Maggie Blackbird

Today, I have author Venus Campbell in the interview chair. We’re discussing her new release, Requite of the Fates, a sci-fi, time-travel romance. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway.

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1.  What are your top 10 favourite books/authors?

Venus:   Janelle Tayler and her Moondust and Madness series, Anne Rice and her Vampire series (all of them), Stephen King and – so hard – Okay probably The Stand, Veronic Scott and most of her books; she just released Aydarr (check it out) Christopher Pike and every single one of his books, Virginia Henley and every one of her books, Brenda Novak and her Perfect series, and Rivers Solomon and their Unkindness of Ghosts (a true masterpiece). And never least- Octavia Butler and her Parable of the Sower and Kindred. Nope- that isn’t 10.

2.  What book do you think everyone should read?

Venus:  Rivers Solomon’s An Unkindness of Ghosts

3.  How long have you been writing?

Venus:  Professionally for about 20 years

4.  Do the characters come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?

Venus:  My main character sits with me from the beginning, but most of the other characters pop up during my writing. It’s kind of fun, actually, to discover a new character usually when your character encounters that person.

5.  What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?

Venus:  For my mytho-sci, I did a lot of research reading about Greek mythology and academic papers around the environment and cultural behaviors around Minoan Crete in 1500’s BCE. I love Acedemia.edu. It’s great for reading academic papers that are very issue specific.

6.  Do you see writing as a career?

Venus:  Yes.

7.  What do you think about the current publishing market?

Venus:  The current market is still in flux and transition. Self-publishing is gaining ground over trad publishing in that authors in indie publishing are allowed to be more innovative, but the quality of indie publishing is growing by leaps and bounds in part due to the layoffs of major trad publishers. Fire a whole bunch of editors in a group, they need to make money in their career. An indie author will then be able to contractually hire those highly qualified editors who have been working with recognizable authors. The result is that indie authors can produce the same quality product as the trad author if the indie author has financial backing. Still, indie authoring is not for the faint of heart! I was lucky enough to find one of those highly qualified editors. Are you looking? Go to her website: https://www.jodihughesedits.com/. You won’t regret it!

8.  Do you read, and if so, what is your favourite genre?

Venus:  Yes. I read romance, fantasy, erotica, science fiction. My favorite genre shifts with my experiences in life. We read what fulfills us in the moment, right?

9.  Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?

Venus:  Silence. I am easily distracted.

10.  Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?

Venus:  My books overlap. I try to publish at least three books a year. My book genres change so I may be working on the layout of a children’s book while editing my sci-fi romance, while conceptualizing my YA fantasy. At least that was me three weeks ago!

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Title: Requite of the Fates
Series: N/A
Author: Venus Campbell
Genre(s): Interracial Romance, Time Travel Romance, Sci-Fi Adventure

Perfect for fans of The Song of Achilles and A Touch of Darkness, this interracial time-travel romance is a Greek mythology retelling of the Theseus and the Minotaur that follows war photojournalist, Marly Broadie, surviving on grit and grief as she encounters Emissary Nate Wayne, under the control of aliens.

Controlled by aliens, Nathaniel Wayne can’t resist his attraction to Marlene Broadie.

Blurb: Set in near future New York city, and Los Angelos and 1500’s BCE Crete, Nate’s body, as Emissary for Earth, can be piloted by the Entity, aliens threatening humanity. Any resistance initiates humanity’s annihilation. Marly’s photography of the Emissary will ensure her mother’s life-saving treatment. Instead, Marly provokes the Entity’s interest and Nate’s. Alien time-travel tech flings them back to ancient Minoan Crete. Stuck in the past, their desire for each other grows. Every reclaimed memory brings them closer to returning to the present and the Entity who can possess Nate’s body. However, the future without them means human extinction. They will escape the past as their love is required to ensure humanity’s future.

From award-winning author Venus Campbell, Requite of the Fates is a multicultural mytho-sci time-travel romance for readers ready to adventure into the mythical past.

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Available at:

Book of Venus | Amazon | IngramSpark

Nate had never known true agony. He was lucky. She wanted to hold it against him, his “everything will turn out all right” point of view, but she needed a bit of that. She looked up from her hands in her lap and met his gaze. Yes, a bit of fantasy in her life would do her good.

Smiling, she quipped, “You promised food.”

“Did I? Well, I think Stacy should be out in a minute with dinner. I usually get a pot pie. Chicken is one of her specialties.”

Marly nodded. Her stomach growled as she adjusted her bottom in the seat. “I could eat anything at this point.”

“You were rude, Mr. Wayne,” a woman’s voice interrupted from behind her. “And I just wanted you to know that it reflects badly on you to be sleeping with a woman like her.”

Marly turned to stare up at the tall blond who had accosted them in the front hall earlier. It took Marly a minute to absorb what she’d heard, then her face heated.

She didn’t think. She just stood, fury boiling to the surface. She took one step in the woman’s direction and would have let out a nasty response if Nate’s hand on her shoulder hadn’t restrained her. Staring at him, she opened her mouth to speak, but he wasn’t looking at her. He angled in front of her and squeezed her arm reassuringly in one controlled movement, then advanced on the blond with angry intent.

Nate’s voice rang out powerfully in the dining room’s sudden silence. “You better get smart. A mouth like that will get you permanently barred from a career in Hollywood. You’ll certainly never work on a film with me. And just so you know, I wouldn’t sleep with you to save the great white race. Let’s go, Marly.”

He curved around the woman, making sure no part of him touched her, and headed out of the dining room with Marly right behind him. At the double-door hall entrance, a stalwart Stacy sent Nate a questioning look. He stopped, his nostrils flaring, and bit out his words.

“I believe that woman is having difficulty finding her way out.”

Stacy nodded. “I’ll make sure she gets there.” She handed him a key. “I’ll have your dinner brought up.”

Nodding a quick thanks, his expression impenetrable, Nate turned and pulled Marly up dark-carpeted stairs. They made their way silently down a wide hall, the maroon-colored wallpaper casting a forbidding slant to their mutual silence. She couldn’t figure out what was going on. He seemed angry with her, yet he’d defended her. Maybe he regretted his outburst, but she didn’t. Now she understood why every sane person wanted to be with or be Nathaniel Wayne.

They stopped at a door and Nate slipped the key into the lock, turned it with a click, and pushed, then retreated to let Marly enter first. She marched into the room, and after he’d followed and turned to address her, she slammed the door shut and grabbed his sweat coat, her mouth crashing against his as she pulled him down desperately.

He held back a second before grabbing her ass. Yes. Perfect hands.

Then his chest, arms, and nether regions pressed against her, his hard body inching her backward until she was against the wall and he adjusted his grasp on her buttocks. He held her against his erection.

His tongue caressed the inside of her mouth. She tasted mint on his breath. Tilting his head, he raised one hand to frame her face, the callouses on his fingers brushing sensuously on her cheeks. He pulled in her breath, lapping at her tongue, then slanted away to suckle her lips as his blue irises bored into her eyes. A question twinkled there and Marly nodded. This time, yes.

She couldn’t think as she watched him. Her eyes closed in shuddering bliss as his lips touched her neck and he ran his hands down her body again to pull her against him. Want was all she could think. She ached with want.

Then he was pulling away and the contrasting cool to his warmth returned thoughts to her head. Should they be doing this? She stared at him as he stepped back, breathing hard.

His hands, shaking, reached out to straighten her rumpled shirt, then held her face a moment. “I’ve been in enough movies to know that making love to you right now would ruin any chance I have at persuading you into a relationship with me.” He took another deep breath as if to steady himself. “May I draw you a bath?” His question was so innocent, so concerned. Marly’s heart thumped.

He didn’t wait for her to answer. Taking her hand, he walked her to the bathroom and flicked on the light switch. Lavender. Marly’s eyes lit in the violet-and-white-tiled room as the scent of lavender floated into her nostrils. Bath and hand towels in a matching white-and-violet scheme lay folded on the white marble countertop. A white ceramic clawfoot bathtub dominated the room; its classic silver knobs caught Marly’s glance. A pair of complementing knobs shone from the sink. Stacy must have paid for the best interior decorator money could buy.

Nate left her to bend by the tub and turn on the water. After a minute of fiddling, he seemed to have the temperature where he wanted it. Marly was drawn to the water’s relaxing tinkle. Fatigue pushed forth again, as her tense muscles unwound from her earlier confrontation with Nate’s less-than-adoring public and, well, her life. She had to fight to keep her eyelids open as the steam from the tub wrapped itself around her.

Nate appeared before her and lowered her slicker off her shoulders. Then he pulled her shirt gently up and off her body and reached around to unhook her bra. No flicker of desire lit his gaze. Only concern. Her shirt and coat flung across the crook of his elbow, he smiled and rubbed her arms then bent to help her pull off her jeans.

Marly blinked to combat her fatigue. With her clothes in hand, he walked to the door and looked back. She could barely discern his words.

“I’ll be right outside, okay?”

Nodding, she let her gaze slide to the hot bath before her. The door clicked shut. Pulling off her bra and underwear, Marly climbed into the warm water and sank until she was covered up to her neck. The lapping of the water at her chin drew her lids lower until she couldn’t resist sleep anymore. Nathaniel Wayne, desire and concern in his eyes, was the last image in her head. Her last thought: she was falling in love with him.

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Venus Campbell is the Principal of the Book of Venus publishing and the Winner of the Kroger Award for Excellence in Creative Writing.  She has finaled in various writing contests such as the Central Ohio Ignite the Flame and the New England Chapter- RWA First Kiss.  Campbell is a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and the Authors Guild. Campbell has written professionally since 2006 and has completed five single title manuscripts.  To Desire the Stars is her second publication. Campbell focuses on interweaving paranormal elements into romance stories, creating unique worlds which challenge people’s perceptions of self and preconceived notions of human love and relationships. 

Follow Venus: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | Bookbub | Goodreads

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