I'm welcoming Jennifer Macaire to Beadyjans Books today with her sensual new historical time travel romance Legends of Persia. I was thrilled when Jennifer offered to take some time out of her hectic schedule to write me an article for my blog as part of the tour to launch her novel, organised by Rachels Random Resources tours.
About the book in Jennifers own words
Legends of Persia
When Ashley Riveraine jumped at the chance to travel back in time to meet her hero Alexander the Great, she never thought she would end up staying there…
Following Alexander the Great’s army on its journey across Persia, Ashley is walking the knife edge of history. As a presumed goddess, Ashley is expected to bless crops, make sure battles are won and somehow keep herself out of the history books.
Can Ashley avoid the wrath of the Time Institute while keeping the man she loves alive?
She told me about the steamier side of her writing.
Romance and sex in historical fiction
Let's talk about romance and sex in fiction books. I write historical fiction with a dash of science fiction (time travel), fantasy (Greek and Nordic mythology), and romance (my heroine, Ashley, shares her life with two men – Alexander the Great and his lover, Hephaestion).
When I started writing this story (believe me) I had no idea it was going to turn into a steamy, sensuous series. It started out as a short story commissioned by a magazine about time travel. But the fact is, when I started researching and found out most of what we know about Alexander the Great is hearsay and that I could let my imagination run wild – it went wild!
Alexander mistakes time-travelling journalist Ashley for the goddess Persephone and kidnaps her, stranding her in 333 BC. They fall in love and she accompanies him on his trek across half the world. But I had a modern woman from the future and a man from ancient Greece (Macedonia) thrown together, and they had nothing in common.
What happens when a young man and woman get together? Do they discuss the politics? Do they talk about the weather? What common ground did they have? Well, most of you are probably nodding sagely and imagining all sorts of different...positions. Yes, you're right. Falling in love usually means lots of sweaty, bouncy sex full of giggles, sighs, moans, and body parts moving in various directions at various speeds.
What happens when one of the partners is unabashedly bi-sexual and his lover also happens to be bi-sexual, and sex is considered a natural part of life such as eating, breathing, or learning to swim? Yes, that's right – the pair turns into a threesome. So, reader beware – (although I don't write about it in as much detail as some would like), there is a spicy side to some chapters (if you want, you can just skip over those parts, they don't last very long, just a paragraph or so) but here's what I've discovered: reviewers will always comment on that part of my book. If they approve, they will say "Read about Ashley's sensuous journey across ancient Persia", and if they don't approve, they will say, "A very interesting book except for too much sex and marching".
This brings us back to the question "How much sex & romance is too much in historical fiction?"
If you consider 'Clan of the Cave-bear' or the Outlander series historical fiction, you would think that my books are fairly tame compared to the caveman sex in the Clan books or the spankings and punishments in the Outlander tales (I loved both series, btw!) So I'll go out on a limb and say, "I think that if the sex takes away from the story, it is too much sex, and if it fits with the characters and setting, it's fine (and you can always skip over those parts)." At any rate, I'd call my books "sensual" and leave it at that.
Jennifer Macaire
Want to know more about Jennifer - here are her web links.
Find Jennifer Macaire on Twitter : @jennifermacaire
Author website:
Blog (more fun):
Facebook page:
Instagram (for those who like pretty pictures):
BookBub:
Universal to buy link for Amazon:
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