Hi!

I’m a new indie author from the UK, where I live with my husband and two boys. I’m vampire and bad boy obsessed. Damon Salvatore will always be my favourite vampire and I can’t help but be totally in love with Negan from the Walking Dead. Yes, he’s evil. Yes, I still want in his pants.

My favourite things are to get out into the woods and go walking with my family, looking for nature and getting muddy. I’m also a photographer and often spend hours messing around in Photoshop designing covers and teasers. It’s a great way to procrastinate from writing!

My tbr pile is approximately 35 miles high. I want to read ALL the books, right now. It makes me anxious. And happy. And liable to hide in dark corners where I think the children can’t find me…

Breaking the Gladiator is my debut novella. It’s dark and dirty! I’m also getting ready to release Taste the Dark, the first book in a paranormal romance series.

Let’s Get To Know Nicola Rose
Q: What are the top five books that have influenced your career?

A: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is the top book that has influenced me. I was late to the party and didn’t read Twilight until all the books were released, which was great because it meant I could binge-read the whole lot. A few months later I started writing my own paranormal romance.

Next up would be On Writing by Stephen King. This man knows his stuff. Nuff said.

A recent big influence has been Sarah J Maas with the ACOTAR and Throne of Glass series’. I’m in awe of the way this lady weaves her stories and characters through vast worlds. As a result, I’m currently plotting my own fantasy series!

I must shout out Ker Dukey and K Webster for the Pretty Little Dolls series. These sick souls opened my eyes and made me realise there is a market out there for dark, twisted romance, and I want in on it!

Finally, I’d have to choose L J Shen with Vicious and Midnight Blue. This woman knows how to write her alphaholes. Truly inspiring.

Q: What’s the funniest thing a reader has ever said/emailed to you?

A: “Folds = saggy old granny”

Yeah, I deleted it after that! No more folds in my sex scene. And no, I didn’t go with velvet lips either…

Q: What fictional character would you punch if the face if you thought you could get away with it without going to jail?

A: Well, sorry to go against a lot of love, but probably Ana from 50 Shades of Grey. Just to tell her to please, please stop talking about her inner goddess.

About Breaking the Gladiator by Nicola Rose

Blurb

A tale of forbidden love – passion, deceit, blood, anger and hope. Will it all come crashing down around them? Or will love find a way to conquer the hate instilled in them all? Who will be left standing when a gladiator falls for his Domina?

Cassian

I’m trained to kill… for the amusement of others.

Slave. Fighter. Beast.

Emotions are a weakness, so I have none; except anger and hate. All the good ones were beaten and starved out of me long ago. I barely even feel pain anymore.

But when she touches me? Feelings thrash to the surface, and in my world those are dangerous. She’s poison, feeding off my rage for her own sick pleasures. I hate her. She keeps finding cracks and opening them up, squeezing herself inside my chest.

She’s going to get me killed.

Livia

I’m Domina of the Atticus ludus, where we train gladiators to compete for victory.

Wealthy. Attractive. Powerful husband.

It appears I have it all… and I wish I could make myself feel that way. But I’m numb. Too broken to even care. The only time I feel alive is when I’m with my husband’s champion gladiator. My slave. In the arena, and the bedroom.

It’s disgusting for a woman of my rank to sleep with a man like him. He’s a dirty, worthless animal. His touch should feel repulsive. His gaze upon me should make my skin crawl.

But he’s mine. And I want more.

Note to readers: Dark Romance!! This novella contains blood and action, and steamy romance between characters battling with dominance and consent issues. Expect a lot of heat and darkness, because romance isn’t always sweet.

Exclusive Excerpt

The darkness inside stirs. The same evil that awakens in the arena.

Fucking and fighting are my only releases. These are the only moments I can let go, when I can be free. But they get muddled in my head. They’re too connected. As soon as the adrenalin flows, the beast emerges.

It doesn’t matter that sex should be calm and beautiful – the demons wake up and the fog settles, and I can’t control myself.

She knows this. Livia knows that the only time in my life when I have laid with a woman and not experienced that rage – is when I have slept with her. Through all the hatred and pain she causes, she still has the power to take it away. When she’s soft, and tender, and my body melts into hers… the darkness vanishes and I can make love.

She knows this… and that’s why she sent Aelia to my cell tonight. To release the tortured soul that she prodded and pushed in the punishment room. To marvel and enjoy… to fucking enjoy watching him unleashed on another.

Aelia lets out a squeak of pleasure. Her furrow is so tight and hot. I try to slow down, but it’s too late. I can’t see anything but haze. Every part of me surges for the thrill, muscles locked with rigid tension, my balls aching for release.

I thrust so hard that her head slams into the wall. She squeals and I pound harder. Every whimper that falls from her lips makes me want more. Harder. Faster. I can’t tell if it’s awe or fear as she stares up at me like a lost rabbit. So tiny, so breakable.

She’s screaming in pain and pleasure as I nearly split her in two with violent thrusts.

“Louder,” Livia commands. “Let the whole ludus know what you filthy creatures are doing.”

I let out a roar and Aelia’s shriek is almost delirious.

Visions sweep through my mind, right behind my eyes. All I can see is violence and blood. All I can hear is the agony of death, and the crack of a whip. My body locks into fight or flight.

And I will always fight.

I dare to glance at Livia. I shouldn’t have. The sight of her, dripping with lust, eyes glazed with passion…

I hate her.

I fucking love her.

My hands tighten around Aelia’s throat and her eyes bulge. I don’t take my eyes from my Domina. Not when Aelia’s cries quieten to a gargle. Not when the gargle quiets to nothing. Not when I shoot my seed so far into her that my chest explodes in ecstasy and sorrow.

No. I do not take my eyes from my Domina. Because tomorrow I will have to stare at her feet and pretend this never happened.

So I glare at her now, and I etch the awe on her face into my memory. The next time she sees my cock, it won’t be a slave girl getting choked to the point of passing out.

It will be her.

Favorite Quote

My favorite quote from Breaking the Gladiator is:

His roar echoes through my very bones. I will fill up on his hatred, devour his wrath. The next time he’s brought to my room he’ll unleash the beast upon me and I will ride the waves of his pain.

Breaking the Gladiator by Nicola Rose
02/20/2018 –
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