| Facing assassins, avenging angels, Hell's deadly politics —and her real father — Natalia must accept the love of more than one man and embrace her demonic heritage as a Princess of Lust. If she doesn't, all that she loves will be destroyed, and Heaven and Hell will plunge into Chaos.
Visit Ann Mayburn's web site
Read an excerpt from Daughter of Lust
Read the first chapter Daughter of Lust
About Ann Mayburn Ann is Queen of the Castle to her wonderful husband and three sons in the mountains of West Virginia. In her past lives she's been an Import Broker, a Communications Specialist, a US Navy Civilian Contractor, a Bartender/Waitress, and an actor at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. She also spent a summer touring with the Grateful Dead-though she will deny to her children that it ever happened. From a young age she's been fascinated by myths and fairytales, and the romance that often was the center of the story. As Ann grew older and her hormones kicked in, she discovered trashy romance novels. Great at first, but she soon grew tired of the endless stories with a big wonderful emotional buildup to really short and crappy sex. Never a big fan of purple prose, throbbing spears of fleshy pleasure and wet honey pots make her giggle, she sought out books that gave the sex scenes in the story just as much detail and plot as everything else-without using cringe worthy euphemisms. This led her to the wonderful world of Erotic Romance, and she's never looked back.
Now Ann spends her days trying to tune out cartoons playing in the background to get into her 'sexy space' and has learned to type one handed while soothing a cranky baby.
Back list
Blessed (Chosen by the Gods, Book 1)
Dance of the Gods (A Chosen by the Gods novella) -coming June 20th
An Interview with Ann Mayburn
By Holly Hewson for The Romance Studio
HH: Ann, thank you so much for talking with us at TRS. Your featured book is Daughter of Lust. Where did you get the idea for this amazing story of a battle in hell and the half demon girl who will decide the victor? AM: I've always been fascinated by 'what ifs'. I was reading a book about the Opium Wars one day and I was struck by a quote from that time referring to opium as the incense of the Devil. That phrase kept haunting me and I found myself thinking about it all the time. What if opium was indeed invented by Hell, why would they do it and who would benefit from it? Who would it hurt and how would it affect the balance of the Universe, and what would God do to fix it? The idea for the Daughter of Lust was born and even before I officially decided to write the book, I would find myself daydreaming about the storyline, fleshing out the characters and letting them have free reign with my over active imagination. I finally gave into the demands of my muse and had a fantastic time bringing the story to life.
HH: What can you tell us about Natalia and why will readers be drawn to her? AM: Even though Natalia is growing up in Russia during the 1870's, she faces the same timeless issues that translate through any age and culture. Well, maybe not exactly the same…I don't know anyone that has to deal with discovering their father is a High Prince of Hell, but there are a couple people I suspect have a drop or two of demonic blood in them. Like my college statistics teacher. Anyways, she has a compassionate heart and a resilient nature that helps her through some very rough times. Her greatest asset and liability is her ability to love with all of her heart, and trust those she loves completely.
HH: What sort of research went into your story? AM: Tons! And being the research nerd that I am I loved every second of it. I spent hours pouring over documents about what the local dress of Kazan, Russia was in 1870 and what a peasant girl from a formerly prosperous family would have worn. I researched the different versions of the hierarchies of Hell and the demons that ruled over the seven deadly sins, and the angels associated with the seven virtues. I even spent a good four hours squinting at photographs of local churches in Kazan, which by the way there are a ton and they are gorgeous, while trying to figure out which one would have been surrounded by a forest in 1870.
HH: How did you go about creating the world your series takes place in? AM: It was actually really easy. Once I had the idea down, I would daydream about the world and it pretty much built itself. My imagination would latch onto something I'd seen or read and build a world around that. In the case of one of my hot demons, Raum, I saw a picture of a demon embracing a human woman in what would at first appear to be a horrifying situation. When you looked deeper, you could see that her hand wasn't pushing her demon lover away, but drawing him closer. And that he wasn't threatening her, but sheltering her with his body. That is sort of how the world of Daughter of Lust is, you need to look past your preconceived notions and really see what is going on.
HH: What can you tell us about the books to come in this series? AM: Each book is based off of a key time in the Opium Wars and the use of opium in the 18/1900's. The pivotal moment for the next book involves a Doctor in London and a discovery that he makes while experimenting with morphine that will change the world forever. Natalia is sent to earth to try and stop the event and things don't go quite as planned.
HH:What else do you have in the works? AM: I'm about to finish my second book for my Virtual Seduction series with Loose Id, Sodom and the Phoenix, and I can't wait for my readers to sink their teeth into that hot BDSM tale. I've also started Book 2 of the For the Love of Evil series, Princess of Lust, and should have it done sometime in August. Thank goodness I can type fast enough to keep up with my muse, because she is as busy as a chipmunk on meth sometimes.
HH: Do you own an eBook reader or read on an electronic device? If so, what? AM: I was part of the 'I'll never read anything but a paperback' crowd until I got a Kindle for Christmas. Now I don't know what I'd do without it! It's so nice to have my ever growing collection of eBooks in a portable form that I can take anywhere I want to go. Another bonus is that I'm finding so many fantastic stories that I never, ever would have found if I just stuck to paperbacks. That alone makes my Kindle worth its weight in gold.
HH: As a romance reader, what sort of stories do you personally prefer? AM: My first love is fantasy and paranormal romance, but to be honest I love just about every genre there is. If you look at my bookshelf/eReader you'll find historical romance, time travel romance, para romance, fantasy romance, western romance, erotic romance…etc. As long as its well written and has a HEA I'll give it a read. Being open to different genres has allowed me to fall in love with some books that I never would have given a chance if I was stuck in my reading ways.
HH: What's your favorite guilty pleasure? AM: Honestly? Trashy TV. ;) Once the kids are in bed, I love to sit down with my husband and watch some really off the wall stuff and laugh. Our current favorite is 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding'. It really is a fantastic show and I find the glimpse into the culture fascinating. Life is always stranger than fiction and I adore every second of it.
HH: Any vacation or appearance plans this summer? AM: Don't tell my husband, but I'm currently on vacation and sneaking in writing this article in the bathroom! -lol- We are visiting family in Michigan and I'm 'taking a shower'. Yes, I realize I'm like a drug addict sneaking a fix. I tend to get totally immersed in my writing to the point that trying to talk to me while I'm deep in a book is akin to talking to a zombie. Glassy eyed stare, mono-syllable words, maybe some drooling. ;) Make that lots of drooling if I'm imagining a sex scene with one of my stable of heroes.
HH: Thank you!
Top
| 
