Beyond the Tales

Tattered Slippers Release Week – Poison’s Dance!

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This week is the release week for the Tattered Slippers 12 Dancing Princesses retelling challenge books! (including my release Poison’s Dance!). There is a really cool official blog tour going on for all of these books, complete with a giveaway, so click here for the schedule to find fun interviews, guest posts by the authors, and reviews of these six books!

Today is the day we have all been waiting for! Poison’s Dance releases today! Yay!!!!!!!!! I am really excited to share the next part of Alex’s, Daemyn’s, and Rosanna’s adventures with all of you, and I hope you enjoy it!

To celebrate the release, I currently have Dagger’s Sleep and Midnight’s Curse on sale in the Kindle store. Dagger’s Sleep is FREE while Midnight’s Curse is $1.99. So if you have been waiting to start this series, now would be a good time to pick them up!

Poison’s Dance 

Book Description: 

Beyond the Tales #3 
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.  

Purchace Link: https://www.amazon.com/Poisons-Dance-Dancing-Princesses-Retelling-ebook/dp/B0873YZKZS/  

Add Book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53251983-poison-s-dance? 

Author Bio: 

Tricia Mingerink is a twenty-something, book-loving, horse-riding country girl. She lives in Michigan with her family and their pack of pets. When she isn’t writing, she can be found pursuing backwoods adventures across the country. 
Find her online at: Website ||  Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram || Amazon  

Poison’s Dance Blog Tour and Review Copies Sign Up

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Less than a month until Poison’s Dance releases!

There is still time to sign up for the blog tour or to receive a review copy! If you just want to review, not post for the blog tour, scroll past the first sign up sheet to the second sign up sheet in the link below. You’ll have opportunity to review not just Poison’s Dance, but several other 12 Dancing Princess fairy tales if you wish:

Click here to sign up for the blog tour or review copies!

I just set up the Poison’s Dance ARC, so if you sign up for a review copy, you should be getting it next week (hopefully)!

About Poison’s Dance:

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.

Dagger’s Sleep Audiobook

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This week Dagger’s Sleep released on audiobook! I’m so excited to have this book finally available in audiobook for everyone (like me) who adores listening to books while driving or doing housework. You can find it here on Audible and here on audiobooks.com. You can listen to a sample on Audible or Amazon if you’re curious how it sounds.

Dagger’s Sleep was produced by Tantor, an audiobook company that produces a LOT of fairy tale audiobooks. I should know. I personally own most of them, lol. I’m so excited to have Dagger’s Sleep join their fairy tale library!

Because Dagger’s Sleep was produced by an audiobook company, it isn’t exclusive to Audible. You’ll be able to find it pretty much everywhere audiobooks are sold, and its available to libraries! So if you can’t afford audiobooks, consider asking your library to add it to their elibrary.

Tantor will also be producing the audiobooks for Midnight’s Curse (scheduled to release Sept. 23) and Poison’s Dance (release yet to be determined).

Dagger’s Sleep is narrated by the amazing Emily Lawrence, and she did a great job working with all the various accents and voices. She really brings Tallahatchia alive, and I’m so excited with how the narration turned out!

Do any of you like audiobooks? Do you listen to them a lot or infrequently? Perhaps never?

If you like audiobooks (fairy tale audiobooks specifically), here’s a list of a bunch of other fairy tale books that are available on audiobook.

Since I have listened to all but one series on this list, you can find my reviews of these books on my Goodreads page in my fairytale book list. Feel free to message me if you want more in depth review about a book.

Produced by Tantor:

Four Kingdoms by Melanie Cellier (in the process of releasing)

Beyond the Four Kingdoms by Melanie Cellier

Firethorn Chronicles by Lea Doue

Andari Chronicles by Kenley Davidson

Kingdom Chronicles by Camille Peters (currently only book 1 available, but more are coming)

The Swan King by Nina Clare

Fairy Tale Kingdoms Series by Shari L. Tapscott (this is the only series on this list I haven’t listened to yet)

Other Fairy Tale Books by Indie Authors on Audiobook:

Fairytales of Folkshore by Lucy Tempest (first 3 books in the series available, wraps up one story arc)

Thorn by Intisar Khanani (produced by Harper Audio. This book was originally published indie, then picked up by Harper Collins)

Poison’s Dance Cover Reveal

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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.

Don’t all three books looks so pretty together?

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!

Poison’s Dance Release Date!

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Poison’s Dance, the third book in my fairytale retelling series, will be releasing August 26, 2020. You can follow this link to see the book page on Amazon and pre-order the ebook. 

I’m so excited to share this book with you! Alex’s character arc really starts to shine in this book, and I really hope the pay-off of watching him stumble through lots of mistakes in the first two books is worth it in this book. 

I can’t reveal the cover yet, but even this teaser that my cover designer put together is stunning!

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.

National Tell a Fairy Tale Day Sales

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For those of you who like fairy tales, today is National Tell a Fairy Tale Day. A bunch of authors writing fairy tale retellings have their books on sale today through the end of the week (including me!) so now is the time to stock up on lots and lots of books! There is also a Facebook party tonight with prizes and games, so you won’t want to miss out on that!

Sales! Sales! And More Sales!

Here is a list (with links) of all the fairy tale retellings on sale today! These are all from clean fairy tale retelling authors so while I haven’t read all of these books yet, I feel comfortable recommending them.

If I have read them, you’ll find my reviews on my Goodreads under fairy tale retellings. I’ve also tried to tag each book with their fairy tale, if I can find/know that information.

First up, my own books Dagger’s Sleep and Midnight’s Curse are both on sale this week from now until Friday!

National Fairy Tale Day Sale

Dagger’s Sleep (Sleeping Beauty): https://www.amazon.com/Daggers-Sleep-Beyond-Tales-Book-ebook/dp/B07BHPH4VF

Midnight’s Curse (Cinderella): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RQVFH1S

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Pathways (Rumpelstiltskin/Princess and the Pea): https://www.amazon.com/Pathways-Kingdom…/dp/B07ND2GB48

Spelled: https://www.amazon.com/Spelled-Kingdom…/dp/B07QYCHHN9

Identity: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TJ2G9DX

Reflection: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YSZJFHB

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Link for the series page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GHXGPW5

Thief of Cahraman, Prince of Cahraman, Queen of Cahraman are an extended Aladdin retelling. Beast of Rosemead and Beauty of Rosemead are a Beauty and the Beast retelling.

Book five in this series also released today! I’m so excited to read it!

Princess of Midnight

Princess of Midnight (Cinderella): https://www.amazon.com/Princess-Midnight-Retelling-Cinderella-Fairytales-ebook/dp/B081B8S7DW

Faraway Castle Series: All books $.99 and the two novellas are Free!

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Faraway Castle series link on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TGFL78V

Cinder Ellie (Cinderella prequel novella): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SPF3PC4

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Princess of Secrets (Frog Prince): readerlinks.com/l/732458

Princess of Shadows

$.99: Princess of Shadows (Princess and the Pea): readerlinks.com/l/732490

Princess of Mermaids

$2.99: Princess of Mermaids (Little Mermaid): readerlinks.com/l/822139

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Once Upon a Story Short Story Collection: readerlinks.com/l/1035522

Suzannah Rowntree

$.99: The Rakshasa’s Bride (Beauty and the Beast): https://books2read.com/u/bQB8Y7

Princess of Gems

FREE: Curse of Gems (Toads and Diamonds): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R3DJCDQ

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Firethorn Chronicles series page link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753LNFXV

 

Dancer

$.99: Dancer: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PQ239DR

Dragon's Maid

$.99: Dragon’s Maid: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SCL935V

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The Dragon Princess (Sleeping Beauty): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TWBL2GK/

The Siren Princess (Little Mermaid): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YBNQZ22/

Facebook Party!!!

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Many of the clean fairy tale writers above are hosting a Facebook party tonight. Lots of prizes and fairy tale fun! You won’t want to miss out!

https://www.facebook.com/events/2639757836252467

Group Promo

I’m trying something new this year and experimenting with participating in a group promo on Bookfunnel. This group promo was open to all, so I can’t guarantee all the books participating are clean. I haven’t personally read any of them (besides mine, for course).

Fairy Tales with a Twist

Group Promo link: https://books.bookfunnel.com/fairytaleretellings/fyt2qzzcnz

Writing Update:

I’ve currently set aside working on Blades book 6 at the moment. It has been giving me trouble, and over the years, I’ve learned it is sometimes best to set aside a book and write something else for a while.

While I haven’t been writing Blades, I have been working on Poison’s Dance (Beyond the Tales #3) and it has been coming along nicely. I’m actually in the climax right now and should hopefully finish it this spring yet. That means it will probably release in August, like Midnight’s Curse did.

Right now, I probably won’t start working on Blades book 6 until late summer or fall. That means, at the earliest, it won’t release until about December. I know that is about a year later than I had planned, but sometimes creativity works that way. I don’t want to rush this book. Not when so many of you are counting on this return to Acktar being amazing.

Upcoming Black Friday Sale

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As everyone probably knows by now, Thanksgiving is next week! A time to gather with family and friends and be thankful for God’s blessings.

One of the things I’m especially grateful for this year is all the ways God has used The Blades of Acktar and Beyond the Tales in so many lives around the world. I’m thankful for all my many, many readers who have taken the chance on my books.

To say thank you, I will be discounting all of my Kindle ebooks from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. It is a great time to pick up that book in the series you’ve been missing or share them with a friend. I’ll also be running free shipping and a few discounts on the signed paperbacks on my website.

Black Friday 2019 Sale Graphic

A while back, I decided to submit Dagger’s Sleep for a Reader’s Favorite review. Last week, the review came back, and it is a 5 shiny stars review!!!!

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The review:

What does it mean to be a prince? Or a princess, for that matter? Is it a right of how one is born? A right to be arrogant, selfish and self-centered? A hundred years ago, a High Prince, Alexander, thought he was born to rule. He had the arrogance to think he was the chosen one and, as such, he could do no wrong. High Prince Alexander was cursed by the Fae. At the age of twenty-one, he would prick his finger with his own dagger and fall into a deep sleep for all eternity. On a journey to challenge this curse, he learns that he’s not as righteous as he thought he was, and though he manages to have the curse altered to only sleep until a cursebreaker is found, he discovers some unpleasant things about himself.

It’s approaching the anniversary of the High Prince’s demise and the cursebreaker has been found: Princess Rosanna. Only, the princess must travel incognito and across treacherous terrain to reach the castle where the High Prince sleeps in order to break the curse. Will she make it in time? And will it be worth the effort? Will her war-torn country be a better place to live after Alexander awakens? And must she love someone she has never met, even if he is a prince, after the curse is broken?

Tricia Mingerink’s fantasy novel, Dagger’s Sleep (Beyond the Tales): A Retelling of Sleeping Beauty, is more than just a fantasy. A well-loved fairytale retold becomes an adventure and a journey of self-discovery as two royal personages must come to terms with who they are and who they really should be. The plot is two-fold: one tracing the events leading up to the High Prince’s deep sleep that lasts a hundred years and the second one following the cursebreaker’s treacherous journey wake the High Prince. Each plot is distinctly identified to avoid confusion and each scenario is well-paced. The characters are well developed and the descriptive narrative is exceptional in setting the scenes. A great story by a significantly powerful writer. This is an author I’ll definitely follow.

I’m so grateful for such kind words about Dagger’s Sleep! That book had a rocky start, but it has really come into its own in the past few months. I’m thankful to everyone who has taken the time to read Rosanna’s, Daemyn’s, and Alex’s stories in both Dagger’s Sleep and Midnight’s Curse, and I can’t wait until next year to continue their story in Poison’s Dance.

Midnight’s Curse Blog Tour Wrap Up

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Midnight's Curse Blog Tour Mock-Up

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the blog tour for Midnight’s Curse, the #MidnightsCurse challenge on Instagram, bought the book, reviewed the book, or otherwise spread the word during the release! The excitement for Midnight’s Curse was so great to see, and I’m so glad many of you have been enjoying the book!

My author copies of Midnight’s Curse finally arrived! You can order signed copies directly from me on my Store page.

Congratulations to Abigail Harder on winning the blog tour prize!

I am working on picking the winners for the Instagram challenge. Going on a vacation immediately after releasing a book is wonderful, but the lack of phone and internet service does make it difficult to stay on top of the last few details of a book release.

My vacation was very relaxing, though, and the Pictured Rocks area of Michigan is just as gorgeous as everyone says it is. I’m not going to flood you with photos, but here are a few from the trip.

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Isn’t the water such a stunning blue?

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This waterfall is Spray Falls, one of two major waterfalls that dump over the Pictured Rocks cliffs into Lake Superior. Since we were doing this trip on the cheap, we didn’t pay for a kayak or boat tour, so we hiked a nearly 10 mile round trip to view this waterfall. The first three miles of the hike were done in a steady rain that, while not a downpour, was enough to get us soaked. At least the rain cut down on the number of people hiking, so we had the trail nearly to ourselves for most of the day.

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Beautiful sunset over Lake Superior.

I hope everyone is having a great summer, even if it is winding down. Thanks once again for the great release for Midnight’s Curse!

Midnight’s Curse Blog Tour

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Midnight's Curse Blog Tour Mock-Up

Welcome to the blog tour for Midnight’s Curse, book two in the Beyond the Tales series. Beyond the Tales is a series of fairy tale retellings with hints of allegorical elements set in a world based on the Appalachian Mountains.

I am so excited to finally share this book with all of you! It is such a fun version of Cinderella, and I hope you enjoy reading about Alex’s, Daemyn’s, and Rosanna’s next adventure!

Don’t miss the giveaway at the end of this blog post nor the invite to the Facebook party for more giveaways!

About the Book

Midnight's Curse_Internet UseThe glass slippers might be her dreams come true…or her worst nightmare. 

High King Alexander rules the Seven Kingdoms of Tallahatchia—a divided nation on the brink of yet another war. When an invitation arrives from the king of Pohatomie, Alex knows it must be a trap, but could it also be his opportunity to unite the kingdoms?

Daemyn Rand has lived a hundred years, served an arrogant prince, fallen in love with a princess, and lost himself somewhere along the way. He has already died for his loyalty. Will standing at the high king’s side cost him his last chance to truly live?

Elara Ashen is a lowly, miserable servant. All she wants is to spend even one night in a fancy dress dancing with the high king. When she is offered a pair of glass slippers, it seems that all her dreams have come true.

But dreams have a price, and gifts can be curses in disguise. What will it cost to stop this curse from tearing Tallahatchia apart yet again?

Fairy tales meet the Appalachian Mountains in this adventurous fantasy retelling of the classic Cinderella story.

Add to Goodreads – Buy on Amazon

Dreamy green color forest

The first book in the series Dagger’s Sleep, a Sleeping Beauty retelling where the prince is cursed to sleep and the princess must wake him, is on sale for $.99 on Kindle! Follow this link to snag this deal while it lasts!

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About the Author

Tricia Mingerink is a twenty-something, book-loving, horse-riding country girl. She lives in Michigan with her family and their pack of pets. When she isn’t writing, she can be found pursuing backwoods adventures across the country.

You can connect with Tricia on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Facebook Party!

Facebook Party Announcement

The Facebook party should be a blast with giveaways of Midnight’s Curse, Dagger’s Sleep, and over ten other Cinderella retellings by indie authors! Follow this link to join the Facebook party. 

Giveaway!

Blog Tour Giveaway

Enter to win signed copies of Dagger’s Sleep and Midnight’s Curse (it will be the actual copy, not a proof copy as shown) as well as a Currently Reading 4oz candle from Novelly Yours Candles.

Due to shipping, the giveaway is open to the US only. Void where prohibited.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday – August 5

Tuesday – August 6 – Release Day!

Wednesday – August 7

Thursday – August 8

Friday – August 9

Saturday – August 10

Dagger’s Sleep Read-Along Week 3: Chapter 22

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Dreamy green color forest

Yesterday, we talked a little bit about Alex’s portion of the allegorical chapters of Dagger’s Sleep. Today we have Rosanna’s chapters 20 and 22.

Warning: Major spoilers for Dagger’s Sleep ahead if you haven’t read it yet.

Chapter 20

Okay, this chapter is pretty much me experimenting with killing off a major character. Of course, well, there’s chapter 22, but for this chapter Daemyn ends up (mostly) dead.

Chapter 22

Have you ever spent a lot of time in the woods just listening to the breeze in the trees? When it is still in a forest, you can hear each creak of moving branch, each whisper of a leaf. You can even hear the snow hiss as it hits the ground when it is quiet enough.

From the time I was 14 until last year, my parents owned a hunting cabin deep in the woods of the upper Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It was pretty much Narnia minus the talking animals. I spent hours tromping through that forest, learning how to track and hunt and recognize the different trees.

I actually wrote chapters 19-22 of Dagger’s Sleep out in that forest while deer hunting. The singing trees were inspired by my own love for the deep woods, and it was quite the moment to write that scene surrounded by beeches and maples and oaks.

When I sign copies of Dagger’s Sleep, I usually write Ps. 96:12 below my name. That verse in the KJV is “Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice.” Some Bible versions translate this as “let all the trees sing.” (the NIV, for example).

The Psalms are filled with examples of poetic language describing the Creation as singing or praising God. I just made it a bit more real in this chapter of Dagger’s Sleep. 

And, yes, this chapter ends where Daemyn doesn’t stay dead. To everyone’s great relief, lol.

Do you have a piece of land or a forest or mountain that is special to you? Do you like to go hiking? What did you think about the singing trees in Dagger’s Sleep?