We're excited to announce the blog tour for HERA: Kingdom of Lies by Betsy Ellor. This book is perfect for women navigating love, ambition, motherhood, and impossible expectations without breaking.
Before we interview the author, here's a bit more about the book:
Before the gods became.
Before humankind was imagined.
Before Olympus was more than mist on a desolate mountain — Hera reigned.
When the war hero, Zeus, takes power and moves Hera’s statues aside to make room for his own, the queen of heaven must find her place in a new order. At first drawn in by Zeus’ charm, she quickly realizes she wants no part of life with this petty, egocentric dictator. When she refuses to marry him, what began as seduction becomes a snare. Trapped into marriage, Hera learns that power can still be forged through cunning, seduction, and unexpected alliances. But after she gives birth to the God of War, her influence begins to crumble — and his lust threatens to tear the kingdom apart.
Who is the Goddess of Marriage, if she’s bound to a husband who defiles every vow?
Who is the Goddess of Motherhood, if she’s raising a child the world misunderstands?
What kind of goddess is she willing to become to protect her people and her child?
Who is the Goddess of Motherhood, if she’s raising a child the world misunderstands?
What kind of goddess is she willing to become to protect her people and her child?
Rich with betrayal, desire, and divine intrigue, this origin story of Greek mythology told from the point of view of its chief villain weaves gods, nymphs, dragons, sex, lies, and strategy into a fierce new legend. Hera: Kingdom of Lies combines the social and political maneuvers of Scandal with the mythic, villain-redemption of Circe.
PUBLISHER: Words Unbound Press
ASIN: B0G2GJ4RR9
ISBN-13 979-8274299466
Print Length: 282 pages
About the Author, Betsy Ellor
Betsy Ellor is a women’s fiction author and multi-disciplinary creative whose work blends intrigue, myth, and magic with strong, complex female leads. When not at her desk, she’s hiking, gardening, or annoying her teenage son. She’s the editor of the anthology Heroic Care, author of the picture book, My Dog is NOT A Scientist, from Yeehoo Press, and scribbler of articles and stories for various outlets, including Spine Magazine, 5 Minute Lit, and The Creative Collective.
Linktr.ee: linktr.ee/betsyellor
Instagram: betsyellor
Facebook: betsy.ellor
Substack: betsyellor.substack.com
Threads: Betsyellor
Website: https://www.wordsunboundstudio.com/
---- Interview by Ellen LaFleche Christian
WOW: Hera is often portrayed as a villain in classical mythology. What inspired you to reclaim her story and tell it from her point of view?
Betsy: I’ve loved mythology my whole life, but Hera always felt deeply misunderstood. She was a queen, a protector, and a mother, yet legends flatten her into “jealous wife.” As I got older and became a working mother myself, her portrayal needled me even more.
Hera stands up to a husband and king who could destroy her at his whim. Doesn’t that alone command respect? Her dominions were marriage and family, meaning it was literally her job to enforce the sanctity of those institutions. Yet when she did, she was labeled quarrelsome and difficult. (Labels many women in leadership are called.) The more I thought about these things, the more I reread the old stories, asking: what if Hera’s story was never about jealousy at all?
That question became this novel.
WOW: The novel explores power, marriage, and motherhood under impossible expectations. How do you see Hera’s struggles reflecting the pressures modern women still face today?
Betsy: Becoming a mother made me rethink our cultural myths about motherhood. Society tells us that motherhood should be instinctual and intuitive. Meanwhile, the media has plenty of ever-changing commentary on the “right” way to parent. The same can be said about society’s expectations for career women, wives, and active citizens.
Trying to balance those expectations myself often feels suffocating. How much heavier would that weight be for the Goddess of Motherhood and Marriage? She was expected to embody those roles to perfection, yet her firstborn was Ares, the God of War. What was he like as a toddler? She was raising a child that the world misunderstood, with the world watching.
Hera’s struggle to find peace, balance, and identity inside the pressure of these roles and expectations is mythic, but also completely relatable to modern women.
WOW: Zeus is depicted as charming yet deeply dangerous. How did you approach writing a character who embodies both seduction and tyranny without softening his impact?
Betsy: Many readers have told me they found it cathartic to see Zeus through a modern political lens. While I can see where they make that connection, my portrayal of Zeus grew from personal experience with a partner who confused love with control.
Zeus is charming because he genuinely believes what he is doing is best for Hera and his kingdom. He has flair. He dazzles. He illuminates those close to him in the glow of his presence. But Zeus believes his decisions are inherently right simply because they are his. If anyone disagrees, rather than question his own perfection, he simply forces them back in line. By this logic, he can commit atrocities and then curl up beside Hera, and expect her to give him reassurance and adoration. When someone with that mentality holds absolute power, the danger is very real.
WOW: Much of Hera’s strength comes not from brute force, but from strategy, alliances, and resilience. What does power mean to you in this story—and how does it evolve for Hera over time?
Betsy: Early readers have compared the book to the political maneuvering of Scandal, and I understand why. Like Olivia Pope, Hera often operates without an official seat at the table. After Zeus supersedes her on the throne, she loses direct authority and must rely on strategy, alliances, and seduction to shape the future for her realm.
At first, she believes she can protect the kingdom in this way. But as the story progresses - especially as her body, energy, and focus change through pregnancy—she begins to see how fragile that kind of influence is and fights even harder for a seat at the table with a voice that can’t be ignored.
WOW: Motherhood plays a complicated role in Hera’s identity, especially through her relationship with Ares. What drew you to explore the complicated tensions in that dynamic?
Betsy: While drafting this book, I was also navigating the support for my neurodivergent son (He has pretty severe ADHD and an anxiety disorder). Anyone who has walked a similar path understands the emotional gymnastics required. You must be a hearth-keeper, building a safe, warm, and stable life with plenty of positive reinforcement. But you must also be a dragon, constantly and fiercely advocating for the resources and opportunities your child needs while often battling systems that make support difficult to access. You must constantly embody tenderness and ferocity at the same time. I hope readers in a similar situation can draw on Hera’s strength and find solidarity in the story.
WOW: Readers have compared HERA: Kingdom of Lies to Circe and Scandal for its mix of myth and political maneuvering. How did you balance epic mythology with intimate, emotional storytelling?
Betsy: Myths endure because they evolve. They are mirrors held up to society; the mirror’s framework remains, but what we see reflected changes with each new generation.
In Circe, Madeline Miller took her key plot points from myth: an exiled nymph, Hermes, the Minotaur, and Odysseus, etc. But she layered in Circe’s emotions and motivations, and that is what makes the story resonate.
Unlike Circe, who makes a few brief appearances in legend, Hera appears in a large percentage of Greek myths. Instead of including all her appearances, I developed a few overarching stories to keep the novel from feeling disjointed and disengaging. The tales I focused on allow us to experience Hera’s cunning brain and the journey within her rich inner life. Hera has a strong moral compass, a protective heart, and a deep desire to both mother and rule well. Balancing epic stakes with intimate emotion meant grounding divine conflict in a deeply resonant story.
WOW: If readers walk away from this book seeing Hera differently—or seeing themselves differently—what do you hope that shift will be?
Betsy: We are all handed roles from the day we are born. We spend our lives either trying to live within those roles or - sometimes quietly, sometimes fiercely - fighting against them. That tension lives within all of us. It’s a conflict as old as the myth of Hera.
I hope that readers walk away seeing Hera differently, but also feeling empowered to always be the ruler of their own story.
---- Blog Tour Calendar
March 2nd @ The Muffin
Join WOW as we celebrate the launch of Betsy Ellor's blog tour of HERA: Kingdom of Lies. Read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of the book.
March 5th @ Knotty Kneedle Creative
Judy, a blogger about writing, gardening, and fiber arts, shares a guest post about Why We Love Myths.
March 7th @ Chapter Break
Today, Julie shares a guest post by the author on the topic of Cut The Should. Stop by and learn more at her blog.
March 9th @ StoreyBook Reviews
Visit StoreyBook Reviews to read a guest post by author Betsy Ellor on the topic of Making peace with the duality of being soft and fierce in the world.
March 12th @ Knotty Kneedle Creative
Knotty Needle Creatives reviews HERA: Kingdom of Lies. Find out more.
March 16th @ Hook of a Book
Interested in the place of women in history? Visit Hook of a Book to read a guest post by Betsy Ellor about Women's History.
https://www.hookofabook.wordpress.com March 17th @ Wonderful World of Words
Head to A Wonderful World of Words to read Joy's review of HERA: Kingdom of Lies today.
March 20th @ Hook of a Book
Read Erin's review of HERA: Kingdom of Lies today on Hook of a Book.
March 25th @ All Things Writing
CC King, shares a guest post that addresses the subject: Myths Remixed: How to write your own. Head to her blog:
https://www.caitrincking.com/blogMarch 27th @ Sarandipity's
Sara shares a guest post by Betsy Ellor on the topic of Parenting Difficult/Neurodiverse Children. Learn more at her blog.
March 30th @ Word Magic
Visit Word Magic today when Fiona shares a guest post by the author of HERA: Kingdom of Lies on the topic of Love Revised.
April 3rd @ Boys' Mom Reads!
Find out more about HERA: Kingdom of Lies when Karen reviews the book today.
April 4th @ Ellen Blogs
Discover more about Marketing for Introverted Writers at Ellen Blogs where she shares a guest post by Besty Ellor, author of HERA Kingdom of Lies.
April 5th @ In Our Spare Time
Read Ellen's review of HERA Kingdom of Lies today on her blog. Find out more about her thoughts on this book.
***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****
Enter to win a print copy of Hera: Kingdom of Lies by Betsy Ellor. Fill out the form below for a chance to win! The giveaway ends on March 15th at 11:59 pm CT. We will randomly draw a winner the next day and follow up via email. Good luck!
