Cover Reveal: Rumpelstiltskin

Today I’m very happy to reveal the cover–and some of the story’s details–for Rumpelstiltskin!

I am so in love with the font Myrrhlynn used! Rumpelstiltskin is a mouthful to speak, but she managed to make it elegant.

As usual, Myrrhlynn—my cover artist—has outdone herself by designing a cover that is modeled specifically for the story. Rumpelstiltskin takes place in Verglas—which you might remember from the Wild Swans. (The evil King Torgen and the somewhat daft Prince Toril have roles to play in Rumpelstiltskin, too.)

Verglas has a Norwegian flair to its culture–you can see it in the clothes, the architecture, and the food references–so Myrhlynn added the Norwegian, wooden buildings you can spy poking through the woods by the castle. Also, take note of the mountain/mountain range behind the castle. It plays a small roll in Rumpelstiltskin, but it’s an important landmark for future stories. (Cough SNOW QUEEN Cough)

I have to applaud Myrrhlynn. Verglas is a country that I have mapped out a detailed geography for, so it wasn’t easy to create this, and she did a fantastic job running with the story’s details.

Speaking of which, Rumpelstiltskin is still hanging with Editor, but she will be done with it any day. Also, Rumpelstiltskin‘s pre-order page will be going up sometime this week! I will let you all know as soon as I have it running.

#BookCover #CoverReveal

B&B Free!

Lot’s of good news to share this time, so we’ll start with the obvious.

1. I changed the website around a bit to make it easier to use, and to better organize information. As you can see “Additional series” now has a drop down menu. I’ll be doing this to Timeless Fairy Tales when I get a chance as well.

2. Rumpelstiltskin was officially sent off to Editor yesterday! My beta reader took a peek at it over the weekend and had a few suggestions, so I tweaked it yesterday morning before wishing it good luck. Time will tell what Editor thinks of it.

3. This is probably the most exciting, but Beauty and the Beast will be offered for free for four days: November 20-23. I’m aiming to blast the roof off with free downloads, so please spread the news near and far! (I will post a reminder that B&B is free next time I write, with a freebie or two in tow.)

In bad news, I’m pushing back the release of Rumpelstiltskin by one week. It will now go on sale the second week of December–although I will be doing a pre-order option this time. Why the bump back? Simply put, it is because I want to give you Champions the best story I can, and I need a little extra time to do that. There are a few things I’m nervous and/or uncertain about, so I need to discuss those parts with Editor so I can change them for the better. I am dedicated to giving you enjoyable stories.

That’s it for today. Thanks again to everyone who gave me book recommendations–I think I will be set for Thanksgiving. My “Want to Read” list on Goodreads is now quite full!

Future Stories

As most Timeless Fairy Tales Champions have guessed, the series has a large, shared plot that will involve all the volumes in the series. The countries and characters have an impact on one another–although each story reveals a different viewpoint. In example, in The Wild Swans, Elise’s money-managing abilities are viewed as a good thing. In Cinderella it is placed in a less positive light.

There are country politics (like the discord that brewed between Loire and Arcainia) and wars (Erlauf taking over Trieux) and a lot of name dropping. (Watch for the names of royalty. There’s a good chance they’ll be involved in future books.) Additionally, a lot of my future endevours are hinted at in already released books.

If you’ve read Cinderella you know that Rumpelstilskin will be my next Timeless Fairy Tale. It will take place in a country you are already familiar with: Verglas. The country is “visited” via The Wild Swans and Beauty and the Beast, but Rumpelstiltskin himself is briefly mentioned in The Wild Swans. (Take a good look at the name Rumpelstiltskin, and you may see the spot where his character came into play.) Besides Rumpelstilskin, a few of the other fairy tales I’ve hinted at are…

1. Puss in Boots: Who else besides the beautiful Gabrielle has a talking cat?

2. Sleeping Beauty: This book was first hinted at by Angelique in B&B when she mentioned she learned how to modify curses at a child’s christening.

3. Cinderella: Friedrich’s country–Erlauf–is mentioned by Angelique in The Wild Swans

4. Twelve Dancing Princesses: The 12 cursed sisters are mentioned by Friedrich and his friends.

Even The Wild Swans was vaguely hinted at in B&B. The King of Loire attempts to coerce Prince Lucien into marry Elise. (As you may recall, Stephen was not amused.) Besides the stories I’ve listed here, I’ve made tiny hints at quite a few future fairy tales. Does anyone care to throw out a guess? Here’s a hint: Verglas is an extremely active country. Rumpelstilskin and The Wild Swans are not the only fairy tales to visit that region.