The Goddess’s Curse by Cara Bristol

It is my absolute pleasure to welcome Cara Bristol back to my blog to celebrate her newest release, The Goddess’s Curse.

Sharona women and barbarian Lahon men maintain separate lives until libidinal fever strikes, and the Sharona are forced to mate.

Stricken by a mysterious terminal illness, Reena, the Sharona queen’s daughter, jumps at the chance to accompany a cousin on her mating journey so she can at least see a Lahon before she dies.

Garat, leader of the Lahon, has only hatred for the Sharona because of the woman who birthed and killed his son years ago. Now that a massive earthquake has left his people with precious little water, he has the perfect excuse to avenge his son’s death by driving the Sharona from their homeland to take what the Lahon need.

When he encounters Reena on the mating journey he takes her hostage to force the Sharona to capitulate to his demands, but finds himself drawn to her instead. As his desire rises, lust for revenge wanes.

But after what he’s done, can he convince her of the evil that lies in the palace in time to save her life?

Karla:  Congratulations on your newest release! I’ve read snippets from The Goddess’s Curse on your blog and I can’t wait to dive in and enjoy the entire story. Thanks for stopping by to answer some questions about the book.

The blurb is very intriguing. What were the inspirations that influenced The Goddess’s Curse?

Cara:  Thank you for having me, Karla. You’re always so gracious about opening your blog! The Goddess’s Curse was inspired by the Amazon women warriors, a mythological race of women who lived separate from men until they needed to procreate. They would raise the daughters who resulted from their liaisons, but kill or give the sons to the men to rear. Another influence is the misogyny that has led to attempts to control or curtail female sexuality. I thought, what if women did have a sexual power that could be used against men? What if men were right to be wary? That power became “libidinal fever” in The Goddess’s Curse.

Karla: Very interesting premise! You’re known for your very successful Rod & Cane Society and Breeder series. Is The Goddess’s Curse going to be part of a series also?

Cara: I plan for it to be a trilogy, which I’m calling the Heartmates series. I’m a pantser so I won’t commit to a certain direction, but I think I’m going to focus on the same hero and heroine in all three books—unlike Rod and Cane and Breeder, in which each book has a different H/h. I did “seed” The Goddess’s Curse so I could write about other couples, however, think those relationships will be subplots.

Karla:  How is The Goddess’s Curse and the Heartmates series different from your Breeder sci-fi romance trilogy?

Cara: It is the reverse! The background for Breeder was a male dominated culture/planet where women had little power or value. After writing that, I needed to give women equal time, so in The Goddess’s Curse, women are in charge! However, the men are still macho, hero types. I wanted to demonstrate feminine power. It’s different from male power, but it’s still effective.

Karla:  You’re a very busy author. Do you make a schedule of upcoming projects and write to that agenda, or do you have a muse that dictates what book you will write next?

Cara: I keep a list in my head, but at the start of 2015, I finally wrote a business plan—and then immediately deviated from it when I wrote and published a thesaurus, Naughty Words for Nice Writers. I had that slated for late in the year. I approach writing as a business, but I don’t want to focus so much on goals that I lose the joy of following my muse, which is what drew me to writing in the first place.

You may not know this, Karla, but you influenced Breeder. I’d been planning to write Reasonable Doubts, Rod and Cane 5, when I got the idea for Breeder. I wasn’t sure if I should pursue RC 5, which had gotten “cold,” or work on the story idea that was burning a hole in head. You advised me to go with the one I felt the most passionate about. So I did, and wrote the Breeder trilogy before Rod and Cane 5. I’m glad I did, because not only did I have the enjoyment of writing the Breeder series, but Reasonable Doubts turned out to be a much better book than I think it would have been if I’d written it earlier.

Karla:  I didn’t know that! I’m so glad I helped, and that you followed that idea and your muse, because Breeder is an awesome story (and series). It’s great that we can chat online, Cara, but one day, we must meet in person. I know we could talk for hours, plus I have dozens of questions I’d ask you. Before I let you get back to writing, I’ll settle for asking just one more—is there anything else you’d like to tell us about The Goddess’s Curse?

Cara: Thank you, Karla. Some day we will meet! I love your writing and the humor in your books. I would like to add a couple things about The Goddess’s Curse.  First, it will be available in print besides ebook. I’d planned to release both at the same time, but ran into a glitch, so the paperback will be delayed by a couple of weeks. If readers want to be notified of its release, they should sign up for my newsletter. Lastly, I’m known for writing spanking romance, but there is no spanking in The Goddess’s Curse—nor will there be in any of the other books of the Heartmates series. Spanking is fun to write, but it limits story concepts and plots, and I wanted to branch out. Thank you so much for having me today!

Karla:  I look forward to the day we meet face-to-face! Thank you so much for being here today, Cara!

The Goddess’s Curse is available now from

Amazon • Amazon UK • B&N • Kobo • iTunes • All Romance

About the Author

Cara Bristol continues to evolve, adding new subgenres of erotic romance to her repertoire. She has written spanking romance, contemporary romance, paranormal, and science fiction romance. No matter what the genre, one thing remains constant: her emphasis on character-driven seriously hot erotic stories with sizzling chemistry between the hero and heroine. Cara has lived many places in the United States, but currently resides in Missouri with her husband. She has two grown stepkids. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading and traveling.

Connect with Cara Bristol

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Subscribe to Cara’s newsletter

Read Chapter One of The Goddess’s Curse

Goddess Reader Drawing!

If you’re going to read The Goddess’s Curse anyway, why not enter the Goddess Reader Drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card? All you have to do is post a review (good, bad or ugly) on Amazon by March 31, 2015. Then email a link of your review to carabristol50 (at) yahoo (dot ) com. Put “I Read the Goddess!” in the subject line. And you’re entered. The winner will be selected by random drawing and announced on April 6.

An Excerpt from The Goddess’s Curse by Cara Bristol

Under a caress of sunlight, Reena floated in the pond, grateful to have escaped the watchful eyes of servants, advisers, and bodyguards. Well, most of them. She cracked an eyelid. Yep. Carinda was still there, keeping a firm grip on her electrical impulse disruptor and a steady gaze on the perimeter. Her bodyguard’s caution and devotion were admirable—but unnecessary. No danger could penetrate the protected grotto.

Reena rolled over and dove deep. Tiny fish scattered. She touched the sandy bed then swam along the bottom until the need for air forced her upward again. She broke the surface and flung her hair out of her eyes.

Hip deep in the water, Carinda splashed toward her. “Oh my Goddess. You scared me to death.” The big, burly guard looked like an oversized drowned rodent. Reena would have laughed except for Carinda’s contorted, stricken expression. She didn’t want to scare anybody; she only needed solitude. “You worry unnecessarily. I have been swimming since I was a little girl.”

“I can barely float, Princess,” Carinda replied. “Anything could have happened. I feared you were drowning.”

“I apologize. I shouldn’t have frightened you. Why don’t you return to the palace and get some dry clothes?”

Carinda shook her head. “No, I won’t desert you.”

“You’re not deserting me. You’ll be right back.” Please, give me a moment to myself. No attendants, no servants, no guards. “I’ll be safe. Promise.” She flashed her most beguiling smile.

“No, Princess.”

“I am not asking.” Treading water, Reena compressed her lips in frustration. “I command you to return to the palace.”

Carinda bit her lip then shook her head. “I’m sorry, Princess, the queen’s wishes supersede yours. I have been ordered not to leave you alone, in case…something befalls you.” Her hurt expression turned questioning. “I don’t know how you got out of the palace without anyone seeing you.” She stopped speaking, probably willing Reena to fill the silence with an explanation.

The bodyguard would have a long wait. The existence of the secret passage would go with Reena to her grave. She hadn’t shared that information with anyone, not even with her cousin Honna, her closest ally.

Reena lifted her chin, and Carinda conceded the battle. “It was fortunate I spotted you while patrolling the grounds.”

Unfortunate. Reena refused to feel guilty. “Please go to the palace. I won’t be long.”

“You are not well.” Carinda held her ground.

“I’ll stay with her.” Honna stepped from the path onto the beach.

Having her cousin nearby didn’t qualify as being alone, but Reena much preferred her presence to the guard’s. Despite a seven year age gap, they were best friends, as close as sisters.

“If anyone can take of me, she can,” Reena argued. She owed her continuing life to her cousin. The Goddess had gifted Honna with a natural talent for the healing arts, which she had honed by intensive training. If not for her, Reena would have already died. Once, she would have become Shara, but her mysterious illness cast doubt she would live long enough to ascend the throne currently held by her mother, Ellynna.

Carinda waded out of the pool. Dripping and shivering, she planted both feet on the bank.

“If you catch a chill in those wet clothes, then how will you protect me?” Reena called.

Carinda’s resolute expression wavered. “What if there are invaders? Barbarians who would catch a woman alone? The Lajon.”

“At the very center of the palace gardens? Unlikely,” Honna scoffed. “They would have to scale the perimeter wall, neutralize our guards, storm the palace, and then choose the right path to this bathing pool.”

And if barbarians did achieve the near-impossible and breach their defenses, a lone bodyguard would be no match for them. Pointing that out would cause worrywart Carinda to freak.

“I suppose you’re right,” she conceded, wrinkles of doubt lining her forehead.

Reena swam toward shore until her feet could touch the bottom and then stood. Water lapped at her shoulders.

“Go,” Honna said. “Everything will be fine.”

“Everything will be fine…” Muwahaha….Famous last words.

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