Showing posts with label angels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label angels. Show all posts

Wednesday, 3 October 2018

Sinful news

George Watts: The All-Pervading (1890)
(Is it just me, or does this angel painting bear a schematic resemblance to a vulva?)

If you don't get the Sinful Press newsletter (and if you don't you should), do pop over to read it online - it contains among other things a quickie interview with yours truly ... in which I finally 'fess up to something I've never yet mentioned online.

NO, NOT YOU MUM. YOU STAY RIGHT HERE AND ADMIRE THE ART.

Wednesday, 14 February 2018

Some day I'll fly away

Octave Tassaert (1800-1874): La Femme Damnee
I'm taking a week off my blog to move house - see y'all on the other side!

Wednesday, 17 January 2018

"A conclusion with a bang of near-apocalyptic intensity"

The Other Side (1918) Dean Cornwell

"The cold, hard, commercial truth of the matter is that without reviews, a book simply languishes on the shelf and ultimately dies for want of notice" - How to Write a Review and Why, Maybe, You Should


And I'm particularly delighted that TAS of Erotica for the Big Brain should write a review of The Prison of the Angels, because it's FABULOUS!
"As always, Ashbless ties it all together with such style, such flare, conveying a sense of inevitability—of ineluctable right-ness—with the plot’s every twist and turn, it’s hard to imagine all hell breaking loose in any other way, Or near half so excitingly, for that matter! Of course, throughout, the sex is wicked hot...
In The Prison of the Angels, as in the books that preceded it, Janine Ashbless has created an extraordinary new world, a “real realm of the spirit” that is a sheer pleasure to visit. Enthusiastically recommended."
FULL REVIEW HERE

Thank you TAS!

Buy-links for The Prison of the Angels

Friday, 22 December 2017

Blogtour roundup #3

Frantisek Kobliha, Cosmic Vision (1946)
So, falling through the vast and starry void, I come at last to the end of The Prison of the Angels blogtour - and what a way to end it, with this wonderful 5-star review from author Kate Douglas:

"Of course, my main thought was, “How the hell is she going to pull this one off?”

I should have known that an author this talented would find a way, and she does. Perfectly. The trip to the finish is like a roller coaster ride through Hell as, one by one, the cadre of fallen angels are released from their bonds; creatures not human, and yet guilty of so many human foibles. As the story played out, scene by heart-wrenching scene, I wondered how it would end, how the author would pull together so many terrible events. I really shouldn’t have worried, but I’m not going to give any hints of anything, other than to say this entire series is something that will stay with you, and might, in some ways, even change the way you think about heaven and earth."
THANK YOU KATE!

Full review on Amazon 


This week's blogtour organised by Writer Marketing Services

On Monday I was hosted by the Brit Babes for a post about how to use your writerly "mistakes" to expand your characters.

Pick a Genre has an exclusive reveal of the preface of The Prison of the Angels, so you can get a headstart on the book!

Here come more pantsing confessions: at Erotica 4 All I list 10 things I didn't know when I started writing the trilogy.

Jacqui Brocker has interviewed ME (not one of my characters, lol!)

And today at K D Grace's blog I talk about using the filthiest verses I could find in the Bible.



DON'T FORGET - all the Writer Market Services blogposts above  have a Rafflecopter Giveaway going on too - enter to win an Amazon Voucher!



And on the 23rd Day she rested 😜
(because she had an awful cold and she hadn't got any of her Xmas prep done yet, AARGH)

Friday, 15 December 2017

Blogtour roundup #2

Leon Bonnat: Jacob Wrestling the Angel (1876)
"Wrestling", huh?

The second week of my Prison of the Angels blogtour wriggles to an oiled and panting climax today, with some help from Writer Marketing Services😈



Last week saw an interview with my heroine Milja, so this week airs character interviews with sexy, screwed-up heroes Egan (over on the F dot Leonora blog) and Azazel (at Adriana Kraft's place).

"You know when you have a crush on a character? First let me say that Janine Ashbless is a magician, this series is so compelling and more time for me to spend with my crush, Egan!" - F Leonora Solomon

Punya Reviews takes a bird's-eye view of the international locations I used for this novel.

I ask Lisabet Sarai "WWJD?" and promise to really upset my mother with the answer.

And I confess my secret feelings about writing "The End" on this trilogy, to Ian Smith.



GIVEAWAY: All posts on this tour sponsored by Writer Marketing Services include a Rafflecopter competition to win a £20/$20 Amazon voucher - so go to the posts and get clicking!

Saturday, 9 December 2017

Blogtour roundup #1

Wilhelm Alexandrovich KotarbiΕ„ski (1848-1921): Angel in a Cemetery

The Prison of the Angels was published a week ago, so of course I've been going round shouting about it  - thank you to everyone who has had me over at their gaff, wibbling about sexy angels!

Samantha MacLeod
had mercy on me for using Loki in the novel (when he's HERS) and let me interview my heroine Milja πŸ™‹

At Kryssie Fortune's place I bemoaned my own stupidity 😜

On Tuesday I took over the Blissemas facebook page FOR 12 HOURS and posted lots of pics. Only one penis though. πŸ’¦#OMGitnearlykilledme


On Wednesday Emmanuelle de Maupassant and I discussed the moral maze of the trilogyπŸ™

Billierosie got to hear about Milja's BDSM journey from vanilla to kink 😲

Jennifer Denys posted a  naughty excerpt😍

And today I confess my perverse love of Satan to Kay Jaybee 😈

Friday, 8 September 2017

How to shock the Devil

On which she showed:—what you will guess, no doubt,
And put the demon presently to rout,
Who crossed himself and trembled with affright:
He'd never seen nor heard of such a sight

Sorry, too shattered to blog. But please enjoy this charming woodcut by Charles Eisen...

Wednesday, 19 July 2017

Just to say

Demon by Mihaly Von Zichy (1878)
... that I've handed the edited manuscript of The Prison of the Angels back to Sinful Press. Things are moving, behind the scenes!

Oh, and it's over 100,000 words.

And it's got way dirtier sex scenes than the previous two volumes in the trilogy.

And if it doesn't make you cry at the end, you are harder-hearted than my editor ;-)

Wednesday, 28 June 2017

Prison of the Angels update

Stella Langdale: illustration for Christ in Hades (1917)
If you need anything else to blame Theresa bloody May for, the snap election she called has caused a bit of a delay in the publication of The Prison of the Angels, the final part of my Book of the Watchers trilogy - as my editor was busy campaigning for the opposition!

Anyway, we're catching up now. I am preparing to devote July to edits, and we should have a cover by August. I've also been told to get my finger out and write a blurb real soon now 😜

Given the usual 3-4 month run-up from final manuscript to paperback publication, we're on track for the end of this year as planned, which is excellent!

It's going to make you cry though.  

"I thought I was a good girl. I thought that no matter what happened around me, no matter the company I kept and no matter what others did for my sake, that I could stay innocent. I thought that as long as I acted out of love, I’d be blameless.
I was wrong, wasn’t I?"

Monday, 1 May 2017

Eyecandy Monday special: The Prison of the Angels preview

Every Monday I post a naughty scene for your entertainment!

Today's excerpt is a bit special. To mark my completion of The Prison of the Angels, here's a preview excerpt:

Jean Delville: L’AllΓ©gorie de l’Enfer, 1899


At that moment I heard Egan’s door thump open on the opposite side of the corridor. I caught my breath and braced myself for the crash of his fists on my own door.

Oh no. My dream. I was only dozing. I didn’t—did I?

But there was silence.

I sat hearing only the race of my own heartbeat. No accusations; not even the sound of his feet stomping away down the hall. Just silence.

What is he waiting for?

Me?


I pushed myself to my feet, pulled on a tank top shirt just long enough to afford me some decency, and went to the door. I could feel a trickle of sweat running down between my breasts. The handle felt slippery under my fingers.

Egan was standing on the other side of the door, one muscular arm braced against the frame, wearing nothing but the pair of gray briefs he’d presumably gone to bed in. The sight nearly sent me into meltdown then and there. His expression was grim, but not a word passed his lips. His pupils were still horribly dilated.

I searched his face for any sign of light, but saw none. It was the expression, I thought, of a man who had heroically fought the good fight against his inner demons—and lost. I took a step backward into my room and he followed me, pushing the door to behind him.

Are we going to fight? To kiss? To talk? I don’t want to talk. Not now. I want you to touch me.

We stood wordless in that dim yellow light, like we were stuck in amber.

Then I looked down. I wasn’t jiggling about naked in the snow now; just clad in a sleeveless top that was so tight my erect nipples drew a bar across the stretched cotton. Egan wore even less. And unless he had taken to smuggling a length of lead pipe sideways under his briefs, he was finding even that garment uncomfortably constricting. He loomed so close to me that I didn’t even have to step forward to put my hand on that imprisoned shaft and feel it kick against my palm.

Oh. He’s had enough of dreams and teasing. He needs sorting out. Now.

I looked up into his eyes, wondering if he would say anything, and wondering what I should say. But we’d run out of words, both of us.

Did he want me to carry on where I’d left off in the snow? To bend over the bed? He was hard and burning under my hand as I squeezed him through the soft cotton. Oh. Oh. Oh.

He stooped a little, just enough so that his cheek brushed mine, his breath on my ear and neck. I’m used to thinking of myself as tall and gangly, no delicate flower—but it suddenly came home to me how much bigger he was, so much muscle and bone. And that was before I recalled his history of extreme violence. It rather appalled me now to think how I’d had the gall to tease him; we’d shared rented rooms and a pup-tent and even a bed in our journeys together, and I’d never given him enough credit for his restraint, or his honor, or his kindliness.

He could have had me at any time.

Oh, that thought made me run wet.

I’d had my fill of taunting him, for the moment. Now I wanted to give him everything he needed. Keeping one hand on his Calvins and running the other down the glorious hard undulation of his torso, I sank to my knees until my hands could meet. My lips pressed the flat wall of his stomach. Then I slipped my fingers under the elastic of his briefs and pulled them down. His cock bounced free hard enough to give my face a hot, silky slap.

Oh you beauty…

I took him in my mouth, all the way, and I heard the quietest of sighs he uttered. That was all he did for a long moment; just stand there, almost motionless, as I sucked gratefully at his strong, beautiful length.

Then he touched my cheek. “Is that all you want?” he rasped.

No. Not all.

My mouth was too full to talk, so I shook my head. Only when I’d wrapped a hand firmly around his girth did I release him from my lips, and used my hand to pull him with me, step by step, as I crawled backward across the floor.

Saturday, 29 April 2017

The bums of Brum

Following on from my full-frontal reveal of Epstein's Lucifer, here are some more pics of  Slightly Naughty Art in and around the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. It's actually famous for its Pre-Raphaelite collection, but I'm afraid they all photographed very badly (and kept their clothes on).

Dhruva Mistry: The River (1993)
This one is in Victoria Square, along with a Gormley that couldn't help reminding me of bound angels...

Antony Gormley: Iron Man (1993)
Moving inside the Museum... this is ancient:

"Bronze figure of two gods," Northern Syria, Old Babylonian period, 1850-1750 BCE

But these are modern art:

Henry Moore: Warrior with Shield (1954)

Pablo Picasso: The Young Man (1958)
This vase is NOT modern, but it does have Gratuitous Boobies:

Gustave Joseph Cheret: The Fishing Season is Open (1890)
As does this:


William Russell Flint: Silver and Gold (1931)
And this has a Gratuitous Not-Even-Slightly-Symbolic Snake:

Alfred Gilbert: Athlete Wrestling a Snake

 Art feeds the soul 😜

Friday, 21 April 2017

The Archangel Lucifer

Yesterday I went to the city of Birmingham (UK) - not a place normally at the top of my wish-list, I admit. But I wanted to see Epstein's The Archangel Lucifer, which is prominently displayed in the City Museum and Art Gallery.


It is a truly spectacular bronze, with an interesting back-story. Jacob Epstein, one of the most important sculptors of the 20th Century, cast it in 1945, inspired by the proud Lucifer described in Milton's Paradise Lost. He reputedly used a male model for the body and a female one for the face, giving at an androgynous aura. It has a fine, fine ass!


But it was instantly controversial, not least because it is rather obviously well-endowed. Epstein considered the sculpture his finest work at the time, but couldn't sell it at exhibition. He tried to give it away to the V&A Museum and then the Tate Gallery in London, but neither wanted it. The Mayor of Birmingham stepped in to ask for it if it was going begging and it was duly gifted to what was frankly a provincial industrial city with little cultural status.


The BMAG remains slightly embarrassed about this artistic windfall. You'd have to hunt hard for any depiction of the statue on their website, despite the fact that it dominates the Round Room at the top of the main stairs. There is no souvenir of it on sale in the shop - not even a postcard.

Luckily they do let you take photos :-)


Friday, 31 March 2017

It Is Finished

Franz Von Stuck; Lucifer (1890)

On 30th March I wrote THE END on the first draft of The Prison of the Angels.

And I felt absolutely miserable.

It's an occupational hazard, I suppose. I've spent four years, on and off, writing this trilogy, and I've never invested so much time and care in a particular set of characters. I adore Milja - I think she's brave and clever and complicated and she deserves happiness. I am erotically besotted with both Azazel and Egan. Finishing the trilogy felt like walking away from someone I really loved. I felt incredibly lonely.

There's also an edge of worry. I've had readers enthuse over many of my books, but not to this extent, and not over a series. I've never had people saying they are desperate to find out how it all ends! My readers have invested in the characters too; they want a happy ending, they want emotional payback, they want satisfaction. They've followed my characters for three books and for the first time I feel like I am writing for someone other than myself.

Can I give them what they want? Have I done a good enough job? There's pressure!

At least I've got a few weeks grace now, as I get to go back in and fix everything, and make it even better.

Fingers crossed...


Wednesday, 29 March 2017

"Everything fans have been waiting for"

Gustav Dore: illustration from The Divine Comedy (colourised)
WOOOHOO!

Erotica for the Big Brain has reviewed In Bonds of the Earth and I couldn't be more chuffed!

"It’s a pleasure, then, to report that In Bonds of the Earth is everything fans have been waiting for, taking all the elements that made the first book memorable, artfully supercharging them in a sweeping, action-packed, powerfully erotic story that dazzles with its imaginative employment of real-life settings, elements of ancient lore and legend, and fast-paced contemporary thrillers...

This entry in the series closes with a shattering cliffhanger that will have readers on the edge of their seats, hearts pounding in their throats, and practically howling in half-fulfilled frustration! I felt afterwards as if I’d enjoyed an extraordinary meal—or had really great sex—richly fed to be sure, yet craving still more, able only to dream of 'next time.'

Thank you TAS!

Friday, 17 March 2017

Guilt, bad advice and tears: Blog-tour roundup #6

Hieronymus Bosch: Ascent of the Blessed (detail)
As the In Bonds of the Earth blog-tour ascends at last into the light, serenaded by choirs going AWWWAHHHHHHAWWW ... I wipe a tear from my eye and bring you the final details.

Over at Sizzling Romance I make a guilty stab at defending my terrible Pantsing ways. I wish I could be more helpful at teaching new authors the Secrets of Writing but, basically it boils down to "I make it all up as I go along." Sorry everyone! 😞

Library of Erana hosts a sweet little interview in which my best writing advice is "You are never going to please everyone." Well, it's true, but maybe that's not what folks want to hear... πŸ˜“

Little Shop of Readers gamely tried asking me if I saw writing as a career, to which I answered "OF COURSE!" Hah - no I didn't! 😜

Creative Misfit has a nice excerpt from my novel featuring the Archangel Michael. Well, I say "nice"... 😈

Finally, author Bronwyn Green asks me about, among other things, my bad habits. Which frankly ought to include the confession,"giving people awful writing advice"πŸ˜‡ Mea maxima culpa...


 And I should add that actually this thoughtful and beautiful book review from Jacqui Brocker genuinely did make me cry, especially this bit:
"In fact, everyone’s good side and flaws are shown – no one, not even Milja, is wholly sympathetic, and that’s as it should be for a tale that’s about the battle for good and evil, and (I think more importantly) who gets to decide what’s good and evil. While our sympathies by and large lie with Milja and Azazel, you understand the perspective of the other characters. Also, all the characters caught up in the story suffer for their part in it, and Janine never holds back from the pain of their injury. This is a story that acknowledges the stakes and isn’t afraid of them.
 Janine’s writing too carries the story beautifully – lyrical at turns, stark and brutal when it has to be, and so aware of the sexuality pulsing underneath all the time. Her style is wonderful and bloody enviable too. It’s also a great page turner, the tension barely letting up – Milja has precious few moments to breathe before being plunged into the next phase of the action.
The first two books of this series are smart, sexy, literate, gripping, and moving. I can’t wait for the third."

THANK YOU JACQUI!


Ebook Buy Links:AmazonAppleGoogle PlayKobo

Wednesday, 15 March 2017

"Sub, Exhibitionist, Shamefaced Sadist": Blog-tour roundup #5

James Tissot: Angels Holding a Dial Indicating the Different Hours (1886-1894)
First I just want to share author Ian Smith's fantastic 5-star review of In Bonds of the Earth over on Amazon:

"Well, I found the first book in this series, Cover Him With Darkness, utterly entrancing, and this second one is every bit as good. The overall story arc is like a really dark fairy tale, but revolving around ancient legends rather than recent ones. Azazel remains the same character, in human terms a child in a man’s body, but he’s anything but human. An irresistably attractive, powerful and totally unpredictable fallen angel is the ultimate dom, and a fantastic character.
But come on, Janine. I know the standard advice is to drop your characters outside their comfort zone, but I don’t think you’ve ever let Milja even have a sniff at one of those! She’s endearingly human - a mix of wants, guilt, insecurity, confidence, intelligence and instinct.
This second book was well-worth the wait. And if anyone can nag Janine into hurrying on with the third and final one, please do."
AM I TOO MEAN TO MY HEROINE THEN? LOL!

Look at all I do for Milja - I give her a choice between two irresistibly sexy guys! Lucky girl! (Here at After Dark Online I ponder her choice and ask myself which way I'd choose, if it were me.)

I let her meet interesting and very wealthy people who just long to help her out! (Here at Teresa Noelle Roberts' blog I am mildly spoilerish about the very quirky Roshana Veisi and her keen interest in art.)

I take her out to dinner at foreign restaurants! (A sexy excerpt over at the Brit Babes.)

I spend four years lovingly putting her through Hell Heaven! (Jan Graham finds out what my absolute favourite thing about writing erotic romance is.)

And I let her get as kinky as she likes ... even when it shocks me! (Horny Geek Girl hosts me still reeling with shock at how Milja turned out).

So Milja doesn't have anything to complain about really ... does she?


Ebook Buy Links:AmazonAppleGoogle PlayKobo

Friday, 10 March 2017

I have no shame: Blog-tour roundup #4

Arthur Hacker: And There Was A Great Cry In Egypt (1897)
The Angel of Death in that picture looks a bit guilt-stricken, frankly. Maybe it's because she forgot to get dressed before she set out to slaughter all the First-Born?

Me? I have no shame left. Ask me anything... so long as it doesn't involve spoilers, lol

Jacqueline Brocker asked me some pretty probing questions for sure, like how I managed the unsettling relationship between my heroine and her demon lover. But Jacqui, I like that it's unsettling!

Rose Caraway demanded proof that I wasn't just making shit up about Ethiopia, so I had to show her the photos...

Ashe Barker posted an excerpt from one of the most problematic sex-scenes in the book. All I'm sayin' is ... If that makes you uncomfortable, just wait for Book 3, lol!

Books and Banter let me off fairly lightly, asking what was the most annoying thing about Mr Ashbless. Oh dear. Don't tell him 😜


Ebook Buy Links:AmazonAppleGoogle PlayKobo

Wednesday, 8 March 2017

"Did you spill my pint?": Blog-tour roundup #3

Alexander Louis Leloir: Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1865)
The In Bonds of the Earth blog tour rumbles aggressively onward, picking fights like an angel with a bad attitude πŸ˜‰

This week I was over at K D Grace's place for the second half of my two-parter about angels: this time "What makes your angels different, Ashbless?" (Sneak preview: mine are gigantic jerks who need a round of sensitivity training and/or a good slap)

Then I picked a fight with my head-fuck hero Egan, in an interview over at Slave Nano's blog. I adore character interviews because it really helps me to drill down into the character and put my fingers on sore, squirmy bits they'd rather I didn't know about ... Egan certainly didn't enjoy it!


AND... *ding ding: round three*

Over at Emmanuelle de Maupassant's blog I make the bold claim that ANGELS AND DRAGONS ARE THE SAME THING - and what's more, I have proof! Fight, anyone?

Or maybe just a little lie-down and a nice cup of tea... after all, this writing life is bloody exhausting. At Lisabet Sarai's I talk about how much it has transformed me personally, and the incredible places it has taken me. For beginner writers: let this be a dire warning you heed!


Ebook Buy Links:AmazonAppleGoogle PlayKobo

Friday, 3 March 2017

A nice quiet weekend

Piotr Stachiewicz (1856-1938)

It's done! In Bonds of the Earth has been officially released, and I can collapse in a heap at the foot of the stairs now ;-) In fact, on Monday I can go back to writing Vol.3: The Prison of the Angels - YAY!

But first I have a weekend of fun with writers, publishers, activists and performers at EROTICON 2017 - including meeting up with Lisa of Sinful Press at last. I am really looking forward to this - the erotica community is a wonderful thing.


In the meantime, some Blog Tour roundup for this week just gone, and I've had to dig into things that might be wiser not confessed for these:

K D Grace had me over at her blog asking the perspicacious question, "Why angels, Janine? What makes them so great to write about?" Ooh - don't get me started!

Ian Smith interviewed me on his blog and poked the feeble remnants of my brain with challenging questions like "What book do you wish you could have written?"

And here's another lovely interview over at Carla Atherstone's place. "Have you ever written anything that was too extreme to publish?" Here's hoping my Black Lace editor doesn't read the answer to that one...

I really enjoy a good online probing,  LOL. Thank you KD, Ian and Carla! 

Friday, 24 February 2017

"You've hardly started on his secrets": Blog-tour roundup #2

FΓ©lix-Hilaire Buhot (1847-1898), Illustration for 'Le Diable Amoureux' (The Devil in Love)
This is the fun bit of a blog tour - I finally get to share all the super-sekret things I have been hoarding about my book! (Well, some secrets, because there are way more to come; just you wait for Bk.3!😈)

On Jennifer Denys' blog you can read about what goes into writing the second book of a trilogy. I'm normally clueless about writing tips for aspiring authors, but this is what works for me.

And on Samantha MacLeod's blog you can read an interview with my heroine Milja in which I torture her a bit more, because I can't get enough of making her life difficult in my plots ...

Actually that may be a writing tip: TORTURE YOUR CHARACTERS!


Ebook Buy Links:AmazonAppleGoogle PlayKobo