There's something brewing in the Big Easy

Available HERE

Good October morning to everyone! This morning is an important one for me. You see, while I sit here drinking my coffee, (milk and three sugars) I am a little speechless quite honestly. I wanted to submit to Decadent Publishing for a long time. I read over the submission calls, checked out the cover art, what the quality of the books were, and if my body of work would fit with the authors currently working with publishing house. After doing that for months, I took the leap. My stomach dropped, not because I was rejected, but because I had finally convinced myself I was just as good as any of the authors at Decadent, and I would fit in. (That pep talk wasn’t pretty, FYI)

So, I asked for a fairytale.

I thought it would be the easiest way to introduce myself to the company. I mean, who can’t take a fairytale, add a little flare, retell it, and make it hot? *Raises hand* Oh, I got cocky. Honestly. I told myself no matter what story they gave me, I was going to own it and transform it into a work of art. It would be spicy and sensual. It would have everything the instructions requested and then some. I wanted to wow everyone. I wanted to throw the MS down on the imaginary desk, and yell BAM! Magically, of course, I would get a contract within two days. (I’m ambitious sometimes. What can I say? I’m also ADHD, so that’s where the whole BAM-thing comes from.)

I had this. I told myself that while I waited for the fairytale choice to hit my inbox. No matter what, I was going to rule this story. And then, The Three Black Princesses arrived in my email with the reminder of, ‘you have six months to complete the task.’ (No pressure.) First of all, I had never read this particular Grimm tale, but I figured it’s the Brothers Grimm, what could possibly go wrong?

The Three Black Princesses is a three-paragraph story about a boy who is kidnapped and sent into slavery. His father is given six-hundred dollars for him and he becomes the fishing village’s mayor. Anyway, the boy escapes and heads to an enchanted castle where he meets the three black princesses. They agree to help him get home, but he must promise to help set them free, so they don’t face eternity locked up in castle. The boy agrees, and he’s sent home. While he’s sitting down to dinner, he tells his parents about the princesses and how he plans to help set them free. His mother tells him you shouldn’t do that. In fact you should pour holy water on their cheeks. The women are ‘tricking him.’ So, the boy heads back to the castle and does as his mom says. The princesses scream and cry and tell him they are cursed to stay in the castle for all eternity and while the castle is crumbling, he jumps out the window and breaks his ankle. The end.

My self-confidence took a nose dive. I read this story three times, trying to pick the story out of it. Trying to find my angle. I wrote three plots. I’d get ten thousand words in and it was like walking through sludge. I had huge plot holes and parts just didn’t connect or make sense. So, I went back to the drawing board. Finally when I read the cliff notes on the story (yes, there are some. LOL) I found the plot.

My story is in threes and wholly symbolic. It’s a ménage. I have three bad guys who are dressed in all black. The Three Princesses is a bar in New Orleans. I have Sabine’s father in it, and there is a bad guy who pays the father money for his daughter. The guys, Kyle and Stuart live by the riverfront as well. It’s pieces of the whole. I wanted a story that would quickly grab your attention and hold it as the book played out.

There are several twists and turns throughout the story and a couple of times I surprised myself. In the end, I was proud of the product I sent in. I don’t think I have ever been so anxious about a submission in a long time. Why? Because, I really wanted to write for Decadent Publishing. I wanted to be counted amongst their talented pool of authors and I was little intimidated—which is perfect for how I work.

I have a little bit of a competitive streak. So seeing how great everyone’s books are, or what they’re coming up with, pushes me to be the best writer I can be. So, without further ado, here is the blurb and excerpt from Saving Their Princess. I hope you enjoy it.

Also, I will be giving away a copy of my Beyond Fairytale, as well to one lucky person!

Available at Decadent Publishing and Amazon Pre-Order!

Blurb:

Kidnapped 

Sabine Babineaux, daughter of the mayor of New Orleans and waitress at The Three Princesses bar, is snatched from the street after a late night at work and knocked unconscious. Waking in a cage, Sabine is determined to escape and take the other women in the basement lair with her. 

Stuart Renwick and Kyle Novak, detectives with the New Orleans police department, are assigned a kidnapping case with multiple victims. However, when one of the missing women, Sabine Babineaux, arrives at their precinct, injured and terrified, they take the damsel in distress under their wings and into their home. But the gallant detectives find their princess a big temptation. What will she say when they tell her they like to share? 

Can they work fast enough to find out who the kidnapper is and bring them to justice or will they take more victims or come for Sabine again? 

Will Sabine survive long enough to explore her feelings for both detectives? Or will Stuart and Kyle fall at the hands of her kidnapper?

Excerpt:

Pressing her palm to the wound, she got up and started running again. Sabine could hear the footsteps getting closer to her before another shot rang out. Bystanders turned in her direction, craning their necks to see what the commotion was. An excited thrill rolled through her. Surely someone would come to her rescue. But if she thought the pedestrians walking around her were actually going to step into the fray, she had another thing coming. Sabine came to the lip of the alley as people passed in front of her, not even bothered by her predicament. Others threw her dirty looks, giving her a wide berth. 

In front of her, not more than two hundred feet away, sat a cab by the curb. Behind her, the man’s footsteps grew loud, causing her to cringe at the sound. If she was going to get away, she needed to go now, but the pain was excruciating, and she felt woozy as hell. Each step would take all of her concentration and strength. One more step. You can do this. You can’t go back. Her mental pep talk pushed her on until she was only ten feet from the car. Her hand reached out for the handle, and she pulled it open. Sweet relief filled her. 

Freedom. 

“Police. Please.” She wheezed, leaning awkwardly against the seat. “Please go.” Frantic, she looked up at the man in the driver’s seat. “Please hurry before they take me.” 

“She’s going to get away.” She could hear the goon getting closer to the car, and she broke down crying. The man wasn’t going to move. She was going to be taken back to her hellhole. 

“Please, sir. Help me.” She twisted in the seat and saw how close the men were. “They’ve kidnapped me.” Whatever trance the man had been under broke, and his gaze shifted to hers, widening as he noticed she only wore a bra and panties.. “Thank God.” She sighed. “Police, please.” 

The man blinked several times then stammered. “Y-you need a hospital, not the police.” 

“No! They’ll find me in a hospital. Police! Just take me to any station. I don’t care where.” Sabine lay down on the seat and closed her eyes. The sweet air of the city caressed her, wrapping her in a blanket of comfort. She knew she should be scared by the amount of blood she was losing, but she couldn’t muster the care to worry. She was free; that was all that mattered. 

The cab came to a stop some time later, and she sat up. The world spun on its axis. The sound of bees buzzing filled her ears as she broke out in a cold sweat, and she began to shake violently. Sabine tried in vain to make her body cooperate with her, but it was a no go. Her brain was muddled, and nothing made sense anymore. Not even her body would oblige her and move. 

“Where am I?” Sabine whispered, licking her lips. 

“The lady is right here,” the cabbie said, opening the door. “She’s bleeding and wearing next to nothing.” 

A thread of embarrassment slid through her, but as quickly as it was there, it was gone. “Help me,” she croaked. The world around her was slowly floating away. No matter how much she tried to keep her eyes open, she couldn’t gather the strength needed to do so. 

“I…can’t…go…back.” Unconsciousness, blissful yet scary, drifted around her, cradling her in a void of nothingness. 

“No, you don’t, sweetheart.” A gruff voice called to her, drawing her out of the darkness. “Come back to us.” 

Sabine’s eyes fluttered open then shut again. She didn’t want to open her eyes. The darkness was safe. It was comfortable there. There was no pain. No cages. Freedom lurked in the darkness.

Author Bio:

TL Reeve was born out of a love of family and a bond that became unbreakable. Living in the south, TL misses Los Angeles and will one day return to the beaches of Southern California to ride the waves at Huntington Beach. When not writing something hot and sexy, TL can be found curled up with a good book or working on homework with a cute little pixie. 

Website: http://authortlreeve.wix.com/authortlreeve

Blog: www.tlreevesplace.blogspot.com

Email: authortlreeve@hotmail.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tl_reeve

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ tl.reeve2014