Of War Series Overview:
My name is Maggie, I'm fifteen years-old, named for my
grandmother Magdalena MacLeod who was the Lost Queen of the Fey Kingdom. If you'll give me a few minutes I'd like to
tell you about my family.
My Grandfather, Magdalena's Husband, is Ares the God of War.
He didn't like her name and so he took it upon himself to rename her; Alena. Much to the displeasure of his Family, the
Olympians, Ares fell head over heels for my grandmother who washed up on the
shore of his island while Ares was sat in a wrongly imposed exile. He caused quite a stir when he refused to
give her over to them in exchange for having his exile lifted and being
welcomed home. Yet, as he once said, he
would rather have one night with Alena than to have 10,000 nights on Olympus.
So in love with her was he that when Aphrodite snatched her away from him and
returned my grandmother to Cernunnos whom she'd managed to evade for two
hundred years, Ares tracked him down to his forest Keep. There, after being held prisoner a short
while, he cut down Cernunnos and turned his ancient fortress to ash.
Ares and Alena were married on the very beach, in the very
spot, where she washed up on his shore. They were happy. So happy together but
for such a short time. Alena became
pregnant with my father, Raven and the Olympians, especially my
Great-Grandfather, were very upset. They didn't want some half-breed running
around Olympus. Knowing his Father's
cunning and cruelty when Zeus presented Ares with a deal to keep Alena and
Raven safe from harm he took it. The
deal was that Ares would have to break his vow to Alena and sleep with
Aphrodite bringing Zeus a full-blooded Olympian. Ares kept his part of the bargain and went to
Aphrodite's bed but while in the throes of vengeful passion Alena went into
labor alone. She cried out for her
Husband but he wasn't there by the time he arrived with my Great-Grandmother,
Hera, he'd nearly lost his Wife and his Son.
Raven was born he was loved by his mother and his Father but
hated by Zeus in spite of the bargain he struck with Ares. From the union of
Ares and Aphrodite, Trinity was born. She was a sweet girl, a full-blooded
Olympian but showed no sign of having special powers. Not like Raven who could
shoot balls of ice from his palms.
Not a being a full-blooded Olympian, it was up to Zeus
whether or not to Accept my Father as one of them. Although my Grandmother had
many mis-givings she was willing to allow it until Zeus, during the Ritual of
Acceptance, tried to lay upon my infant Father the title of God of the Damned. She snatched her Son from the altar before
Zeus could touch him with his staff and complete the ritual.
Much against the wishes of Ares and Alena, Apollo, Ares'
nemesis was made Raven's guardian should anything happen to his Brother. Apollo
gladly accepted the honored position as feeling of ill will was mutual. Apollo
would do anything to hurt Ares but what he wanted above all else was my
Grandmother. Working in concert with
Zeus to bring down Ares and his new happy family, Apollo befriended Raven and
planted wicked thoughts in my Father's head when he was only a child. In the end the goal of Zeus and Apollo was
simple; they wanted Raven to grow so enraged that he would kill his Mother
which would force to kill Raven and then, in a fit of depression, kill
himself. Zeus would be rid of his least
favored Son and the bastards Ares brought to Olympus.
Raven grew tall, strong, and angry until a deep hatred for
his mother burned in his heart and spilled over to his Sister. Until one day,
Trinity suffered a horrible accident; she fell from the very heights of Olympus
all the way to the bottom of the mountain. Aphrodite was heartbroken at the
loss of her Daughter. Ares was angry. Alena was suspicious of her Son and her
Husband. Ares and Alena grew apart. Ares
returned to Aphrodite's bed leaving his Wife pregnant alone with their
Son. That night, Ares and Aphrodite
created my Uncle, Hunter. When my Grandfather returned home to his fortress at
the break of dawn, he found Alena broken and bloody at the bottom of a mighty
marble staircase. He always suspected that Raven pushed her down the stairs
although my father kept quiet and the assertion that he'd never touched his
mother.
That day, Alena gave birth to my Aunt, Rose. The baby was
small, too small. She was weak, frail, and malformed. Although Ares tried to do what he felt was
the right thing and end her suffering he couldn't do it. Rose struggled, her
life was not easy, but she was full of joy and determination. As her mother
fell into a four year sleep, Raven grew and Rose grew and Ares fell into
depression with his little Rose his only ray of light.
In secret, my Father and Apollo hatched a plan to bring
anarchy to reign on the Mortal World. Apollo even convinced my Father that Ares
would approve of the chaos and turmoil in the world below, that as the God of
War, he would be proud. So Raven did all
that could to bring about the destruction of the status quo in the world
below. As riots broke out all over the
planet, and the financial system crumbled, on Olympus my Father began fighting
for acceptance among the Olympians began his Trials while Alena slept. Each God
was to lay before him a Herculean task, the first of which was set by Hades.
Raven went to the Underworld to rescue an innocent soul trapped in Tartarus. He faced many dangers and had to be quick on
his feet and in his mind to pass all the way through Tartarus to the very
center and the City of Dis where he faced the Furies and passed all of their
tests. But Tisiphone presented him with
a challenge of her own; if he made it back to Olympus in victory, he was to
rescue my Grandmother from her deep sleep.
She told him that Alena was not in coma but being held prisoner by
Morpheus. If he were to rescue he would erase all his past misdeeds and be
given a clean start. He would not face eternity behind the walls of Dis as a
prisoner but, instead, when the time came, he would rule over it as the God of
the Damned Zeus intended him to be.
On the last leg of his task he found the soul he was to
rescue; Trinity. It wasn't easy but he
gained her trust and in doing so came to feel the weight of the guilt of
killing her. I think it was that moment
my Father started to change and realize that, Olympian or not, there were
things bigger than himself in this world.
If he hadn't come to that understanding, I don't think my Father would
have been able to face Ares, to tell him that all that time his beloved Wife
was held captive in the Dream World and then to go and get her.
But they did, together Father and Son entered the Dream World,
with little Rose tagging along unexpectedly.
They found my Grandmother caught in the grip of a wicked nightmare as
Morpheus held her, naked and cold, at the top of a very high tower. My Father
morphed into a raven while Ares fought Morpheus, he flew to the top of the
tower to rescue my Grandmother. Yet, when he reached out, when he touched her,
the nightmare in her head jumped into him.
He saw all manner of unspeakable things his Mother suffered and lived
through and kept secret from him. They flooded into his mind until they made
him scream and curled up in a ball, shaking and breathless for a long moment
before he dared touch her again. In the
end, Ares, Rose and my Father were victorious. They brought my Grandmother home
after so long.
When they emerged from the Dream World, they woke to
discover the Olympians knew what was happening in the Mortal World. Raven and Ares were accused of High Crimes
Against Humanity and charged with the deaths of millions upon millions of
Mortals caused not just by the rioting and upheaval but by a horrible disease
called Major Falls, a weaponized version of rabies. Raven knew his friend Apollo had tricked him,
lied to him all of those years. Held in
Zeus' Dungeon, it was up to my Grandmother and Rose to prove their
innocence. Temporarily cast out from
Olympus they wandered the Mortal World and through the utter destruction and
stench of death until they arrived at a place called Area 51. There Alena found
the proof she needed but not before she was attacked and bitten by a dog
riddled with Major Falls. Back on Olympus, with proof in her hands, Ares was
proven completely innocent of all crimes. Raven swallowed his pride and
admitted his part in helping the Mortals along as they barrel toward
self-destruction but maintained his innocence in the spread of the disease. He
too, was found innocent in the spread of the disease that would claim over two
billion lives before it was done. More
than innocence, Alena proved Apollo's guilt to the Olympians. She showed them
irrefutable proof that it was Apollo who went to the Mortal World in Raven's
form and purposefully set the disease free.
Zeus was furious with Apollo for having something so
dastardly behind his back but he could do nothing to punish Apollo without
revealing his own dirty deeds.
Vowing to do all that they could to put the Mortal World
back together, my Family left Olympus, but as the Great Gate opened, Zeus
suddenly Accepted my Father as one of them, giving Raven all of the power he
would have and Lordship over the Damned just as he'd promised when Raven was
only an infant. Apollo railed and the others were shocked by the gesture
bestowed on the young man the God of Gods detested for so long.
When all of them returned to Ares' island, the God of War
was ill. Unknown to any of them he'd
contracted Major Falls and that turned out to be a very dangerous thing. In order to save Ares from a horrible death
either at the hands of the disease or of his own Son, my Grandmother struck the
deal with Apollo that he'd been waiting for; she would go to his bed if he
would give Ares the cure he'd stolen from Area 51. Apollo jumped on it, and her, knowing he
would hold this over her head and force her to his bed for many years to come.
It was on that first trip back to the Mortal World, while
traveling across the remains of the United States that my Father met my Mother,
Lenora an Outcast Fey who had long searched for Alena with the desire of
bringing her home. At first, they didn't
trust each other, in fact they hated each other and my Father almost killed my
Mother. Yet, they soon realized they
shared common goals and were stronger together than apart.
I don't want to spoil anything from here on out, some things
should remain as a surprise. So, if you'd like to know more about me, how I
came to be, or about the lives and stories of my Family, our friend Lisa Beth
Darling has written a wonderful series, OF WAR, I suggest you read it. Start
with "The Heart of War" and immerse yourself in the beginning of this
sweeping saga with the story of how my Grandfather, Ares, met and fell in love
with my Grandmother, Magdalena MacLeod the Lost Queen of the Fey Kingdom.
September 30 Interview
Pembroke Sinclair.
September 30 Spotlight
Fang-tastic Books
October 1 Guest blog
Cloey's Book Reviews and Other Stuff
October 2 Spotlight
Ramblings of a Book Lunatic
October 3 Guest blog
Curling Up With A Good Book
October 4 Guest blog
Reading in Twilight
October 7 Guest blog
Rose & Beps Blog –
October 8 Interview
Mythical Books
October 9 Interview
Roxanne’s Realm
October 11 Spotlight
Author Leah DW
October 14 Interview
Dalene’s Book Reviews
Women of War
OF WAR
Book Five
Lisa Beth Darling
Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: Moon Mistress Publishing
Date of Publication: 2/14/2013
ISBN: 978-0615767611
Number of pages:203
Word Count: 58,000
Cover Artist: Lisa Beth Darling
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/02WcvnLy8-8
Book Description:
Venture on a Mystical Journey through Time and Secrets Past
Book #5 in the OF WAR Series spans four generations of women in Alena's family from her great-grandmother, Shar Draiocht the last known Queen of the Dark Kingdom to her tortured daughter Morrowind, to Maven Alena's free-spirited mother and through the lonely life of Alena MacLeod ending where "The Heart of War" begins with the night Alena washes up on Ares' shore. With intensity, lust, fear, and strength these Women of War make their way in the world revealing the hidden truths of the past and Ares true connection to his beloved Wife, Alena.
SPECIALS:
OF WAR
Novels 1 & 2 Combo Pack—is $0.99 for a limited time.
Available only on
Kindle
DEEP
DISCOUNTS on Signed and Unsigned Paperbacks sold separately or in a set. Until November 4th whenever you
purchase a signed or unsigned paperback you get the ebook FREE.
http://www.moonsmusings.com/gifts
About the Author:
I've been married for the last 27 years to my wonderful husband and incredibly talented musician & rockin' DJ, Roy. We live in my hometown of New London, CT where we have raised two beautiful daughters to adulthood.
My writing career began in junior high, around the 7th grade. A fact that my fellow students adored but often got me called down to the Guidance Counselor's Office to discuss the adult nature of my early stories. While the experience was never pleasant, I was not deterred by the counselors' worries I was spurred onward by them, as well as by my teachers, and my classmates, I continued to hone my craft throughout those formative years.
Through my full-length novels and series I bring conflict, passion, love, and suspense to unique couples--how about a Greek God and a Fae, a retiring military man and an aging widowed hippie, a famous writer/director and a lonely hitch-hiker, or a b-grade actor and a very lucky first-time author? Since I'm never one to shy away from the less pleasant things in life, indeed I believe that it is in the Darkness where Character is created, determined, and defined, my heroes and heroines have their love tested by demons from within and without.
To date, I have penned some 14 novels and 30+ short stories. All of my books and stories are filled with steamy sex, hot passion, dark intrigue, and nail biting suspense. ALL of my works are intended for a Mature Audience Only this includes most of my non-fiction books. My books are for those who like their reading on the gritty side. They are not intended for the faint of heart or those who enjoy a sweet read.
Also, being a Pagan (which is helpful when I write about the Ancient Gods!) I've penned a few useful guides for Ritual Sex/Love Magick and for those wanting to start out exploring Magickal Herbalism.
Facebook: http://facebook.com/lbdarling
1 comment:
Thank you for having me here! It looks great!
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