Skip to main content

Party Time: Wickedly Charming by Kristine Grayson

Please welcome fellow Sourcebooks Casablanca Author Kristine Grayson and celebrate the release of her fantasy romance, Wickedly Charming, in stores this month!

The main characters in my newest novel, Wickedly Charming, have gone to parties. In fact, their entire lives have been about parties—up until the time they moved from the Kingdom to the Greater World.

Kingdom? Greater World? What am I talking about?

Let me begin again.

Wickedly Charming is about two characters you thought you knew: the evil stepmother from Snow White and the handsome prince from Cinderella. Only in Wickedly Charming, those two fairy tale refugees fall in love—with each other. Neither of them believe in happily ever after—they’ve both lived the happily ever after thing and hated it—so when they meet, they have to convince each other that they might enjoy “happily for now.”

Both of these characters have traveled from the Kingdom which is, essentially, the world of fairy tales, to our world, which they call the Greater World. They both prefer life here.

They prefer life here most of the time, anyway. Mellie—that’s the evil stepmother to you—believes that the Greater World discriminates against stepmothers (and she might have a point: think about how comfortable we all are with that phrase “evil stepmother”). And Charming—who calls himself Dave Encanto—is so disenchanted with…well…enchantment that he just wants to read all the time. So he owns a bookstore. In fact, he started the first bookstore in the Kingdom, and when our story starts, he’s at a Los Angeles book fair (modeled on Book Expo) so that he can order more books.

He meets Mellie there, and the rest, as they say, is magic.

But back to parties. A prince’s life is all about parties. After all, Charming met his ex-wife at a ball. Mellie went to countless balls, first on the arm of her first husband and then as his widow. Charming and Mellie actually met at a party years and years (really decades and decades) ago. (Yes, the magical live very long lives.) They were attracted to each other then, but too shy to talk. And besides, Charming was married—unhappily—to Ella, whom we all know as Cinderella. (But that’s another story.)

So if we hold a party on this blog, Charming and Mellie probably would send their regrets. They’re just not party people. They’re both too shy for one thing.

Although Charming loves books. And he convinces Mellie to write one. So if Charming and Mellie learn that this is a book party, they might show up after all.

That’s the thing about characters in my novels: they never do what anyone expects, least of all me. I try to control these wayward creatures, and they stomp their glass-slipper encased feet and say no. (Okay. I don’t make them all wear glass slippers. In fact, there’s only one glass slipper in this book—and its fate is not a good one.)

So I think we’ll have to party on without Mellie and Charming, and just hope they’ll show up for the free books. Because there are free books. Sourcebooks is going to give TWO copies away.

Sign up for those free books…before Charming (and his specially designed book bag) gets to them first. The man loves books. And that’s what I find so very charming about him.

Who are some of your favorite fairy tale characters? Do you think they have hidden stories we don’t know about? Tell us in the comments to enter to win one of two copies of Wickedly Charming. US and Canada only, please. And be sure to leave an email address so we can contact you!

WICKEDLY CHARMING BY KRISTINE GRAYSON – IN STORES MAY 2011

He’s Given Up on Happily-Ever-After…

Cinderella’s Prince Charming is divorced and at a dead end. The new owner of a bookstore, Charming has given up on women, royalty, and anything that smacks of a future. That is until he meets up with Mellie…

But She Might Be the Key to Happily-Right-Now…

Mellie is sick and tired of stepmothers being misunderstood. Vampires have redeemed their reputation, why shouldn’t stepmothers do the same? Then she runs into the handsomest, most charming man she’s ever met and discovers she’s going about her mission all wrong…

It’s only natural that sparks fly and magic ensues when these two fairy tale refugees put their heads—and vulnerable hearts—together…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Before turning to romance writing, Kristine Grayson edited the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and ran Pulphouse Publishing (which won her a World Fantasy Award). She has won the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award and, under her real name, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, the prestigious Hugo award. She lives with her own Prince Charming, writer Dean Wesley Smith, in Portland, Oregon. Her next book from Sourcebooks Casablanca, Utterly Charming will be in stores in October 2011. For more information, please visit www.kristinegrayson.com/ and www.sourcebookscasablanca.com.

Comments

  1. Awesome sounding premise! That's what I love about Sourcebooks. They take chances on unique ideas, and it must pay off, because they just keep growing!

    I wish you many sales and lots of positive reviews, Kristine.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kristine ~

    I totally agree with Ashlyn! This sounds like a wonderful book that I'll have to add to my TBR pile;)

    Funny thing is...you picked my favorite Fairy Tale!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love fairy tale romances! Sounds great! Good luck with sales!

    ReplyDelete
  4. OMG! This sounds like so much fun! I can't wait to read it! I wish you tons of sales and look forward to downloading it on my kindle!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree with all of the above. Love the way Sourcebooks is willing to put out a great new premise. Love your cover. Love the premise. Can't wait to read this one!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The fairy tales are such a source of inspiration in their original forms, but to take them a step further as you've done is truly creative. Sounds like a wonderful premise, and a great series.

    My favorite fairy tale is Beauty and the Beast, particularly as Disney did it, with both the Beauty and the Beast being characters whose lovely qualities were visible only to those who loved them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like so much fun, Kristine. Good luck with it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I like this book already :) and will get it added to the top of my TBR pile right away!

    Sticking with favorite Disney fairy tale characters, mine has to Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. She's just so wonderfully evil. I'm sure there's a very interesting backstory there!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kristine, You books sounds postively charming! :-) Many good wishes for great success.

    And I'm just crazy about Beauty and the Beast.

    Amelia

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lol...this sounds like a really fun book to read! My favorite fairy tales were Cinderella, Rumpletstiltskin, Beauty and the Best nd the 12 Dancing Princesses. They were so much fun to read as a kid.

    junegirl63(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kristine, this sounds great! I've always loved the seven dwarves. Hopefully they'll turn up as secondary characters, because somehow I don't think they're going to get their own romance. Although I guess Grumpy is an alpha male, in a way...
    Best of luck with your sonderful new series - I can't wait to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a cool idea! I like Sleeping beauty a lot, but Cinderella is a close second. I'd really like to read this book.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sounds like a great book! I do love fairytales!!! And I do think most have a hidden mean/storyline to them. And each person has to see what they take from them.

    hugs,
    WendyK

    ReplyDelete
  14. Cngrats on the new release Kristine.
    This sounds really interesting.
    I really like Disney's Beauty and the Beast.I'd like to know if he goes back to his old ways :)
    Even the character of Gaston I'd like to know how he turned out.
    elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  15. Congratulations on your new release, Kristine! The book sounds absolutely charming. ;}

    ReplyDelete
  16. My favorite Disney movie is Cinderella, I love this version. I also love any and all Beauty and the Beast version, well fine I just love fairy tales so much and I love different new versions that authors will create.

    myworldofbooks18 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Congrats on your new release - I'm intrigued & can't wait to get my copy!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sounds like a very orgiginal concept. I love fairy tales. I think my favorite was Beauty and the Beast - I so fell in love with that beast lol.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks, everyone. I hope you all enjoy the book! Um...for you Cinderella fans...Ella doesn't come off too well in this book. But I'm thinking of a story for her. There's a reason for her behavior.

    Next up, Sleeping Beauty's Prince Charming who falls in love with Sleeping Beauty's lawyer. (And yes, I'm not well.) That's in Utterly Charming.

    Like you all, I appreciate the risks Sourcebooks takes. It allows me to have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great blog, Kristine! I've always been a fan of "Beaty and the Beast." :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Totally, those men in fairly tales are hiding a lot from of. Expose your hidden intentions boys. John Smith surely had an hidden agenda in Pocahontas.. we watched the Disney last night.
    I love the sound of this book. I have read another book in the series and I loved it.

    terilhack at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  22. This sounds like a great read! I love adapted fairy tales. I would love to know what was on Tam Lin's mind as he was falling in love with his lady from the fairy tale, he had to have know the danger it would bring her into. But what we would not do for love everlasting, right.

    kasuranna at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  23. I was particularly fond of Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. She reminded me of everyone's grandmother and the gifts that such a loved one would bestow on us.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hmmm. I commented yesterday but I think blogger ate it. Let's try this again.

    I love the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty. I also like Beauty and the Beast. I enjoy reading how the couple has to look beyond the surface to see the person underneath.

    Congratulations on your new release! I love the idea behind Wickedly Charming. Putting a twist on classic stories sounds like a fun read.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Congrats to Maria and Lil--our lucky winners of the two copies of Wickedly Charming by Kristine Grayson! Danielle will be contacting you shortly for mailing info :) Thanks to everyone for stopping by and commenting.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment