Blog Tour Stop, Guest Blog & Contest: King of Dublin by Lisa Henry & Heidi Belleau

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Hi! We’re Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau, authors of the new post-apocalyptic romance King of Dublin. We’re touring the web talking about Ireland, the post-apocalyptic genre, a behind-the-scenes look at our book, and even a sneak peek or two! And what would a blog tour be without a contest? We’re giving away two ebooks and a souvenir from Ireland to one lucky commenter, so read on!

Thanks so much to Book Reviews & More by Kathy for having us, and to all you readers for following along. And now without further ado, today’s look at King of Dublin!

Plundered Treasures

Ireland is in ruins, its economy destroyed and its government in exile.

Out of the chaos rises a petty criminal, Brian Menzies, who in the power vacuum styles himself as King Boru. Like many petty dictators before, he draws on his country’s past to justify his leadership. He named himself after an Irish high king–follow our blog tour for more on names–he holds court in the Irish House of Lords, once a seat of power in Ireland before the Act of Union. And he surrounds himself with ransacked Irish treasure.

For his throne, he sits (well, lounges usually) on the Irish Woolsack, once used by the Lord Speaker. For his sceptre, he carries the ceremonial mace from the House of Lords. He even wears some gold, in the form of a bronze age lunula he’d have pillaged from the National Museum of Ireland.

In post-apocalyptic Ireland, of course, gold is worthless. It has no monetary value. However, it still has a cultural value, a symbolic value, which Boru recognises. The one-time kings of Europe wore gold, so Boru wears gold. And although it’s debatable how much of a grasp on history Boru actually has, he also has another thing in common with the kings of old — he has a slave.

His greatest treasure is his pet Ciaran, whom Boru has re-christened “Boy”. The pampered pet of the king — who is also often his cowering slave — wears gold stolen from Ireland’s past, as well: arm bands and wrist cuffs, and of course a gold torc for a collar. Ciaran is an important status symbol for Boru for more than just his jewelry or his body. Ciaran is the embodiment of Boru’s kingly power — proof that Boru is greater than any other man. He has the power of life and death over Ciaran, and over all who bow before him.

Boru was once a petty criminal, who has elevated himself to the status of a king. His word is law. He is feared. He loves the trappings of power he has rewarded himself with. They are his until he discards them of his own accord, and replaces them with something better. His treasures are what make him a king. To covet them is to invite death.

Ciaran knows it. So does Boru’s latest subject Darragh. But Darragh can’t stop wanting Ciaran all the same.


kingTitle: King of Dublin by Lisa Henry Heidi Belleau
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Genre: Post-apocalyptic, Erotic, M/M, Romance
Length: 382 pages/Word Count: 100,900

Summary:

Twenty years after a deadly pandemic ravaged the world, Darragh Fearghal Anluan and the people of his village have carved out a hard but simple life in the Irish countryside. But with winter comes sickness, and Darragh must travel to Dublin in search of medicine. What he finds there is a ruined city ruled by a madman, where scavenging is punishable by death . . . or conscription.

Ciaran Daly came to Ireland with aid and optimism, but instead was enslaved by the so-called King of Dublin. After months of abuse from the king and his men, he has no reason to believe this newcomer will be any different. Except Ciaran finds himself increasingly drawn to Darragh, whose brutish looks mask how sweet and gentle he really is.

The tenderness Darragh feels for the king’s treasured pet is treason, but it’s hardly the only betrayal brewing in this rotten kingdom. Rebellions and rival gangs threaten the king’s power, but not nearly as much as Darragh and Ciaran—whose only hope for freedom is the fall of the king.

You can read an excerpt and purchase King of Dublin here.


Author Bios

Lisa Henry lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house with too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

You can visit Lisa her website, at Goodreads, or on Facebook or Twitter.

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Heidi Belleau was born and raised in small town New Brunswick, Canada. She now lives in the rugged oil-patch frontier of Northern BC with her husband, an Irish ex-pat whose long work hours in the trades leave her plenty of quiet time to write.

Her writing reflects everything she loves: diverse casts of characters, a sense of history and place, equal parts witty and filthy dialogue, the occasional mythological twist, and most of all, love—in all its weird and wonderful forms.

When not writing, you might catch her trying to explain British television to her daughter or sipping a drink at her favourite coffee shop.

She also writes queer-flavoured M/F as Heloise Belleau.

Chat with her on Twitter using the handle @HeidiBelleau.
Browse her website at HeidiBelleau.com or HeloiseBelleau.com.
Check out her books on Goodreads.
Follow her Facebook and Tumblr accounts.
Or contact her using good old-fashioned email.


Contest

Thanks for following our tour! To celebrate our release, we’re giving away a great pair of prizes! Up for grabs are: a book from BOTH of our backlists (that’s one Lisa Henry title and one Heidi Belleau one!) and a King of Dublin-themed souvenir from the National Irish museum, mailed straight to your door! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a way for us to contact you, be it your email, your twitter, or a link to your facebook or goodreads account. Please put your email in the body of the comment, not just in email section of the comment form, because we won’t be able to see it otherwise! Two weeks after King of Dublin’s release, on March 8th, we’ll draw a winner from all eligible comments! Be sure to follow the whole tour, because the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win this awesome prize!

Follow the rest of the tour HERE.

11 Comments

Filed under Blog Tour, Contest, Guest Blog

11 Responses to Blog Tour Stop, Guest Blog & Contest: King of Dublin by Lisa Henry & Heidi Belleau

  1. laurie g

    thanks so much for the great giveawaqy!

    parisfan_ca@yahoo.com

  2. Karl

    Please count me in. Thanks.

    Karl
    slats5663(at)shaw(dot)ca

  3. Trix

    This sounds like one I’ll really love!

    vitajex(At)Aol(Dot)com

  4. Ashley E

    I love the sound of this. It’s going on my to-buy list!

  5. Gigi

    Please count me in. Thanks!

  6. Andrea M

    I’d love to win this book – gonna buy it if I don’t because it looks wonderful.
    andreams2013 at gmail.com

  7. Timitra

    Sounds interesting.

  8. H.B.

    Sounds like a fun and interesting read.

    humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com

  9. Penumbra

    Count me in for the giveaway please. Thanks!

    penumbrareads(at)gmail(dot)com

  10. Wow thanks for the nice comments everybody! We hope you’ll try the book, and good luck with the contest!

  11. bn100

    Sounds interesting

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com