Friday, April 20, 2012

Mythological Romance: Hearts of the Anemoi by Laura Kaye (Guest Post/Giveaway)


Today I am jumping up and down-excited to have author Laura Kaye join us for our mythology feature! Among some other truly fabulous novels, Laura is the author of the Hearts of Anemoi series which is a must-read! You can check out my review of the first book, North of Need, HERE. Enjoy!


The Mythology of the Anemoi
By Laura Kaye

I’m so glad I get to help celebrate mythology romance here at Reading Between the Wines Book Club! I love any opportunity to come hang out here, so thanks to Crystal for the invitation!

My new Hearts of the Anemoi contemporary fantasy romance series features two books to date: NORTH OF NEED and WEST OF WANT (available for pre-orders, releases 7/10). The Anemoi were directional wind gods (north/south/east/west) that the Greeks associated with the seasons. This first book is about Owen Winters (ancient name Eoghan) who is a snow god in the employ of the Supreme God of the North Wind and Winter, Boreas. The second book is about Zephyros Martius, the Supreme God of the West Wind and Spring. This is the first time I’ve based characters and a world around Greek mythology, and the mythology has contributed such wonderful backstory and conflict to the characters. Here are some examples:

Daddy Drama – the Anemoi have it! Their father was Aeolus, a powerful storm god who kept them locked up and under his control. In the series, Aeolus becomes a source of a lot of the heroes’ inner conflict because of the way he treated them when they were younger. And he continues to try to keep them under his thumb as adults. What I like best though is he isn’t all bad, and I can’t wait to see if readers love him or hate him!

Bad Boys – If you know Greek mythology, you know that everybody was sleeping with everyone and people were getting revenge all over the place, and so on. That’s true for the Anemoi, too. Boreas was said to have kidnapped the princess he loved and spirited her away to a cave. Zephyros was a real player in the mythology, chasing women all over the place and having multiple wives. He liked men, too, and competed with Apollo for one man’s love and lost, and afterward some sort of suspicious incident occurred wherein the man died. The stories go on and on, and I was able to use some of them to build the characters’ backstory and characterization.

Built-in Evil – so, as it turns out, the Greeks had three seasons: winter, spring and summer/fall. They didn’t recognize fall as a separate season. Instead, they associated the fall with unluckiness and evil. So the Anemoi’s mythology gave me the perfect villain in the form of the Supreme God of the East Wind, Eurus, and his ability to spread bad luck and misfortune. Can’t ask for more than that!

Cool Powers – The Anemoi not only controlled the wind and the weather, they could also shapeshift into sacred animal forms (like winged horses among others). From there, it was easy to create other seasonally relevant powers, like winter’s Owen being able to change the composition of ice and snow and the spring’s Zephyros having regenerative healing powers. The more powers the better!

So, what do you most enjoy about mythology romance?

Thanks for reading!
Laura Kaye


About North of Need:
Her tears called a powerful snow god to life, but only her love can grant the humanity he craves...
Desperate to escape agonizing memories of Christmas past, twenty-nine-year-old widow Megan Snow builds a snow family outside the mountain cabin she once shared with her husband, realizing too late that she's recreated the very thing she'll never have.

Called to life by Megan's tears, snow god Owen Winters appears unconscious on her doorstep in the midst of a raging blizzard. As she nurses him to health, Owen finds unexpected solace in her company and unimagined pleasure in the warmth of her body, and vows to win her heart for a chance at humanity.
Megan is drawn to Owen's mismatched eyes, otherworldly masculinity, and enthusiasm for the littlest things. But this Christmas miracle comes with an expiration--before the snow melts and the temperature rises, Megan must let go of her widow's grief and learn to trust love again, or she'll lose Owen forever.

"Laura Kaye's captivating writing and vibrant world-building will have readers hooked on the gods of the Anemoi. WEST OF WANT is steamy, spellbinding, and a must-read for all romance fantasy fans." ~Elisabeth Naughton, author of the Eternal Guardians series

About West of Want:

Betrayal is all he's ever known, but in her, he'll find a love strong enough to be trusted...
When Marcella Raines' twin brother dies, she honors his request to be buried at sea, never expecting the violent storm that swamps her boat. Though she's gravely injured--and still emotionally damaged from her recent divorce--Ella fights to survive.
Zephyros Martius is the Supreme God of the West Wind and Spring, but being the strongest Anemoi hasn't protected him from betrayal and loss. Worse, he's sure his brother Eurus is behind it. When Zeph's heartbreak whips up a storm that shipwrecks a human, his guilt forces him to save her.
Ella is drawn to the vulnerability Zeph hides beneath his otherworldly masculinity and ancient blue eyes. And her honesty, empathy, and unique, calming influence leave Zeph wanting...everything. When Eurus threatens Ella, she and Zeph struggle to let go of the past, defend their future, and embrace what they most want--a love that can be trusted.

~*GIVEAWAY*~
Laura is graciously giving away one print copy of her fabulous and amazing title, North of Need to one US readers AND an eBook of North of Need to one INT reader! To enter, just leave a comment on this post and fill out the RaffleCopter below for your corresponding giveaway. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway

31 comments:

  1. I really like that the guys are gods of nature. I'm always looking for things I haven't seen done before and this is one. Thanks for the chance to win a book.

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  2. Hi Andrea! Thanks for kicking off the comments! I'm so glad you enjoy that angle. I'm kind of a weather geek so I enjoy writing about their weather-related powers! :) Good luck!

    Thanks again for having me here, Crystal!

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  3. I love the nature power angle also -I can't wait to read it
    audie(at)wickerness(dot)com

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  4. Love the idea behind this series--I cannot wait to read it! :)

    It's great when unusual or lesser known myths work their way into romance stories--I mean, the main Gods and Goddesses of Greek mythology, most of us already know, so the author is (usually) a bit limited in how they can make it unique. But with stories like this one, which I didn't even know about from the actual mythology, there is a lot less limitation on how creative you can be. :)

    Oh, and love the covers for both books--can't wait to see the next covers!

    Enjoy,
    TBQ
    TBQ's Book Palace

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  5. This sounds terrific--congrats on your newest release, Laura! Thanks for helping us get started with this series!

    f dot chen at comcast dot net

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  6. Absolutely loved the first book in this series... Owen was delicious... Anxiously waiting for Zephs book!
    Amazing author!
    Thanks,
    Erin
    loveeria@gmail.com

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  7. This sounds like such a great series, and although I haven't had a chance to get started on it yet, I'm really looking forward to it.

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  8. Thanks for all the comments, guys! Definitely enjoying!

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  9. Thanks for the giveaway. I love romance and mythology period. I enjoy both. I love using my imagination. Tore923@aol.com

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  10. Very nice cover and the post was really good.

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  11. There are so many stories with Greek mythology and it can be used to create so many interesting books. I love to see how authors put their own spin on it! This series look awesome, can't wait to start it! Thanks for the giveway!

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  12. @Tore - yes, I'm with you!

    @diva - so glad you like...I'm rather in love with my covers on this series! :)

    @Laurie - thanks so much! Good luck!

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  13. Between hot sexy vampires and drool worthy fever inducing Greek gods you sure come up with some great characters Laura! I have had North of Need in my TBR list every since (before) it came out, and I still kick myself for not picking it up yet. Well I take that back, I tried to buy it at the bookstore one weekend and they didn't have it in stock.
    Can't wait to see where you take this series!

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  14. I like this idea of the Gods of Nature - you usually only see that related to indigenous cultures.

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  15. I have been wanting to read this. I love the way they must let go of their past to move forward.

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  16. I love when mythology is mixed in the story. Love the covers. Are there going to be more in the series? Thanks for the chance.

    mythic021@gmail.com

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  17. @Lexi - thanks so much! I'm attracted to almost every kind of paranormal creature, and it's fun writing different ones! Thanks for trying to get the book in stores! The series will be shelved in Barnes & Noble and other stores beginning this July! :)

    @Di - I really liked that too, being the weather nerd that I am! lol

    @Helen - yay, thanks!

    @Vanessa - a total of four are planned! Besides the two mentioned here there will be South of Surrender (12/11/12) and East of Ecstasy (April 2013)!

    Good luck everyone!

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  18. I think what I enjoy most about mythology romance-is the crafting of a great story new love story off of ancient stories-gods and goddesses, nymphs, driads, sirens, gorgons, etc. The source material is so rich that it's great to take a piece or two of it and weave it together in a new way with new characters.

    This book has been on my wishlist for months! Thanks for the giveaway.

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  19. Hi Laura,
    thank you for the chance at such a great giveaway. i love the cover, it's gorgeous and the book sounds wonderful as does the rest of the series.

    are there only going to be the 4 books in the series? or maybe a spin off series with some of the same mythology?

    tammy ramey
    trvlagnt1t@yahoo.com

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  20. I like the bad boys too. esp when they change when they fall in love

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  21. I like how they have different gods & goddesses for different things. It is interesting to read these stories and see what becomes of them. I have always been interested in mythology.

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  22. I like how they have different gods & goddesses for different things. It is interesting to read these stories and see what becomes of them. I have always been interested in mythology.

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  23. I have not read North of Need yet, and I have to say that I can't remember reading a book about mythology. If I have, for some reason it's escaping me at the moment.
    I would guess that mythology could go just about any direction a writer wanted to take it. All that's needed is a little information, yes? A nudge here to begin the imagination process?
    I thank you for the chance at this giveaway. Would truly enjoy reading about this Owen guy! ;)
    Sebrina

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  24. Congrats on the new release! I have read great things about your series.

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  25. @Sebrina - yes, that is a great thing about basing a story on mythology!

    Thanks for all the wonderful comments, guys! Good luck!

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  26. I would say that I like larger than life aspect of it.

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  27. Mythology has always been interesting to me, and i love how sometimes there are stories of lesser known myths, instead of the most common ones.
    Thanks for the great giveaway!

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  28. I like mythology romance because the heroes are ALWAYS very sexy and larger than life...by that I mean everything is exaggerated. They're big, have unusual strength/weakness, supernatural powers/abilities, stunningly beautiful, uncommon or rare features (i.e. Owen's different colored eyes), crazy circumstances, dark or unhappy memories(or none at all), enemies, frenemies, etc...all which help make up for some VERY interesting stories the authors can create twists and turns for us readers to enjoy in too many ways to even try to count! LOL! Thx for this AWESOME giveaway op! :)

    barbbattaglia @ yahoo.com

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  29. I love learning about the mythology in the book. I think it makes the book more exotic and exciting to read. If I wanted normal everyday things well I have that at home. I like it to take me to a different place and time.

    Mary

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  30. Thank you for this great giveaway! Gale

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  31. I like it because it's a myth that I would want to be real so badly. I love all there is about greek mythology and it's captivating. It's something you know you can't have so you have to just read about the fantasy =)

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