Women of War by Lisa Beth Darling.

I wait and wait until finally Ares graces me with his presence. I play a little with the notepad perched on my lap, pencil trembling in my hand. Carefully I follow his sturdy move designed to show off his tall lean muscular frame. As he sits down on his Throne of Bones, I wait some more, secretly hoping he would start the conversation. I was wrong, I received an inspection from head to toe and the tugging at the corner of his mouth showed he liked what he saw.

Taking a deep breath I picked up my courage and started the interview:

Ares, thanks for letting me interview you in your own home. It's nice and warm here on the island. Any particular reason you're not staying on Olympus anymore?

Thank you for coming, Lisa always speaks so highly of you, any friend of hers is welcome in my home. (Lounging back on his Throne of Bones he lets his dark eyes wander around the well-lit cave with its burning torches and massive hearth). It's not much but we like it.  As to why we're no longer on Olympus, my Son, Raven, has caused of a bit of trouble to the tune of nearly a hundred million dead. (He sighs deeply and shakes his dark head) Not even a God can turn back the hands of time but we—Raven, myself, and my Sister, Athena—will be going into the Mortal World to see what damage control we can do. For now, the island is home-base.

I heard Lisa has finished another installment of the "Of War" series. I've had the privilege of already reading it and I must admit it answers a lot of questions from previous books. Were you ever aware how big a role you played in it? And would you have changed anything if you had the power to do so?

No, I thought it was the ramblings of a desperate woman, Shar, I mean. Even when I saw my Family in her mirror I thought it was a hallucination. But she was beautiful and willing, oh so willing, so I gave her what she wanted. (With a wide smile full of pride, he points to his crotch with open hands). In return, she freed me. Would I change anything? No, as I said not even a God can turn back the hands of time. As ugly as it may have been, everything happened as it was meant to.

Do you think you'll ever set foot in the Dark Kingdom, the home of Maggie? (Having read the book, I now know how he blocked all this from his mind, he should remember it all again too.)

No, I promised Shar that I would never return and, at this point, I see no reason to go back on my word.

Does your wife know you remember this?

(He sighs again and clears his throat) I don't know what she remembers, my Wife is very secretive when it comes to such things.

What will happen if Zeus ever finds out? I mean, he's convinced Maggie is from the Dark Kingdom. If you read this book, one knows he is right.

(Unexpectedly, Ares stands up from his Throne of Bones rising to his full height of 7 feet and looms down) My Wife is from the Golden Lands like her mother and her mother before her.  As for my Father he can go….(His nostrils flare as he takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly) I think our time here is done.

Ares leaves the room angry and I sit here stunned, cursing myself for even bringing up his father in this interview. Knowing my time ran out I set about packing up my stuff, just then I hear a soft rustling of fabric. Turning around I see Maggie coming towards me.

Maggie: Don't think the interview went as well as you hoped?

It went fine until I happen to mention Zeus.

Maggie: *laughs* That name alone can make him lose his temper. Ares and his father can barely tolerate each other.

The door behind us opens as Ares rejoins us, his temper is still very visible but he also cooled down. He rounded us both and stopped next to Maggie.

So how do you feel about this new book from Lisa "Women of War"?

Maggie: She always does such a wonderful job for us, doesn't she, My Love?

Ares: (Opens his arm and waits for Maggie to come to him before closing it around her shoulders and seeming to calm down a bit) Yes, she does.

I can only imagine how hard it is to read your own past, but doesn't it help to fill in some of the blanks?

Maggie: I suppose it does, it was nice to see my father, Norman MacLeod, again if only for a little while. (The smile on her pretty face turns sad as she leans toward her Husband's brawny body and rests her head on his broad chest) Of course, some things are best to lie still and forgotten.

Do you think if Raven read this book he'd understand more why his uncle is trying so hard to be his best friend?

Maggie: I think he already knows. I think somewhere deep inside of him he's always known but was blind to it.  (Her gray eyes swell and redden with tears absently she dabs the first away from the corner.)

(I can see Maggie is having a hard time with this one so I decide not to press for more answers as I finish packing up and say my farewell to both of them.)

Format: (Print, EBook, or Both) Ebook and Print

Links to buy: "Women of War" releases 2/14/2013 to Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords, also in print to Amazon.com. Signed paperbacks and hard covers may be ordered by going to 

http://www.moonsmusings.com

http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Beth-Darling/e/B002BMDA9I/

Trailer Women of War

To celebrate the release of the "Women of War" Lisa is making the "OF WAR Anthology" FREE on Kindle February 14-15^th. Get the first 4 stories in the series FREE!
http://www.amazon.com/WAR-Anthology-Novels-1-3-ebook/dp/B00AAKR6DE/

Author Links:

Blog: http://lbdarling.wordpress.com

Twitter: @lb_darling

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lbdarling

EXCERPT Rated PG—book is ADULTS ONLY:

"Not so fast ya bastard," Norman shot.  "You want my daughter?  You'll have to fight me for her."  He unsheathed his sword to brandish it bravely at the Great Horned God.

Maggie's fluttering heart skipped several beats.  "Da!  No!"  She tugged on his arm as hard as she could trying to pull him back toward the gate that was suddenly closing.  "No, he'll kill you!"  Then Maggie understood why he brought her out here.  If he won, she'd see his great victory and know she didn't have to be afraid any longer.  But, if he lost, Cernunnos wouldn't go storming through the village to get to her, killing and wounding every person he came across as he went.  She stopped pulling and fell quiet. "No."

Norman kept his eyes on Cernunnos even as he sank to his knees to plant a kiss on her cheek.  "Go over there, stay out of the way, girl."

"I love you, Da."

"I love you too, now go."

Wiping away a tear, Maggie sprinted away from the emerging battleground to stand near the cold stone wall surrounding the castle and its small village of angry citizens.

Cernunnos clasped his hands to his bare chest and over his heart as he sighed and shook his head.  "How touching."  He feigned wiping a tear from the corner of his eye as he let out another mocking sigh. "Mortals, you're always so sentimental."  With an icy glower, the cloudless night sky began to stir as clouds thickened, blocking out the sparkling stars.  He raised the Staff of Life and pointed it at Norman.

"Why don'ya do it like a man?" Norman challenged as he stood straight, tall and proud with his chest jutting out bravely and the thick muscles of his arms standing at attention.  He waited but Cernunnos didn't answer him so Norman taunted him further.  "Oh that's right, you're not a man, you're an unholy abomination.  A cowardly one at that, pickin' on little girls."

While finding the offer tempting, Cernunnos found Norman's defiance distasteful and egotistical.  That made the irate father an unworthy opponent.  Letting a shockingly bright ball of energy fly from the tip of the staff, he smirked.  "That wasn't part of the bargain."  Norman tried to evade it but he was too slow and the Great Horned God took off his head with one blow.  The headless body of Norman MacLeod, sword still in hand, crashed to the grassy land just outside the safety of the Castle MacLeod as his head rolled down the hill toward the babbling brook.

In unison, inside the castle looking out from a high window where Elizabeth watched her husband fall and outside the castle where Maggie stood not ten feet away, they both screamed out in anguish; "NO!" Elizabeth fled down the stairs on weak legs as Maggie ran to her fallen father on legs just as weak.  She fell to her knees next to him, threw her little body over him and began weeping as she held onto his lifeless hand.

Also to celebrate the release of this story Lisa would like to giveaway 1 ebook copy of "Women of War" to go with this post. Leave a comment, preferred device and your e-mail address, we'll pick a winner from one of you (my daughter's innocent hand will pick one) and I'll make sure you will get your copy. Closing on midnight friday 8 februari 2013 CET (hey I live in Belgium ;-) ), pick winner on Saturday and forward the winner to Lisa.