Tour Stop & Guest Post: A Torch in His Heart by Anna Belfrage

A Torch in His Heart by Anna Belfrage

I have an issue with the term “clean” as relates to romances. Not because I have a problem with books that steer clear of any sort of sexual scenes—I simply don’t read them, as I believe sex to be a fundamental part in a strong, intimate relationship—but because, per definition, if some books are “clean” the others must be dirty, right?

I do NOT write “dirty” books. Neither do all those authors whose books I enjoy and who excel at beautiful, tender love scenes. I therefore think it’s time to find another term for books that steer clear of sexual intimacy. How about something as simple as “NO SEX”?

What I also find intriguing is that there is a perceived need to label books that do not contain sex so as to differentiate them from the more sordid, lusty stuff that does. Yes, I get it that as a parent you may want to try and shield your children from evocative descriptions of love-making, or that you, as a reader, just don’t want to go beyond the bedroom door. After all, some people prefer the “dot,dot, dot” approach to things. However, what I don’t get is why there are no corresponding labels to ensure books are free of violence. The protagonist of a “clean” romance may very well end up the victim of a beating or be chased down a street by a knife-wielding maniac. It therefore seems as if the sensitive readers out there are okay with blood and gore, less so with naked skin and the scents of arousal. Strange—even very strange—in my book.

Unfortunately, violence can be as much a part of human life as sex is. We are a surprisingly primitive species at times, and so the history of mankind is bordered by sad stories of abuse, of foul death and cruelties. Side by side with all that darkness we have the stories inspired by love, by hope, by kindness, thereby ensuring some sort of balance is maintained.

In my latest release, A Torch in His Heart, there is a lot of hot sex. And violence. Yup. Two men fighting over the same woman, first in the long-lost distant past, then in the here and now, results in blood and pain. Jason has loved Helle since he first saw her three thousand years ago. He was twelve, she was eight, and they were not supposed to fall in love—not when she was a princess destined to marry for political reasons. But sometimes Cupid’s arrows lead to more than love: sometimes they lead to passion and revenge, painful, painful death and a sequence of fruitless lives spent looking for that one single love.

“Yes,” Jason agrees tersely. “Can’t say I am a big Cupid fan.” No, he wouldn’t be, what with the fifty lives he’s lived looking for the woman he imprinted on all those years ago. Helle, on the other hand, has forgotten it all—until the day when Jason walks into her life again, and she knows exactly who he is, without ever having met him before.

Woolf came just before lunch. Helle heard him, laughing in the reception. This was it. She had to do this—had to leave before she burst apart. And as to her career… She blew out her cheeks. Mum was right. She’d survive, somehow.

Helle packed her rucksack, shrugged on her coat and marched out into the reception, arriving just as a group of men emerged from the lift. Marigold rushed to meet them, three men in suits with matching red ties. Pathetic, Helle thought, grinning despite her mounting panic. Woolf was no longer in the reception, and the thought of entering his office had her pulse accelerating. She stood there, holding her resignation letter, when her gaze fell on one of the visitors. Every single atom of oxygen fled her body.

“Jason?” she croaked, taking a half-step in his direction. Jason? She’d never clapped eyes on him before—well, apart from in her recent dreams. The man named Jason inclined his head. Eyes the colour of amber met hers, and Helle couldn’t stop herself from smiling, blinking furiously at the tears that were springing to her eyes.

He raked a hand through his mahogany coloured hair. Helle recognised the mannerism—he always dragged his fingers through his hair when he was stressed about something. But his hair used to be so much longer, and Helle had never seen him in a shirt and tie—hang on! She’d never seen him, full stop. And yet she knew exactly what his mouth would feel like on hers, just as she knew he had a mole the size of a thumbnail just above his right hip, and that the pinkie on his left hand was crooked.

A Torch in His Heart definitely does not qualify as a “clean” romance. There is too much steamy stuff in it—I guess two people who are reunited after three thousand years apart are entitled to making up for lost time, right? But I can assure you that despite the intimacy, despite the heat that scorches the air when he looks at her and she looks at him, it is definitely not a “dirty” book. I don’t write those. In fact, I don’t know anyone who does.

Title: A Torch in His Heart by Anna Belfrage
The Wanderer Series Book One
Publisher: Troubador Publishing
Genre: Time Travel, Romantic Suspense, Explicit Sex
Length: 395 pages

Summary:

In the long lost ancient past, two men fought over the girl with eyes like the Bosporus under a summer sky. It ended badly. She died. They died.

Since then, they have all tumbled through time, reborn over and over again. Now they are all here, in the same place, the same time and what began so long ago must finally come to an end.

Ask Helle Madsen what she thinks about reincarnation and she’ll laugh in your face. Besides, Helle has other stuff to handle, what with her new, exciting job in London and her drop-dead but seriously sinister boss, Sam Woolf. And then one day Jason Morris walks into her life and despite never having clapped eyes on him before, she recognises him immediately. Very weird. Even more weird is the fact that Sam and Jason clearly hate each other’s guts. Helle’s life is about to become extremely complicated and far too exciting.

ADULT CONTENT: This book contains explicit sex scenes.

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Author Bio

Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a professional time-traveller. As such a profession does not exist, she settled for second best and became a financial professional with two absorbing interests, namely history and writing. These days, Anna combines an exciting day-job with a large family and her writing endeavours. Plus she always finds the time to try out new recipes, chase down obscure rose bushes and initiate a home renovation scheme or two.

Her most recent release, A Torch in His Heart, is a step out of her comfort zone. Having previously published historical fiction & historical romance, with this first book about Jason and Helle Anna offers a dark and titillating contemporary romance, complete with a time-slip angle and hot & steamy scenes.

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