How far would you go for the romance of a lifetime? Would you risk your family relationships? Would you risk your eternal soul? Janine Ashbless wraps these themes in Cover Him with Darkness—a thrilling erotic tale where good and evil battle for true love.
I chatted with Janine about her latest trip into fantasy erotica, a genre she expands with romantic adventures of swords ‘n’ sandals, contemporary paranormal, fairytale stories based on mythology and folklore.
What is the overwhelming allure of angels in our mythology?
I think that in the westernized romantic mythology, angels take the same role as the gods used to in the pre-Christian sexual imagination. They are something greater than human, more beautiful and more powerful and “purer”, that come to earth to sweep up us mortals in ecstasy. Isn’t that the ultimate fantasy lover? It’s just Gabriel now instead of Zeus.
Are they necessarily erotic?
Good question. There’s a tension between, say, angels in academic theology, and angels in art and contemporary romance. The former are not usually depicted as sexual beings (though in Genesis Chapter 6 the ”sons of God” come down and take wives from amongst humans). But it’s human nature, isn’t it: the moment we started depicting them in art we made them handsome paragons of men. It’s then absolutely inevitable that we romanticize and sexualize that. We are sexual creatures by nature, after all.
Did you fear backlash from people who would object to eroticizing angels?
There may be some backlash to what I’ve written in Cover Him with Darkness, but believe me—there’s stuff in there that’s likely to offend religious literalists far more than the erotic content.
Are there other paranormal/fantastic theme you are looking to explore?
I’ve covered a LOT of paranormal themes already in my erotica: fairies, ghosts, minotaurs, werewolves, vampires, gods of several different mythologies… I’m happy to revisit any of these if inspiration strikes. Or have I missed something obvious out? Hmmm….
What can we look forward to from you in the future?
Well, there’ll be the sequels to Cover Him with Darkness, I very much hope! And I’m writing a quartet of modern-day magical/pagan erotic novellas for Ellora’s Cave – Summer Seduction is out already, and others will follow.
You can learn more about Cover Him with Darkness on Amazon and Goodreads.
