Fairy Tales

I've been thinking about fairy tales a lot lately because they play such a large role in my current writing. We've all heard the common ones: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, etc.  But where and why did we hear them? From Disney?

Way back when, fairy tales were told as word of mouth stories. While our modern society has generally allowed television and theater to take the place of this tradition, I wanted to bring back that feel for my books so I am trying to think of fairy tales that haven't been done by Hollywood yet.

Any ideas?

Randomness

I love this adaptation of the Little Red Riding Hood story.

A Long Weekend

Apologies!

I know my words here have been few and far between for a little while now. Unfortunately, the schedule is so tight with writing, editing, promo...and family time, I find it difficult to schedule regular blogs too. It's no excuse really, and I'm going to try and do better, I promise!

Having said that, the family and I just spent the long weekend soaking in the sunshine. The weather was fantastic--hard to imagine we're still only in May!--so I took a much needed break and went out to play.

For us that means we hit the water and go boating. It's our favourite pastime. We also love to hike and bike and anything else that keeps us out of doors! And with a whole summer of great activities planned, I have a feeling I'm going to get a great tan. *grin*

COVER REVEAL: Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies by Cynthia Cooke

Family secrets must be kept, and painful wounds must be ignored.  

After an all-out assault by a vicious terrorist bent on destroying her entire family, a former government agent must break the strict rules she has always lived by when she emerges from hiding to reluctantly accept the help of her all-too-sexy ex-lover. Running a deadly race against time, they rush to rescue her kidnapped sister, find her missing father, and bring the notorious villain to justice. But nothing ever goes as planned. Bullets fly, danger abounds, and their passion reignites even faster than the lies are flowing. But their stubbornly held secrets just might spell the end of their rekindled love and hopes for the future...as well as their very lives.

Meet Cynthia:

 
 

Once upon a time, I lived a quiet, idyllic life caring for my beautiful eighteen-month-old daughter. Then, peace gave way to chaos as I gave birth to boy/girl twins. Hip-deep in diapers and baby food and living in a world of sleep deprivation, I kept my sanity by reading romance novels and dreaming of writing one. Now, many moons later, I’m a multi-published, award-winning author who has published books with Harlequin, Silhouette and Steeple Hill. If you enjoy page-turners that keep you glued to your seat while reaching for the one you love then pick up one of my books. But if you do, if you take a ride with me, over the edge and into the Dark, don’t forget to turn on the lights. Because my books aren’t sweet, and they aren’t for the faint of heart. Enjoy the Dark Seduction.

 Be sure to connect with Cynthia at:

Cynthia@cynthiacooke.com

https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.cooke.authorpage

https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.cookeauthor

http://twitter.com/CynthiaCooke5

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4302001-cynthia-cooke

A Funny for Wednesday

LOL this commercial is great, and it reminds me of last year's Ellora's Cave Conference :)

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Entangled's Love Knows No Bounds - Anthology to support Autism Speaks

When I learned that my publisher, Entangled, was doing an anthology with 100% of the profits being donated to charity, specifically to Autism Speaks, I was so excited and proud to be an author with this fantastic, socially conscious company.

That's why I'm pleased to introduce the anthology to you and the authors who have contributed. Welcome Boone Brux, Nina Croft and Brooke Moss...

Boone Brux, Tweet

Where did the idea for your story come from and why is this particular anthology important to you?

I stumbled upon Satan’s tweets while surfing Twitter one day. The profile said something along the lines of, By clicking follow you agree to bind your eternal soul to Satan. My husband and I laughed and then the idea clicked. Wouldn’t it be funny if that was real?

On a side note, I did not follow but nor was I able to track down the exact profile again when I looked for it later. (Cue Twilight Zone music)

If you weren’t an author, what would your dream job be?

A successful actress. By successful I don’t mean mega star, I just mean continually working and getting paid for doing something I love. I find the acting process fascinating and since I like to periodically spend time in other worlds, I figured acting would be a great gig.

Tell us a little bit about your other recent and upcoming books

Kiss of the Betrayer is book two in my Bringer and the Bane series and will be released December 2012.  Followed by Chain of Illusions, which is tentatively set to release May 2013. This is a medieval fantasy romance series set in the world of Inness. Each book features a different couple, but the series threads weave a continuing saga through each book.

I also have a humorous paranormal set in Alaska slated to release in June called To Catch Her Death. The story is about woman who finds out she’s a reaper for stupid people. She’s recently widowed and has three kids, and isn’t prepared for the demands of the job. I’m excited because this is a two branch series. There’s the mother’s adventures and then there’s the daughter’s adventures. Sudden Death, the first book in the young adult series, runs tandem with the adult series. The daughter also becomes a reaper, but since she’s underage, has to keep it from her mom. It’s a real balancing act keeping the characters oblivious to the fact that they’re both reapers. Sudden Death should release in September. Good fun.

Nina Croft-Remember Me

Where did the idea for your story come from and why is this particular anthology important to you?

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of reincarnation. I suppose if I had to pick a ‘what happens after death’ scenario then reincarnation would be my choice. The idea of the chance to do it over again, to live a new life…

I also love the idea of soul mates. But what if your soul mate is the one being reincarnated over and over again, but you don’t know where. You know they are somewhere in the world, but the world’s a big place, so how do you find them? That’s the basis for my novella, Remember Me.

All the profits from the anthology are being donated to the charity Autism Speaks, so it’s not just the authors donating their stories, but the editors, cover artists and everyone else involved in the project, donating their time. I think it’s hard these days to find anyone who isn’t affected in some way by Autism. I have friends with an autistic son, and most people know some family affected by the condition, so the anthology is in aid of a wonderful, worthwhile cause.

If you weren’t an author, what would be your dream job?

Hmm, well, when I was much younger, I wanted to be an assassin (brought on by reading too many thrillers, I think). Later on, I decided a zoo keeper (not sure what brought that on). I somehow ended up as an accountant (and I really don’t know what brought that on!) which definitely wasn’t my dream job. Now I’m a writer, and I don’t want to be anything else! 

Tell us a little bit about your other recent and upcoming books

I have quite a lot happening this year. My first contemporary romance, Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire, came out in March and my second one is coming out soon, this time with a sexy Spaniard. In August, the extended version of my Sci-fi/Paranormal romance, Break Out, comes out in mass trade paperback, and in September, my paranormal romance, Bittersweet Blood, is released.

 

Brooke Moss, Bittersweet

Where did the idea for your story come from and why is this particular anthology important to you?

I was going through a big Johnny Iuzzini phase (don’t know him? Google him…he’s hot!) so the inspiration for the character of Leo Mancini was somewhat easy. The inspiration for Anna and her son came from my own experiences as an Autism Spectrum Disorder mom. Pulling from my own worries and fears about raising a special needs child fed my inspiration for Anna, and her plight!

If you weren’t an author, what would be your dream job?

I would be a hairdresser! I love hair, love styling it, love coloring it, love cutting it. It’s the most exciting art palette available. And if your hair turns out awful, who cares? It’s hair! It grows back. I would LOVE to be a hair stylist…I guess that’s why I made one of my characters, Violet Murphy (from Keeping Secrets in Seattle) one.

Tell us a little bit about your other recent and upcoming books

I have a single title contemporary romance called The Carny coming out in July. It’s a fun combination of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and “The Notebook”. And then I have a romantic women’s fiction coming out in August called Keeping Secrets in Seattle. That book is like “My Best Friend’s Wedding” meets “Bridget Jones’ Diary”…with a dark twist. :)

Love Know No Bounds autism anthology 
100% of the proceeds go to Autism Speaks.

Buy links:

Entangled

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Cover Reveal: Divinely Ruined by Diane Alberts

DIVINELY RUINED, from Entangled Publishing and the author who brought you ON ONE CONDITION, is hitting the virtual shelves Thursday, April 26th, but you can get a sneak peek at the cover and blurb here!

She finally meets a decent man--after she's oath-bound never to touch men again!

Rebecca's life sucked before she became an angel. Crappy apartment, awful jobs, abusive boyfriends--it was no wonder she jumped at the chance to escape it all and become a real live angel. The problem is Rebecca's not very angelic, and she'll have to do more to earn her wings than end her love affair with the word f--er, frick.  

Especially when she's assigned to save single father Tony Weis, whose less-than-pure thoughts wreak hell on a telepathic angel's nerves. It's all Rebecca can do to keep her hands off him...but when she loses her memory injuring herself to save Tony's daughter, now it's Tony's turn to be her angel and care for her. But will Tony's devotion tempt her from her angelic path, even if it means being human again?

...To learn more about Diane Alberts and her other projects, go to: www.dianealberts.com

COVER REVEAL: Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs

So you all know who Chloe Jacobs is, right? She's...me!!! And she's writing dark fantasy for young adults!

I'm excited to reveal to everyone the cover and blurb to you for GRETA AND THE GOBLIN KING, which is due out in the world November 2012!

Blurb:

While trying to save her brother four years ago, Greta was thrown into the witch’s fire herself, falling through a portal to a dangerous world where humans are the enemy, and every ogre, goblin, and ghoul has a dark side that comes out with the full moon.

To survive, seventeen-year-old Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young Goblin King, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her determination to escape.

But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. The full moon is mere days away, and an ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back…

Pre-Order GRETA AND THE GOBLIN KING from Barnes and Noble 

GRETA AND THE GOBLIN KING on Goodreads

Additional links to Chloe’s pages:

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