Christina Phillips: Ancient Historical Romance = Hot, Sexy Warriors

Thank you, Lee, for having me at Tote Bags ‘n Blogs today to help celebrate the release of Captive, book 2 in my ancient historical romance series, Forbidden, from Berkley Heat.

Set during the first century AD, during the early years of the Roman occupation of Britain, my Forbidden series has sexy warrior heroes and magical Druid heroines. But why did I choose a setting (ancient Wales) and time period in history that could potentially be difficult to place in the market?

Did I mention the hot sexy warriors already? :)

Well, apart from the hot sexy warrior who marched into my head one night and refused to leave until I’d told his story (thank you, Maximus!) I was fascinated by the whole mysterious culture of the Druids. These people had populated the lands for centuries, were educated and respected—and the Roman Emperor, Claudius, wanted them wiped off the face of the earth.

While there’s plenty of written and archeological evidence when it comes to the Romans, there’s not so much when it comes to the Druids. Unfortunately for us, they didn’t entrust their studies to writing and passed on their knowledge through oral traditions. The contemporary written accounts we do have of them are invariably from the Roman viewpoint—the victors—so there’s likely to be some prejudice going on there!

And so my imagination had free reign. In the world of Forbidden the Druids worship the goddess culture, live in an equilateral society and magic is an integral aspect of their daily lives.

Between a warrior and a princess comes an erotic passion as all-consuming as the hatred between their warring worlds…

In Forbidden, book 1 in the series, Maximus, a proud Roman centurion, discovers Carys spying on his bathing ritual and is instantly captivated. Who is this woman, and why hasn’t she been seen in any of the villages the Legion has vanquished?

Maximus has been charged by his Emperor to eliminate all Druids. And Carys, a Druid princess and acolyte of Cerridwen, Goddess of Wisdom, has sworn to rid her land of the barbarous invaders. Yet despite everything that conspires against them they are irresistibly drawn to each other.

Trained in sensuality, a Druid priestess finds herself falling for the wrong man—the warrior who’s taken her prisoner…

Captive begins six months after Forbidden ends. Morwyn, Carys’s best friend, is suffering from a crisis of faith and while she’s traveling to join the rebels is captured by a tough Gaul mercenary.

The hero, Bren, is haunted by his violent past and far from being Morwyn’s bitterest enemy as she imagines, has been undercover in the Roman Legions for the last three years. The problem is he can’t tell Morwyn the truth, because the truth could get them both killed.

I’d love to give away a copy of either Forbidden or Captive to one lucky commenter—open internationally wherever The Book Depository delivers. Just leave a comment on this post or answer this question – why are alpha warrior heroes so hot?

Romantic Times BOOK Review: "Phillips’ second in the Forbidden series is just as hot as its predecessor. Readers will be held Captive by the magic between Druid priestess Morwyn and Bren."

Forbidden:
Excerpt: Over 18s Only, please! http://www.christinaphillips.com/Forbidden%20Chapter%20One.htm

Captive:
Excerpt: Over 18s Only, please! http://www.christinaphillips.com/Captive%20Excerpt.htm

My Website: http://www.christinaphillips.com/