Spotlight & Giveaway: Original Sinner by Kait Ballenger

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Kait Ballenger to HJ!

Hi Kait and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Original Sinner!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Original Sinner is the first book in a dark romantasy series, where Lucifer and the other
seven deadly sins are billionaire celebrities who rule a God-abandoned NYC.
In Original Sinner, the FMC, Charlotte, is the runaway daughter of a cult-like Evangelical
minister. She’s escaped to NYC in hopes of outrunning her past. She thinks working for
Lucifer will be the one place her father and those from her old life l won’t come looking
for her, but when a scathing press release she writes about Lucifer unexpectedly leaks
to the press, Charlotte soon finds herself playing the role of fake fiancé to the devil
himself.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

My favorite is one that’s probably not appropriate to share because it’s so spicy, so I’ll share the first line of the book: “At least the villains show you who they really are”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I wrote this book BEFORE I’d ever seen the T.V show Lucifer. Yes, really. And yes, it’s totally okay if you imagine Tom Ellis as my Lucifer.
• I named Lust’s club after the club mentioned in Sam Smith’s music video Unholy. That music video helped inspired that scene.
• The FMC’s bestie, Jax, is based off my real-life bestie.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Lucifer is intrigued by Charlotte at first because he can’t see her sins. He has the ability to see all our darkest deeds, but he can’t see hers, so that piques his interest. For Charlotte, she doesn’t know who Lucifer is at their very first meeting, but she’s tempted by what he says to her–only to later realize he’s the devil, who also happens to be her boss.
 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

I blushed very hard while writing the scene when Lucifer and Charlotte are first alone in his playroom. They use BDSM to work through some of her trauma and there were times when I was writing it where I was making myself blush, but I also cried as I wrote the end of the scene because it was so cathartic–I’m sure readers will see why when they read Original Sinner. This excerpt near the start of the chapter:

“Already soaked for me, I see,” he says, running a finger over the seam of my wet pussy
lips in a way that makes be shiver. “Do I need to repeat the house rules for you, or are we clear?”
I nod, nearly breathless already. “We’re clear.”
“Show me you understand, darling.”
“Yes, sir,” I whisper.
“Louder, Charlotte.”
“Yes, sir,” I snarl.
Satisfied, Lucifer takes a step back, circling as he surveys me. “The safe word is inferno.”

Readers should read this book….

if they love dark romantasy with BDSM and morally gray MMCs , or if they ever wished for a darker, sexier version of Netflix’s Lucifer.
 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

My next release is book 2 in the Original Sinner series, Wicked Believer. It’s out on September 9th and I’m currently working on Book 3 in the series, which is tentatively set for release in early 2026.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: U.S only, one signed copy of ORIGINAL SINNER plus preorder swag

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Which of the seven deadly sins would you choose as your book boyfriend or girlfriend: pride, lust, envy, sloth, gluttony, greed, or wrath?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Original Sinner:

Our task tonight is simple: make the press believe the story Imani crafted for them. The
one where mine and Lucifer’s relationship started in a hot and heavy affair at Gluttony’s club
two months ago, shortly after I arrived in the city, which, she was certain to mention we were
reliving the night of Paris Starr’s murder. Complete with video footage of both of us coming in
and out of the club that night.
A less than subtle media alibi if you ask me.
Imani is good at her job.
According to the tabloids, the whole thing started long before Lucifer ever realized his
company planned to hire me. After all, everyone knows junior employees have little to no
contact with the founder and CEO. How could he have possibly known?
And the press release?

Little more than a heated lover’s spat. High-profile foreplay really.
All I need to do is play my part and sell it.
To look like I’m madly in love with Lucifer, and him me.
I’m less confident about that second part.
I’m not even sure he’s capable of it.
Lucifer waits for me at the bottom of the penthouse stairs as I descend to the first-floor
foyer, his expression unmoving as he watches me. If Xzander expected a shocked reaction from
him, there isn’t any, but as I draw closer, something in Lucifer’s eyes shifts, making them burn
like dark coals, and the shadows on the edges of the room seem to move toward me. It’s hard to
believe this man was knelt between my knees earlier this morning, offering to pleasure me.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to forget it.
Or the power it gave me.
“Beautiful,” Lucifer murmurs as I approach, his smile slowly building as he sweeps his
gaze over me. I feel the otherness that surrounds him like a caress. “You look stunning,
Charlotte.”
The heat that burns through my cheeks irks me. I don’t want to enjoy his praise, and yet, I
do. I don’t even have to fake it.
A part of me craves his attention.
“Shall we?” He extends his arm toward me, the cuffs of his suit coat revealing the white
underneath. But as he steps forward, I notice a small drop of crimson along the inner edge.
I open my mouth, prepared to draw attention to it and ask him if it’s what it appears to be,
but then suddenly my arm is in his and the moment is gone. So fast I almost believe I imagined it
as he leads me toward the elevator.

We ride down to the lobby in silence. Neither of us looking at each other.
I take a deep breath to steady myself.
This isn’t a game. This is reality, and it’s starting to feel that way to me.
And I’m fully aware of what the consequences will be if I don’t play my part.
When we step off the elevator, Lucifer takes my arm again, and the doorman opens the
entrance for us as Lucifer leads me out onto the street. His Ttown Ccar sits at the curb, Dagon
already waiting. He opens the car door as soon as he sees us, but it’s the sudden flashing lights
that shock me. The presence of the paparazzi where there were none only a few hours ago.
They shout for me, quickly surrounding us. “Lucifer! Lucifer! Charlotte!”
“Eyes forward, Charlotte,” Lucifer hisses as he ushers me into the vehicle.
Dagon closes the door behind us, but the lights continue to flash, the crowd of
photographers yelling our names, even though we’re alone again.
“That’s only a fraction of the cameras that will be present at the venue,” he says. “Best
prepare yourself before we arrive.”
I blink, still a little stunned. “I didn’t expect them to be so…”
“Aggressive? Violent?” he supplies for me.
He glances in my direction, and suddenly I realize we aren’t talking about the paparazzi
anymore.
My expression hardens. “I was going to say soulless, actually.”
Lucifer smirks, but it’s the hellfire in his eyes that really gives him away. He’s furious
with me. I don’t know exactly what I’ve done to make him so angry, but it doesn’t matter.
I want him angry with me.
In fact, I crave it.

No matter how fucked up that makes me.
He leans forward, his voice dropping low. “Let’s get one thing clear, Charlotte. You’re
here to play a role. How you feel about that role is of little importance to me.”
I lean in, matching his movement. “I never expected anything less from the monster
who’s imprisoned me.”
He huffs. “Quite the gilded cage you’re in, no?” This time, his expression is cold as he
looks down his nose at me. “Don’t blame me for the choices that led you here, little dove. That
part was all you.”
“And what about you?” I snap as the car begins to move. “You’re not innocent in all
this.”
“I never claimed to be.” His eyes narrow.
I don’t know why, but his admission shocks me.
Like his words hold more meaning than he’s letting on. But I can’t put my finger on what
exactly.
I don’t try to stop myself from watching his face carefully then. The subtle rise and fall of
his chest. He keeps his eyes trained toward the front of the car, refusing to look at me, but in that
moment, it strikes me that I really don’t know anything about Lucifer, beyond what the papers
and years of Bible study have told me, and until now, I never stopped to question any of it.
If it was true, I mean.
No one ever really does.
And there’s something almost…sad about that if you ask me.
We continue the rest of the ride in silence, the tightness in my chest that comes with that
thought distracting me until finally the car pulls to a stop outside 583 Park Avenue.

My heart pounds hard against my ribs.
Even through the window, the paparazzi are going wild, practically salivating at the
opportunity to get a glimpse of the man beside me.
Maybe I’m not the only one in a gilded cage.
“Don’t engage with them. Leave that to me,” Lucifer says.
Dagon starts to open the door, but I stop Lucifer, placing a hand on his arm as I refuse to
break eye contact, and he signals for Dagon to wait briefly.
“So that’s it then? I’m just supposed to stand by your side like a good little pet and do as
I’m told?” I don’t know what about that makes me so angry. I knew it would be like this, but
something about how disappointed I still feel makes me furious.
At how powerless he’s made me.
“Isn’t that exactly what you want to be, Charlotte? A good girl?” Lucifer tilts my face
toward him, bringing my mouth dangerously close to his, and any pity I might have felt for him
is lost as his eyes fall to my lips, knowingly making my breath uneasy.
As if to punish me.
“This could be so much more pleasant, if you’d let it be, Charlotte,” he whispers.
My mouth waters. My body practically craving it. I have half a mind to give in then. To
close the gap between us and just let myself enjoy this ridiculous break from reality. To slip into
the obedient role my father trained me for. But I refuse to give him the satisfaction.
“Just tell me what you want me to do, sir.” My lips curls, and I pull away abruptly.
“That’s easy, little dove.” Lucifer captures my hand in his own, quickly sliding a black
diamond ring onto my finger like I’m a bitch in need of a collar as suddenly, Dagon opens the
door, and the lights begin flashing. “Smile for the cameras, darling.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

The seven deadly sins keep high profiles in the Big Apple: Lust runs brothels, Sloth’s a media streamer…you get the picture. Pride, though, he’s more mysterious. You might know him as Lucifer—temptation irresistibly embodied. The paparazzi are dying for some burning-hot gossip. So when someone publishes my scathing but private rant about him, they eat it up. And now my job is on the line. After all, he is my boss.

With his vicious siblings vying for his power, Lucifer needs to distract the press, so he reframes my tirade as a lovers’ spat, demanding I play the devil’s fiancée. I need to be a good girl, smile for the cameras, nothing more.

But cocky and cruel as he is, his darkness awakens something wicked in me. Sexy and in control, he might just be the cure—an extra dose of sin to heal me from a lifetime of shame and subservience.

And I like it.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Kait Ballenger is an award-winning author of dark romantasy and paranormal romance. She is obsessed with tales of morally gray, sometimes villainous heroes and can’t resist a spicy redemption arc. When Kait’s not busy writing obscenely kinky paranormal fantasy, she can usually be found with her nose buried in someone else’s naughty books. She lives, unfortunately, in Florida’s Bible Belt with her husband and two adorable sons—and will gladly use that belt to whip you.
You can find her on TikTok @kaitballenger and Instagram @kait.ballenger or sign up for her newsletter at www.kaitballenger.com.
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