Charming: A Cinderella Prequel
A visit to a local witch, a few coins, and an inadvertent promise transforms Jode into something beyond his wildest imaginings; and also causes him to be cast out of his own village for good. A wanderer turned loose in the world, Jode must learn the truth about the magic upon him and embrace a destiny greater than any ever before conceived by his mind. If he wants to survive, he must find the one key to his ultimate happiness and escape the danger inflicted upon him by the two-sided coin of the witch's magic.
From a pirate ship to the sands of the desert, from a mercenary knight to a monarch's deceptive pawn, the adventures of Jode-turned-Handsome-Jack are as varied as his namesake's tales ... and as far from his true fate as he could possibly imagine.
Book One of Briggs and Steinbrenner's retelling of CINDERELLA spins a tale of multiple threads as varied as their characters' fates: an awkward boy spun into a hero by magic, an unhappy orphan girl languishing in a house filled with secrets, a homely witch of unexpected powers and a coldblooded noblewoman of mysterious past. A tale of magic makers and fortune tellers, of con artists and criminals, bandits and sultans, artists and peasants, servants and monarchs, all bound by the common thread of one boy's existence.
Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fairytale
Release Date: August 5, 2013
Length: 545 Pages
The
Book Excerpt
Cindermaid: A Tale of Cinderella
Picking up where its prequel left off, the story finds Elle's household sinking rapidly into madness, and Jack learning of a possible means of breaking Molly's curse and freeing himself of its consequences forever.
To lonely Elle, the only remaining servant of the house, existence itself seems a dreary burden until an encounter with magic offers her the impossible: a glimpse of an outside world beyond her wildest dreams. Such an encounter, however, has a price; the shadow of Madame Levier threatens Elle's happiness and even her very existence as secrets from her stepmother's past slowly begin to surface.
As for Jack, time is running out. Trapped between the consequences of Molly's curse and the possibility of losing everything he now possesses, he'll do anything to escape–even if it means manipulating a magical being whose powers are meant for another.
From fairy pools and forbidden flames, to circuses and sailors' lairs, the glorious magic of a human fairy and the opulence of three grand balls paint a complex world–one in which a beautiful gown may not be enough to conquer a throne and the persuasion of magic requires more than merely a desire to control it.
Genre: Fantasy/Dark Fairytale
Release Date: October 14, 2013
Length: 526 Pages
About Laura Briggs
Laura Briggs graduated from a Missouri liberal arts college in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Her passion for reading has inspired her to become a freelance writer and novelist. Ms. Briggs enjoys dabbling in several fiction genres, including romance, mystery, and literary.
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