Promotional Post: Of Gods and Monsters HADES by Wulf Francu Godgluck #Interview #Review #Giveaway

Author: Wulf Francu Godgluck

Publication Date: January 22, 2016

Length: 347 pages

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Blurb

******WARNING*******
This is not a story about a hero, or some bad boy-badass-antihero.
This is a love story between two monstrous villains and one valiant kid, held together by their entwined heartstrings.
It won't be pretty.
It won't be pleasant.
There's no fluffy good feelings about it.
It will rip out your heart and never give it back.

Breno Hades el Oscuro took no bullshit from anyone. He ruled the crime world of the United States. When the King fell, what was left in the ashes was not the small boy that grew up without his father, not the same kid that chose a life of crime at seventeen, nor was it the King who had killed and clawed through a river of blood to stand at the top.

The King was dragged from his throne of bones into a deep dark pit, leaving only the raw flesh of a savage monster to crawl out of Hell.
One that knew love, but didn't want it again.

Kemono Orochi was destined to inherit the legacy of his father, known as The Dragon's Tongue. It was an inheritance he never wanted it, never desiring the power that came with the title of Dragon. Kemono ended it all by tearing off the Dragon's head, watching the serpent's remains be consumed in hellfire. Now tormented by the scars of his past inflicted by his father, he is struggling to come to terms with the Akuma he has become.

One that wants to devour everyone in his path to protect the only one that matters to him.

The only person that had ever made his icy heart beat.

His heart. His love. His beautiful pride.

Rex Hunter dreams of becoming a principal ballerino...all fierce, like a Phoenix. But this Phoenix has lost his wings and fallen prey, straight into the clutched claws and callus hands of two vicious beasts. Each bore the blackest of hearts, each desiring to keep him safe, cherished and loved unconditionally. Or was Rex just destined to be the goo that would stick two shattered souls together and prevent them from forever falling to pieces?

There will be blood, gore and nasty shit.

There will be watersports, crude, angry, sometimes sensual and other times just downright dirty and dysfunctional sex.

BUT...

There will always be LOVE...

Because even villains understand the tortured scars love leaves in its wake.

Review

This is book 2 in Wulf Francu Godgluck’s Of Gods and Monsters series. After reading book 1 I knew what to expect from this author. He is a dark erotica writer. Be warned that there could be triggers and that he is far from shy about addressing ALL sexual proclivities. It is violent, gory at points, it’s vulgar, and it’s saturated in a deviant nature. But you can see I gave it 5 stars. See, when I read a book I look at one very important thing. Does it make me want for more? And it did. Even before the cliffhanger *glares* I didn’t want it to end. It’s such a well written, brilliantly structured book. The characters are flawlessly broken, needing, wanting and they own you completely. Yes, I may not practice the things they do but I certainly can appreciate the raw and gritty lifestyle these monsters live. Hades got my attention in book one and I have eagerly awaited this book. Rex, that sweet little gingersnap! He is deceiving when you first see him. All sweet and alluring but indeed a lion he is. I thoroughly enjoyed reading him. Wulf is AMAZING at what he does. Bringing dark erotica to the pages. Luring you into a hellish world, one of which you don’t come out of unscathed. It may not be your cup of tea but if you do take a sip it will absolutely change your world.

Interview

Your Of Gods and Monsters series is quite remarkable. Not for the faint of heart. They are dark, gritty, raw, and full of deviance. I love it! So I’d like to talk to you a bit about these crazy, dangerous men. Mainly Hades!

I wonder how much the Hades in your book and the Hades of Greek mythology have in common. In mythology Hades is the Lord of the underworld and in your tale he is sort of the Lord of HIS underworld. I assume the parallel isn’t coincidence but can you elaborate more on Hades and the man behind the name?

I actually did extensive research on this.

If we look very closely at Hades (god), one would see that he is always portrayed as an evil, cruel, dark and powerfully scary man. The main word here is ‘portrayed.’

Hades represent death, the ultimate end and that is something we all fear to some extent, whether it’s the fear of leaving loved ones behind or actually dying and crossing over to the unknown. No one can deny that there is not one aspect of Death that we don’t fear.

If you look at the legend of Hades and Persephone, although there are many versions of the story, one fact remains true (well, two if you count the marriage and fornication with siblings and family—yeah, the Greek gods were pretty messed up)

Hades loved Persephone. Love can make us feel both powerful and leave us completely vulnerable.

Hades was one of the few gods in Greek mythology who was not only faithful to his wife, but treated her as an equal. He loved her so deeply that he made the sacrifice of granting her six months out of the year to walk among the living and be with her mother. As opposed to Zeus and Hera? Zeus slept a round a lot, he is the deuce of all deuces— the ultimate man whore, and he is not the only god who has done that. Yet Zeus is portrayed as a Hero?

Daddy Hades is the crime king of the US. He is feared by all except those exceptions who think they can take him down. He is a vicious man, who lives by his rules. You don’t F**k with him unless you want your guts spilled. And if he cares about you… well you’re one lucky bastard then.

But no king can be successful without his subjects. And no king can rule forever.

Hades (god) to me represented more of a father fugue, someone who was deeply misunderstood by the ‘job’ he was given (or in the mythology, drew the short end of the straw.)

At first, when I wrote Hades in Menoetius, I never gave it a second thought, but as I wrote Hades’ story it become more and more of a coincidence how similar Breno and Hades were. Unlike Colt, who never knew love, Hades as met the cruel bitch and she dealt him one nasty scar.

I’m gonna quote a blog post I read about the subject that explains both Hades’ perfectly;

Hades— Good Guy, Bad Press. -M. Ashley

Rex Hunter is Hades “love interest” I adore Rex’s backstory by the way. But, the question is this. Rex is a light for Hades, a balance. Do you feel that Rex is a savior? That he’s truly the answer to Hades survival?

I won’t say so much that Rex is Hades savior—he is definitely a light of spicy, hot fire, burning in Hades’ dark world—but he does teach Hades what is important again. He does in some sense make Hades reevaluate the life he chose, the sins he carved into his soul and the past Hades had set in place that could come back to haunt them.

Rex is also not scared of Hades, in fact he challenges the king. Each time Hades tries to push Rex back, Rex bites back harder, clawing onto Daddy Hades that much fiercer and I think what ultimately ripped the rug out from under Hades’ feet is that Rex is willing to fight and protect the monster Hades had become.

In a way Rex and Beo are very different to me. Rex is almost stronger emotionally than Beo would ever be. 

And therein Rex gives Hades the one thing he never had, someone that is his, a place, a sanctuary for Hades’ heart, where he feels loved, he feels needed, where Hades’ heart is held as sacred, and protected. Hades had never had someone who would fight for him in the name of love. And it scared the big carnivore shitless.

This is a love triangle, this story… sort of. You have it spaced so it’s not physically a triangle. The OTHER monster in this is Kemono Orochi. We see a little about him in this story. Will we be seeing more of him with Hades and Rex in the third book?

Shhhhh, the only hint I will give here is the title to the next book, KOMAINU ‘Hades part two.’ Maybe by explaining the title I can give a hint as to what is to come.

Koma inu are known as lion dogs in Japan who guard the entrance or the inner shrine of many Japanese Shinto shrines and temples.

They always come in a pair, one with his mouth opened and the other with its mouth closed. (Reminds you of two men in particular? One that really likes to blow his shit like heated volcano, and the other, the silent deadly type, picking his words very carefully, like a silent blizzard before it devours you in its icy death.)

They are fierce, terrifying and gallant beasts. They are guardians preventing the wicked from entering a sacred place.

Symbolically, these carnivores represent yin and yang, or death and life.

The open-mouthed koma inu represents “a,” while the closed-mouthed koma inu represents “un.”

These sounds are the Japanese transliteration of the Sanskrit “Om,” a mystical syllable which symbolizes the beginning, middle, and end of all things.

A western analogy would be alpha and omega.

And once you take this information and apply it to the answer I gave in the previous question, it becomes pretty clear who represents the temple or shrine… and this is where I shut up. J

This series is the definition of dark erotica. It does however stand out a great deal. There’s so much to take away from it. What is the one thing you hope your readers take from this story?

I’m not gonna say something theatrical, like fall in love with them or root for them, or be taken on a wondrous journey through the dark lands.

I don’t write my characters with the mind set to be loved, I don’t expect that from readers. (Hell, my husband can’t read my stuff because he says it’s too cruel and violent.) These are wicked men, capable of unspeakable evils. But even amongst villains there is a natural order of good evil and vile evil.

I want readers to be shaken to their core, left brittle and broken, and yet reaching out for more, no matter the scars these characters will leave with their words and actions.

I want readers to FEEL.

Whether that be anger, heartbreak, lust, frustration or hate—as long as I made you feel something, I know I’ve done my job.

I do want to ask this as well. In book one we meet Menoetius. In Greek Mythology HE was the Titan God of violent anger, rash action, and human mortality (Which we ALL believe after reading his story) Can I ask what other names that resemble mythology we will see in this series?

I won’t elaborate too much, maybe just one or two short sentences on each, but it might give readers a hint into the stories to come. The title is usually a representation of what can be expected from the theme of the book.

Kalfu— He controls the crossroads, granting power or denying access to all other Loa, or spirits, and he allows the "crossing" of bad luck, deliberate destruction, misfortune, and injustices.

Wendigo— is a violent creature consumed by greed, craving human flesh with a heart of ice. But in Wendigo’s case, is it really flesh that he craves… or the devotion of another man’s heart?

Anpu — The Egyptian god guarding the dead, the "Guardian of the Scales." The critical scene depicting the weighing of the heart, in the Book of the Dead, shows the measurement that determined whether the person was worthy of entering the realm of the dead (Duat). By weighing the heart of a deceased person against Ma'at (or "truth"), he dictated the fate of souls. Souls heavier than a feather would be devoured by Ammit, and souls lighter than a feather would ascend to a heavenly existence.

Rugaru—A creature with a human body and the head of a wolf, similar to the werewolf legend. In the Cajun legend, the creature is said to prowl the swamps around Acadiana and Greater New Orleans, and possibly the fields or forests of the regions. One such example is stories that have been told by elders to persuade Cajun children to inspire fear and obedience. According to another variation, the wolf-like beast will hunt down and kill Catholics who do not follow the rules of Lent.

Lucifer— Do I need to say more? The devil has so many faces.

Úlfheðinn — One of a band of ancient Norse warriors legendary for their savagery and reckless frenzy in battle.

Nemesis (Yes big pause, there will be an M/F book in the series) — was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris. The word Nemesis originally meant the distributor of fortune, neither good nor bad, simply in due proportion to each according to what was deserved. Later, nemesis came to suggest the resentment caused by any disturbance of this right proportion, the sense of justice that could not allow it to pass unpunished

Ogmios— was the Celtic deity of eloquence. He looked like an older version of Heracles who would use his powers of persuasion to bind men to himself and control their actions.

Shees that’s a mouth full.

But including Menoetius, Hades and Komainu, that makes eleven books in the series.

I have my work cut out for me.

 

Tell us a little about yourself. What sort of research do you do for a detailed series like this?

It depends solely on what the characters tell me. I see them as real people. I want to give my readers a fictional character that seems real to them. Because to me they are real in some strange way. The research comes later for accuracy. It was especially difficult with Hades because, despite the fact that I love the Spanish language and Latino men, I do not want to offend the culture.

It’s always difficult for someone who does not have the experience of the said ethnic group’s background and daily life to portray that group in their full right. Latino is particularly difficult because there is such a big diversity in culture, terms, slang and family traditions. I was lucky to work with some people on this who helped out a lot.

I fear though Wendigo’s story might prove more difficult in that regard.

So if there are any Native American M/M readers, I’d love to hear from them.

And that is mostly how I do research - I reach out to readers. Sure, one can read up on topics but I feel that people are a far more reliable source of information than just reading up on it.

I have spent two years in Japan and I’m fascinated with the Japanese culture and history.

As for the BDSM aspect of the series, well, I’ve been part of the lifestyle for ten years now. 

How do you celebrate your book releases?

I made love to a bottle of wine and had lots and lots of fudge, crawled into a hole, lay on my side, sucking my thumb and cried silently, waiting for death.

Let me tell you this, as an author, any author—new, old, experienced, matured, amateur—every single book we release comes with a whoopass can of mangled nerves and horror stories flashing before our eyes, ranging from the end of our writing career, to the most evil reviews you can imagine, all the way to readers summoning a demon to come eat your soul.

Releasing your first book is scary shit. Releasing your second is scary. Releasing the third, fourth, fifth, one hundred novels is scary.

This is one of the things that doesn’t get better.

Especially with a series that draws a lot of attention, one is terrified—is it good enough? Will it be able to stand up to the standards and exceptions one set within the first book? Are readers just plain going to hate it?

Writers are strong MOFOs, we go through these emotions while writing the book, while fixing the book, while editing the book, while preparing it for release, and when the big day come, you’re ready to slit your wrists or go find a big dark hole and crawl down in it.

And then when we’re finally ready to breathe again, we start doing it all over again, despite know the emotional wreck we are going to be in a couple weeks into our WIP.

Point is, we love this pain.

Thank you, Wulf, for being here today. I’d just like to ask one last question. How can your fans follow you through social media? Website. Twitter, Facebook?

This was a really fun interview! Thank you for having me.

If I’m not doing evil things, readers can find me here:

Contact & Media Info

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Or pop me an email at francu.strydom@gmail.com

Giveaway

Want some Daddy Hades of your very own? Sure you do! So all you have to do is enter the rafflecopter below and bam. You're entered. Winner will be contacted via email so be sure to check your spam.

Thank you to Wulf for being here today, for writing books that DO IN FACT make us feel. That break us apart and make us never forget the Hell you put us through LOL.

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