I'll move Heaven and Earth to keep her safe. Mob Knight (The O'Rourke Brotherhood) Dark Mafia Romance by Sabine Barclay Book Tour with Q&A and Guest Post

Synopsis (from Amazon):

How did I get so lucky?

She shouldn't have been there.

She shouldn't have tried to protect me.

Now I'll move Heaven and Earth to keep her safe.

I'll be her knight in shining armor.

Stand in my way, and you'll breathe your last.

Nothing will stop me from seeing that smile when she's in my arms.

There's more to life than pleasure, but I'll give her more than she dreamed.

She's my light after the darkest night.

Mob Knight is an interconnecting, standalone Dark Mafia Romance with a HEA and no cliffhanger. It contains EXTRA-STEAMY scenes that will make your toes curl and your granny blush. The O'Rourke Brotherhood is a six-book series that'll keep you warm at night.

Discover the four NYC rival families that make up The Syndicate Wars world. Each family has their turn to be heroes in their own series. When it's not their family's turn for love, discover whether they're the villain. You'll meet all 24 men of the Four Families throughout the interconnected series, each taking their turn to fall in love. By the end, you'll have a love/hate relationship with them all.

Excerpt:

As I watch Joey tonight, I’m testing her, and I know she knows it. I need to see whether she has faith in me to protect and leave her unharmed. If anything, better off than when the night started. That’s part of the reason it bothered me so much that our first night together ended as such an epic failure because I didn’t take care of her properly. We were both on an emotional high until I fucked things over by getting jealous.

I smooth my hand over her back and down to her arse. I could hold on to it for days and never tire of filling my hands with it. I’ve had enough partners to know what I do and don’t like without being a man-whore, and I very much like Joey’s body. The corner of my mouth twitches as I think it’s a good thing she can’t see me. I ease her off the spanking bench and hold her at the elbows while she steadies herself.

“Are you dizzy?”

“No, I’m all right. I just—I need a moment. My ass burns.”

“I would think so. You did so well, cailín. I definitely wasn’t as gentle as I could be.”

“I know, sir. Thank you.”

I could have been far rougher, but I don’t know her tolerance and preference yet. I’m still learning those things, just like she’s still learning what I desire and what levels of control and submission we have between us.

I return the tools of my trade to the wall rack and look around as I slip my arm around her waist. I hold her close to me, kissing her temple.

“Do you want the first time you come tonight to be in public or private? How much more exhibitionism are you comfortable with?”

“I don’t know that I’m ready to be fully naked in front of all of these people, but I obviously am not that timid.”

It shocked the hell out of me to discover she wasn’t wearing any panties. I love the demi bra and garter belt with the fishnet thigh highs. She definitely understands the dress codes at these types of play places. The dress she wore made her look like the living embodiment of Venus on a half shell. I’m glad she wore a coat over it, or I might have had to gouge her taxi driver’s eyes out. I don’t mind other people seeing her in here wearing that.

All the women have similarly revealing and enticing clothing. However, outside of here, I admit a level of possessiveness I’ve never felt toward any of my previous subs or women I’ve scened with here and at other clubs.

I watch Joey as her gaze sweeps the open area before glancing up at the mezzanine and second floor. There are more private rooms like the one we were in last time, each with different themes. There’s a classroom, a child’s nursery, an extreme torture room. Users of that room can indulge their very darkest fantasies in private. Those who are into lesser stuff can still enjoy the room. It’s just there for those whose preferences might shock even the most experienced members of this lifestyle.

“Can we try the chain station?”

Joey points toward the wall where there is a set of chains with cuffs on a pulley and chains attached to the wall at floor level.

“If that’s what you would like, little one. Is your elbow up to being restrained over your head?”

“Yes, sir. It’s almost entirely healed. I only get a twinge once in a while.”

I stoop to pick up her dress, and she reaches for it. I cock an eyebrow, and she lowers her gaze, a small smile playing at her lips. As her Dom, even small things like carrying her dress shows taking care of her is important to me. I guide her over to the open station, passing a couple of people I know. They don’t know who I am here, but I can recognize them. It pays to be silent owners of the best BDSM clubs in the tri-state area. We know who likes to spank and who likes to be spanked. That’s been invaluable information over the years.

Who knows to what extremes people will go to protect their privacy? We do.

A couple just finished here at this chain station. The Domme’s cleaning off the cuffs while her sub guzzles a bottle of water.

“It’s all yours.”

Series information:

Mob Knight is an interconnecting, standalone Dark Mafia Romance with a HEA and no cliffhanger. It contains EXTRA-STEAMY scenes that will make your toes curl and your granny blush. The O'Rourke Brotherhood is a six-book series that’ll keep you warm at night. Mob Knight is book six in the series.

Discover the four NYC rival families that make up The Syndicate Wars world. Each family has their turn to be heroes in their own series. When it’s not their family’s turn for love, discover whether they’re the villain. You’ll meet all 24 men of the Four Families throughout the interconnected series, each taking their turn to fall in love. By the end, you’ll have a love/hate relationship with them all.

The Ivankov Brotherhood

The Mancinelli Brotherhood

The O’Rourke Brotherhood

The Cartel Brotherhood

Content warnings:

These are NOT Daddy Dom/ Little Girl (DDLG) books, but the terms Daddy and Baby Girl are used as endearments.

Praise kink (NOT degradation/shame kink or bully romance though)

BDSM/spanking

May have elements of domestic discipline

Multiple explicit sex scenes

Extensive use of profanity

Explicit and implicit reference to violence, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, organized crime

Guest Post:

Making Mobsters Loveable

Sabine Barclay

As much as I love a good decapitation or dismemberment scene or a scorching sex scene, there’s more to my heroes than just being mobsters and mafiosos. I call my books deep shades of gray because the hero’s (and sometimes heroine’s) backstory, the setting, and the plot are dark. However, the dynamic between the main couple isn’t. It’s kinky, and there are elements of power exchange, but they’re equals.

That means to me, the heroes need moments where they’re relatable and redeemable. All of my books, whether you’re reading my Mafia books I write as Sabine Barclay or my Historical Romances I write as Celeste Barclay, center upon family. If the themes in my books were a wagon wheel, then family is the hub and love, loyalty, honor, and duty are the spokes. I use tight-knit families to show the hero’s humanity. Their deeply bonded family—blood or found—gives me the chance to include sibling rivalry, parent-child give and take, and banter among friends. It allows me to soften otherwise rough edges on guys who do some pretty horrible things.

Understanding how the men were born into syndicate life and can never leave without dishonorably endangering their family, being disloyal, shirking their duty, or turning their back on love helps show there’s a reason for their tough exterior which can often come across as unfeeling or uncaring. They are the men they have to be to stay alive, but when they find the right woman, they’re finally also the men they want to be.

You want to cheer on the hero who has a swearing parrot or secretly loves collecting Legos but will burn the world down if someone breathes in the wrong direction around their woman. You want to be part of the family celebration when the mob boss steals two corner pieces of birthday cake from his twin cousins and jokes it’s good to be king. You want to laugh along with the family when the mob boss’s cousin mouths eff off in Irish, and the twins’ mother tells her son the only Irish spring he’ll see is a bar of soap in his bathroom. You might discover the hero driving to the heroine’s rescue with her massive Mastiff in the front seat of his sports car because he won’t leave her dog behind.

You may come to scenes like these after the men just committed a crime or were in a tense fight scene with rivals. Or you might come to it after a steamy sex scene where he was more dominant, and the heroine was more submissive, but they were both kinky AF.

These moments of humanity and light-heartedness aren’t just between the heroes and their families. They happen between the main characters. When a hero falls in love with a baker and royally messes up, it’s humbling to receive a penis-shaped cake with little bachelorette party plastic penises as a border with cream at the top that tells him to eat a dick in raspberry glaze. It’s hilarious when he receives that cake in front of his father, two uncles—one of whom is the Mafia don—his cousins, and his best friend.

Dark romance doesn’t have to be dark all the time. Heroes and heroines can have dark elements in them and between them. The setting, plot, and backstory can be dark. But through all of that, the heroes can still be loveable and likeable, making you want to cheer them on and helping you understand why they’ll stop at nothing to make their love interest happy. They’re men you wish were real.

Author Q&A:

On writing:

How did you do research for your book?

I spend a lot of time researching my Contemporary Mafia romances that I write as Sabine Barclay and my Historical Romances that I write as Celeste Barclay. I begin with a google search of whatever I need, then I hop around from there. I research names, dates, places, etymology, songs, poems, prayers, oaths, events, medieval forms of measurement, medieval homeopathic/plant remedies, anatomy, and weapons. All sorts of things. Then I decide what I want to incorporate into the story and what I tuck away in my memory for general knowledge.

Where do you get inspiration for your stories?

One story leads to another leads to another. Usually, there’s something I come up with in a story that plants the seed for the next one or a future one. Sometimes I merely think about what I haven’t written before or haven’t written in a while. It might be something I see on TV or while people watching. It might be something I read that I want to put my spin on.

There are many dark romance books out there. What makes yours different?

I love dark romance, but my natural storytelling style is deep shades of dark gray. Every book I write, Mafia and Historical, centers upon family. It could be blood or found. It’s always about love, loyalty, honor, and duty. Those are important values to me as a person, and it comes out in my writing. My Mafia books have dark plots, dark settings, dark backstories, but the relationship between the main couple is one of respect. My heroines are nobody’s fool and pretty kickass. Both MCs just know they’re better together than apart. With big families and a relationship of equals, there are moments of humor or levity interspersed with the darkness. I write stories that make you feel like you’re walking alongside the characters, not just being a fly on the wall.

What advice would you give budding writers?

No matter how great you think your story is, there’s always room for improvement. What makes sense to you may not make sense to others. Take time to get feedback, and it’s not a personal slight if someone doesn’t care for your book. You can’t please all the people all the time. At best, you can please some of the people some of the time. Find the readers who want to read you, and find the authors who you can network with. Build a village of readers and writers.

Your book is set in New York City. Have you ever been there?

The majority of each book is set in NYC. There are four rival Mafia families, so there are four series in what I call The Syndicate Wars world. You meet the men who take turns as heroes and villains throughout each series, so I keep most of each story in one place. I’ve been to NYC many times and love it. I just wouldn’t live there. Sorry, New Yorkers, but it smells funny.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing creatively since Aug of 2017. I had a few months off, then finished my first book in Feb 2018 and published it on April 15, 2018. Better to celebrate that than Tax Day. Before that, I wrote a lot of academic and professional work. I didn’t know how much I would love storytelling until I started doing it. My imagination is a fabulous place to be.

Do you ever get writer’s block? What helps you overcome it?

Knock on wood, I haven’t gotten it. I think that’s because I’m an immersive or binge writer. When I start a story, I write most days until it’s done. It keeps me in the flow and makes it easier for one idea to germinate into another. If I get stuck, I switch to handwriting rather than typing. Just having another means to put my thoughts onto the page usually helps me move past the speed bump.

What is your next project?

I’m writing the first book, Cartel King, in the last series in The Syndicate Wars world, The Cartel Brotherhood. People have been meeting members of the Colombian Cartel for the past three series. They’ve had their turns at being villains. Now it’s their chance for redemption. The series kicks off with Enrique Diaz, the leader in NYC, with Cartel King. There will be six books just like in the previous three series. I’m already thinking about the next world I’m creating. That’ll take place in Boston and will launch in 2026. This year is the year of the Cartel. I’ve already had the American branches of the Russian bratva, the Italian Mafia, and the Irish mob.

What genre do you write and why?

I began in Historical Romance and still write mostly Highlanders when I’m writing Hist Rom. I was a history teacher for years, and I love falling back in time. I love writing about independent women and the men who love them. I love the battles and clan politics based on real events. I love that it’s so far in the past that maybe I could have been that heroine. I don’t have to worry about my everyday real life. No thinking about oil changes or mortgages or electricity bills. I can be free to have an imaginary life. When I read a Hist Rom author friend’s Mafia book, I was hooked. Mafia Romance is Medieval Romance today. If you love swords and kilts, you can love guns and suits. If you love guns and suits, you can love swords and kilts. They are based on the exact same things: rivalries, protecting those you love and who rely on you, vengeance for wrongs, getting away with things you can’t in real life. It was a natural progression to write Mafia after writing Historicals for many years.

What is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?

I feel like I’m part of your characters’ families. I know them like they’re real, and I feel like I’m in the story not just reading the story.

What were the biggest rewards and challenges with writing your book?

The biggest reward is offering escapism and entertainment to others. That’s what I get from writing, and that’s what I want to offer readers. The biggest challenge is juggling all the things that go along with being a professional author.

In one sentence, what was the road to publishing like?

Bumpy. I suppose I can say more than a word, so it has had high and lows that have taught me how to adapt to keep loving what I do.

Which authors inspired you to write?

Maggie Cole, Jagger Cole, Bianca Cole—there’s something about that name—and Jane Henry for Mafia. Eliza Knight, Emma Prince, Keira Montclair, Cecelia Mecca are among a slew of Medieval Romance authors I devoured before becoming an author.

On rituals:

Where do you write?

In my living room most of the time. I have serious neck issues, and writing on my sofa actually puts the keyboard and mouse at the right height for me. I have my laptop on a stand to bring it to eye level. I can shift into different positions to stay comfy, which also makes it easier on my back. I sound so old! But that’s where I’m happy.

Do you write every day?

No. If I’m currently working on a book, I write almost every day. But I give myself days off here and there to get real life things done—getting my roots done or doctor’s appointments or lunch with my family or friends—or just to have a break. I give myself a few days to a couple weeks off between books.

What is your writing schedule?

I’ve gotten into dictation recently, so I go for a long walk—about 4.5 miles—most days and dictate during that time. I can write as many words walking for an hour-and-half as I can in twice that time of typing. It allows me to get exercise and fresh air without feeling like I’m cutting into my workday. I’ll continue writing once I’m home and back at my computer. When I strictly typed, I would write anywhere from eight to fourteen hours. I get immersed in my stories. I love being in my imagination, so time just isn’t a thing. It passes without me noticing.

If you’re a mom writer, how do you balance your time?

When I started, I was a middle school teacher and had an upper elementary and middle schooler at home. I would write during my lunch, while my kids were at swim practice, at night after they went to bed, and during the weekend. I have one in college and one about to graduate high school, so it’s easier now that they don’t need me the way they used to. Since this is my full-time job now, I work until my family gets home, then I try to be off the clock. But when I first started, it was grabbing any time I could anywhere I was.

Fun stuff:

What is something you've learned about yourself during the pandemic?

I’m a happy hermit. After years as a stay-at-home mom, a teacher, a personal trainer, and being in sales, it was wonderful to just not have to talk to people. My family each had a spot in the house to work, and I had quiet and solitude. I hadn’t realized how exhausted I was being an introvert who’s learned to navigate an extroverted world.

What TV series are you currently binge watching?

I have a few! Fire Country, S.W.A.T., FBI, Tracker, Landman, Matlock, Poppa’s House, Dexter: Original Sin, Miss Scarlet

What is the oldest item of clothing you own?

I have a couple of oversized men’s button downs I’ve had since high school. I graduated in ’98. Wow. Now that I think about it, they are WAY older than I realized. I don’t wear them that often, so they’re still in great shape and never go out of fashion.

Who was your childhood celebrity crush?

Oh, that’s easy. Joey McIntyre from New Kids on the Block.

Author bio:

Sabine Barclay, a nom de plume also writing Historical Romance as Celeste Barclay, lives near the Southern California coast with her husband and sons. She loves her days at the beach soaking up way too much sun, a good Netflix binge, and a strong hot chai. Her heroines are independent women who can defend themselves but love their Alpha heroes who want nothing more than to protect their soulmates in her Mafia Romances. She's Gen Y/Oregon Trail and loves creating engrossing contemporary romances that will make your toes curl and your granny blush.

Website: https://www.sabinebarclay.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SabineBarclayAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabinebarclayauthor/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sabinebarclayauthor

Amazon: http://amzn.to/4gd7yJQ

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220296765-mob-knight