Christina Bauer's Blog, page 40
November 27, 2019
Coming 11.30 – TRICKSTER Cover Reveal!
TRICKSTER marks the third book in my Angelbound Lincoln series, and I’m SUPER excited to share the cover with you on this Saturday, November 30th!
Check out the description below and sing it with me: LINCOLN, LINCOLN, YUMMY YUMMY LINCOLN!
ABOUT TRICKSTER
***A hilarious adventure after the events of Angelbound SCALA … and it’s all from Prince Lincoln’s point of view!!!***
With the drama of the Ghost Towers and Lucifer’s Orb behind them, Lincoln looks forward to sharing some quality time with Myla. Maybe they’ll even do a ‘regular couple thing’ like a dinner date. Or they could kill more demons together. Lincoln isn’t picky.
Then a trickster gets loose inside Antrum. And by trickster, we’re talking a giant orange monkey with magical powers and a love of causing drama with uptight thrax.
Looks like date night is on hold.
Author’s Note To Readers: You can read this book after Angelbound Origins SCALA or not. I wrote it to work either way.
Author’s Note to Self: Why do I write things out of sequence? Wasn’t SCALA published a while ago? To which I say to myself: self, this is how our gift works. Just be happy it does. And go eat more cookies. We like those.
SEE IT ON: Amazon / GooglePlay / Apple Books / Kobo / Barnes & Noble
ANGELBOUND LINCOLN
1. Duty Bound
2. Lincoln
3. Trickster
The post Coming 11.30 – TRICKSTER Cover Reveal! appeared first on Monster House Books.
November 25, 2019
Happy Book Birthday, SLIPPERS AND THIEVES!
ABOUT SLIPPERS AND THIEVES
TITLE: SLIPPERS AND THIEVES, Book 4 in the Fairy Tales of the Magicorum series
GENRE: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
AVAILABILITY: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Apple Books / Kobo / GooglePlay
FORMAT: eBook, ISBN 9781946677037
LIST PRICE: $6.99
GIVEAWAYS and GOODIES!
Rafflecopter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f7ec85e728/
Savings: https://tinyurl.com/saveslipper
Blog Tour: https://tinyurl.com/slip-tour
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Years ago, Elle—never call her Cinderella—escaped her evil step family in order to build a new life for herself in Manhattan. Today, Elle’s awful past is a distant memory. In fact, Elle even attends West Lake Prep, an exclusive high school where regular humans mix with members of the Magicorum, such as fairies, shifters and witches. Although she still must live in hiding from her evil step family, Elle always has found ways to get whatever her heart desires.
That is, until Alec Le Charme.
Alec is the heir to the Le Charme dynasty of high-end jewelers. He’s also kind, charismatic, has a knee-melting smile. Elle has fallen for him, hard. Unfortunately, thanks to Elle’s evil step family, Alec is absolutely off limits. In fact, if Elle and Alec so much as kiss, it will start a magical chain reaction that would end in powerful factions of witches and wizards going to war. As a result, Elle and Alec vow to stay friends, no matter what. Then West Lake Prep holds a masquerade ball. Identities get mixed up and forbidden kisses are finally shared.
Time for the Magicorum to go to war, and for Elle to confront her hidden past in ways she never thought possible.
The post Happy Book Birthday, SLIPPERS AND THIEVES! appeared first on Monster House Books.
November 24, 2019
Meet The Bloggers: SLIPPERS AND THIEVES TOUR
Check out the schedule below — you might find your next favorite site for book reviews and news!
November 25th
–Ilovebooksandstuffblog >> Excerpt
–breen.rb >> Review
–cupcakesandbookshelves >> Excerpt
–Rockin’ Book Reviews >> Review
November 26th
–Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author >> Excerpt
–Character Madness and Musings >> Excerpt
–The Book Junkie Reads . . . >> Review
November 27th
–Angel Leya >> Excerpt
–Star-Crossed Book Blog >> Review
–What Is That Book About >> Playlist
November 28th
–Kimber Li >> Excerpt
–The Rest Is Still Unwritten >> Review
–The Avid Reader >> Review
–JavBondWrites >> Review
November 29th
–Lisa Loves Literature >> Interview
–The Rest Is Still Unwritten >> Guest post
–Reads In Heels >> Review
—
December 2nd
–Jazzy Book Reviews >> Guest post
–LenniLand >> Review
–Thoughts in Progress >> Excerpt
December 3rd
–Journal of the Lost One >> Review
–So Many Books, So Little Time >> Excerpt
December 4th
–Literary Flits >> Excerpt
–Two Ends of the Pen >> Interview
December 5th
–Booked J >> Review
–books are love >> Review
December 6th
–Smada’s Book Smack >> Review
–diary of a wannabe writer >> Review
–That Georgia Gypsy >> Guest post
The post Meet The Bloggers: SLIPPERS AND THIEVES TOUR appeared first on Monster House Books.
Six Types of Big Bads
There are antagonists, and then?
There are big bads.
Antagonists exist in books where there are philosophical discussions over fancy dinners. Big bads (as in the big bad wolf) are for action-adventure and fantasy stories. After publishing 26 fantasy books, it’s safe to say that big bads are my thing. In this post, I’ll list my six main types. Fun!
In my writing process, I define my protagonist (hero/heroine) first, so that’s what I’ll do here as well…
ABOUT THE HERO/HEROINE
For me, I can’t decide what kind of big bad I want until I settle on the type of hero/heroine that I can write. And yes, I mean can write. There are types that I want to write, but they just don’t flow.
First, heroes. For many folks, anti-heroes are the bomb, especially when it came to love interests. I’ve tried to write one or twenty. Nope. Wasn’t working. Turns out, my inner muse wants my good guys to be GOOD.
Second, heroines. I write strong heroines, but there’s a lot of wiggle room on that definition. For me, strength doesn’t mean attacking without provocation, treating other people poorly, and-or acting like a douchebag in general. Not that it isn’t a valid kind of character to write! I just can’t write it. PRO TIP: there’s a thin line between someone who is suffering and asking for help… and a heroine who WHINES.
Fuck, I hate whining.
ABOUT BIG BADS
In any story, the hero/heorine is only as strong as what they have to face/overcome. For the fantasy stuff I write, that means creating big bads who are indeed BIG and BAD.
Which brings us to the six types!
CATEGORY ONE – FEELING NO PAIN
I’ve divided my six big bads into two categories. The first three have ZERO inner emotional life. It’s like they’re stuffed with cotton instead of empathy.
Type number one is what I call burn baby burn…
This pic reminds me of the eye of Sauron burning. Good times.
Type One. Burn Baby Burn
These characters just like to destroy stuff. This is Bat Man’s Joker character when he just wants to watch the world burn, that kind of thing. Internally, I think of these folks as sealed off from any feeling. LOTR Fans: I’d put Sauron in this category.
With that done, let’s on to type number two. The predator!
Any excuse for a wolf pic is a good one in my book.
Type Two. The Predator
These folks do feel, but they only sense the rush of power from hurting/controlling others. For instance, take Gordon Gecko from the movie Wall Street. Does the guy have enough stuff to last forever? Sure. It’s not about actually needing cash, it’s about taking down the so-called lesser people and their money. Chimera from my Angelbound Offspring series is like this, too.
Moving on to our next big bad, the fighter!
Pow! Punch on, big bad.
Type Three. The Fighter
This type doesn’t have an inner life either… unless they’re actively fighting someone else. These big bads hold onto real or imagined slights and then go make things right (in their minds, of course.) The character of Armageddon in my Angelbound series is like this. Growing up, Armie felt demeaned because his mother Onyx, the one-time Queen of Hell, didn’t see little Armie as fit to run the place some day. So Armageddon went after the job and how. If Onyx had told Armgageddon that he couldn’t knit, then little Armie might have chosen a career in competitive sweater-making.
With these three done, let’s move to category number two.
CATEGORY TWO – OWIE OW OW
There big bads have an inner emotional life and truly feel pain. However, that inner reality is mostly a shit show, otherwise they wouldn’t be big bads. There are three types here.
First, there’s the relatable guy or gal.
I’m not evil … so much as colorful.
Type Four. The relatable bad guy or gal
From a writing perspective, this one can be a dangerous choice. If your audience sympathizes with your big bad, then tension might fizzle out. You want a big bad who faces pain, sure, but then that character somehow deals with their hurt in a crappy way.
Here are a few examples of a big bad who (for me!) seemed far too relatable for the story line.
***WARNING: Star Trek spoiler alert***
In the recent reboot of the Star Trek character, Khan, the big bad’s motivation was to free his old crew. I was so rooting for the guy. Plus, Benedict Cumberbatch played the role and YAY!
***WARNING: The Shining spoiler alert***
Sorry to any big Shelley Duvall fans out there, but I found her performance in Kubrick’s The Shining to be annoying as fuck. I cheered for Jack Nicholson’s character to take her down.
Next up? The big bad narcissist.
Let me tell you more about me! And I’m not yelling, you’re not listening!
Type Five. Big Bad Narcissists
These are some of my favorite big bads to write. They have inner pain and self-doubt, but they blame everyone else for their problems. My character of Marchesa in Slippers and Thieves is like this.
Now, on to the final type, the big bad egotist.
I shall hypnotize you with my lovely and colorful con artistry.
Type Six. Big Bad Egotists
Behind the scenes, this is also a type of narcissism, but the person in question is an extrovert. These are your classic con men and women, charming others into dedicating their lives to someone who (let’s face it) doesn’t deserve the attention. The character of Ethan from my book Thrax was like this.
So there you have it — my six types of big bads! This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list, so if you have a character type you don’t see above, please add it to the comments below. I look forward to hearing what you have to say!
The post Six Types of Big Bads appeared first on Monster House Books.
November 19, 2019
Magicorum Launch Savings
Savings Ahoy
Great news! The first three Magicorum books have been boxed up and discounted 30% to celebrate the launch of book four, SLIPPERS AND THIEVES! The collection includes Wolves And Roses, Moonlight and Midtown, and Shifters And Glyphs …
See It On: GooglePlay / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Apple Books
About Slippers and Thieves
Years ago, Elle—never call her Cinderella—escaped her evil step family in order to build a new life for herself in Manhattan. Today, Elle’s awful past is a distant memory. In fact, Elle even attends West Lake Prep, an exclusive high school where regular humans mix with members of the Magicorum, such as fairies, shifters and witches. Although she still must live in hiding from her evil step family, Elle always has found ways to get whatever her heart desires.
That is, until Alec Le Charme.
Alec is the heir to the Le Charme dynasty of high-end jewelers. He’s also kind, charismatic, has a knee-melting smile. Elle has fallen for him, hard. Unfortunately, thanks to Elle’s evil step family, Alec is absolutely off limits. In fact, if Elle and Alec so much as kiss, it will start a magical chain reaction that would end in powerful factions of witches and wizards going to war. As a result, Elle and Alec vow to stay friends, no matter what. Then West Lake Prep holds a masquerade ball. Identities get mixed up and forbidden kisses are finally shared.
Time for the Magicorum to go to war, and for Elle to confront her hidden past in ways she never thought possible.
See It On: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Apple Books / Kobo / GooglePlay
The post Magicorum Launch Savings appeared first on Monster House Books.
November 16, 2019
RHODES Cover Revealed!
THE ANGELBOUND RHODES COVER REVEAL IS HERE!!!
TITLE: Angelbound RHODES, Book 4 in the Angelbound Offspring Series
GENRE: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
AVAILABILITY: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Apple Books / GooglePlay
RELEASE DATE: December 17, 2019
FORMAT: eBook
LIST PRICE: $6.99
RAFFLE: https://tinyurl.com/cb19raffle
About Angelbound RHODES
As dragon shifters, Rhodes and Zinnia should never have fallen in love. Why? Zin’s a princess while Rhodes is only the hired help. If the pair remain in the dragon realm, then age-old prejudices might tear them apart. But returning to Earth isn’t any better. In the human world, Rhodes and Zin are a musical sensation … and fame’s an even bigger relationship killer. Bottom line? Rhodes has huge decisions to make, both for himself and Zin.
Unfortunately, it isn’t clear what path—if any—will end with Rhodes and his love having a future together.
Angelbound Offspring
1. Maxon
2. Portia
3. Zinnia
4. Rhodes (December 2019)
5. Kaps (Summer 2020)
6. Huntress (Summer 2021)
AVAILABILITY: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Apple Books / GooglePlay
The post RHODES Cover Revealed! appeared first on Monster House Books.
Preorder Alert – SLIPPERS AND THIEVES
TRUE FACT: I’ve been obsessing about this story since I was little. And when you play Barbie Cinderella over and over, questions arise. For instance, why didn’t Cinderella DO SOMETHING about her crappy stepfamily situation? She could make clothes for mice and clean houses, so she clearly had marketable skills. You get the idea.
All of which is a long way of saying that I’m beyond thrilled to launch this book later this month … check out the details and preorder info below!
ABOUT THE BOOK: Years ago, Elle—never call her Cinderella—escaped her evil step family in order to build a new life for herself in Manhattan. Today, Elle’s awful past is a distant memory. In fact, Elle even attends West Lake Prep, an exclusive high school where regular humans mix with members of the Magicorum, such as fairies, shifters and witches. Although she still must live in hiding from her evil step family, Elle always has found ways to get whatever her heart desires.
That is, until Alec Le Charme.
Alec is the heir to the Le Charme dynasty of high-end jewelers. He’s also kind, charismatic, has a knee-melting smile. Elle has fallen for him, hard. Unfortunately, thanks to Elle’s evil step family, Alec is absolutely off limits. In fact, if Elle and Alec so much as kiss, it will start a magical chain reaction that would end in powerful factions of witches and wizards going to war. As a result, Elle and Alec vow to stay friends, no matter what. Then West Lake Prep holds a masquerade ball. Identities get mixed up and forbidden kisses are finally shared.
Time for the Magicorum to go to war, and for Elle to confront her hidden past in ways she never thought possible.
SEE IT ON: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Apple Books / Kobo / GooglePlay
The post Preorder Alert – SLIPPERS AND THIEVES appeared first on Monster House Books.
Happy Book Birthday, THE BRUTAL TIME
“This author’s words were spellbinding, I was in absolute bliss. Myla was simply awesome. What can I say more? Anything demonic fires up my thriller-y mind … And THE BRUTAL TIME produced a fiery blaze that was pure Myla.” – Book Reviews by Shalini
ABOUT ANGELBOUND THE BRUTAL TIME
TITLE: Angelbound THE BRUTAL TIME, Book 6 in the Angelbound Origins Series
GENRE: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
AVAILABILITY: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Apple Books / GooglePlay / Paperback
FORMAT: eBook
LIST PRICE: $6.99
GIVEAWAYS and GOODIES
Rafflecopter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f7ec85e728/
Tour: http://monsterhousebooks.com/blog/meet-the-bloggers-brutal-time
Savings: http://magicorumbook.com/2019/10/22/brutal-time-savings/
DESCRIPTION
As the Great Scala, Myla Lewis is the only being who can move Purgatory’s souls to Heaven or Hell. It’s a big job. Too bad Myla goes through assistants faster than a hot knife through brownies. Not that it bothers her much; Myla’s always been a solo fighter.
Then comes the problem of the fading angels. Millions of Heavenly residents are dying. According to a prophecy, the only way Myla can save them is by traveling back in time, meeting King Arthur, and creating her own knights of the round table. The catch? Doing so might end the after-realms in a bloody demonpocalypse.
Yipes.
Myla and her main squeeze, Lincoln, aren’t afraid of taking a few chances (in between kisses). But this time the stakes may be too high, even for them. And the biggest challenge of all? Finding those knights.
Because Myla Lewis doesn’t play well with others. At all.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christina Bauer knows how to tell stories about kick-ass women. In her best selling Angelbound series, the heroine is a part-demon girl who loves to fight in Purgatory’s Arena and falls in love with a part-angel prince. This young adult best seller has driven more than 500,000 ebook downloads and 9,000 reviews on Goodreads and retailers. The first three books in the series are now available as audiobooks on Audible and iTunes.
Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.
Blog: http://monsterhousebooks.com/blog/cat...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorBauer/
Twitter: @CB_Bauer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christina_c...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina...
Web site: http://monsterhousebooks.com/authors/...
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November 13, 2019
SLIPPERS AND THIEVES – Read Chapter One
Dear Readers,
I’m super excited to share Elle and Alec’s story! Check out Chapter One from SLIPPERS AND THIEVES (Fairy Tales of the Magicorum Book 4), which releases on November 26, 2019. It’s the kick-ass Cinderella.
SEE IT ON: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Apple Books / Kobo / GooglePlay
Christina
Elle
Age Fifteen
First homework, then jewel heist. Oh, yeah.
Rubbing my eyes, I refocus on my computer screen. A final study question appears.
SUN is to BRIGHTNESS as MAGIC is to…
a) casting
b) eternity
c) fading
I click on c) fading. A green check mark appears on screen. A happy ding sounds. I got it right, yay me. Not that the question was super-tough. Everyone knows magic’s disappearing from the world. Shifters, fairies and casters—folks called the magicorum—are basically an endangered species. I should know. I’m one of them.
A knock sounds on the door. “Elle, may I come in?” That’s my mother, Rae.
“Sure.”
The door swings open; Mom steps inside. She’s willowy and petite with large blue eyes and long blonde hair. I can’t help but notice how her shoulder bones jut out against her yellow sundress. My heart sinks. Mom’s lost so much weight. Plus, her once-tanned skin turns pastier by the day. There’s no doubt about it; Mom’s getting sicker. Meanwhile, I’m a younger, healthier version of her. I can’t help feeling a little guilty about that.
“How are you feeling?” I ask.
“Better and better.” She waves me off. “Is your homework done?”
A thread of worry winds through me. In Mom’s mind, if you don’t talk about illness, then it isn’t happening. And today, like most days, I don’t have the heart to bust up her system. If she says she’s better, then I won’t push it. After all, we’ve tried every human and magical healer to stop her cancer. Nothing works.
I plaster on a fake smile. “Almost finished.”
Mom closes the door behind her. I frown. Closed door chats are never good.
“I wanted to chat alone,” begins Mom. “You see, Marchesa’s daughters are the same age as you.” She twists her fingers together at her waistline. “Both Agatha and Ivy love their high school. They’re meeting all sorts of new people.”
Lady Marchesa Oakwood is Mom’s lifelong frenemy. Marchesa always shares helpful tidbits about her spawn. Sadly, every story makes Mom feel like she’s losing the parental Olympics or something. A protective urge runs up my spine. Marchesa’s supposed to run our family store, not crank up Mom with worry. Can’t Marchesa see that Mom is sick?
A little voice inside me says that, of course Marchesa knows Mom is ill. That’s why she tells these stories in the first place. I set the thought aside and focus on Mom’s question.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” I say. “I like online stuff.”
Mom gestures across the room. “But this is your parents’ office. Not a regular classroom.”
“It’s a cool spot.” And I mean it. The office is small with red brick walls. All our furniture is simple and sleek. There are some shelves, filing cabinets, and a desk … along with the main attraction. I point toward the front window. “Voila! Second Avenue.”
Even though I’m a teenager, I score this prime view because my parents own the building. On the first floor, there’s our store, Cynder Mercantile. The second floor’s where we live and work, including this office. And the top two levels are studio space. The artists up there make stuff; then we sell it. Although artist really isn’t the right word for them. They’re more enchanted objects; we call them animates.
Mom still looks concerned, so I go on. “Hey, I get the deal.”
There’s no need to explain more.
In this case, the deal is the fact that Mom’s fae, Dad’s an enchanter, and I’m the warden of all fae magic. It means I’m super-powered, which is certainly cool. But fairies aren’t like other Magicorum—they trick and destroy their wardens, not follow them. That’s why I take online classes and generally avoid new people. My parents even had my wings removed to help hide my warden-ness. Good call on their part. Most fae wardens don’t live past ten years old. I’m a record at this point.
Mom’s face brightens. “I’m glad you understand the, uh, deal.”
I raise my pointer finger. “Now I have to tell you—”
“If it’s about Marchesa, please don’t say a word. She’s a good friend.”
“Who upsets you all the time.” I raise my hands, palms forward. “Just saying.”
“Marchesa’s heart is in the right place. Don’t forget how her husband, Marshall, ran off right after Agatha was born.”
A nasty part of me thinks, maybe Marshall escaped because Marchesa is a horror show? Or because his daughter just got named Agatha? But I keep that bit to myself.
Mom sighs. “Then Marshall died in Amsterdam.”
Say it that way, and it doesn’t sound too bad. But in reality? Marshall died because he was drinking like a fish and passed out.
By an open window.
Which then he fell through.
Thus ended Marshall.
“That’s why we live in New York,” I state. “More window safety regulations.”
Mom shoots me a serious look, but it doesn’t last long. “Yes, New York does have that.” She smiles. “So you’re good with online classes?”
“Do you really think I’d keep my yap shut if I hated it?”
Mom chuckles. Sadly, that quickly leads to a cough. “No, I don’t.”
“Then we’re both good, right?” In my heart, I want everything to be good, not just conversations about online classes. That’s not possible, though.
“We’re fine,” replies Mom. She heads back toward the door and pauses. “Your father and I will be in the shop this morning. Give us a yell if you need anything.”
“I will.”
Mom takes off. After she’s left, I watch the closed door for a time. With every passing second, a weight of worry settles more deeply into my soul. All members of the Magicorum get pulled into a fairy tale life template. Mine’s Cinderella. So I can’t help but notice some facts.
Fact one. Marchesa has two nasty daugters who are my age.
Fact two. Marchesa also stares at Dad with googly eyes that make me want to puke.
Fact three. Mom has been sick for a really long time.
I’ve seen the Disney movie here. In short order, I’m heading into the not too pleasant phase of the Cinderella story. This is where my parents are gone and I’m stuck with a frenemy stepmother who names her kid Agatha. Other Cinderellas may sing at their window and hope for the best.
Me? I’ve got a plan.
Turning to my computer, I close out the school stuff and fire up Magicweb, which is the secret internet for our kind. Scanning through message boards, I look for lost valuables. My goal? Find stolen jewels that I can return and get a reward. I’ve been saving up a nestegg for the evil stepmother-n-sisters stage of my life. There’s no way I’m hanging around and becoming a servant in my own house. And marriage? That’s a someday-maybe thing. Besides, I don’t expect a wedding to fix my problems. I flip through my favorite boards for lost jewels.
JewelFinders.magic
WheresMyStuff.fae
VampLost.shadowcoe
Each site’s the same—nothing new is listed. After that, I check some web chats. A particular conversation catches my eye.
GemBabe1000 – Any new bounty jewels out there?
HuntAndFound – Nothing. Only Q of H crown in CPP
In regular speak, CPP is the Central Park Pond. And the Q of H stuff? That’s the Queen of Hearts, baddest of the badasses. She’s part fae. Part Vampire. All bossy.
Here’s the deal. Magic is tricky. You may think you secured a sweet deal with another supernatural being … but most magical locks can get picked, if you know what I mean. Best to hire someone to witness and enforce your magical aggreement. That’s where the Queen of Hearts comes in. If anyone welches, she’ll cry off with their heads and mean it.
GemBabe1000 – 100 yrs and Q of H crown is still in the CPP
HuntAndFound – Truth
GemBabe1000 – No one will ever go after that thing
I rub my palms together. Ha! I am SO going after that thing. The crown of the Queen of Hearts? One hundred years and no one shleps it out of a pond? Sign me up.
After shutting off my computer, I head downstairs. The first floor holds our warehouse. It’s a maze of metal shelves, all of which are are crammed with boxes of stuff for sale. I march toward the building’s front … and a wooden door with a small window.
Soon I see it.
The entrance to the Cynder Mercantile store.
I open the door. Sure enough, my parents stand inside. The shop itself is a small wooden space lined with fancy shelves, all of them overflowing with same things from the warehouse. I’m talking blown glass, hand-made laces, and carved doodads. Only here, the objects stand in neat rows instead of being jammed into boxes.
The radio plays a song, Do You Believe In Magic? It’s a totally ancient and corny tune, but my parents sway in sync as they stock the shelves. It’s sweet.
An itchy feeling crawls up my neck. Someone’s watching us. I look backward and sure enough, Marchesa is making doe eyes at Dad through the warehouse door window. Marchesa’s bony and nervous with loops of brown hair piled high atop her head. In my opinion, she looks like someone just offered her a small turd to eat. In other words, her features are all scrunched up while her nostrils flare out. Right now, her regular poop-look stays combined with a longing stare in Dad’s direction.
Ick, ick, ick.
I take care to step into her line of sight, blocking any view of Dad. Take that, creepster.
“Hey,” I call. “You guys need any help?”
Dad spins around and grins. “Hey, yourself.” My father is handsome in an earthy way with his brown hair, strong build and easy smile. I can almost picture Marchesa craning her neck for a better view.
“How’s my Ellie Belly?” Dad asks.
I mock-gasp. “You did not just say that out loud.”
“You were such a chubby baby, what else could I call you?”
“Elle?”
“Come here and give your old man a hug.”
So I do. Dad gives the best hugs; they’re always full of love and warmth. That’s just how Declan Cynder is in general, too. My father always gives. He founded Cynder Mercantile to help desperate folks from the magical world, and the rest of his life centers on me and Mom. It’s pretty awesome. A little voice in the back of my head reminds me that I probably won’t have my parents forever.
All the more reason to enjoy them today.
Mom stares pointedly at my purse. “Where are you off to?”
“A walk in central park.” I’m wearing jeans, Doc Martens, and a Disney Princesses T-shirt. Therefore, my morning stroll story is totally believable, if I do say so myself.
Dad frowns. “Are you sure it’s safe to go alone?”
“I’m a careful girl,” I reply. “I just want some air.” And a crown.
My parents share a long look before Mom focuses on me again. “It’s fine. Bring your phone and be back in an hour.”
“You got it. Thanks!”
And with that, I’m off to find Queen of Hearts’ crown. Afterwards, there will be a major reward in store for me. And goodness knows, I need it.
This is one Cinderella life template who’s kicking butt and taking charge.
–end of sample–
SEE IT ON: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Apple Books / Kobo / GooglePlay
The post SLIPPERS AND THIEVES – Read Chapter One appeared first on Monster House Books.
November 7, 2019
Hot Sale! CURSED Extended Edition
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Most days, Elea couldn’t care less about having Necromancer magick. Who needs to conjure skeletons and sprits when you’re a farm girl? Elea only uses her powers to speed up chores and scare off suitors.
Everything changes when the evil Necromancer Tsar curses Elea. Now, Elea has five years left before she burns as a ghost, tortured for all eternity. They say there’s nothing she can do, but Elea disagrees. She decides to embrace her Necromancer powers, train as a magickal assassin, and kill the Tsar… All before his curse kills her. Impossible as it may sound, Elea thinks she has it in the bag, but then everything goes horribly wrong.
That’s when a handsome mage named Rowan steps up to help. Elea wants an ally, but she doesn’t need all the mixed-up feelings that come along with Rowan’s crooked smile.
An assassination mission is no time to fall in love, but Elea’s heart may have other ideas…
REVIEWERS ARE TALKING:
“Another breath-taking book written by Christina Bauer! Cursed takes on a new spin about the world of Necromancers and Casters and it is absolutely fantastic.” – Angelic Reviews
“Cursed will take you on an adventure of a lifetime filled with magick in only one weeks’ time more or less.” – The Avid Reader
“Ooh, curses! Elea has such spirit and I love that Christina Bauer didn’t make it too easy for her and Rowan.” – Daydreaming Ink
“Trust Christina Bauer to deliver a super bad-ass heroine and majorly page-turning plot line. Cursed is definitely a must read for you guys who love PNR or UF.” – The Four Eyed Cat Reviews
“A riveting story with action, love and vengeance, Cursed was a fantastic read.” – The Not So Public Library
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