Today I am so pleased to welcome Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes to Joyfully Jay. The authors have come to talk to us about their latest release, Prince of Death. They have also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving them a big welcome!

 

If you went to an American public school, chances are you studied Greek and Roman mythology. We can’t speak for any other country’s system, but in the U.S., you probably learned about larger-than-life heroes, the Trojan War, Zeus sleeping with every woman he met, and the many, many ways dealings with the gods can go wrong.

If that’s the only opportunity you’ve had to learn about myth, we’ve got great news: you haven’t read the best parts yet.

You probably didn’t read about Ganymede. It turns out that Zeus didn’t just sleep with every pretty woman he met—he liked all the pretty people. In fact, Zeus was pretty clearly pansexual in many versions of mythology.

Most of us never read about Hyacinth, Apollo’s beautiful young Spartan lover. The story says the god loved him so dearly that when he was struck down in a tragic accident (or killed by another jealous god, Zephyrus), Apollo wanted to become mortal and die himself. Failing that, he turned Hyacinth into a flower in memory of his love.

Then you have the mpreg. In a story told by Aelian, a Roman author and teacher, Nerites was the only male nereid. He captured the attention of many gods in his day, but the only god who captured his attention in return was Poseidon. Eventually they had a son, Anteros, the god of reciprocated love. We guess U.S. middle school curriculums didn’t know what to do with that.

To learn more about the ancient mythos, though, you don’t have to go as far back as Aelian. There are lots of stellar examples of the Greek pantheon, tropes, and mythology in current LGBTQIA+ fiction. We took some liberties when we wrote our own interpretation, but oral mythologies and histories are fluid enough to allow storytellers to continue to change and reinterpret them for the modern age. Hopefully you’ll find more myth to love in the first book of our Lords of the Underworld series, Prince of Death.


Blurb

Gifted power over life and death, Lysandros has spent millennia in the underworld, listless and alone. The youngest child of Hades and Persephone, he’s been sheltered from the threats in the world above.

Theo Ward hasn’t been so lucky. After watching his mother wither away, he’d do almost anything to have her back. When a messenger appears at the Banneker College of Magic and offers the young professor a chance to save her, Theo can’t pass it up, even if it means going straight into the underworld and dragging her home. But Theo gets more than he bargained for when he crosses paths with the prince of Hades.

Set against the king of Olympus, they must shed their past burdens and learn to trust in each other, so they can face down a storm that threatens to wipe the nation’s capital off the map.


Bio

Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes bonded over a shared love of crabs (the shellfish), cats, and happy endings. Together, they’re working on the Lords of the Underworld series, featuring brooding gods and the men, myths, and creatures of the night that soothe their worried hearts.


Giveaway

Sam and W.M. have brought a copy of Prince of Death to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Monday, March 11th at 11:59 pm ET.


  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.
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