Friday, September 28, 2012

Charming Blue by Kristine Grayson (Guest Post/Giveaway)

Today I would like to give a warm welcome to romance author, Kristine Grayson!


The Hecklers
Kristine Grayson

So far, I’ve retold half a dozen fairy tales. From Sleeping Beauty to Bluebeard (this month’s Charming Blue), I have fractured fairy tales, sometimes beyond recognition.
Oh, and I’ve added a few Greek Gods into the mix, as well as characters from literature. Other writers aren’t immune either. I’ve stolen from Dickens and Shakespeare, and had characters malign them both (even though I’m quite fond of them personally).

People keep asking me how I choose the fairy tales to fracture. I have only one unsatisfactory answer: I don’t. They choose me.
And that takes me deep into what I call “mystical writer’s talk.” At some point, writers get all woo-woo. Their characters “talk” to them. The characters “run away with” the story. The characters “gain a life of their own.”

Unfortunately, that’s all true too. I would like to think it all gets planned out, but in reality, it doesn’t. It just happens. I’m writing along, and some character raises his pudgy little hand and says, What about me?
My mistake is that I engage the heckler. What about you?
Well, you know, the heckler will respond with dead seriousness. I have mommy issues too.
Or my favorite:
I’m misunderstood.
That gets me. It gets me every time. Why are you misunderstood?
And then—whammo!—an entire novel lands in my computer. Or, at least, the concept for an entire novel. It all seems so easy in those halcyon days. Just tell this guy’s or woman’s story, and it’ll happen fast.
As if by magic.
Yeah, right.
Or I should say, Yeah. Write. A lot.
And I do. Then, somewhere in the middle of that novel, a new character raises his pudgy hand and says, What about me?

It happened with Bluebeard, and I wasn’t even halfway through the novel where he raised his Aqua-Velva covered hand. I was writing Wickedly Charming, and this pathetic drunk in blue velvet shows up. The most hard-bitten character in Wickedly Charming, a fairy by the name of Cantankerous Belle, takes care of Bluebeard—not as in killing him, but as in hauling him to rehab. Again.

And it was that again which caught me. It was the equivalent of a hand-wave. It was that What about me? question wrapped up in a single paragraph. Why did this grumpy fairy take care of this pathetic man? Who was he underneath all that blue? Why should we care?

I started answering those questions and realized that yep, Bluebeard was misunderstood. But it wasn’t Blue who told me that. It was Cantankerous Belle, and she has a lot more credibility with me. So I had to listen.
The result is Charming Blue. You see, when he’s sober and facing his demons, Bluebeard is charming. And nice. And really, what happened to him happened to him, not because of him. So he’s the ultimate wounded hero.
But I didn’t know that when he stumbled into Wickedly Charming. I had to write an entirely different novel, just to figure it all out. 



Charming Blue (Fates #8)
by Kristine Grayson
Once upon a time...he was the most handsome of princes. But now he's a lonely legend, hobbled by dark history. With too many dead in his wake, Bluebeard escapes through the evil spell of alcohol. But it's a far different kind of spell that's been ruining his life for centuries. Jodi Walters is a fixer, someone who can put magic back in order. But Blue has a problem she's never encountered. And worse, she finds herself perilously attracted to him.
Goodreads
Purchase at AmazonKindleBarnes & Noble and The Book Depository


Kristine Grayson always wanted to be a romance writer when she grew up. She became one in the late 1990s with the publication of her first romance novel, Utterly Charming. Since then, she has published five more novels, including Absolutely Captivated and Totally Spellbound.  Her work has won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, and she has been nominated for several other awards. Publishers Weekly has called her work “a delight,” and Best Reviews labeled her “the reigning queen of paranormal romance.”

http://www.kristinegrayson.com/



~*GIVEAWAY*~
Sourcebooks is giving away one copy of Charming Blue to one reader (US and Canada only please). To enter, just leave a question or comment for the author on this post and then fill out the rafflecopter below. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

19 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for the post and the giveaway. I love reading adapated fairy tales. It started with Robin McKinley when I was in high school and it's all gone downhill from there.

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  2. Congrats on the new release. This book sounds fantastic. Can't wait to read it. I love when authors adapt fairy tales to their stories.

    e.balinski(at)att(dot)net

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  3. This sounds like a good read. Thanks for the giveaway

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  4. I like the idea of characters and fairy tales choosing you. It can be a bit like magic! Fairy tales adaptions are fun to read.

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  5. I enjoyed fairy tales as a child and probably this made me fall in love with romance books early on; it's nice to see them in another context still with happy endings.

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  6. I really enjoy Kristin's books and have been looking forward to this relaease.

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  7. I love the idea of rewriting fairy tales and greek gods. Bluebeard, huh? Wasn't he a pirate? they all sound like great reads! Thank you for the giveaway!

    books4me67 at ymail dot com

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  8. Congratulations on your new release. I would love to read your books. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com

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  9. I've read all the other books in this series. I'd love to win.

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  10. I really enjoyed Wickedly Charming and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

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  11. thanks for a great post and congrats to Kristine on the newest release! Sounds fantastic!

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  12. I can't wait to read this book. It is now on my to buy list :)
    Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

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  13. Writing a story sounds like quite an adventure.

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  14. I love the idea of rewriting of fairytales...these stories sound great!

    Thanks so much!

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  15. I'd be very interested to see what the author does with this fairytale. Wasn't Bluebeard the one who murdered all of his wives?

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  16. Thanks, everyone. I hope you enjoy the book. And, um, Bluebeard is the one who (supposedly) killed all his wives. :-)

    Kristine Grayson

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  17. I never would have thought of turning Bluebeard into a hero - very curious to see how this story comes together.

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  18. Bluebeard as a "Prince Charming" - can't wait to see what you do with it! I love re-told fairy tales.

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  19. Congratulations on the release. Where did you get the idea for using fairy tales as inspiration?

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