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Aside

Huge congratulations this morning to Rhonda for winning a copy of Melanie Dickerson’s The Captive Maiden during this week’s author interview. I had a blast hosting Melanie and am happy to see she gained a few new fans in the process :)

I’ve also received word that all four of Melanie’s books are Kindle Daily Deals on Amazon today, which means you can snag any one for just 99 cents. Coincidentally, the print version of Desperately Ever After is at its lowest price to date today. So for both of these reasons … get thee to Amazon!

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February 14, 2014 · 8:58 AM

Aside

Don’t forget to enter the Romance is in the Air Blog Hop!

Click the pretty picture to enter to win an signed copy of Desperately Ever After and a new copy of Emily Bronte’s epic Wuthering Heights.

You have until midnight Friday, at which time I believe Cupid melts :(

Oh, and Melanie Dickerson’s giveaway is still going. Next post down!

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February 12, 2014 · 4:42 PM

February 12, 2014 · 1:00 AM

Fairy tale master Melanie Dickerson talks shop and offers giveaway

I’m particularly excited about today’s interview because, like me, Melanie Dickerson knows how fun it is to take a classic fairy tale and bring it to life in a whole new way.

She has reinvented characters like Beauty, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty, and is now celebrating the release of her newest project, a retelling of Cinderella called The Captive Maiden (after the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win a copy!)

I’m so happy to welcome her to Skipping Midnight.

Reimagining classic fairy tales has become almost as timeless as the fairy tales themselves. Some opt for modern, some go totally dark. Your books retell them in a more historical, plausible way—set around the time they might actually have taken place. How did you decide on this approach?

To be honest, I don’t know! I decided I would take the basic premise of the fairy tale and make it realistic, set it in my favorite time period—the 14th and early 15th centuries—and write it as it might have actually happened. It was fun, challenging, and exciting, so I decided to keep writing more of them!

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So far, you’ve reimagined Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and now Cinderella. What can you tell us about your latest, THE CAPTIVE MAIDEN?

The Captive Maiden tells the story of Valten, whose betrothed ended up marrying his younger brother in the previous book, The Fairest Beauty. Valten was a great guy, but he needed to be the hero of his own story for all his best qualities to shine, so I set about giving him his very own maiden to be heroic for. I wanted to be true to his tough guy character but still make him complex and sweet. And my heroine also turned out to be pretty complex, as she had been mistreated most of her life, but she still wasn’t going to let anyone push her around without a fight. I thought they made a good combination. Continue reading →

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February 7, 2014 · 9:42 AM

The science behind fairy tales

I am not a science person. Humanities, writing, the arts–that’s me, through and through. Start talking formulas and numbers and medical compounds, and I’ll last a few polite minutes before I completely mentally check out.

But when someone finds a way to make science fun–to apply it to things we know well, in a way that is amusing and informative at the same time–then I just might stick around a bit longer.

The folks over at livescience.com have done a pretty good job of that. By putting some of our most beloved fairy tales under a microscope, they’ve come up with some pretty interesting ideas about what that apple really did to Snow White, how a prince could have actually turned into a beast, and why the Magic Mirror is truly more fact then fiction. (As for the latter, if you’ve started reading Desperately Ever After yet, you’ve already begun to suspect this.)

Click here to read the full article.

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February 5, 2014 · 3:00 AM

Interview and giveaway with Anna Lee Huber

Fellow author Heather Webb sent Anna Lee Huber my way, and I couldn’t be happier that she did. Anna is currently working on a five-book historical mystery series (Book 3 comes out July 1) set in 19th century Scotland and featuring one heck of a heroine. I am honored to have her here today, and to let her tell you a bit more her work.

After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win a copy (a real live print one!) of Mortal Arts, Book 2 in the Lady Darby mystery series.

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1. Your series about Lady Kiera Darby series is truly unique in that it straddles so many genres—mystery, romance, historical fiction. How would you describe it for new readers?

The first book, The Anatomist’s Wife, begins sixteen months after the death of Lady Darby’s anatomist husband and the scandal that followed his passing—arguably the darkest period of her life. She has largely gone into hiding, too frightened and overwhelmed to face the world. But when a woman is murdered at her sister’s estate and Kiera instantly becomes the prime suspect, she’s forced to step out of the shadows and fight to prove her innocence. The novels follow her personal journey of healing, including her heart. I’ve had readers and reviewers describe the series as “CSI” meets Agatha Christie, or Jane Eyre meets Sherlock Holmes. Continue reading →

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February 4, 2014 · 8:42 AM

Happy Tuesday

I had such a blast yesterday engaging with everyone on Twitter and giving away FIVE e-books!

Congratulations to the Big Release Celebration winners: Jessica Meddick, Melodie Bennett, Tawnya Bentley, Deejay Sakata, and Susan Terendy.

Stop by Skipping Midnight tomorrow for an interview with the fabulous Anna Lee Huber, as well as a giveaway of her second book, Mortal Arts. Truth: I didn’t know about the Lady Darby historical mystery series until an author friend hooked us up, but now I am dying to read it. Guess I need to plan a vacation so I can get some quality book time in…

In the meantime, my Goodreads author page is up and running, so please stop by and say hello.

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February 3, 2014 · 12:57 AM

Release Celebration and Quintuple Giveaway

Image courtesy of jscreationzs/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Join me this afternoon for Desperately Ever After’s big release celebration! From 1-5 p.m., I’ll be plugging into the Twitterverse to talk about my novel, writing, dogs, fairy tales, beating the winter blues, and whatever else strikes your fancy. I also have FIVE e-books to give away–one every hour! You get one entry for doing each of the following:

• Following me on Twitter
• Liking my Facebook page (if you’ve already done this, “like” my status instead)
• Tweeting #DesperatelyEverAfter
• Signing up for exclusive e-mails

Do all four by 1 p.m. for a total of twenty chances!

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February 1, 2014 · 7:17 PM

And the paperback joins the party!

Desperately Ever After is now available in both paperback and as an e-book!

Click here to view both

Enjoy and have a fantastic weekend!!

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February 1, 2014 · 12:00 AM

Desperately Ever After has arrived!!

Rather than signaling the end of a fairy tale, tonight midnight signals the beginning of mine!

Finally, the e-book version of Desperately Ever After is out! Click here for all the nifty info ;)

Print copies are RIGHT behind, so check back for that announcement shortly (or, better yet, sign up for e-mail updates by clicking here).

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January 31, 2014 · 8:50 AM

Friday Roundup and The Week Ahead

Well, it’s been one heck of a week!

After revealing the cover of Desperately Ever After on Monday, I was floored to receive 37 entries to the e-book giveaway! But even more than that, your super supportive feedback pasted a smile on my face for two days straight and gave me the mojo I need to face what’s next: the early bird e-book release tomorrow, and the print book release next week. I’m truly floating on air, so thank you all!

Then, two days later, the lovely Ruth Mancini shared her fantastic publishing story and offered up a copy of Swimming Upstream to one lucky winner as well. Thanks a million again to Ruth for reminding us all that if we believe in ourselves and don’t let the naysayers win, we can achieve anything!