Please welcome Janine Ashbless to Novel Reflections; here to talk about her newest release, Heart of Flame.

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When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Ooh – probably when my first paperback came out in 2000; a collection of erotica shorts with paranormal/fantasy settings, called “Cruel Enchantment.” I was so happy! It literally felt like I’d discovered my purpose in life: “I AM A WRITER!”

Please tell us about your latest release.

Okay, it’s an Arabian Nights fantasy-romance and it’s out from Samhain on 20th December:
http://store.samhainpublishing.com/heart-flame-p-6571.html

Here’s the official cover blurb:

And on the One-Thousand-and-Second night, Scheherazade told this story…By day, Taqla uses her forbidden sorcery to move freely about the city of Damascus in the guise of an old sage. Her true identity known only by her faithful servant woman, Taqla is content with the comfortable, if restrictive, life that keeps her safe from the control of any man. Until she lays eyes on a handsome merchant-traveler. Suddenly her magical disguise doesn’t rest so easily on her shoulders.When long-time widower, Rafiq, hears that the Amir’s beautiful daughter has been kidnapped by a scheming djinni—and that she will be given in marriage to her rescuer—he seeks the help of “Umar the Wise” to ensure he will be that man. Yet as he and the disguised Taqla set off, he senses that his prickly male companion is hiding something.In a moment of dire peril, all of Taqla’s secrets are stripped bare—her fears, her sorcery and, worst of all, her love for Rafiq. Yet the princess’s life hangs in the balance, and there is no running away or turning back. Even though passion may yet betray them all…

Product Warnings:
Scary monsters and creepy ruins in the desert—check. Pagan gods that demand blood-sacrifices—double check. A handsome hero who looks good in a robe and even better out of it—oh yeah. Check, check and check. That’s worth a heroine dropping a veil or two.

Without giving away spoilers, can you share your favorite scene from the book?

The morning after my heroine Taqla and hero Rafiq have finally got their act together and had the most wonderful, romantic, intimate sex … he proposes marriage to her and they end up having this HUGE row. I mean, just a 5-star ding-dong “I never want to see you again” screaming match, which she provokes really quite deliberately. Poor Taqla … she’s so in love with him but she’s terrified of putting herself into his hands, for very good reasons. All she can do is reject him. Poor Rafiq … he just does not see this coming, and he has no idea what he’s done wrong. It’s like a brick dropping on his head. I loved writing this. I’m a big ol’ meany to my characters.

What was one of the most interesting things you learned in researching your book?

Tons of things we associate with Arabian Nights fantasy didn’t exist in Baghdad in the “Sinbad” era – the 9th Century.
Scimitars. Backgammon. Hubble-bubble pipes (and tobacco, of course). Coffee.
I put them all in anyway. After all, if you’re writing about a world with djinn and ghouls…

The thing I really had to grit my teeth over was … pockets. My heroes do a lot of travelling and concealing stuff and they *really* need pockets, despite the fact I couldn’t find any historical justification for them!

How do you like your heroes and heroines?

Frustrated – half the fun is in the chase. It’s in NOT being allowed to get what you want.
Also brave, determined, feisty and intelligent.

They’re almost always loners too. A little isolated, emotionally, from other people.

And I have a thing for hair, heh heh. My heroes always have great hair. And almost always stubble or a beard. (My heroines just settle for the great hair.)

What does romance mean to you?

Romance, for me, means characters who will endure anything for the sake of the one they love. Which means the characters in my romantic fiction have a ghastly time! I mean, just terrible. They can count themselves lucky if they get through to the Happy Ever After without losing their lives. (I’m not exaggerating, much: in my novella “The House of Dust” the hero starts off by dying and the heroine has to descend into the Land of the Dead to bring him back.) So my romantic heroes and heroines have to be made of tough stuff. When they say “I love you,’ they really mean it.

What was the last amazing book you read?

A collection of short stories by Jane Yolen called “Tales of Wonder” Somehow I managed to miss this writer while growing up, which is such a shame because I’d have worshipped her as young adult. She has an absolutely wonderful writing voice.

Can you leave readers with a teaser from HEART OF FLAME?

Belatedly she plucked the jabbayah headscarf she wore around her shoulders and pulled it over her head, wrapping it to veil her lower face. Because, of course, the word that had revealed the true form of the ghouls had torn her magical disguise to shreds too.
Rafiq uttered a harsh laugh. “Why bother with that?”
“Don’t look at me.” She averted her face.
“Not a man at all then. A witch.”
Taqla clenched her teeth.
He laughed. “I knew, you realize. I’ve known—I’ve guessed—for a couple of days.”
“What?”
“You talk in your sleep, you know. With a woman’s voice.”
Taqla’s jaw dropped. How was she supposed to have guessed she did that? “What did I say?” she stammered.
He gave her a guarded look. “Nothing clear enough to make out. But your voice is female. And once I noticed that…well, there were other things that catch the attention. You don’t make eye-contact when you talk, you don’t like to stand too close—and no offense, but you fight very dirty, like a woman does.” His eyes were as hard as a sword-edge. “I took you to the bath-house to make sure, but after that I thought that if it’s a disguise, it’s a very good one. Magic.” He said the word like it stained his mouth.
Taqla bit her lip.
“You’re the girl from the empty house, aren’t you? The watchman’s trull. I recognize that glare.”

Where can readers find you on the web?

I blog at www.janineashbless.blogspot.com
My website is www.janineashbless.com
My facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Janine-Ashbless-author-page/140154696078980

Author Bio:

Janine Ashbless is a multi-published author of erotic romance and erotica. Her first book was published in 2000 by Black Lace and she currently writes for Samhain and Ellora’s Cave among others. She’s always used elements of fantasy, mythology and folklore in her writing, with occasional forays into horror.

Janine loves goatee beards, ancient ruins, minotaurs, trees, mummies, having her cake and eating it, holidaying in countries with really bad public sewerage, and any movie or TV series featuring men in very few clothes beating hell out of each other. She’s a roleplaying geek and can still sometimes be found running round in the woods hitting other geeks with a rubber sword. It is unlikely she will grow up anytime soon.

Janine lives in Yorkshire, England, with her husband and two rescued greyhounds, and is trying hard to overcome her addiction to semicolons.


Links:

Samhain webpage for book: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/heart-flame-p-6571.html
blog: www.janineashbless.blogspot.com
website: www.janineashbless.com
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Janine-Ashbless-author-page/140154696078980
e-mail: janine.ashbless@yahoo.com



Giveaway Details:

  • Janine is gifting a PDF copy of her previous fantasy/erotic romance novella, “The King’s Viper” to one randomly drawn commenter.
  • Please leave a comment, or question for Janine, along with your email addy.
  • Contest is open the duration of the tour.
  • Winner will be randomly selected and notified.

Tour Stops:

The tour dates can be found here:  http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/11/virtual-book-tour-heart-of-flame-by.html