Fairy Tales Can Come True

It’s Independence Day tomorrow in the U.S. For the men and women who brought forth this vision of a new nation, it must have seemed like a dream or even a fairy tale come true, albeit an imperfect one, hard-fought and contentious and one that entailed a great deal of sacrifice. But the best fairy tales, the ones that really stick with us, frequently involve hardship, heartache, and even the spilling of blood. Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm certainly showed us the truth of that, and let’s not even get started on Greek myths!

Today is my first blog here at The Glass Slipper Sisters, which also feels pretty special. For me, it’s a continuing part of the somewhat fractured fairy tale that started eight years ago, when I published my first book. I’d been a writer (mostly of dreary reports or academic papers) for much of my working life, but the idea–the dream–of writing fiction, especially the kind of books I loved reading, seemed too far out of reach.

Until it wasn’t.

Not that it happened with the tap of my fairy godmother’s magic wand. Hardly that, as any published–or unpublished author–realizes. There’s a lot of a toil and trouble that goes into writing and getting published. At times, absolutely NOTHING about it seems magical. In fact, there are many days where encountering nasty, fire-breathing dragons, or trolls under the bridge, is just about ALL the writing life seems to entail.

Except…then there’s the book. When I saw my first published historical romance on a shelf in a bookstore, well, magical is the word that best describes the feeling that came over me in a quiet, perfect wave.

And then when I got my first email from a reader, telling me how much she loved the book? That was magic squared–Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty all wrapped up into one! Because there are fewer things more truly enchanting than the ephemeral, amazing relationship between the reader and a much-cherished book. That act of imagination is a fairy tale come true, one each reader experiences every time she falls in love with a book.

As a writer, I experienced that magic again this week, when I published my tenth historical romance. It’s called THREE WEEKS WITH A PRINCESS, and it’s book two in my Improper Princesses Series, which features heroines who are the illegitimate daughters of England’s royal dukes (the previous series, The Renegade Royals, features the sons of those misbehaving dukes).

Lia Kincaid is the daughter and granddaughter of famous courtesans, a young woman desperately trying to avoid what seems like her pre-ordained fate. She’s also madly in love with Jack Easton, Marquess of Lendale, who just happens to be her best friend and the one man she cannot marry. To say Lia has to fight hard for her happy ending is an understatement! I’m happy to say, though, that there’s a lot of fun–and smooching–along the way to her fairy tale ever after.

For more info about the book and to read an excerpt, please visit my website–you’ll find lots of info and excerpts from all my books, including free bonus reads. Or visit Amazon or other on-line retailers to pick up THREE WEEKS WITH A PRINCESS for only $4.99.

For all those celebrating the 4th of July, I wish you a very happy Independence Day. And for all my friends and readers in Canada–Happy Canada Day (a few days late). Thank you ALL for helping to make my dreams come true!