K.M. Shea's Blog, page 34

Reader Assumptions

I finally finished my Reader Assumptions video! Here it is for you all to see–though in warning it’s pretty long. It’s just under thirty minutes, so pick a time when you’re doing dishes or something.

Rumpelstiltskin Retellings

It’s no great secret that Stil (Rumpelstiltskin) is going to be in Reign of Magic, the next book in Angelique’s series. So I thought it would be a good opportunity to take a look at some Rumpelstiltskin stories! As many of you have noticed my retelling has some pretty major differences to the original – most notably I made Rumpelstiltskin the hero. If you want to know more about why I made some of the other differences in my Rumpelstiltskin you can check out this old blog post. But enough about that, let’s get on with the list of retellings!

Sadly, there aren’t that many retellings of Rumpelstiltskin I can share. I think part of the reason for this is the story isn’t very romantic and it only has a happy ending if you don’t think too hard about the fact that she is now married to the king who previously threatened to kill her if she couldn’t perform a specific action with the sole purpose of making him rich. (That’s not a sore spot for me. Nooooo, not at all.) But let’s take a look at the books that are out there.

 

Rumpelstiltskin – by K.M. Shea – Yes, here’s my version! Gemma is a quiet seamstress who is imprisoned in the castle dungeons when her drunken father makes false claims about her ability to spin straw into gold. Luckily, there just happens to be a mage, Rumpelstiltskin, in town who can help her. (Stil would be proud to tell you that despite being book 4 in the series he consistently ranks as one of the highest characters in the annual hero poll.)

 

The Rumpelstiltskin Problem – by Vivian Vande Velde – I love this author so it’s no surprise she made this list! This book is actually a collection of 6 short stories all related to the fairy tale of Rumpelstiltskin. You might be tempted to skip this one since it’s short stories but it is really, really good! There is a bit of something for everyone in these stories and the way she describes the original story is what first inspired me to do my series of blog posts where I review the original fairy tale with my own humor inserted everywhere!

Here’s a few more Rumpelstiltskin retelling’s I’ve read:

A Curse Dark as Gold – by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Queen of Gold and Straw – by Shari L. Tapscott

Thread and Spool – by Holly Hook

Goldheart – by Kenley Davidson

Rumplestiltskin – by Jenni James

The Princess Pact – by Melanie Cellier

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin – by Liesl Shurtliff

That’s not the whole list! I took this problem to my Facebook Champions, and they came up with a bunch more! Obviously, I haven’t read all of them and I can’t certify they are all 100% clean, so I’d recommend you check out the reviews.

The Crimson Thread – by Suzanne Weyn

The Wish Granter – by C.J. Redwine

Pathways by Camille Peters

The Spinner and the Slipper by Camryn Lockhart

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Granny Rumple by Jane Yolen (in How to Fracture a Fairy Tale)

Straw Into Gold by Gary Schmidt

The Miller’s Girl: A Rumpelstiltskin Fairy Tale by Nina Clare

My Unfair Godmother by Jannette Rallison

Lies of Golden Straw by E.L.Tenenbaum

Threads of Gold by Christine Pope

The Curse of Gold by A.G. Marshall

Twisted by Bonnie Hennessy

Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter by Breeana Puttroff

Hopefully that will bolster your “To Be Read” list while we wait for Reign of Magic‘s release! (And please allow me to again plug The Rumpelstiltskin Problem–it’s so, so, so good!) Thanks for reading, Champions, and remember voting closes for the 2019 Heroine Poll September 21st!

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Second Age of Retha: First Officer

I have something important to say to all my A. M. Sohma/Second Age of Retha readers!

Ahem.

Thank you so much for your patience and your loyalty as I tackle the Fairy Tale Enchantress series, especially given that these books are harder than I imagined and it’s taking longer than I wanted. Your support means so much to me, I can’t tell you just how blessed I am to have you all.

But I thought I would express my thanks by crafting a little something special for you! So, ta da!

First Officer: PDF File

This is what I call a drabble–a cross of a very very short story with introspective musings from a particular character, usually a secondary one. I used to write them a lot when I first started writing because it was a good way to get into my secondary characters’ minds, but I really enjoy writing them because sometimes its the only way I ever get to share exactly what goes through a character’s mind. (I’ve done similar things for some K. M. Shea stories–like the short story from Rothbart’s POV.) This Second Age of Retha Drabble is from Gared of KOS’s perspective!

This drabble–and whatever ones I produce in the future–will be available under the freebies section and I’ll include a link to it on the A. M. Sohma page. (I am hoping to write a few more while you guys wait so patiently, so keep your eyes out for more announcements!)

I hope you enjoy it, and please let me again sincerely say I am so thankful for you all. Thanks for reading!

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The Magical Beings’ Rehabilitation Center On Sale!

Hello Champions!

Have you tried my paranormal romance series yet? If you just pictured shiny-pretty vampires then prepare for your brain to break, because this series takes the paranormal tropes you know and love (or maybe don’t love) and it twists them in unexpected ways!  For instance, werewolves? Yeah, they get fleas often enough to warrant flea collars. And elves? Totally clueless about humans. (They couldn’t dial a smartphone to save their lives.)

The series is called The Magical Beings’ Rehabilitation Center and for a limited time you can get the whole series for only 99 cents! (If you live outside the United States, your price is set as low as Amazon would let me!)

MBRC Boxset download links: Amazon.com | All Other Amazon Stores

If you’ve never tried this series I asked my Champions on Facebook how they would describe it to encourage their friends to read it! Here’s what some of them had to say:

Well written and quite humorous, this series begs to be read repeatedly. I would recommend it to anyone who likes to laugh. – Karen
These books are so sassy and funny! It’s a fun twist to see what magical beings would be like trying to blend in with today’s world, and the main character is so relatable! – Rebecca
I loved the whole series! Probably would describe as a urban fantasy comedy. Debunking your favorite mythological characters as they assimilate into society. – Esther
Twilight kind of soured me on vampires, so it took me a while to pick up this series…but once I did, I couldn’t put it down! As all your books do, it sucked me right in, and it was superbly humorous and light hearted. This series is a must read for all who love fantasy, fairy tales, and love to laugh. – Jennifer
This series led me to look for more pooka-fiction. …don’t do that – what’s out there is just… disappointing after hanging out at the MBRC. – Hannah
Take all those myths and legends about wise, cool, mysterious, and dangerous magical creatures…..and throw them out the window. The MBRC is full of hilarious, bumbling, and ignorant magical creatures that are trying to blend into the human world with laughable failure. Insert Morgan, a normal high school girl who adds a much needed dose of common sense to this plethora of magical insanity. – Izzy
I’ve been a fan of yours for years, but only recently read this series. Once I realized the plot had more humor than gore, I gave it a try. Loved it! Sucked me in. (No pun intended.) – Nicole
I’m not into vampires, and so avoided it for some time. But after enough exposure to Kitty’s other works I finally decided to give it a try. Now I talk about it often with others, and have even been known to read portions of the first book to people to show them how great the character interactions, humor and unique story line are. – Karen
Many books try to mix the magical and mundane, but fail to make it believable. I think the MBRC books really show how a normal (albeit feisty) human would react to a fairy tale world. – Serena
I have re-read this series so many times! Relatable characters, humor, mythical creatures, drama and a smattering of romance it has something for everyone! – Kat
I have never laughed so much! If you like authors who ooze wit and sarcasm and play clever games with fairytale cliches/tropes, you will love this series! The dialogue… oh the dialogue. I can’t read these books in public because I sound like a maniac with all the laughter. – Alyssa

I hope you give the series a try! That’s all for today–though if you haven’t voted yet in the 2019 Heroine poll, here is your reminder–thanks for reading, Champions, and have a lovely week!

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2019 K. M. Shea Heroine Post

The day has finally come, it’s the battle of warriors, princesses, butt-kickers, and spies. It’s time for the 2019 Favorite K. M. Shea Heroine Poll!

For those of you Champions who are new to our community, every year I hold polls to crown the top voted Heroes and Heroines of my books. Earlier this year we held the Hero Poll–you can see the results HERE–and now that I’ve finished the first edit for Reign of Magic, it’s time to hold the heroine poll!

The rules are the same ones we follow for the annual hero poll. You get to cast your ballot once, but you can vote for up to five heroines! The poll order changes with every refresh, so look carefully to make sure you haven’t missed any of your favorites. The poll opens today, and will close September 21st.

Who will win this year? YOU DECIDE! Vote now, and may the best heroines win!

Take Our Poll

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New Paperbacks in!

Ta-da! All bright and shiny and THICK! You could do some serious smacking damage to whatever unintelligent soul tried to swipe these from you.

After a long wait, the paperbacks are finally out for Snow White, Curse of Magic, and Apprentice of Magic!

We’ve got them all synced up on Amazon, so you’ll now see them on their Amazon pages.

I think these might be some of my favorite books in paperback. The Snow White colors really pop, and it’s delightful to finally get to see the Fairy Tale Enchantress books in print as well! (It also makes me a bit worried as Reign is going to be so much longer. It’s going to be really thick. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there!)

I hope you find them worth the wait, Champions! (And as usual, I do include that book’s short stories in the back.

Breathe!

I have finished the first round of edits for Reign of Magic. There’s some stuff at the end I’ll have to fix before my editor gets it next week, but it’s done! It’s also a whooping 160,000 words. For context, both of the Snow Queen books put together aren’t that long. It is a Big. Book.

Once it’s off to the Comma Queen (aka my editor) I’ll be free to catch up on some of the things I’ve been neglecting. (for example, in September we’re finally going to hold the 2019 Heroine Poll!!) I hope to do some fun stuff with you guys in the coming weeks and months–like the Assumptions Video that I’ll be working on these next few days!

Ask Me Your Assumptions

While we wait for the release of Reign of Magic let’s try something different! You probably have assumptions about me that may or may not be true: I wear glasses, I like tea more than coffee, how many books to I read in a month, etc.

Well now is your chance to bring them forward and ask me if your assumptions are true!

Post your assumptions in the comments of this blog post and I’ll pick a bunch of them to respond to in a Youtube video. As a special bonus you can also bring up your assumptions about Perfect Dog and I will respond to those on her behalf!

Reign of Magic: Teaser #1

I’ve been “Editing” Reign of Magic for two weeks now, but in truth I haven’t even started the actual editing part, and instead I’ve been writing and adding additional scenes. This book is enormous. It dwarfs The Revived, which previously was my longest published book, by a long shot!

I’m happy because I know all of these extra scenes are going to make the book better–there are two Evariste scenes I added this week that I’m fairly certain are going to make you all react in one way or another–but I’m a little frustrated because this is all taking so long. Unfortunately, I don’t really have a way to speed it up. (At this point I have so much invested in this blasted book I refuse to let it go out without the extra shine these scenes will add!)

But since you Champions have been so incredibly patient and loyal through this, I thought it might be fun to release a few teasers while we wait. Note: These extras will be unedited because–as I mentioned–I still haven’t gotten a chance to edit yet thanks to all the add-ons I’m writing.

I hope you enjoy!

***

“We have arrived, Lady Enchantress at Tsona Palace.” Emperor Yevgeniy smiled warmly at Angelique and motioned to the castle.

Angelique forced a smile—even though it felt bone weary and thin. “It’s lovely. You said Tsona Palace is your summer residence?”

“It used to be, Yes. Since my sons grew up we have not returned as often as we used to—though my oldest son would prefer to make his residence here given his passion for hunting and the like.” Yevgeniy squinted in the sunshine. “My wife opted to journey here after I left for the Summit, but it’s just as well. As I told the other representatives, Rothbart has made his home at Swan Lake—which is not far from here.”

“How fortunate,” Angelique said, feeling nothing of the sort. But she made her back straight and her posture perfect.

Kozlovka needs aid. I cannot fail them in this hour—and with luck Clovicus will be able to help.

The Emperor’s mount shied when he drew too close to Angelique and Pegasus.

“My apologies,” he said as fell back farther in the line of soldiers.

Pegasus had ignored the horse, but when it was no longer so near he snapped in its general direction, his teeth audibly clicking.

“Steady, friend,” Angelique murmured. She itched the crest of his neck. He swatted his tail like an angry cat before letting out his breath.

Satisfied that the constellation had been soothed, Angelique leaned back in the saddle, stretching her senses.

Kozlovka was a northern country, so although Summer had almost arrived the air was cool. The forests were a blaze of green, and the whole country seemed to smell of damp earth.

Angelique tipped her head as she carefully felt for anything magical or off. I can’t sense anything. But magic sensitivity seems to be an art that has continuously avoided me.

She stopped trying to sense the sorcerer when they were granted passage into the gleaming palace. “Pegasus, would you rather remain here, or return to the skies?” Angelique asked when they halted in a courtyard. “I assume sometime today I’ll ride out to start my observation of Sorcerer Rothbart, but I don’t know how long it will be until I am ready.”

She dismounted, cupping Pegasus’ soft velvet muzzle when he pressed against her temple.

He breathed deeply into her hair, then trotted back in the direction they had come, passing back through the palace gates—to the bewilderment of the guards posted there.

Yevgeniy shielded his eyes with a hand as he watched Pegasus. “Will he be alright?”

“Yes.”

Yevgeniy smoothed his beard. “Even with a sorcerer about?”

Angelique tried to discreetly fix one of her underskirts that made the skirts of her gown puff a little. “I don’t know entirely what he’s capable of, but I imagine if he feels endangered he’ll simply return to the sky.”

The Emperor whirled around to gape at Angelique. “Return to the sky?”

“Yevgeniy!” A beautiful woman with shiny blonde hair highlighted with gleaming streaks of silver glided from the castle. She was beautiful and stately with pronounced smile lines and a gorgeous gown.

It took Angelique a few moments to recognize Empress Sonya—for she and Evariste had only called on the Kozlovkan royal family once or twice—and Angelique hadn’t ever met either of the princes.

Empress Sonya smiled as she hurried down the steps and threw her arms around her husband.

Yevgeniy laughed, years falling from his haggard expression as he embraced Sonya. “What a delightful welcome home!”

“Don’t get too excited,” Sonya said. “For it has become painfully apparent to me that our sons—while sweet—are, in fact, dunces.”

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See Us Live!

To mark the end of the 2019 Summer-Read-Along, W. R. Gingell and I will be meeting up on Youtube to chat!

You can catch us live at my Youtube Channel (KM Shea) Friday, July 5, at 6 pm Central–which is Saturday, July 6th, at 9AM for W. R. in the land Down Under! As I mentioned, we will be live so you’ll be able to interact with us in the comment section. Come armed with any questions you’d like us to answer! And for those who won’t be able to make it, you’ll be able to see it on my Youtube Channel after we’re done.

Both W. R. and I hope you can make it, and we can’t wait to see you there!

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