Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Guest post: Taking off my rose tinted glasses by Christina Phillips | New Release: Forbidden (The Druid Chronicles #1)

Back in the day, I read Forbidden when erotic romance was first coming on the scene and  Forbidden was being marketed as an erotic romance. I liked the premise of the druid priestess and the Roman soldier having been a history buff all my life. Christina managed to hit a sweet spot for me, combining my love of druids and all things Roman soldier-ey and romance and throw in a little bit of magic and mysticism. Can you say "yes please"?

So when Christina contacted me and asked if I would host the re-release of her books on the bloggity because she got her rights back from her previous publishers, I happily agreed.

Please give Christina a very warm welcome.

Taking off my rose tinted glasses and getting ready for re-release

Thanks so much for having me on your blog today, Deanna! I’m so excited that finally, six years after it was first released, my ancient historical romance, Forbidden, is back out in the world. :-)

Forbidden will always have a special place in my heart as it’s the first full length romance I had published. It was also the first historical romance I’d ever tried writing with the aim of publication—I’d previously been aiming at Harlequin Mills and Boon with category romances.

I was also beyond thrilled to be with my dream publisher, and in my rose coloured world I thought the biggest hurdles were behind me.

Ha ha!

Despite my editor loving the books, they passed on the third one—after I’d already written a third of it, on the promise that they’d buy it. This was just before indie publishing really took off, and although going it alone crossed my mind, the thought of actually doing it terrified me. Luckily (at least I thought it was lucky at the time) books three and four were picked up by another publisher.

Fast forward another four years…

The rose coloured glasses were well and truly off my eyes by this point :-) I was ready to indie publish my beloved Druid Chronicles, and couldn’t wait until I could finally brand all four books as being in the same world (with two different publishers, the original covers didn’t exactly complement each other). It’s been a huge amount of work reformatting and editing the books, and a lot of fun getting new covers for them and wow, have I learned a lot during the process! Not least that when it comes to your dreams you should never give up, never surrender!

The four books in The Druid Chronicles are all standalone romances. No cliffies here! :-)

And now here's Forbidden.

Forbidden by Christina Phillips


Forbidden
The Druid Chronicles #1
By: Christina Phillips
Releasing August 1, 2016
Self published

Buy Links:  Amazon | iTunes

Forbidden by Christina Phillips blurb



 Goodreads | Goodreads series

Excerpt

Set up: Two days after first encountering Carys by a forest waterfall, Maximus unexpectedly finds her again…

    His hand fisted around her hair. “Will you tell me your name now, my lady?”
    It would be so easy. And yet there was power in her name. She might desire this Roman with every breath she took, but she couldn’t trust him.
    “Not yet.” The words slipped out before she could prevent them. Before she realized what they were, what they could mean. Not yet? Would she, then, be able to trust him at some point?
    The corner of his mouth lifted in a brief smile. “Then you intend to tell me another time?” He wound a length of her braided hair around his fist, and she stumbled forward until there was barely a breath between them. “In that case I won’t demand your compliance now.”
    She drew in a deep breath. The earthy aroma of woods and leaves and sacred water diminished beneath the tantalizing scent of virile male, scrambling her mind. What remained of it. “I will never comply with your demands, Roman.”
    His blue eyes ensnared her. Surely they were the eyes of a god.
    “Not yet.” And then he smiled, the smile of a man supremely confident in the outcome of his prediction.
    Entranced by his wordplay, she smiled back. “Not ever. I comply with no man’s demands.”
    His teeth flashed as if he found her comment humorous. “You must have driven your father to distraction.” And then his smile vanished, and the effect was as profound as if storm clouds covered the sun. “Do you defy your husband also, my lady?”
    He had mentioned a husband before. Did the thought of her owning a husband irk him that much?
    It shouldn’t matter. And yet a thrill chased along her spine at the knowledge this proud Roman disliked the thought of her being bound to another.
    “If I possessed a husband, he would know better than to issue me such demands.”
    His eyes darkened and his grasp on her hair tightened, but she refused to stumble before him again. Instead she resisted the pressure he exerted and embraced the needles of pain dancing across her skull.
    Because the pain held a twisted element of pleasure, that spun through her mind and ignited strange tremors along the back of her neck, over her shoulders and across the exposed swells of her breasts.
    “You’re widowed?” His voice held no softness. Just a raw demand to know.
    His smoldering gaze stoked her arousal and the tremors wrapped around her nipples in a sensual caress, tightening the sensitive peaks, straining against the fabric of her gown with unbearable need.
    “I’m not widowed. I’m my own mistress, Roman.”
    Something flashed in his eyes, something dark and dangerous, as if her words held unknown meaning to him. He took a step toward her, loosened his hold on her hair and slipped his hand around the nape of her neck.
    Calloused fingers curled around her vulnerable flesh. Strong. Demanding. Possessive. She tipped back her head so she could look into his face, but also to show him his predatory action didn’t intimidate her.
    He fascinated her. Intrigued her. Drew her as inexorably as a moth was drawn to the deadly flame. Like the moth, she would be burned. Unlike the moth, she knew her fate in advance.
    And still she had no desire to flee.

Read Chapter One here.



Author Info

Christina Phillips

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7 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for showcasing Forbidden, Deanna!

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    Replies
    1. You are very welcome, Christina. Welcome to the bloggity. :-)

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  2. Replies
    1. I've enjoyed reading the first book. I'm excited about a historical that is not your standard Regency. I'm a bit over those.

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  3. Christina, I loved this book when it was first published . So glad you're getting it out there so new readers can enjoy it!

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  4. H Christina

    Woohoo I read this one when it was first published and loved it I have a signed copy lucky me but I really need to read the rest in the series :)

    Have Fun
    Helen

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  5. I love the way you've branded this series. But you know who my favourite Maximus is. Great book. Bought it first time around. Love your writing.

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