BLAST, BLITZ, PROMOS, REVEALS, & TOURS . . . : Flores Publishing

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

SPOTLIGHT w/EXCERPT - HISTORICAL FICTION - THE EMPEROR'S ASSASSIN by Autumn Bardot

The Emperor's Assassin

by Autumn Bardot

Publication Date: October 1st 2019

Flores Publishing

eBook & Paperback; 437 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

BLURB
History paints her as the first female serial killer… Locusta is the daughter of a winemaker in the Roman province of Gaul. She enjoys the indulged childhood of the elite, her concerns only about the day’s amusements. She rides gentle ponies, attends parties, reads Ovid, and learns the herbal arts from her servant. But the day after meeting her betrothed, Locusta discovers the consequences of possessing such dangerous knowledge. Ordered to leave her pastoral life, Locusta is thrust into a world of intrigue, scandal, and murder—where treason lurks behind every corner and defying an emperor means death. Locusta’s life changes forever when a young Emperor Nero requires her herbal expertise. And commands her to be his personal poisoner. Caught in an imperial web, Locusta must embrace her profession or die. Or is there another way out? History paints her as the first female serial killer. Or is she yet another maligned woman in history?

Available on Amazon

THE EMPEROR’S ASSASSIN
I plodded down the hall but stopped before a marble ancestor in the atrium. “My betrothed is old,” I whispered into his stone ear. “And stern.” I looked toward my room. Pricilla waited for me and would be eager to hear all about Faustinus.
I patted the ancestor’s head and went to the kitchen instead. I passed three kitchen workers washing dishes, walked out the back door, and headed for the vineyards. Although it was night, the moon was large and bright, its light guiding me into the indigo rows that stretched over the hillside.
I grazed my fingertips across the silken leaves and inhaled the comforting scents. A brisk walk always helped me think, the exercise and grape-heavy air a balm to my spirit, the soft soil beneath my sandals cushioning my heavy heart. And Mother was here.
I liked to believe Mother’s spirit lived among the curled tendrils and cordons of purple clusters. She must! Because I could not bear to think she was imprisoned in Hades’ depths or submerged in the River Styx. I refused to consider the tormented hell described by Virgil in The Aeneid. Mother did not deserve such suffering. I also rejected the belief that she was carried off by genii into caves under the earth or that she drifted in a godless limbo after judgment by Minos. I preferred to believe Mother cavorted in the Elysian Fields, and by some mystical means, those fields joined with our earthly ones. Father scoffed at my notions of afterlife. Asked why I wanted her to wander in dark places like a lemure. He did not understand that it was not Mother’s ghost but her spirit who spoke to me.
“Mother,” I whispered into the vines.
Mother answered with a bird’s screech. Its piercing cry commiserated with me, matched the tightness in my chest. A childhood severed by a betrothal to a stern old man. A wrinkled, saggy-jowled, hairy-eared, arrogant man.
Mother spoke again. This time through a nightingale’s song. Find the good and honorable in the man, find a melody in his somber personality.
I snapped off a leaf, recalled Faustinus’s gossip about Messalina and how her wanton behavior was an insult to Emperor Claudius and Roman decorum. Her desire for adventure and romance neither controlled nor quenched.
Had Faustinus sent a veiled warning to me? I kicked at a pebble. I was no Messalina. I had no desire for drama and intrigue. The promiscuous behavior of Rome’s elite was far removed from these vineyards and herbs and sunshine. A kind husband, children, a good book, and a fertile garden were my only ambitions.
I shivered in the cool air and rubbed my bare arms. Thick clouds crossed the moon, the darkness transforming familiar boughs into sinister apparitions. Mother was gone, her spirit fled with Luna’s light.
I walked swiftly down the path, back toward the villa and Pricilla’s comforting arms. I was ready to tell her about Faustinus.
As I approached the collecting station with its grape-sweet tang thick in the air, a figure slunk out from the darkness.

Author Info
Autumn Bardot writes historical fiction and historical erotica. Her debut historical fiction is THE IMPALER'S WIFE. Her debut historical erotica is LEGENDS OF LUST. Autumn, a pen name, has worked as an educator for more than sixteen years. She teaches literature, writing, and the magic of words. She has a passion for history and a special affinity for the unsung courageous females that history has neglected. Or misunderstood. Autumn lives in Southern California with her husband and every-growing family. She wishes she was one-tenth as brave as the women she writes about. Historical Fiction ~ The Impaler's Wife ~ Dragon Lady ~ The Emperor's Assassin ( coming Oct 1, 2019 ) Historical Erotica ( Cleis Press) ~ Legends of Lust, Erotic Myths from around the World ~ Confessions of a Sheba Queen ( coming March 10, 2020)

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Giveaway
During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a paperback copy of The Emperor's Assassin! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

The Emperor's Assassin

Giveaway Rules – Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on November 15th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Paperback giveaway is open to US residents only. – Only one entry per household. – All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. – The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.

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Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, October 21 Review at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, October 22 Review at Gwendalyn's Books

Wednesday, October 23 Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads

Friday, October 25 Review at Al-Alhambra

Monday, October 28 Review at Red Headed Book Lady

Wednesday, October 30 Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Thursday, October 31 Review at History from a Woman’s Perspective

Friday, November 1 Guest Post at History from a Woman’s Perspective

Monday, November 4 Review at Jessica Belmont

Tuesday, November 5 Feature at CelticLady's Reviews

Wednesday, November 6 Review at Locks, Hooks and Books

Thursday, November 7 Review at Beth's Book Nook Blog

Friday, November 8 Excerpt at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots

Monday, November 11 Review at Books and Zebras Interview at Jorie Loves A Story

Tuesday, November 12 Excerpt at Maiden of the Pages

Thursday, November 14 Review at 100 Pages a Day

Friday, November 15 Review at Broken Teepee Review at Coffee and Ink Review at Jorie Loves A Story Review at WTF Are You Reading?

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

SPOTLIGHT w/EXCERPT - HISTORICAL - The Impaler's Wife by Autumn Bardot

The Impaler's Wife
by Autumn Bardot

Publication Date: April 2nd 2019

Flores Publishing

eBook; 452 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

BLURB
Legend, history, and passion collide in this gritty, evocative, and sensual story about history's most notorious price and the woman who paid love's ultimate price.

The year is 1464, and young King Matthias controls Hungary, his family, and the fate of the world’s most notorious political prisoner, Prince Vlad Dracula. I

lona Szilágy, the king’s cousin, is young and ambitious. Dracula is determined to marry into the Hunyadi family. It is love at first sight…but the king has other plans. The Impaler Prince, however, never takes no for an answer. This begins Ilona’s journey into the treacherous world of court intrigues, family betrayals, and her husband’s dark desires.

Eager to become Vlad’s trusted confidant, Ilona soon discovers that marriage to a man tortured by his past comes with a price.

Woven throughout is a peek into the life and times of one of the world’s most enigmatic and maligned rulers…the man before the legend. With Bardot’s decadent period detail and a cast of gritty evocative characters, The Impaler’s Wife offers a fierce yet sensuous glimpse into the violent 15th century.

Available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble

EXCERPT

I tread upwards, evil’s chill clinging to my limbs. At the top, I try to purge the dungeon’s misery, malice, and madness with a long exhalation. Yet the horror sticks like nettles in my soul.

“This way.” I move past the dark tunnel and enter the lighted one, relieved to put space and distance between the prisoners and me.

The tunnel ends at a large grotto where Prince Vlad pauses to light the ring of torches affixed to the walls. I wait on a stone bench near the baptismal fount, sighing with relief as the golden glow of the church-like arches infuses peace into my troubled soul.

Prince Vlad sits beside me. “We go from hell to heaven.”

I tuck a stray lock behind my ear. “This was Father’s favorite grotto. God’s Buried Cathedral, he called it. His second favorite has a Titan-sized head emerging from the ground—like a god got stuck in molten rock. I was only in that grotto once. It reminded me of an insect trapped in tree sap that ages to amber—the insect forever entombed—never aging, almost alive in its resin grave.”

“Do you find that horrific or beautiful?” His eyes search mine.

“Both I suppose.” My shoulders move into my sigh. “Caves are dreary places.”

“I rather enjoy them. Tunnels have saved my life several times.” Dracula stands. “I think we are both ready for fresh air.” He offers his hand, its warmth a familiar comfort.

Together we walk through the tunnel lit by small lanterns that flicker like fireflies all the way to the exit.

Prince Vlad gives the stubborn iron-crossed door a hard yank and it groans open. Outside, a sapphire dawn drapes over Buda.

“On no.” My hands fly to my face. “It’s so late it’s early.” Were we in the tunnels that long? If my aunts discover I never returned to my room…I spin about, my voice edged with panic. “I have to go back. Now.”

Vlad’s brows crease with concern. He tugs a handkerchief from his robe and touches it to my lips as though dabbing at a smudge. “There’s something I must do first.” He lays the linen over my lips and sets his mouth on mine.

Even through the thin fabric, his lips sear my own. I part my lips, feel the linen moisten with the breath of our lust. I collapse into him, my body sizzling with desire. I am about to rip away the fabric and taste his lips when he breaks the kiss.

Vlad Dracula steps back, the handkerchief between thumb and forefinger. “If you marry Luigi della Scala you will still be chaste.” He drags the handkerchief across his mouth. “I will always have this.”

Chaste? Prince Vlad just violated my heart and corrupted my flesh!

Back in my chambers, I touch my lips that still burn with the memory of our kiss—my first kiss—and groan. Vlad Dracula used my virtue, conceit, and fears to study the labyrinth’s secrets. He took advantage of my desire for romantic adventure to learn the escape route.

Author Info
Autumn Bardot writes historical fiction and erotica about sassy women and daring passions! Her erotic fiction includes Legends of Lust, Erotic Myths from around the World, published by Cleis Press. Confessions of a Sheba Queen (erotica) will be available Jan 2020. The Impaler's Wife is her debut historical fiction, releasing in April 2019. Autumn has a BA in English literature and a MaEd in curriculum and instruction. She’s been teaching literary analysis for fourteen years When Autumn’s not writing or working, you'll find her hanging out with her ever-growing family, spoiled husband, and pampered rescue pooch. Her favorite things include salty French fries, coffee, swimming, and a great book.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we will be giving away one paperback copy of the Impaler's Wife! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules – Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on July 5th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Giveaway is open to US only. – Only one entry per household. – All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. – The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.