Sleepy Winners!

Well, the blog tour is over, and these three lovely new Sleeping Beauties have been released into the world. Hopefully, they'll eventually learn to take life by the ear and stop sleeping through it, but that's not the point of this post.

The point of this post is finding out who won all of the lovely prizes in the giveaway! Yay! Excitement!

Unfortunately, I'm having trouble confirming both of the entries that won the rafflecopter giveaways, and I need to email them for further confirmation before I can announce them.

I can, however, announce the winner of the comment contest, who will be receiving an early read of The Seven Drawers and Cindy Ellen.

Sarah Taleweaver.

Outpacing the runner-up by about thirty comments, Sarah was our hands-down winner. I have her email, and I'll be sending her prize once I get home from work today.

I'd like to thank everyone who participated in our Thunderclap. That was awesome. Don't know that I'll be doing another Thunderclap - maybe for Worth, next year, but that was awesome. And intense.

However, while that concludes the festivities for the tour, I'm just getting warmed up with my Bookshelf Overhaul. If you haven't yet, please click through here and find out all the details. And, if you have a blog, sign up for the big cover rereveal. Yay!

Someone's gunna win a full set of signed copies of my books...

Retellings that I Would Like To Write Someday.

Final day of the tour - how did it go by this quickly???? Anywho, I'm going to talk about the various fairy tale retellings that I have running around in my head but haven't written yet (at least not in their entirety). And I couldn't put a cap at seven, so you're getting thirteen, since some versions of Sleeping Beauty give her thirteen fairy godmothers.

1. All the Bookania.
Let's just get that one out of the way - my neverending series where I try to pack in all the fairy tales. I've made it through three books. Twenty bajillion left to go.

2. Red as Snow.
This is a retelling of Snow White that I've written about 3,500 words on, and I thiiiiink I'm about a third of the way through it. The book was inspired by the title, because my brain was tired and was messing with the fairy tale. It is, basically, a role reversal between SW and the stepmother. Snow is nearly ten years her stepmother's senior. But the "Prince," Snow's cousin, Charmel, is the true villain of the story. Yup, dreadfully twisted and I'm loving every moment of it.

3. Fair Rosamund.
This would be a historical fantasy. See, I was reading a book about Henry II, and it mentioned a mistress of his named Rosamund ... which happens to be a name belonging to Sleeping Beauty. So, yes, I made connections, and I now want to write a retelling. Someday. I'm not ready to write this story yet - that's how you guys ended up with Poison Kiss.

4. Snowella White
This is a blended retelling of Snow White and Cinderella, leaning closer to Snow White. I haven't quite worked out all of the logistics, but I'm substituting the seven dwarves for seven godmothers.

5. Untitled Rumpelstiltskin Sequel
This story actually dates back to Sew, It's a Quest's original conception, as it was going to be the second book in the "Beyond the Ever After" series that is now the Bookania Quests. Unfortunately, this story no longer fits into the Bookania framework that I have established. But it's well-plotted, about the child that Rumple lost, and is a bit of an allegory. So, fun.

6. Mermaid Footprints.
I have a .... page and a half of this book in my docs files. This is Mynna's story, and if any of you have read The Ankulen, you know that she's the youngest of seven mermaid sisters. As such, you probably already realize that it's a retelling of the Little Mermaid. Except that she leaves the water so she can save her people, not to be with a man, and she just happens to fall in love along the way.

7. The Dancing Princess
This is a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, where it's just one princess, not twelve of them. I haven't worked out all of the details, but she might be rescuing twelve princes. We'll see how it goes.

8. Cayra
This book is kiiiiiinda a sequel to the Little Mermaid. I can't say anything more about that, though.

9. Sing, Aling.
My sci-fi retelling of Peter Pan. Aling is the tinkerbell character, and she's half-fairy and half-elf, and not quite accepted by either society. And then a spaceship crashes on their planet. It's gonna be awesome, and I WILL write it for NaNo, one of these years. Probably next year. Worth of a King is on the agenda for this year.

10. Fairer than Beauty
A self-aware retelling of Beauty and the Beast where the girl assigned to the tale had been hoping for the obscure "Fairer than a Fairy" and then proceeds to try to completely derail the fairy tale in an attempt to get the story that she wanted.

11. Untitled Rapunzel Retelling
This is the idea I was messing with when I thought that the next Rooglewood contest would be Rapunzel. It's twist - instead of living in a tower, Rapunzel is trapped underground. No, I haven't worked out all of the details yet. Why are you asking?

12. Colinda and the Swan's Secret
Probably the loosest sense of a "retelling" on the list, Colinda was inspired by Swan Lake, so I'm going to count it.

13. To Perfect a Fairy Tale.
And, finally, I have the book where all of the fairy tales are messed up, and it's up to a young girl named Anthea to fix all of them. Fun stuff.

On The Blogs Today:
Morgan Elizabeth Huneke - Something About the SSS
Interviews:
Rachel Rossano's Words - Kendra
Dreams and Dragons - Rachel
Reviews:
Girls Living for God’s Glory - Twisted Dreams
Sutori no Hana - Twisted Dreams

Giveaway Time!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There will also be a prize for the person who leaves the most comments across all of the blog posts for this tour - whoever leaves the most comments gets to read The Seven Drawers, the retelling of Snow White that I just finished for the Rooglewood contest, and Cindy Ellen, the sequel to Rosette Thornbriar. Both stories are finished, so you don't have to worry about cliff hangers. Get commenting.

And, as a reminder, any comments that you leave on my blog this month and next will count towards a drawing for a full set of my books, with the all-new covers.

Oh, and free books!
Sew, It's a Quest (Permafree): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/731321
Woodcutter Quince (Free August 8-12): https://www.amazon.com/Woodcutter-Quince-Bookania-Short-Stories-ebook/dp/B00OYGVHP8/

Thank you to everyone who came by and took part in the blog tour - contest and giveaway winners will be announced Monday.

Sleeping Beauty's Cousins

Day four. I'm here today to talk about a few other fairy tales that bear strong resemblance to Sleeping Beauty on some level or another.

1. The Sleeping Prince.
This one is more of a "Goose-Girl" fairy tale, where a princess is told that if she'll watch over a Sleeping Prince for set amout of time, he'll marry her when he wakes up. Unfortunately, she lets her maid take over for the last few minutes, and ... well, it's Goose-Girl from there.

2. The Crystal Coffin.
This Sleeping Beauty rejected the hand of sorcery, and he trapped her in a coffin until her brother defeated the sorcery. And a random tailor has to let her out of the coffin and she marries him.

3. Fairer-than-a-Fairy.
So, this princess's father did worse than failing to invite a fairy to her Christening - he implied that she was more beautiful than the fairies - he offened them ALL. So she was kidnapped. Isn't her that ends up asleep, though, but her Prince, Rainbow.

4. Sun, Moon, and Talia.
So, I'm cheating - this is an old version of the tale. But it has a few ... weird differences. (1) It's a peice of flax lodged in her thumb that puts her to sleep. (2) The prince ... does a bit more than kiss her, and doesn't even wake her up. Instead, she gives birth to twins, and one of them sucks the flax out of her thumb and THEN she wakes up. (3) The prince marries in the interim, and the wife tries to eat Talia and her kids. (I can't make this up.)

5. The Fairy Gifts
No one sleeps in this fairy tale, but I'm including it because it discusses gifts given by fairies ... and the consequences that can come of them.

6. Snow White.
Yes, I count this as a Sleeping Beauty tale. She meets her True Love comatose.

7. Rosanella.
Just throwing this one in because it's weird. In order to win a contest for the Faery throne, one fairy splits a princess into twelve girls, each with an element of her personality, in order to cure a prince of ficklness.

I don't make this stuff up.

On The Blogs Today:
Interviews:
The Overactive Imagination - Group
Rachel Rossano's Words - Morgan
Books, Braids, and Born Again - Kendra
Reviews:
The Page Dreamer - Poison Kiss
Dreams and Dragons - Twisted Dreams

Giveaway Time!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There will also be a prize for the person who leaves the most comments across all of the blog posts for this tour - whoever leaves the most comments gets to read The Seven Drawers, the retelling of Snow White that I just finished for the Rooglewood contest, and Cindy Ellen, the sequel to Rosette Thornbriar. Both stories are finished, so you don't have to worry about cliff hangers. Get commenting.

And, as a reminder, any comments that you leave on my blog this month and next will count towards a drawing for a full set of my books, with the all-new covers.

Oh, and free books!

Sew, It's a Quest (Permafree): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/731321

CinderEddy (Free August 7-11): https://www.amazon.com/CinderEddy-Kendra-E-Ardnek-ebook/dp/B00KZNW2TO/
Woodcutter Quince (Free August 8-12): https://www.amazon.com/Woodcutter-Quince-Bookania-Short-Stories-ebook/dp/B00OYGVHP8/

Seven Reasons You Need to Read Twisted Dreams

Day three! Halfway through the tour already. How about that. I'm going to talk about Morgan's book today, and the seven reasons that you need to read it.

1. Because Matthew is adorable. Just needed to get that out of the way. Adorable fellow there who needs far more love.

2. So you can find out which is the real world - the fantasy kingdom or sci-fi dungeon.

3. And, while you're at it, so that you can find out who is the real villain. Is it Calandra, who's trying to keep her in the sci-fi world, or the Cantileens who want to keep her in the fantasy kingdom?

4. Because the worldbuilding is brilliant. Or, at least, very intriguing. I like worldbuilding. The Wingans are awesome. #JustSaying.

5. There are dungeon break-outs. You know, just in case that's the thing you're into. I'm about to write a dungeon break-out... once I get these characters INTO the dungeon..,

6. It gets political. It's a book by Morgan. This is a given.

7. It has an awesome theme. Perhaps better than Poison Kiss's. That maaaaaay because I needed TD's message a bit more than I needed PK's. Anywho. Go read this book.

On The Blogs Today:
Morgan Elizabeth Huneke - Rosette Thornbriar Feature
Interviews:
The Destiny of One - Kendra
Reviews:
Reflections of the Heart - Twisted Dreams
The Flowering Vales - Twisted Dreams
Other:
Reality Reflected - Rachel+Rosette Thornbriar - Interview+Review

Giveaway Time!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There will also be a prize for the person who leaves the most comments across all of the blog posts for this tour - whoever leaves the most comments gets to read The Seven Drawers, the retelling of Snow White that I just finished for the Rooglewood contest, and Cindy Ellen, the sequel to Rosette Thornbriar. Both stories are finished, so you don't have to worry about cliff hangers. Get commenting.

And, as a reminder, any comments that you leave on my blog this month and next will count towards a drawing for a full set of my books, with the all-new covers.

Oh, and free books!

Sew, It's a Quest (Permafree): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/731321

CinderEddy (Free August 7-11): https://www.amazon.com/CinderEddy-Kendra-E-Ardnek-ebook/dp/B00KZNW2TO/
Woodcutter Quince (Free August 8-12): https://www.amazon.com/Woodcutter-Quince-Bookania-Short-Stories-ebook/dp/B00OYGVHP8/

Sleeping Beauty Retellings That I Love

So, bit of a disclaimer here - despite being utterly in love with all things fairy tale retelling, when I sat down to acutally write this post ... I came to the realization that I actually haven't read that many retellings of that particular tale.

I get it - it's a hard tale to turn into a proper story. The plot is all whacky, and it's really hard to develop both the prince and princess properly. But I have found a few books that I rather like, though some aren't 100% focused on Sleeping Beauty. They're all great spins, though.

1. Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep by Gail Carson Levine.
As I'm pretty sure most of you know, Levine's Ella Enchanted is one of my favorite retellings of all time, so I was pretty delighted to discover that she had a Sleeping Beauty tale as well. This story was short and sweet, and I highly recommend it.

2. Midnight Captive by E.D. Phillips.
I read this book for review. It's actually a "sequel" to "The Pied Piper," where he blends the curses of Sleeping Beauty and the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and generally makes things miserable for the two heroines of this tale. It's a bit rough around the edges, as it was a NaNo and a debut, but I still recommend it.

3. Little Daylight by George MacDonald.
This story is actually part of At the Back of the North Wind, but it stands on its own as a brilliant retelling of The Sleeping Beauty. Baaaaasically, instead of being cursed to sleep for a hundred years, Daylight is cursed to sleep all day and wake all night. Also, she waxes and wanes with the moon. It's a beautiful tale.

4. Twisted Dreams by Morgan Elizabeth Huneke.
Which happens to be one of the books that I'm releasing with. It's an awesome twist on the tale, and I'll be talking about it more later this week.

5. Waking Beauty by Prince Bertie.
For a story written by a frog (which, granted, is an enchanted prince, small detail that), this is a lovely story ... where Talia was cursed to sleep a thousand years, not a hundred and wakes in our modern day. And Morgan le Fay cursed her. That's right. Arthurian mythos here.

6. Heaven Cent by Piers Anthony
The eleventh Xanth novel, and the second to be a fairy tale retelling. A bit mixed around with some elements stolen from Snow White (basically, it was an apple that put her to sleep), and messed up because Murphy's curse made the princess's companion, Electra, be the one who went to sleep ... buuuut, Electra was the one they needed a thousand years later when Dolph awakened her.

7. Sew, It's a Quest by Kendra E. Ardnek
My first published book, and as such, it shall ever hold a dear place in my heart. It was also a NaNo debut, and I'll never call it my best work, but it's a dear story to me and I love what I did with the fairy tale.

Check out the other stops on the tour:
Interviews:
Bookish Orchestrations - Rachel
Georgia Politics - Morgan
Books, Braids, and Born Again - Matthew (TD Character)
Reviews:
Shire Reviews - Rosette Thornbriar
Other:
Reality Reflected - Edmund(character)+Poison Kiss - Interview+Review
Giveaway Time!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There will also be a prize for the person who leaves the most comments across all of the blog posts for this tour - whoever leaves the most comments gets to read The Seven Drawers, the retelling of Snow White that I just finished for the Rooglewood contest, and Cindy Ellen, the sequel to Rosette Thornbriar. Both stories are finished, so you don't have to worry about cliff hangers. Get commenting.

And, as a reminder, any comments that you leave on my blog this month and next will count towards a drawing for a full set of my books, with the all-new covers.

Oh, and free books!
Sew, It's a Quest (Permafree): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/731321
CinderEddy (Free August 7-11): https://www.amazon.com/CinderEddy-Kendra-E-Ardnek-ebook/dp/B00KZNW2TO/
Woodcutter Quince (Free August 8-12): https://www.amazon.com/Woodcutter-Quince-Bookania-Short-Stories-ebook/dp/B00OYGVHP8/

Seven Reason You Need to Read Poison Kiss

Well, today's the day, folks! The day that I loose my newest book upon the world, not to mention my mom's new book, and my writing buddy, Morgan, releases hers.

Oh, and they're all three retellings of Sleeping Beauty. How awesome is that?

And, in honor of these releases, I'm going to tell you seven reasons why you need to read Poison Kiss right now. Seven reasons for each of Sleeping Beauty's Fairy Godmothers. The good ones, that is. I've banned the eighth one. Hopefully, I won't regret doing that.

(And, yes, there will be posts for the other two books over the course of this tour, but today it's my book. Kay? Kay.)

1. All of the characters are incredibly self-aware and they KNOW that their lives are playing out the various fairy tales. Puss in Boots freely admits that this is the third he's found himself in. Olgerta switches the gifts 90% because she's tired of handing out the same curse over and over.

2. Speaking of switching, Olgerta curses the kiss instead of the spinning wheel, leaving poor Geneva scrambling to provide a cure. And her father has to lock her in a tower instead of banishing the spinning wheels.

3. There are a number of references to the Sleeping Beauty ballet. I did my best to avoid the ballet when writing Sew (I actually stole one element, but ... it was just one element). So to distance this book from Sew, I based it more on the ballet.

You guys are going to have to read it to find out what those references are.
That said, there's also a large reference to the original version of the tale that I didn't get in Sew.

4. Puss in Boots is in it. And the White Cat, which is one of my favorite fairy tales. And the enchanter. Can't tell you what fairy tale he's from, but you'll figure it out.

5. It's hilarious. Sorry, I can't write a book without a large dose of humor, and this book is no exception.

6. It's surprisingly complicated for being only 11,000 words. It's a fact - I can't write a simple story. My feedback from my betas was about 70% "Kendra, how do you make these sort of connections!!!"

7. It's got a good message. It's a bit spoilery, though, so just ... go read it and find out what it is.

Check out the Other stops on the tour:
Morgan Elizabeth Huneke - Twisted Dreams Feature
Interviews:
The Flowering Vales - Morgan
The Music of a Story - Kendra
Reviews:
Girls Living for God’s Glory - Poison Kiss
Other:
Reality Reflected - Morgan+Twisted Dreams - Interview+Review

Giveaway Time!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There will also be a prize for the person who leaves the most comments across all of the blog posts for this tour - whoever leaves the most comments gets to read The Seven Drawers, the retelling of Snow White that I just finished for the Rooglewood contest, and Cindy Ellen, the sequel to Rosette Thornbriar. Both stories are finished, so you don't have to worry about cliff hangers. Get commenting.

And, as a reminder, any comments that you leave on my blog this month and next will count towards a drawing for a full set of my books, with the all-new covers.

Oh, and free books!

Sew, It's a Quest (Permafree): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/731321
CinderEddy (Free August 7-11): https://www.amazon.com/CinderEddy-Kendra-E-Ardnek-ebook/dp/B00KZNW2TO/

Cover Reveal - Three Sleeping Beauties!

Here it is, folks, the day you've all been waiting for. The day that I FINALLY have Sew, It's a Quest on Smashwords - AND PERMANENTLY FREE!!! Oh, isn't that awesome?

Just click over here to pick up your very own, very free copy of Sew - in any file format you'd like!! No longer kindle exclusive here! 

(Am I going to move the rest of my books over to Smashwords? Probably not. I like my KDP Select. But KDP Select wasn't letting me make Sew Permafree.)

Anywho. Click over there, get your free copy, and we can throw a party, yes?

Wait, what's that you're saying? You didn't come here to pick up a free copy of Sew? 

(Seriously, Kendra, you only just put it on a free promotion. Everyone and their DOG ought to have a copy by now.)

Okay, fine, I admit it. I'm being my own stubborn self again. Yes, I know, I know, you're here for a cover reveal. 

Goodreads link

Kindle preorder link

I am properly proud of this cover, as I built it all by myself, even drawing that cat and wheel, with a bit of advice from Alea Harper. I tell you what, finding a proper font for the series title and my author name was DIFFICULT. I eventually ended up playing with effects on a font, and I'm quite in love with what I have now. 

About the Book

Everyone knows that Sleeping Beauty's curse is triggered when she pricks her finger on a spindle and that she is awakened by true love's kiss ... but what happens when the wicked fairy decides to switch things up?

Edmund didn't mean to put Auralea to sleep, but now it's up to him and the famous Puss in Boots to figure out how, exactly, a spinning wheel is supposed to awaken her.

(You guys all already know who I am, so I'm skipping my author info)

Goodreads link

Kindle preorder link

This is the only cover that I'm showing off that I didn't design, but I won't hesitate to admit that this is probably the most gorgeous in the line-up. As it's the only one that will be slapped onto an actual physical book, I'm okay with that.

Oh, fun fact here - Morgan almost used the same font for her author name as I DID use for the title on Poison Kiss - Blackadder. I had to use the font by default because it's what's on CinderEddy's cover, so I wasn't copying her. Just ... fun fact. 

About the Book

“I, Calandra, of the Wingans, do bestow upon you, the Princess of Hanover, a gift. You have been given long life. I cannot interfere with that, but when you are sixteen years of age, you will prick your finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into an everlasting sleep.” She stepped closer so that she could be heard only by Liesel and her parents. “Then you will at last see the truth. Be wary. Be wise. Your fate rests upon yourself.”

On her sixteenth birthday, Princess Liesel Rosanna falls victim to a sleeping curse—but wakens in another world, a prisoner of war. As the bait in a trap for her fiancé, the crown prince of Hanover, Liesel longs to escape back to the fairy tale world. The world where she is only wanting a true love’s kiss to set everything to rights.

As situations quickly grow dire, Liesel must choose which story to live, which life is real. The fate of her country rests on her decision.

About the Author

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke is a homeschool graduate who lives in Georgia. She has enjoyed creating characters and writing stories since early childhood. Books have always been a big part of her life, never more so than when working at the local library. Her other interests include reading, playing and teaching piano and violin, and politics. She is the author of Across the Stars and The Experiment as well as the Time Captives fantasy trilogy.

You can connect with Morgan on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Goodreads link

Kindle preorder link

Now this cover ... this cover's headache was more than just the fonts. I actually had my fonts early on. However, I went through two other designs before I finally went with this - a compromise of the two. I'm proud of it, too, though, and proud of my mother for finally getting a book of her own out. Sure, she helped me with Saffron's Big Plan and Tears, Frogs, and Laughter (which I'll be updating with her real name in the near future), but this book is all her. Except for the editing. 

Hang on to your socks, folks, and get ready for a sweet little bedtime story. (And, yes, I AM going to get her to do an audio version soonishly, because that's how she REALLY shines.)

It's sequel - Cynthia Ellen, won't be long in following, so stay tuned for that, too.

About the Book

Once upon a time, way out west...

Back when they were young'uns, Fleur Guardstone proposed to Rosette Thornbriar with a cigar band ring. However, not long after, she disappeared back into the forest and hadn't been heard from since. However, when Fleur hears reports of smoke coming from that woods, he's determined to find out if it is, indeed, his dear Rosette. If he can get past all of the briars.

About the Author

Rachel Roden is a natural story teller, capable of weaving the most hilarious of fairy tales. She fell in love with the Lone Ranger in her teens, but ended up with a basketball referee instead. Together, she and the Ref homeschool their four children in the Piney Woods of East Texas, as well as any other odd kid who ends up in their house. She might also be the sole human who still uses math after college.

You can connect with Rachel on her blog, twitter, and Pinterest.

Interested in helping spread the word after the actual release? Sign up for the blog tour!

Now, I'm going to go set up a treasure hunt for church tonight. And go to work. 

Cover Reveal Sign Up!

Hello! So I teased you with a bit of Poison Kiss's cover last week when I revealed the newest Rooglewood Fairy Tale Contest, and I've finally settled on a reveal date of June 21st. And, of course, I need all of your help to do the actual revealing.

And not just me! My good friend, Morgan Elizabeth Huneke, is also releasing her entry for the Five Magic Spindles contest, Twisted Dreams, and my mother decided to jump onto the band wagon with a retelling of her own - Rosette Thornbriar. They will all three be releasing on August 7th, which means that we're revealing all of the covers together.

So just fill out the form below, and it'll be awesome.

Cover Reveal - Five Golden Braids

Well, today's the day folks. The day that the cover is revealed for the fourth and final Rooglewood Five Something Something contest. For those of you who don't know, this contest is run by Anne Elizabeth Stengl, author of the Goldstone Woods.

It's been two years since the last contest, and breaths have been bated in anticipation. My own guess for the final tale was "Rapunzel" with runner-ups being "The Little Mermaid" and "Snow White." These were the three remaining "popular" tales that had a princess at its core, which seemed to be the theme of these contests. "The Little Mermaid" however, has a sad ending, and given Rooglewood's request for happy endings, I figured that they'd steer clear of it, and "Snow White" is a tad similar to "Sleeping Beauty" which they'd already done.

So what is it this year? Well, contrary to what I'm trying to lead you to believe with this post's title ... I was wrong. It isn't Rapunzel. However, the book does have the exact title that I knew they'd pick if they did ever do it. A title speculation that was responsible for my Sleeping Beauty retelling of Poison Kiss, which, unfortunately, wasn't finished in time to enter into the actual contest.

(It is finished now, due for release in August, and I'm looking forward to sharing the lovely cover that I spent last week building sometime later this month. I'm quite proud of it.)

Okay, so now that I have a placeholder image in place to throw all of you off and make you click through ... what is the actual cover you ask?

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

The cover model/photographer: WYNTER CLARK.

Cover design: JULIA POPOVA

Oh, that's gorgeous. As I said, I didn't expect this tale due to it's similarities to Sleeping Beauty (I actually qualify it under Sleeping Beauty in my own fairy tale classification system. That's a post for another day), but while I'm slightly disappointed that we won't be dealing with Towers in this story ... I will admit that Snow White is ripe for interpretation. I just hope that there won't be too many stories with the "brilliant" idea of mixing the tale with Snow White and Rose Red. (I swear, if I see another hackneyed stitching together of those two stories...).

I actually have already started my entry for this year, thanks to my sister. I initially pulled a blank, but when I told her the Fairy Tale, she said she had a terrible idea. Snow White and the Seven Drawers. (She blames this title on her dyslexia). Where Snow White finds a bureau with seven drawers, and each is a portal into another realm that is based on some motif from the fairy tale. I loved the idea, and have run with it. It's going to be awesome and epic, and I just hope that I can keep it under 20,000 words. Currently, I have retitled it to Blanche and the Seven Drawers, but I may change it to The Eighth Realm, depending on its mood. It was supposed to be whimsy but has been evolving into something much more serious. Hopefully, I'll have it done in time to enter, but if not, well, you'll still see it appear on my own bookshelf.

And I'll probably throw a tower in there just to have some fun. I managed to squeak them into both CinderEddy and Poison Kiss, after all.

So, your thoughts? Are you planning to enter the contest? What do you think of my entry? Which of my titles do you think I should choose?

Poison Kiss - Chapter 1

The winners for the Rooglewood Five Magic Spindles have been announced. I didn't make the list ... although, since I didn't finish my entry in time to submit it, I'm really not surprised.

I'll hopefully be publishing Poison Kiss on my own later this summer, as part of the celebration for Sew, it's a Quest's fifth birthday party. (Can't believe I've been a published author for nearly five years!!!). The story still needs to be finished, as it still needs the climax and denouement. I talked the climax out with my mom the other night, and I'm really excited to plunge back into the story as soon as I've finished writing Lady Dragon, Tela Du, which has about five chapters and the epilogue to go.

I've decided to make Poison Kiss and CinderEddy the same series, though I haven't quite decided what to call said series. Mixed-Up Tales is coming to mind ... but I'd like something a bit more original. If you guys have any ideas, feel free to share!

But to celebrate the announcement, I'm sharing the first chapter of PK today. Enjoy!

Via Pinterest

1

  The king wasn’t even surprised when the old fairy stormed into the banquet hall. After all, he’d already received notice that his daughter was to be the next Sleeping Beauty, and he had neglected Olgerta’s invitation on purpose.

  “I’m afraid, good mother,” he said with a sigh that was also a smile, “That we only commissioned seven golden plates.”

  “No matter,’’ said she, “I can make do with silver.”

  And so she sat down by her sisters where the silver plate, made especially for her with spinning wheels and spindle needles adorning the edge, was set before her. She said not a word over the meal, though her eye scarcely strayed from the bassinet at the queen’s side.

  At last came the gifts, and the fairies lined up to see the infant princess and bestow their gifts. Everyone listened with bated breath.

  “Beauty,” said Anathese. “With chestnut curls and eyes like stars, her beauty shall be surpassed by none.”

  ‘‘Song,” said Belinda. “Her voice shall be as sweet as a songbird’s, and she shall own the command over any instrument.”

  “Grace,” said Chamomile. “On the dance floor and off, she shall command the grace and poise to charm all who see her.”

  “Wit,” said Destinia. “She shall never be at a loss for words.”

  “Wisdom,” Emmala added. “She shall also know when to hold her tongue.”

  “Kindness,” said Frannis. “She shall have a large and open heart for all she knows, and for her people.”

  Olgerta now stepped up to the child’s side and clucked her tongue. “Such a tiny thing she is to demand our attention and magic,” she observed. “I suppose I shall forgive her parents’ slight against me, and give her a gift of my own.”

  The entire room collected their breath together. Here it came: the curse of spindles and death.

  “Love,” she said, after taking a moment to revel in the suspense. “In her sixteenth year, she shall find true love, taste true love’s first kiss, and die in her lover’s arms.”

  The king sprang to his feet. “You cannot! The fairy tale—”

  “The stories don’t always flow the same way, my king. She shall be a Sleeping Beauty, and that is all that matters.” With a cackle and a burst of smoke, Olgerta disappeared from sight.

  The silence was deadly, and all eyes turned to Geneva, the youngest fairy, who was supposed to give the antidote to the curse.

  “Death-like sleep!” she spluttered, knowing what was expected of her. “She won’t die, just fall asleep, only to be awakened by” – the normal cure was true love’s kiss, but Olgerta had just declared that to be the curse – “perhaps a spinning wheel shall help?”

  The king went to his young daughter’s side and brushed a finger over her dark curls, knowing what the story now demanded of him. “If the spinning wheel shall be her salvation, then I cannot banish them. Instead, we must do what we can to prevent her falling in love. Until she turns seventeen, she shall hold no contact with any young man within twenty years of her age, be they prince, servant, or peasant. Perhaps then the curse may yet be adverted.”

Yes ... the chapters in this book are INCREDIBLY short. I'm at ten chapters and only have 8,000 words. So ... yeah.

My Favorite Couples!

Okay, note to self: Stop falling off the edge of the earth. I think it's been a full month since I last posted??? Not good. I have been hard at work on LDTD, though. Working through chapter four of part five, so that's good, yes?

So today, in honor of Valentine's Day, I'm going to share my favorite couples in my writing. I'm not going to list them in any particular order, because they can be mean to me if I try to play favorites, and I'm not sure that I'll limit myself to ten ... we'll see how it goes.

Beware, there will be spoilers for published books, though I will restrain myself on unpublished books.

Robin and Eric - The Bookania Quests 

Everyone's favorite rivals turned lovers. Eric is amazing (seriously, I need an Eric), and Robin is ... Robin. They were not my original plan for the book (I mean, he was already safely engaged, and she ... she supposed to be a side character. But then she took over the book and stole the hero, and I've never looked back. She's a fun character to write. So's he. Their banter is fun to write.

Clara and Andrew - The Rizkaland Legends

Speaking of rivals ... well, Clara and Andrew weren't exactly rivals. They just got stuck together in what was practically an arranged marriage, and ... yeah. She didn't react well. But when she does finally own up to the fact that he's actually a great guy, and maybe it's not the end of the world to like him ... well, they're such an awesome team. I can't wait to get back to them for book 3.

Samson and Madeleine - The Bookania Quests

And now for an actual arranged marriage. Samson and Madeleine were betrothed since childhood, and when his castle was attacted, he and his twin sister (who was betrothed to her twin bother), came to live at her castle. So they have an almost-sibling relationship, and have by this point completely accepted the fact that they will someday marry each other. Even when they are given the option of breaking it off ... they only ever consider it in jest.

Reuben and Petra - The Rizkaland Legends

Petra is among of my first characters. Reuben was an afterthought. I'm not sure how I thought I could pull off her character without him, because they are now inseperable. They grew up together as best friends. He's wanted to marry her since they were five and seven. She's practial and pragmatic. He's fun and humorous. They're such a fun pair, and such a perfect balance for each other ... not that they don't have their issues.

The fact that they have telepathic powers is awesome, too.

Stardrana and Jyson - Half-Hidden

To be honest, I've not really been able to work with this pair as a couple yet, but I do know that they're going to be adorable. For him, it's kinda love-at-first-sight, though she's much more reluctant. (She's been dodging marriage proposals for seven or eight years now. She's grown suspicious of any man.) I can't wait to let you guys read about them.

Shira and Arthur - Bookania Quests

I have a ... slight addiction to ... throwing a wrench in a budding relationship, and suddenly there being a 20 ... 50 ... 100 year gap between the pair. But WAIT! He has a son/grandson/great-grandson just the perfect age for her! Shira and Arthur are exibit A.

Ashna's Parents - Rizkaland Legends

I'm afraid their names border into spoiler territory. But I love these two ... and honestly wish their story was happier.

AXE and Melthorn - Lessons with the Author

This is the top secret series that I started writing three NaNos ago, but still haven't finished the first book yet. AXE and Melthorn are so far the only official ship, and it's only confirmed for the first book so far. But they're fun. She's a bit of a rebel, he's a bit like Andrew in that he lost a parent at a young age and has had to fill in. They're cute.

Ian and Fiona - HaV Academy

He's an ice-powered villain, she's a pyrokinetic hero. They say opposites attract, right? I'm not sure whether or helps or hurts their relationship that they're required to fight publicly at least once a month.

Obsidia and Delany - Worth of a King

Okay, so his dad killed hers. Minor wrench in their relationship  - after all, it's not an uncommon situation for Dialcian princesses. What is a wrench is the fact that she has a twin brother who could make Delany's father's claim to the throne illegal.

Amber and Granite - Rizkaland Legends

When you've been married 6,000 years, your relationship has been through some difficult times, and you've probably emerged much stronger for it. Amber might be the villain of the Rizkaland Legends, but her marriage to Granite is one of the most beautiful relationships that I've written. Of course, it hasn't been the happiest of marriages for the last 3,000 years ... but ... ya know ... she is the villain.

Jaqob and Melisza - The New Division

I'm going to go ahead and admit that they are a couple. They grew up together, he's always been protective of her. I've stated before that marriages in this world are always arranged by the twins of the two ... and basically, Melisza's life is in danger at one point, and the only way Jaqob and his sister Tabetha can see to save her is for Jaqob to claim her. Alistaar, Melisza's twin isn't happy about the affair ... but at that point, he's not in a position of any power, at all ... so there isn't really anything he can do about it. Sorry if that's vague ... but spoilers? Still, he's so protective of her, it's so sweet.

Boots and Katrina - Poison Kiss

AKA Puss in Boots and the White Cat. They're adorable. I've been wanting to write a romance between those two fairy tale character since I saw the Sleeping Beauty ballet, but since Push had gone and declared another fairy tale his love interest (and I'm THOROUGHLY looking forward to that one), it didn't work into the official Bookania series. But I have them in Poison Kiss, and it's awesome.

Doranna and Casperl - The Bookania Quests

She's nearly a hundred years older than him, and watched him grow up ... but she also spent a hundred years frozen at the age of sixteen on the top of a mountain. It works out. He's so head-over-heels for her, and completely astonished that he, a mere woodcutter, could do what no prince could ... it's adorable.

And there are more of course ... but I think I should stop there, yes?

Hello 2016

My calendar tells me that we just entered a new year. I wasn't done with the last one yet. Give it back!!!!

This last year has been a mixed bag. On one hand, I did publish My Kingdom for a Quest and Water Princess, Fire Prince, which have been my best books thus far, but on the other hand, I didn't accomplish that much else.

I'm going to first link up with the Beautiful People link up that Cait and Skye have issued, themed on my writing goals for 2016.


What were your writing achievements last year?

I published two books! I believe I mentioned that before. I didn't get a whole lot of writing done, apart from parts 1-3 of Lady Dragon, Tela Du, but I'm mostly satisfied with that. I also had a job. Jobs steal your time.

Tell us about your top priority writing project for this year?

Finishing Lady Dragon, Tela Du and getting it published sometime in October. This means that I need to finish writing it by my birthday next month. Can I do this? If I focus. I'm also going to try to have the Beta Reader call up by that point, and part 1 mostly edited. 

List 5 areas you’d like to work the hardest to improve this year.

1. Focusing - Dug from Up is my spirit animal. I am SO easily distracted. This year, I'm going to to work on staying on task.

2. Multitasking smarter - As extension of being easily distracted, I love piling projects on top of myself and subsequently drowning. I'm going to try to smarter about this in 2016 so that I don't drown.

3. Meeting Goals - I'm a published author with a fanbase clamoring for sequels. This means I need to get them their sequels in a timely fashion. 

4. Staying accountable - I don't like admitting the real truth about why I don't meet my goals. "I'm sorry this post didn't go up ... work ... brain broke ..." while in honesty, it didn't get done because I was goofing off playing a computer game. I played a really fun Hidden Object Adventure based on Snow White the other week. That was fun.

5. Promotion. I doubled - nearly tripled my fanbase last year, but if I'm going to become independent off of my writing, I need a larger fanbase. So this year, I'm going to get serious and actually shell out money to promote myself. I'm also going to get serious contacting reviewers to see if they want to read Water Princess, Fire Prince.

Are you participating in any writing challenges?

NaNo for certain - I've already nearly settled on Sing, Aling for this year, my Sci-fi retelling of Peter Pan. I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to do Camp NaNo. If I do, it will be with either book 3 or The New Division.

Five Something Something. I didn't get Poison Kiss done in time this year, so I'm going to try again this year. If they do Little Mermaid (which is my #1 guess ... either that or Rapunzel), I have something picked out. Otherwise, we'll see what I come up with when I see the cover. 

What's your critique partner/beta reader situation like and do you have plans to expand this year?

I have a few girls who are reading LDTD by the part as I write it, but I'll be issuing a call for betas sometime next month, hopefully. Beta readers of book 1 will be contacted directly. It'll be a bit more tricky for newcomers, but not impossible.

Do you have plans to read any writer-related books this year? Or are there specific books you want to read for research?

Not really. Well, I have a small slew of writing/publishing/promotion how-to books on my kindle. Maybe I should read them.

Pick one character you want to get to know better, and how are you going to achieve this?

Aling of Sing, Aling. She's the Tinkerbell character, and is half-elf and half-fairy, and loves tinkering. I'm going to write her book. It will be awesome.

Do you plan to edit or query, and what’s your plan of attack?

I'm going to edit. You'd better bet I'm going to edit. Querying isn't in my plans, though, not until I have a book ready that I'd be willing to let a publishing company control.

Plan of attack ... uh ... same as I always edit. Without mercy.

Toni Morrison once said, “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” What are the books that you want to see more of, and what “holes” do you think need filling in the literary world?

There is a severe shortage of books by Kendra E. Ardnek. Only SEVEN!! I need to rectify that.

What do you hope to have achieved by the end of 2016?

LDTD published, Poison Kiss published. New Division written and ready for revision and publication 2017, Sing, Aling written, and put together a series of children's books about essential oils. This is a new project that I was discussing with my aunt the other week, but basically ... I'm going to personify the various oils, and write stories that will help kids learn about their various uses.

I would also like to get the Bookania collection finished ... but I'm not sure that's going to happen. Maybe next year. I don't want to abandon Bookania, but right now, Rizkaland and its surrounding novels have me captured, heart and soul. It might not be until I have RL Book 3 out before I can focus on the Bookanian characters again. I need to prioritize, after all.

Also, I'm coming up on Sew's fifth birthday this summer, as well as my 7th blogoversary. There will be a party. It's too soon for me to know the details, but it will be awesome. I do know that this is when I plan to publish Poison Kiss.

Um, things?

Wait a moment? Weren't we just in September? Um ... why are we now half-way through October? How is my baby sister suddenly six years old? (Honest question, because this week is her birthday.)

What happened to this little thing????????

TIME FOR AN UPDATE!

First of all: As all of you know, I was working on school and I was doing really well ... but looking at my writing schedule earlier this month, I realized that, if I'm going to succeed in entering the 5 Magic Spindles contest, I need to have the story written by the end of October at the latest, and if I'm going to have Lady Dragon, Tela Du out by this time next year (I'm looking at maybe September 15th as a release date. Maybe.), I need to have it written by Christmas. And in order to do that, I need to have at least part 1 finished by the start of NaNo.

For both of those goals, I need to write about 6,000 words on Poison Kiss, and maybe a bit more than that for Lady Dragon, Tela Du. By the end of October.

So. I'm pushing School back to the back burner, and will instead be sacrificing January and February to its cause. This is the time I spent on Kingdom's release this year, and it was the time I was considering giving to the collection ... but I'm afraid that that will have to go on hold as well. I'm not sure when that will come off of hold.

I will continue working on school this month, I need to take notes for the research paper while I still have the books out of the library, and I want to have my Chemistry book finished by the end of December. Not sure what I'm going to do with math, The graphs and I aren't talking right now, and I'm not budging until they agree to be nice to me.

I am planning a Rizkaland themed party during the week between Christmas and New Year's, celebrating ten years working on this series. Not sure what all I'm going to do with it, but I do know I'll have character Q&A's and a fanart contest. Feel free to suggest ideas. What would you like to do for the party?

But, yeah, the current word count for Poison Kiss is 6,850, though I'm currently stuck on a scene involving some backstory. Word count for LDTD is 14,005, and Amber is about to give a speech. Also, have I mentioned how much I'm enjoying writing a younger Ritis? In all the previous drafts, I only got to write him after he was old and beaten. I just wrote a scene between him and Amber, and he's such a wise, brave soul.

So that's what I've been doing, and what I will do.  Once more, what would you guys like to do for the party?

Upity Datity

So I've been chipping my way at school these last few weeks, and I'm sure all of you are eager to hear how I'm doing.

I'm doing quite well, thank you. And your prayers have been very much appreciated.

For those of you who are my friends on Goodreads, you may have noticed that I've finished Biology and have moved onto Chemistry. Apologia is an interesting curriculum. On one hand, I enjoy how thorough, and Biblically based it is, but on the other hand, I frequently feel like I'm being talked down to. Not a fun feeling - I get that I'm doing this curriculum four years late, but do they seriously have to explain every little detail? I knew what Work was back in elementary school studying simple machines. And seriously, every book uses the "push the wall" analogy. Can't someone get creative and use Mjolnir instead? Just a thought?

History is coming, and I'm using Streams of Civilization . I actually only started it last Thursday, and I decided to back up to the start of the second volume, which meant back to the Renascence. It's slow reading, but I did read three chapters over the course of Thursday and Friday. Since this is the book that fits in my purse, (I ... have a big purse, though it's not quite big enough for my science books) this is the one I take with me places.

Algebra II is coming, though I've flow through everything I already knew and have necessarily slowed down. Also, taking expressions on and off graphs annoy me. I don't mind them so much if they're already on the graph and I merely have to answer questions about them, but, they're annoying. Don't get me wrong, I love math, but if equation graphs and theorems were to be excluded from my education, I wouldn't miss them. If you want to keep track of me on Khan Academy, you can check out my profile.

And finally, the research paper. No, I've not started it, but I have settled on a topic: The Printing Press. I need to get to the library before I can focus on it, though, so I'm hoping to get started next month. (And maybe have Chemistry out of the way. Possibly?)

I've also turned a hand towards cleaning my (incredibly messy) room, starting by going through my closet. I get a lot of my clothes second-hand and hand-me-around, so I've accumulated quite a bit. Including stuff that I've never actually worn and doesn't actually look good on me. So I'm getting rid of it. I have a french fry box and a half filled ... and I've still not made a dent. Ah, well, I'll keep chipping.

I've not worked on Bookania or Poison Kiss as much as I'd planned. I've not pulled up my Bookania documents, though I really need to work on "Gift Exchange" which is about a third of the way through. Also, and I've been meaning to bring this up, but I'm working on revising Sew, It's a Quest for the sake of the collection, so if you have any issues, be they plot/grammar/spelling/you name it, with the story, now is the time to let me know about them so I can see what I can do about fixing them. Let me know in a private email, however - kendraeardnek@gmail.com.

Poison Kiss is stuck on the introduction scene between Auralea and Edmund, who is the love interest. Also the apprentice to the court physician.

Lady Dragon, Tela Du has made a bit more progress, but Laura sent me off topic talking about some weird language and now I need her to put us back on topic.

I did make a mock cover for LDTD, so people have something to catch their eye on Goodreads. I rather like it. I'm not entirely certain what the importance of the four-pointed star is, but I also put them on the title reveal button, so maybe they'll play in as important? I don't know. As I've said, I keep a loose hand on my plot when I write.

And I've come up with an idea for the official cover that I really like. Obviously, I can't use the exact same theme as WPFP, but I have something similar and equally symbolic planned. Now just to see if I can pull it off.

For those of you who may be wondering how the release of WPFP went, oh, it was awesome. Let's just say, I've made more sales these last two weeks - including on some of my other books - than I usually make in six months. And SEVERAL people have read my stuff with the Kindle Unlimited stuff. At least eight or nine people read WPFP based on the page count report I'm receiving. Someone read Take and Kingdom yesterday.

And I recently realized that Christmastime this year will mark ten years of work on Rizkaland. I may have to throw a party. We'll see how it goes.

((And for fans of Ilyon, can we just squeal about the cover of Samara's Peril? I still love TKS's better, but this one is gorgeous, too. Dragons!))