Hi everyone —
This is a week for favorite author visits. Today and tomorrow, author Kay Berrisford is introducing us to Lord of the Forest, a retelling of Robin Hood as only Kay can. And be sure to leave a comment WITH YOUR EMAIL because Kay has all kinds of good stuff she’s giving away on this tour. Read to the bottom of the post to see the goodies. Here’s Kay–
Opposites Attract–the Ultimate Outlaw Hero falls for the Royal Spy!
Thanks to Tara to having my today. It’s always wonderful to visit the Beautiful Boys of Romance.
This week, I’m celebrating the release of Lord of the Forest, the third installation in my Greenwood series (though if you’ve not read the first two, don’t panic–they can be read in any order.) The events of Lord of the Forest take place before either of those novels. It’s a medieval romp set in 1217, and the hero is the most famous Greenwood legend of them all—Robin Hood.
I’ve always been a massive fan of Robin Hood stories, movies, and shows, so the first question I asked when I decided to have my own stab at writing him was obvious. What new angle can I bring? Obviously, as a writer of m/m, I had an advantage from the start. The main romance was never going to be Robin/Marian. However, Marian has by no means been central to all tales of Robin Hood. The first mention of Marian comes as late as 1508, nearly three hundred years after the first records of Robin. His friends, Little John et al, however, were there from nearly the start, as were the tales of fighting, friendship, and of their exciting lives, sequestered away among woodlands and thickets. It wasn’t a great leap of imagination to envisage an m/m version of Robin Hood!
So…who should Robin fall in love with? Little John? Will Scarlet? Friar Tuck? Well, I could have gone along any of those paths, but somehow it didn’t feel fresh enough to me. Like every generation of storywriters before me, I wanted to reinvent Robin a little, and take him away from the comfort of his Sherwood idyll. My Robin is a man who values friendship and trust above all other qualities—so I decided to throw down the gauntlet. What if the man he ultimately falls for is one he cannot trust? What if he’s part of the band who lays down the evil laws that Robin is fighting, a forester (who were a bit like a medieval police force), or even a royal spy? Cal, the man he falls for, is all of the above.
It’s not going to be an easy road for Robin, that’s for sure. But if you enjoy medieval-style action, a large dose of forest magic, and a tale of mismatched lovers seeking redemption, salvation, and the ultimate happiness, I hope you enjoy reading Lord of the Forest as much as I did writing it.
Blurb:
England, 1217. Dark forces are rising. In the Greenwood, foul spirits grow powerful, and greedy barons plunder the lands. Only one man dares fight back—Robin Hood.
Robin’s band of brothers is broken. Now a lone warrior, he denies his famous name and laments the friends and lovers he’s lost. When the fair folk capture Cal, a beautiful young forester descended from the Greenwood’s ancient protectors, Robin rescues him and forges a new alliance.
Despite a sizzling attraction, Robin senses Cal isn’t like his old comrades, and he’s right. Cal’s been raised as a royal spy. He plans to seduce and betray Robin, but can’t harm the man he’s falling hard for. Mistrust and arguments spill into passionate lovemaking, as Cal learns the meaning of loyalty, fighting beside Robin, the only friend he’s ever known. Even the enchanted forest seeks to bind Robin and the returned protector ever tighter.
Their connection will be tested by nature’s wildest forces, Robin’s past, Cal’s lies, and in a baron’s darkest dungeon. To survive, Robin and Cal must admit their love and embrace their true destinies. Only then can they save England and each other—and win their happiness ever after.
ADULT excerpt:
“We’ve lost them.” Looking up, Cal pinched his bottom lip between his teeth. “You trust me now?”
Robin’s chest squeezed. The forester still wore the garb of the enemy, albeit torn to shreds, yet all men made mistakes. Robin had erred in his time, and so had his friends. He always forgave them.
A single line creased Cal’s brow, his gaze sharpened with hope. Their bodies pressed close, and Robin’s blood jumped and heated.
“I do,” he said. “I’m sorry I doubted you before.”
“It’s all right.” Cal’s sweet smile melted him. “I wouldn’t have trusted me either, but now you know my choice. I’m your man, not Odo’s, not anyone else’s.”
Robin cupped the nape of Cal’s neck and pulled the lad down into the kiss he’d burned for.
Their lips met, hard and wet, and flames scorched between them. Robin sprang to full arousal so fast the briar patch seemed to quake. The scent of crushed ivy dabbed at his senses but couldn’t subdue the taste of Cal. Thirsting for more, he parted his lips and swirled his tongue about Cal’s, kneading the stubbled line of the lad’s jaw with his thumbs. Hugging Robin tight, Cal worked the kiss with his entire being, moaning down Robin’s throat, mouth and body flexing. Intertwined, they rolled over and grappled till the need to breathe forced them to break a kiss that might have otherwise lingered till nightfall.
“So this is how it always was…with your friends?” asked Cal, gasping.
An act of comradeship, of brothers in deed and body, the thrill of adventure surging in their veins.
Robin could only nod as they bumped and ground together, every press more insistent and charged. Cal’s knee skirted Robin’s hip, and he jammed his rod of an erection flush against Robin’s thigh. Robin rutted against him, friction mounting.
Yes, this was how it had been with his friends. Or was it? Mayhap because his bond with Cal remained as delicate as a spring bud, he needed more than to frisk and spill his seed. He wanted to give everything he had, and he needed more back, but why and what? Oh Goddess, who knew?
Cal nudged a hand beneath Robin’s clothes and gently clasped him, pulling a feral cry from his throat. His carnal needs ratcheted up a notch. They cast their cloaks off. Robin helped remove Cal’s tunic, then unlaced and stripped his own before enveloping the lad in the circle of a single arm. He rubbed his swollen shaft against Cal’s sucked-in tummy. Cal scrubbed his prick against Robin’s pelvis, his velvet foreskin slipping back so moisture trailed over coarse hair.
“I never thought…it could be… Agh!” Cal threw his head back, gold threads sticking to his sweat beaded brow. Robin wrapped both their shafts in his fist and began to pump. “Oh yes, yes! Together…like this.”
Lord of the Forest (The Greenwood) is OUT NOW, published by Loose Id. The first two Greenwood novels (Bound for the Forest and Bound to the Beast) are also available from the below retailers. The series can be read in any order. For more info, please visit http://kayberrisford.com
All titles available from Loose Id: http://www.loose-id.com/authors/g-k/kay-berrisford.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Kay-Berrisford/e/B006JLQ4L8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
All Romance: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Kay+Berrisford
THE LORD OF THE FOREST BLOG TOUR DRAW!
If you’d like a chance to WIN your choice any of the first two Greenwood novels, Bound for the Forest or
Bound to the Beast, in your choice of paperback or ebook—PLUS a $20 Loose Id or All Romance voucher—all you need to do is leave a comment here, including your email (please spell this out e.g. [email protected] would be katy at yahoo dot com.) You can enter the draw as many times as you like at the different blogs I visit on my Lord of the Forest blog tour (for schedule visit http://kayberrisford.com). Two runners up prizes will be a choice of any of my back catalogue titles, excluding Lord of the Forest.
Comp closes midnight EST, 12th April.
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Oh my!! *fans self and grabs cool drink* This one is so up my alley. Thank you Kay and thanks to all of you. Don’t forget your email when you comment. : )