Today, I am FINALLY revealing the cover for Poison’s Dance, book 3 in the Beyond the Tales series. I am so excited to share this cover. My cover designer, Savannah Jezowski of Dragonpen Designs, knocked it out of the park with this cover!

This cover took us a few tries to get right. It is one of the few times I have ever gotten partway into making a cover (with a model and background picked) and told Savannah, “Nope, I’m not liking this at all. We need to start over.” Amazing, she was nice and patient and didn’t mind that it took 3-4 models, 3 backgrounds, flipping the cover several times, and fiddling with all the sparkles before it was finally just right.

But when this cover finally came together…Eeep! So stunning! The golden leaves swirling around her…the sister lurking in the background…the movement of the dress that perfectly captures the feel of a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling.

In case you want to see the full cover…

About the Book:

If he falls to the lure of the curse, the dance might trap him forever.

Alex has survived his first year as high king. The new counsel has improved cooperation between the kingdoms, and peace seems achievable. When the Tuckawassee queen sends him an invitation he can’t refuse, Alex must once again face his greatest threat for the sake of peace.

Princess Tamya of Tuckawassee, along with her eleven sisters, has danced from sunset until sunrise every night of her life. It is her gift and her curse. When Queen Valinda wishes to use the power their cursed dance gives them to rule all of Tallahatchia, Tamya must decide if she will do what is right even if it betrays her own sister.

Daemyn Rand has survived a hundred years’ worth of battles. All he wants to do now is safely marry his princess. Will he be forced to choose between the love of his life and the high king he has loyally served for years?

They have faced certain death before. This time, they might not make it out alive.

Don’t miss this re-envisioning of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale.

---

I am really excited to share this book with you! Alex really comes into his own with this book and finally shows a hint of that heroic high king we all knew was inside there somewhere. Daemyn has his loyalty tested in new ways, and the entire Rand clan gets to let their wild side show.

Poison’s Dance releases on August 26 and its available to preorder on Kindle.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale, here’s a link that gives a brief explanation. (Yes, it’s Wikipedia. But, for once, it’s accurate enough).

---

Even more exciting, I’m participating in the Tattered Slippers challenge/group release with Poison’s Dance.

As Kendra Ardnek explained at the Facebook Cover Reveal party last night:

“The Tattered Slippers are part of the Arista Challenge, which is a sort of spiritual successor to the Rooglewood collections, which sadly ended with the Five Poison Apples. However, unlike those books, this is NOT a contest, nor is it a single-volume collection.

Each of the stories published in this release is published on its own, with its own cover, and the author retains all rights. We’re merely releasing together – banding together for promotion, if you will. And all of our books happen to be retellings of the same fairy tale.”

Previous years have done Snow White and Rapunzel. As much as I wanted to participate, I never had a project that fit (I was too busy writing a Sleeping Beauty retelling the year they did Snow White and a Cinderella retelling the year they did Rapunzel). I was super excited when they announced Twelve Dancing Princesses would be the fairy tale this year, since that was the one I was planning for book 3!

Here are all the books that will be participating this year! These covers are stunning, and the books sound even more amazing! You can scroll through the Facebook Party to find posts about each book and author, or you can click the links below to find each book on Amazon.

The Dancing Princess – Kendra E. Ardnek

Wrought of Silver & Ravens – E.L. Kitchens

A Time of Mourning and Dancing – Abigail Falanga

The Dark King’s Curse – Wyn Estelle Owens

The Midnight Show – Sarah Pennington

All of these books sound so amazing, from a detective story to a Greek-inspired to Fae kings.

If you want to help spread the word about these books and the covers, here’s a link where you can download all of the lovely images + bios and blurbs and such. Take the stuff and share it to your blogs/social media and email the organizer (Kendra Ardnek) the link to your post – Kendraeardnek (at) Gmail (dot) com.

EVERYONE who shares the covers (and emails Kendra) will be receiving a early peek at the stories – the first chapter of each (including the first chapter of Poison’s Dance!). This is an exclusive offer you don’t want to miss, so get posting.

*the link will be live through Saturday, and you have until then to post. Thanks so much!