Today’s the day, peeps! Slumber is available across the internet!
I’m so thrilled to be a
part of Decadent Publishing’s Beyond
Fairytales. I’ve always loved fairy tales from the time I was young. Some
of my favourite memories are of reading the book of fairy tales our parents had
gotten us when we were young, or watching Jim Henson’s The Storyteller on VHS video cassette
(I know, how retro!). Growing up, I also enjoyed rewriting fairy tales, putting
my own spin on classic tales like The Seven Swans, St George and the
Dragon, or Beauty and the Beast.
When I learnt of Beyond
Fairytales, I jumped at the chance to rewrite another tale. I was assigned The
Glass Coffin, a Grimm fairy tale I was unfamiliar with. A quick look on the
internet later, I was armed with the knowledge of a plucky young tailor
defeating a bear, a stag, and an evil magician to free a missing princess and
become a king. Next, I set about making the tale my own. The tailor became a
man holding a political position second only to the king, the missing princess
lost on an extended Tour amongst the people. The tailor is sent to fetch the
princess home, and neither of them expected the other to be the one person they
cannot live without...
Below is an excerpt from
Slumber. I hope you enjoy!
Cassandra
xx
Blurb:
The Tailor has been
tasked to find the princess...
Upon
decree from his king, Sebastian, Tailor to the entire kingdom of Dormiraa,
embarks on the mission to fetch the Princess Thalia home, her seven year Royal
Tour over. He didn't expect to find her working with clockwork and gears,
encased within a coffin of glass. He did not expect the sight of her wild black
hair to set his heart to pound, or the flash of her dark eyes would heat his
blood. He did not expect he would want her so badly, not when he could never
have her.
The princess must become
the Queen...
Thalia
has always known she must return to the capital to prepare for the throne. She
did not expect her father to send the Tailor to fetch her, or that this man
with his extravagant clothes and subtle cosmetics would intrigue her so well.
There was something about him, something that spoke of danger and secrets, even
as his wicked mouth and knowing eyes made her yearn.
However,
not everyone desires the princess's return. When they are attacked, they can
only turn to each other. Will they overcome status and secrets to discover a
love for all time?
Fantasy Romance
~ Excerpt ~
The discordant note of a missed strike rose from
the coffin, followed by a terse mutter. By the Maiden, was the princess cursing?
A sudden,
terrible thought occurred. Was it the princess? Surely she wouldn’t curse as if
she was a dockworker Maybe his source had lied about the gear worker being the
lost princess. Maybe this wasn’t her at all, and he would spend another three
months trying to find the erstwhile royal.
No. If it killed him, this would be her.
He was not going to waste any more time on this.
So decided,
he intoned, “Princess,” in the clear, strong voice he used to quell
conversation.
The woman in
the coffin—the princess, damn his
eyes—started, and a loud clang split the air, immediately followed by one of
those deliciously vulgar curses. Pulling out of the coffin, she glared at him.
His breath
strangled in his throat. Heat stormed through him, his cock hardening in his
too-thin breeches.
Thrice-damned
god, but she was arresting.
Wild ebony
hair escaped from the band holding it back while furious black eyes pilloried him,
full lips pursed in displeasure. Her worker’s clothes revealed more of her form
than they should, the homespun shirt opened to the middle of her breast bone.
The undyed fabric seemed too rough for such fine skin, the dull off-white hue a
contrast with her dusky flesh. The brown leather harness of her trade nipped in
her waist and cupped her breasts, while trousers outlined full hips and long
legs, the latter encased in knee-high boots of soft brown leather capped with
steel.
Quite
insanely, he wanted to taste the damp skin revealed by her shirt.
“What do you
think you’re doing?” she demanded.
She had to
be the princess. Only royalty could deal such a stare.
“Doing?” he
said.
She folded
her arms beneath her breasts. He tried not to notice how her action plumped her
flesh deliciously through the leather. “Do not come into a workroom and startle
a gear worker, especially if she’s wielding tools that could harm her, the
object she works on, and your fat head once she recovers herself.”
“My
apologies, Princess.” He offered his most charming smile and ignored how the
darkening of her scowl made him harder. “I am the tailor, and I have been sent
to fetch you home.”
Cassandra Dean is a best-selling,
multi-published author of historical and fantasy romance. Her latest novel,
SLUMBER, is part of Decadent Publishing’s wildly popular Beyond Fairytales, and
features Cassandra’s take on the Grimm fairy tale, The Glass Coffin.
Cassandra is proud to call South Australia her home, where she
regularly cheers on her AFL football team and creates her next tale.
Follow Cassandra on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraDean and on Twitter @authorCassDean
Contact Cassandra at cassandra@cassandradean.com
No comments:
Post a Comment