Dance of Hearts, a sweet and clean, Regency romance Cinderella fairytale retelling is now available!
Why a romantic fairytale?
While I do use a lot of fairytale themes in my work, those who’ve read Wicked Wolves of Windsor know that I can go dark in a heartbeat. When I published Wicked Wolves it was my goal to show readers the variety of stories I would be writing – light and dark, funny and serious. This unsettled some readers, so in the future my collections will have clear themes so readers know what to expect.
What can I expect from this Cinderella novella?
The Historical Romantic Fairtyale Retellings collection are all sweet and clean fairytales.
This story is designed to be comfort food. Something you can nestle down and read knowing that there will be a Happily-Ever-After and love conquers all at the end. For me, during these unsettled times, I find myself returning to the books that give me an emotional resonance that leaves me happy and contented.
The story follows the tropes found in the Cinderella fairytale and is lighter in tone (deliberately) than the Wicked Wolves stories.
Being labeled a “clean and sweet romance” means that it will have a kiss and fade to black. It will not have language or nudity. Readers 12+ should feel comfortable with the stories.
I read and enjoy a lot of different genres – fantasy, mystery, historical, and romance (usually in a historical setting). I also like to write in a lot of these different genres.
Some authors come up with separate pen names when they write something that is different than their usual fare but I won’t be doing that for several reasons.
1.) It’s a hassle to juggle and makes more work for me on social media since different accounts would need to be put in place.
2.) As a new author, my readers don’t know what to expect quite yet so I’m laying the groundwork that I will be writing a variety of stories that won’t appeal to everyone. Read the description, see if it is for you!
3.) My first goal as a self-published author is to enjoy what I’ve written. If I don’t enjoy it, I can’t expect you to enjoy.
So another faux-Disney 16-year-old-wearing-a-ballgown fairytale?
Haha. No. It’s doubtful that any of the female protagonists will be 16 or 17 years old, who discover they are a princess with mysterious powers who gets involved in a soppy romance or better yet a love triangle with not one, but two, stupid boys.
Sorry.
For those that have read my fairytale stories, you are probably already on the floor rolling around in a fit of howling laughter. Pick yourself up now, please.
What about the history angle?
I do love history especially certain periods of time. One of those is the Regency period of 1811 to 1820 in which Dance of Hearts takes place.
Another period I love is my Sherlock Holmes era – which included the Victorian and Edwardian periods – 1880 to 1914. It was a time of great change in the world where women were starting to have more roles outside of the home. The next novella, Fairy CurseMother, is placed in this era.
Writing historical fiction means the stories may have language you aren’t familiar with so I provide some historical notes in the appendix for those interested. A timeline (if needed) can also be found in the appendix.
I will attempt to be as accurate as possible with the historical references, however, do remember it is a fairytale fantasy romance and may take some liberties.
And the magic?
Readers may have already noticed from the College Fae series (Never Date a Siren, A Study in Spirits), that I like putting magic into my stories as if they are everyday occurrences. When you read fairytales in their original format this is also the same style. No one is surprised when a Fairy Godmother shows up – no one gasps when a magical dress or glass slippers appear.
Magic is expected to be a part of everyday life.
Certainly there is magic, and lots of it, but for the most part my heroines and heroes don’t run around waving magic wands and quoting in Latin.
Sometimes the magic is so subtle you may miss it until you re-read. For example, the horse that Melinda Wychwood (Dance of Hearts) sees on the horizon or when she wishes something would happen and it does.
