Big Huge Reader Contest - Day 23!

Sex is a major part of the erotic romance genre, it also happens to be a prevelent activity in Ancient Greek mythology, and I put the two together for the Mythological Messes Redux series. Recently I had a reader ask me how I decided who had what kind of sex and it wasn't something I'd ever really thought about. The simple answer would be that the characters tell me what they want to do in the sack and, to a certain extent, that's true, although I generally know who will do what before the characters are fully developed as their sexual proclivity is part of their personalities.

Let me back up and clarify something. Our discussion had started with us talking about the unconventional, non-vanilla [BDSM and Ménages] sex I sometimes write and how they should have a unique page on my website [I've since taken their advice and done this :-)]. So, back to that question, how I decide who has what type of sex, specifically when it came to the Ancient Greek mythological characters. While the gods, goddesses and immortals were all sexually active, that was generally as far as it went, but would they have stretched the repertoire in the boudoir if the opportunity had been presented?

Let's see, shall we?


Hephaestus, god of the Forge, was hated, mistreated and ridiculed by his stepmother [Hera is just as often considered his mother], but he was a good man. He worked hard making important special items for the other Olympians. Things like thunderbolts for Zeus and Hermes' winged hat and shoes. Heph may find it necessary to walk with an aid, a stick, but the work he did meant he was totally buff. The god was big, with well defined muscles and handsome [at least I like to think so]. Wouldn't it be logical for a man who is physically challenged and yet quite comfortable with manipulating steel to be turned on by binding his lover for his focused attention?


Then there's the twins who aren't really twins, Castor and Pollux, the Dioscuri [Sons of Zeus]. Brought up as brothers, they were very close and as grown men, became even better friends. They thought and acted as one. Both men were great horsemen, renowned hunters and the best of boxers who often sought to right a wrong - the brothers protected those who needed it most. On such a mission, Castor [mortal] lay dying when Pollux gave up his immortality to spend eternity with his brother, not completely dead, but existing as the Gemini constellation. Doesn't it make sense that these two men would fall in love with the same woman?


And then there's the feared, one-eyed Cyclopes monsters, they could never have a lover, could they? Agres, Steropes and Brontes have existed forever, are firmly set in their ways and see no reason to change. Humans are annoying and it's fine with them that cower in fear of the brothers. Work keeps them busy and it takes a great deal of attention to keep from sucumbing to their unique personifications. However, their job also happens to shape their bodies into delightfully strong forms, and the one eye, surrounded by long lashes, is gorgeous, especially when focused on a specific woman. Never believing love would never be theirs, it's believeable that these three outcasts would share the one who holds their hearts wants, right?

Bondage and ménages fit these three scenearios, the characters personalities, and could actually have happened if happiness for all had been the goal of the myths, only it wasn't. Lessons were definitely learned from those ancients texts, but in the 21st century, everyone - including the physically challenged, the might as well be dead, and the feared - is entitled to their happy ever after. Right? Of course they are! How they go about finding their pleasure is how the lovers express their deep emotions for each other and if that means tying them down or sharing them with another, so be it.

By the way, tags/labels denoting sub-genres are hints for a reader of what's in a book, and they're important, although there are problems.  Most publishers set a limit for labels and that means there could be problems for readers who don't want to read specific sub-genres.  Also, definition of the tags/labels differ, which adds further complications to picking out a book that suits a reader.  And then, on top of all that, there's the fact that no two authors write sub-genres in the same way.  My advice is twofold.  First, when it comes to sub-genres [mc, bdsm, menage, rubenesque, etc.] be adventurous, and set aside the "I don't read...".  And then I suggest knowing the authors and how they write.  Do this by visiting their websites, blogs, tweet them a query, because you might be missing a great book because of the "I don't read..." limits.

So, that said, for me, when it comes to BDSM and D/s, I don't include pain or humiliation in my books/ebooks - just pleasureable fun and games that all the characters involved want.  And, when it comes to menages, what can I say other than they are not orgies, they fit.

Other books of mine where BDSM and Ménages take place:
Come, Sweet Creature [bondage and D/s]
Extreme Speed, Total Control [one scene ménage a trois]
An Invitation to the World: Russia and New Zealand [D/s and ménage a trois]
The Leather Bride [bondage]
Zandia [bondage and exhibitionism]
Taming Marie Antoinette [bondage, D/s and ménage a trois]
Ride 'em [bondage, D/s and ménage]
The Gilded Cage [bondage and D/s]
Highland Heat [bondage]
Call Me Lucifer [bondage and D/s]
My Angel [bondage]

and...

Mythological Messes Redux series by Tilly Greene
Hephaestus Lays Down the Law [bondage] - (ebook) ARe│Fictionwise and (paperback) Amazon│BN│your local independent bookshop
Together Again? - ARe
Double Punch [ménage a trois] - (ebook) ARe│Fictionwise and (paperback) Amazon│BN
Cyra's Cyclopes [ménage] - ARe│Fictionwise

Tilly Greene Website│Blog│Facebook│Twitter

AUTHOR GIVEAWAY TODAY
Tell me if you think mythological figures would have practiced kinky sex if it had been around back then and you're entered to win a gift certificate to All Romance eBooks [ARe]!


REMEMBER
Commenting and/or asking questions on an author’s blog for the day will enter you into the Big Huge Reader Contest for a Pink Sony eReader or one of three boxes packed full of RT Booklovers Convention goodies. Unfortunately, due to the grand prize being an electronic and weight of the other three boxes, this contest is for US residents only.

Time for a new kind of hero!

My latest heroes aren't the traditional handsome alpha stud and yet they are in the eyes of the heroine.

Who could possibly be a new kind of hero?

Cyclopes! 

They are monsters from Ancient Greek and yet they aren't really all that bad.  They are the sons of Uranus [sky] and Gaia [earth] and were feared because they were so physically strong.  Because they were so much stronger than their father, he chose to lock them in Tartarus so they couldn't help seize power from him.  Unfortunately, while Cronus did take over and released them, he also sent them back to Tartarus because, like his father, he didn't want them to help seize power.  Third time is a charm for the Cyclopes and Zeus rescued them.  The proficiency the show in the forge was well respected and they made special items for immortals such as Hades [helmet of invisibility], Posiedon [trident] and Zeus [thunderbolts].

There are many Cyclopes, however, three brothers [Agres, Brontes and Steropes - my three heroes] in particular who are very important men and yet they were never given a chance to explore their softer sides.  Well, I changed that and gave them the opportunity to meet a woman who could do just that in "Hephaestus Lays Down the Law", and they've been with her ever since.  However, even though they live together and appear happy, all is not roses in the relationship.  The brothers have never felt such joy with a woman before and she is about to leave them unless they figure out how to keep her.

It's past time for Cyclopes to love and be loved and they're given the chance to do just that with "Cyra's Cyclopes", the fourth installment in the Mythological Messes Redux series.

You think you know all about Cyclopes by reading about them in Homer's Odyssey, but there is so much more to them than that one incident.

So, can a one eyed giant be a sexy and caring lover?  Absolutely!  Can three? Phrew, it's a red hot yes!  Pick up a copy of "Cyra's Cyclopes" and enjoy the trio finding their way through new territory - love.

Mythological Messes Redux Series
Hephaestus Lays Down the Law
Together Again?
Double Punch - NEW!
Cyra's Cyclopes - NEW!

Zeus is...

the King of Gods, ruler of Mount Olympus, the god of sky and thunder* [wait until you read Cyra's Cyclopes].  Zeus is a powerful man in touch with his sexual needs.

Yes, sex, and let's remember, that is not a dirty word.  I'm going to give you a truth some may find hard to accept:  he had loads of sex and not always with his wife.  Some interludes were had with permission and some without.  Some as a man and some not.  Most with women, but not always.  In fact, the list of his partners, willing or not, is very long, and is a part of his character.  Let's be clear, Zeus did not make a couple of errors of judgement on his way to or even as the Olympian leader.  He was a habitual philanderer.

And that doesn't bother me.

I embrace all aspects of this mythology megastar, both good and bad.  In fact, the premise behind my Mythological Messes Redux series is to address a few of the myths that disturbed me.  As an example of this, in Together Again? and continues in Double Punch, Zeus is given an opportunity to make amends for how he treat Leda - the woman he took as a swan and impregnated her with Helen and Polydeuces (Pollux) at the same time she was already pregnant with Clytemnestra and Castor.

So, let's remember, no one was perfect in Classical Greek mythology, not even Zeus. 

Enough said.

Mythological Messes Redux Series

Hephaestus Lays Down the Law

Together Again?

Double Punch

Cyra's Cyclopes [coming soon]

*=from Wikipedia

Book Talk!

I'm working on 'Double Punch', which will be followed up by 'Cyra's Cyclopes' [you met them in 'Hephaestus Lays Down the Law'], and I suddenly realized that the Ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses have shown up in my writing before, and I don't mean any other book in the Mythological Messes Redux series.

They show up in 'The Painted Lady', part of the Winter Wishes Anthology.

The heroine, Saffron Hoyt, is a model doing a private commission as her last photoshoot. She's retiring because she doesn't want to watch her weight anymore. The gig involves having her body painted so she blends into a variety of paintings/sculpture such as Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus, Peter Paul Ruben's Leda and the Swan, and the Venus de Milo.

There is also an important appearance by Janus in 'New Beginnings: Carpe Diem'.

You haven't heard of him? Well, he isn't Greek, he's Roman, but he fit so perfectly, I had to go with him. You see, the escapees need are searching for a name to suit their new piece of paradise and the heroine, Maris, who was a librarian, suggests Janus. Amongst other things, he was the god of civilization, beginnings and endings, and blessed with a benevolent personality. Perfect.