Thursday, February 6, 2020

INTERVIEW WITH MARIA SHIELD (Holding Out for a Hero)



Maria Shield has dropped in to have a short chat with us. Grab a cup of tea and come on in!

SC:  Tell me a little bit about your the main character of this your book.
MS: Since it is a romance, I have two main characters in this story. The first is Claire, a woman driven by logic, who has taken on the stressful task of starting her own restaurant. Claire definitely doesn’t believe in the supernatural, or anything she can’t see with her eyes. When she finds a man claiming to be an immortal hero who wronged a goddess, she is inclined to believe he is crazy. That is, until she comes face to face with animal-shifters from Circe’s island.
Her love interest is Argos, an immortal hero from Ancient Greece. He’s been trapped on Circe’s island for five hundred years and has finally made his escape. He comes from a time when gods and monsters ruled the land, but the modern-day world doesn’t seem to have those concerns. Luckily, he has Claire there to help guide him.
SC:  Do you believe in the paranormal, and if so, do you have an experience you can share?

MS: I definitely believe in the paranormal and have always been obsessed with ghost stories and the supernatural. Unfortunately, I’ve never experienced anything personally, but I do have two fun facts I can share. My home state of Kansas has one of the world’s most haunted houses in the US, “Sallie House.” I also went to university at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, home of the Winchester brothers from Supernatural. 
SC: Hang in there. If you're open to something Supernatural  happening, it probably will. What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?
MS: Holding Out For a Hero is my first in the Order of Olympus series. I’m currently working on a novella that should be coming out in Spring 2020 and Book Two, which will explore the monstrous side of the Mythos world. Fans can expect to see some classic Greek monsters in Book Two and how they’ve adapted to the modern world. I hope you will all join me on this adventure!
SC: Thanks for stopping by, Maria. Let's take a look at your novel  now.




Holding Out For A Hero
Order of Olympus
Book One
Maria Shield

Genre: Paranormal Romance





Publisher: Shield Publishing

Date of Publication: 31 Jan 2020

ISBN: 978-1-7343533-1-0
ISBN: 978-1-7343533-0-3
ASIN: B082DBMWRT

Number of pages: 320
Word Count: 84,000

Cover Artist: Damonza

Tagline: She will face gods and monsters to save the man she loves.

Book Description:

A hero cursed by the gods…

Once one of the greatest heroes Ancient Greece had ever known, Argos is a far cry from the immortal warrior he used to be. After five hundred years of captivity, he is finally free—but a curse from a goddess has left him woefully mortal. In order to become a hero again, he’ll need the help of the gods and the seductive nymph who saved his life.

The only woman who can help him…

Claire Winters is definitely not a nymph, despite the assumptions of the half-naked man whose life she saved . Taking care of a delusional man while a storm rages is not what she planned – especially not as she gets ready to open her dream restaurant. She doesn’t have time for the tall tales of her handsome rescue. Yet, here she is.

When it turns out Argos’s claims are real, Claire finds herself thrown deep into a hidden and ancient world. Now, the two strangers must rely on each other to survive. Together they will face the gods, and the fiery attraction between them, as they work to reunite Argos with his ancient powers.

Will strength and wit be enough to protect them? Or will love prove to be the most powerful weapon of all?

HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO is the first novel in the ORDER OF OLYMPUS series. A sexy, action-packed romance series based on Greek Mythology and set in the modern world.

Ancient heroes never looked this good.


Excerpt 1: (Steam Level- Smoking)
We should help each other…
Gods, more precious words had never been spoken. Argos cradled them, cherished them, just like he did the small leaf of a woman who offered them up to him. She did not need to emphasize what she meant; the hand that firmly grabbed at his front made everything very clear.
His body could not help but react. What it had been starving for was finally offering itself to him. Eager and ready. He did not even realize his hand had grabbed hers in a solid grip, pulling it away from his aching cock. Claire blinked her owlish eyes at him, her lips parted in surprise.
A groan worked its way up his throat as he forced himself to stay in control. “You are already helping me, Claire.”
“You’re right,” she said stubbornly, “I am.” She trailed her free hand up his arm and across his collarbone. Her lips followed, pressing a trail of kisses against his heated skin. Argos watched in fascination as each kiss sent a jolt of lightning threw him. He wanted those lips against his own. He needed her to look at him.
Finally, she did, her eyes beseeching. Her lips parted, silently begging for him to claim her.
Defiant little nymph. She was not an innocent. How could he ever think that? The Claire in front of him matched the confident seductress who infiltrated his fantasies. The woman commanded attention and refused to let it go.
Argos could not help it. His body leaned forward, aching for her touch. He sucked in a sharp breath, feeling his control slip.
Of course, it was at this moment that Claire pulled back, startled by the noise that escaped him. “I want this to be good for you as well,” she amended softly, looking torn. “Tell me what you need.”
“I need you not to tease me,” he nearly growled, swooping down to capture her lips. It was a proper kiss. The thing he had been wanting since first laying eyes on her lush lips. As he had dreamed, they parted easily for him, allowing his tongue entrance. An delightful noise arose from Claire and his curse ached for more. “I need you. All I need is you.”
Claire gasped as he picked her up. Her body hardly weighed more than his old shield. He easily tossed on onto the bed, her nightshirt hitched up, revealing unmarked white skin.
Looking down on her turned his entire body into a burning flame. He worried it would burn them both alive. It felt like a century since the last time he’d touched a woman, though it had been only a few days. He wanted to ravage her, but that would not do.
She was helping him. The least he could do was make the experience one she would never forget.
“What are you doing?” Claire propped herself up on her elbows, looking at him with excited eyes. Her hair was disheveled from their escape, but it only made her more beautiful to him. In a few moments, it would be even worse. He wanted her to fall apart under the pleasure he gave.
“I fear that once I start, I will not be able to stop,” he breathed, giving her one last chance to quit while they could.
Her lips parted, but the words refused to come out. Slowly she pulled herself into a sitting position and reached for her top. The air left Argos’s lungs as she pulled it over her head, showing two perfect, pale breasts. They were the most beautiful things he had ever seen. Small and soft, barely holding on to the same tone of color as the rest of her body.
“I don’t want you to stop.” 
About the Author:


Maria Shield writes romance, and science fiction. She was raised in Kansas but has since lived all over the world, from Korea to Japan, finally ending up in her current location in Hawaii with her husband and pets. She is passionate about  Japanese culture, ancient history, and feminist activism.

She also loves helping other writers find their communities and sharing craft tips and tricks. This often means she's participating in a critique group somewhere or starting one herself.

When she isn't writing, Maria can often be found doing the 3 R's: Reading, Running, and Researching.




Facebook Group for Readers: https://buff.ly/2PDwHTB



Amazon Author Page: https://buff.ly/2PcBSuN

Goodreads Page: https://buff.ly/2rrXLxq




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