up on his shore after believing she's been shipwrecked. It's not mere fate that has brought the unlikely couple together yet it may be what tears them apart.Branded with a golden chastity belt bearing the mark of Cernunnos, Celtic God of the Forest and Death, Alena has been on the run from her husband the Great Horned God for 200 yearsWhen the Olympians discover her presence on Ares' island, they send Apollo to the island while Ares is away with orders to bring her to Olympus. With nowhere to run and strikes a bargain with the God of War--her virginity for his protection.Ares sees a sweeter deal; her in his bed and himself back in his rightful place on Olympus among the Gods. If it means turning Alena over to Zeus afterward, well that's of no consequence to him...is it?
After Alena proves herself to the God of War in battle and in his bed, Ares must choose between his Divinely Dysfunctional Family, his pride, and Alena..Get lost in this sweeping dark saga of lust, rage, revenge, and redemption. Battle Ancient Gods while falling in love with Ares God of War and Alena MacLeod. They share a love that will rock the world from the heights of Olympus to the Celtic moors.
EXCERPT
“I thought I was a guest.”
“You are,” Ares assured her. “I have seen and tended many wounds in my time, let me look at this.” He did not wait for her to give him permission before he pulled the shirt up the rest of the way and caught sight of the raw hamburger that was her inner thighs. “There must be some way to get this thing off of you.” He huffed as he reached out to touch and examine it.
“Only Cernunnos, only a Go—“
Ares’ hand landed on the gold at her waist, it covered the entire space between her legs, the willow tree, the love knot, and the words I Await Thee.
Clink.
Both of them looked down to see the band had opened at his touch.
Staring at each other with their mouths hanging open for a moment, each of them not sure what had happened had truly happened, Maggie began to tremble and then to shake.
It opened! It was OPEN!
struggled in his grasp, her brow furrowed and her upper lip curled as she pulled and pulled trying to escape. “Do you want me to break your arms? Will that settle you?” Still she struggled and yanked until Ares had to add a second finger around her wrist to keep her from slipping out of his grasp. “You can’t get free of me; I am much stronger than you.” In his free hand a small vessel appeared, her eyes grew wide when she took it in. “It’s olive oil, that’s all. Just stand st
“I didn’t mean to do that,” Ares stuttered almost apologetically.
“Get it off me!” Maggie yelled and began to try to push her fingers through the space between her waist and the band. “Get it off!” She cried again and began jumping up and down where she stood as she wriggled and struggled with the belt.
“Women,” Ares huffed. “No, don’t touch me! Get it off of me!” He mocked in a high voice. “Make up your mind.”
“What are you? Stupid?” With her modesty having flown straight out the window, Maggie railed at him, “GET IT OFF!” It would not budge, her skin seemed to have grown around the edges of the belt, and it would not give no matter how hard she struggled to push it down.
“Stop it!” Ares demanded. “You’re going to rip the flesh from your bones!” She did not heed his words, she just kept trying to pull it off and he could understand her haste but, “You’re not helping!” He grabbed both of her wrists between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand and held them up over her head. The woman ill.” He let go of her hands and when she stood still, he drizzled the oil over and around the band at her waist using one finger to push away her skin allowing the oil to drip past the gold. The top rim soaked, Ares poured a handful of the oil into his palm. “Open your legs.”
Maggie hesitated, she wanted the belt off more than anything but feared what would happen the second it hit the floor.
“You want to be rid of it or not?”
. Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Heart-War-Lisa-Beth-Darling/dp/0615424686/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1293629750&sr=1-4
Smashwords ]http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/30813
All Romance EBooks[ http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theheartofwar-526917-140.html
You can find out more about this novel by going to http://www.moonsmusings.com/lbdarling/heartofwar
Author's Links: FaceBook-Personal Page http://www.facebook.com/lisabeth1
FaceBook-(brand new!) FanPage http://www.facebook.com/lbdarling
Twitter: lb_darling[
]Website: http://www.moonsmusings.com/lbdarling
Look for the two-part sequel "Child of War-A God is Born" October, 2011 and "Child of War-Rising Son" December, 2011. The last novel in this series "Spoils of War" is coming in 2012.
Great post and excerpt!
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