Prince Paris of Troy was a common figure in Greek mythology. He is first seen when a seer predicted that he would bring about the ruin of Troy. Unable to kill the newborn prince, his parents gave him to a herdsman to expose in the country. legend has it that he was suckled by a bear until the herdsman returned and discovered that he was alive. He kept the child and raised him as a herdsman. When he grew up, he was recognized by the god Ares for his honesty in judging a bull fight. Later, when Eris, the goddess of discord, threw a golden apple labeled “for the fairest” into a wedding celebration of the Greek gods, Paris was asked to judge between three goddesses. Since the goddesses were all beautiful, he agreed to accept a bribe for his judgment. Hera offered him ownership of Europe. Athena offered him warrior skills and wisdom. Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman. That happened to be Queen Helen of Sparta who was already married to King Menelaus. After some encouragement from Aphrodite, Helen ran off with Paris to Troy with Menelaus and all of the Greek kings and heroes in pursuit. What happened is a story for next week.

The Attic red figure vase at Antikenmuseen in Berlin, Germany dates from the 5th century BC. Hermes (with the winged cap) leads the three goddesses Aphrodite (the figure in the middle), Athene and Hera to Paris for his judgement. The prize is a golden apple for the fairest. The Trojan prince sits in the doorway holding a royal staff and lyre. Before him stands Hermes, holding a kerykeion (herald’s wand) and wearing a chlamys (traveler’s cloak) and winged cap. Of the three goddesses, Aphrodite is veiled, and holds a winged Eros (god of love) and myrtle wreath in her hands; Athene holds a spear and helm; Hera is crowned and bears a miniature lion and royal lotus-tipped staff. Paris is about to make a judgment that will fulfill the prophecy made at his birth.

I’m not a huge Star Trek fan- I prefer Star Wars and Doctor Who, but I am a very, very big fan of Benedict Cumberbatch. I think he’s absolutely brilliant and I’m planning to see the movie for him and him alone. It’ll be two hours of bliss for me- at least when he’s on the screen. I also like Simon Pegg and some of the other actors in this one but be sure Benedict is the lure for me and he looks to be deliciously evil in this one. If you see it, I hope you enjoy!

On my personal blog, I’m participating in a blog hop and have a couple of giveaways. I’m also donating sales proceeds for the weekend to my local animal shelter. Pop in and say hi at JillianChantal.com

Her Teddy Bare was recently released  by Carnal Passions, the erotic romance imprint of Champagne Book Group. This is my first erotic romance, but I’m in great company. Her Teddy Bare (a light BDSM e-book with a chuckle) is the third in the Aphrodite’s Island series where guests “experience their most secret dreams and fondest fantasies.” 

The stories are  stand-alones with Aphrodite and her island as common elements. Veteran erotic romance authors contributed Taming of a Sex God (Virginia Nelson) and One Too Many (Arlene Knowell), Books 1 and 2 in the series. All three ebooks are Quick Reads which are a bargain at $.99 each.  Click the graphic or HERE to read excerpts or buy the books which are listed together (thank you to our publisher).  Tomorrow, Her Teddy Bare’s Release & a Story     Rita Bay

After dumping her unfaithful fiancé, Diana Harper accepts an invitation “to attend a private even t at Miss A’s island retreat to experience your most secret dreams and fondest fantasies.” Miss A gives “Teddy” to Diana as an “attendant.” Despite his best efforts, Teddy isn’t a submissive and the skimpy gold thong is ridiculous on a man his size. Although she’s not a domme, Diana plays his game to see where it leads. When Teddy offers her profound passion, the best sex ever, and the prospect of love, will she take a chance on another broken heart?
Theodore Bareston will do whatever it takes to win Diana’s love, even though “whatever” includes wearing a thong and posing nude in chains when Diana’s interest in her art revives. As the sexual tension builds and passions explode, Teddy is determined to convince Diana that he is the only man for her.

Teddy loves to cook and the recipe for the omelette  he cooks  for his Mistress Di is at my blog site, http://ritabay.com/ .  I’m also participating in the Four Seduced Muses’ Caliente Blog Hop. Loads of valuable swag from the Seduced Muses,  more at every one of the 99 participating sites. I’m giving away copies of my books. Stop by my website, register, then jump from there.  Next week, a series.  Rita

If you’re like me and need to wait for the theaters to clear out some and need something to do, here’s a book you could read. It doesn’t have Tony Stark but it has a handsome Spaniard Grandee as the hero. Murder, mystery and romance on the high seas. What more could you want? Yeah, yeah, I know, Tony Stark.

Bernadette McSwain’s family has a strong connection to the Queen Mary ocean liner. They’re invited to sail on the Queen’s final voyage to her new home in Long Beach, California in 1967. Bernadette and her cousin, Michel are writing a book on the spirits who haunt the mighty ship. Bernadette’s psychic abilities help in their research. They meet a young Spanish grandee, Lazarus Garcia, who’s on the ship as a chef to learn to run his own first class restaurant. He’s surrounded by anguished spirits whom Bernadette can see. When passengers start to die in violent ways, Bernadette suspects Lazarus of the crimes. This suspicion causes a rift between the cousins as Michel has befriended the Spaniard. As the voyage continues and Lazarus tries to charm her, Bernadette must make a decision about him or face losing her cousin, both literally and figuratively.

Frescoes survive in Pompeii probably more often than any other site of the ancient world. In 79 AD Pompeii, a small but wealthy town on the Mediterranean south of Naples, was buried under volcanic ash and rocks when Vesuvius erupted. Prior to the eruption the volcano was covered by trees, vineyards, villas, and pastureland and the populace was unaware that they were living on a time bomb. The eruption was totally unexpected and resulted in the death of many of the citizens and the preservation of much of Pompeii in ash and volcanic rock. Consequently, many frescoes – like the one here – were preserved in all their magnificent colors.

Maybe another Ares next week  Rita

Here’s the link to the review of The Gambler’s Brother review.

Snapdragon was the reviewer and I think some of my favorite parts of her review were as follows:

“Wrought with very human emotion, The Gambler’s Brother will not fail to move you.

We find ourselves aboard the Queen Mary, here at the end of the war (1946). Bo Mcswain is endearing from the get go, and we readers are just like all those war brides he mentions, lured in with the promise of this novel, if not actual chocolate bars and nylon hose.”

“The Gambler’s Brother is set during a specific, and relatively little-known period of time, (and little known event) following the war. The storyline is very fresh. Fans of WWII-era fiction will certainly enjoy.”

Moonday’s Heroic Hunk in History is Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici (1463 – 1503) who was an Italian banker and politician. He belonged to the junior branch of the House of Medici of Florence. When his father died he was placed under the guardianship of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was the ruler of Florence. His father had tried to protect him and his brother from the senior branch but Lorenzo forced them to make loans to him, which beggared the younger branch, and later only repaid half.

The younger Lorenzo received a great education and was a fellow student and friend of explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci. Lorenzo grew up to be a poet and supporter of the arts with liberal views. In 1482 at 19 years old, Lorenzo was married to Semiramide Appiano whose family was a valuable commercial and political connection. Lorenzo the Magnificent may have commissioned Botticelli’s Allegory of Spring for the wedding with the younger Lorenzo as Mercury and Simiramide as the central Grace who is looking at Mercury or as Flora. He’s on the far left reaching up to pick an orange, a symbol of the Medici family.

He served as an ambassador to Paris but got into trouble with his older cousin and was removed from the roles of citizens of Florence eligible for public office until the older Lorenzo died in 1492. Shortly after his death, his son was overthrown and the Republic of Florence came into being. Lorenzo and his brother were prominent in the administration. He protected Botticelli, Michelangelo, Filippino Lippi, and Bartoloemo Scala from Savonarola’s destruction of the arts and artists. He refused to become the ruler of Florence when Savonarola himself was burned at the stake. His descendants in the younger branch of the Medici family became the ruler of Florence.

Check out my new group blog – Worlds of the Imagination, a group of fantasy/scifi writers  – where I’m writing about the new scifi program, Defiance.