Which of you came up with the baby in the picture? Babies drool, man!! Please be careful with those books!!!
My book for this giveaway is not baby material. (I'm sorry!!) But it is pretty clean. Writing fantasy for a Christian publisher sounds almost daunting and a lot intriguing. I've been watching this series since I found the author last spring and I can't wait to read -n- review her newest book coming out this fall. BUT FIRST... let's check out the first in the series!!!
Heartlessby Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Paperback, 363 pages
Published July 1st 2010 by Bethany House Publishers
Premise:
The Dragon King Seeks His Princess—
Who Dares to Stop Him?
Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon marry. She dreams of a charming prince, but when her first suitor arrives, he's not what she'd hoped. Prince Aethelbald of mysterious Farthestshore has travelled a great distance to prove his love--and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be on the hunt and blazing a path of terror.
Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald's offer--and ignores his cautions with dire consequences. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in his sights. Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.
A Tale of Goldstone Wood
Timeless Fantasy That Will Keep You Spellbound
Anne Elisabeth has offered a print copy of her first book, Heartless, for an international giveaway. PLUS, she agreed to come by for an interview!!!
I have since found (and downloaded) Heartless for FREE on my Nook!! So this is the best giveaway ever... you get a FREE book plus a chance to win a print copy from the author herself.
First.... I give you... Anne Elisabeth
1. Where did your story start from? What idea
sparked it all?
My
debut novel, Heartless, emerged from
a desire to write a fairy tale . . . a new fairy tale, but with all the
trimmings we know and love from the stories we read as children. And what fairy
tale is complete without the pretty princess, the noble prince, and, of course,
the evil dragon!
But
I also wanted to take my fairy tale a new direction. Oh, Princess Una is very
much your classic, Disney-esque princess, altogether too focused on finding her
Prince Charming! But where this girlish dreaming leads her is a sometimes
funny, sometimes dark, and often surprising adventure . . .
My
hope is that readers will sink into a world that feels as familiar to them as Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, but then walk away with a whole new tale in their
hearts, remembering characters as vivid as any they'll find in Grimm.
2. What was your
favorite scene to write? Do you have a favorite character?
Oh,
dear, I have to be careful here! Don't want to give away any spoilers!
Well,
all of you can see that Heartless is
a dragon-story, and the Dragon King is the great nemesis. In the first draft I
wrote the climactic battle sequence and loved
it . . . loved writing it, loved reading it, loved dreaming of it. Although Heartless went through a good eight
drafts before it reached publication, that final climactic scene hardly changed
at all.
I
also really love a particular scene where the princess's brother, Prince Felix,
haphazardly practices fencing in the soldiers' yard. That scene, inadvertently,
led to me meeting my husband! I decided that, in order to write it effectively,
I'd better take fencing lessons . . . and lo and behold, who was studying
fencing with the same club? Mr. Right himself! So, yeah, I have a special
fondness for that scene. (Thank you, Felix!)
My
favorite character, however, would have to be the princess's pet cat, Monster.
He's also the fan favorite about whom I get the most emails! But you'll have to
read the book to find out why . . .
3. Please share
something about YOU! What do you do when
you're not writing?
I
drink tea. Lots and lots and lots of tea. Good, strong, black tea with a little
cream and sugar (British style). Tea, I have found, solves a great deal of
life's little problems.
I'm
a consummate crazy cat-lady, so I have a kindle of kitties all my own, and I
also do fostering. I rescue wild kittens from around this area, teach them to
be people-friendly, and find them homes. It's always great to see a wild,
snarling, mini-tiger turn into someone's adored fur-baby!
I
used to teach art classes to kids and adults, and I still paint and sketch now
and then. But these days, I'm working fulltime at writing, so the art has had
to go on the back-burner!
And
I REALLY love to interact with my fans, so if you decide the Tales of Goldstone
Wood are the books for you, do come over to my blog
(www.anneelisabethstengl.blogspot.com) and participate in the various ongoing
conversations we have over there! Always something new and fairy-tale related!
Thank
you for a fun interview, Laura. I love a chance to be featured on your truly
gorgeous blog!
*Blush* Thank you!! I love so many things about your answers. I can't believe you met your husband fencing for your book!! That is seriously the most romantic way to bump into a husband!! I love tea, too. We shall have to have you back to Colorimetry for tea sometime. :-) It's amazing that you can rescue wild kitties. I have seen the "snarling" variety up close and that's just literally amazing.
Thank you for sharing so much fun stuff!!
Find & Follow:
The Tales of Goldstone Wood Novels:
Heartless
Veiled Rose
Moonblood
Starflower - coming Nov 2012
Get your eCopy of Heartless while it's available!!
Barnes & Noble
Amazon:
& pick up Veiled Rose while the e-Price is reduced!!
Nook for $7.55
Kindle for $5.99:
A print copy of Heartless. Maybe we can ask Anne Elisabeth to sign it? :-)
UPDATE: Yes, indeed, I can sign the copy of Heartless . . . and I'll send along pencils and bookmarks and all sorts of fun paraphernalia as well! :)
Woohoo!!
Open internationally. See About Me for my giveaway rules.
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