Prince
by Blood and Bone
Tales
of the Black Court
Book
Two
Jessica
Aspen
Genre: Fantasy
Romance
Publisher:
Abracadabra Publishing
Date of
Publication: April 2014
ISBN:
978-0-9899558-1-2
ASIN: B00JN858RK
Word Count:
90,000 words
Cover Artist:
Kari Ayasha Cover to Cover Designs
Book
Description:
A
rebellious prince, a reluctant witch, and a mysterious prophecy,twisted
together in a tale of Beauty and the Beast
Trapped in an
underground palace Prince Kian must remain a beast, or give in to the queen’s
plan to strip him of his powers. But Kian refuses to submit to his mother's
evil plan and is determined to escape both his prison and his curse—even if it
means dabbling in witch's magic.
On the run for
most of her life, Bryanna MacElvy has never learned to use her healing Gift.
When she’s pulled by Kian’s spell into his prison, the prince sees the golden
witch as his salvation. Refusing to let her, or to accept she is incapable of
curing him, Kian offers her a terrible bargain—heal him, or give up her freedom
forever.
Their lives
entwined by fate, the prince must learn to love a human and Bryanna must learn
to trust herself—or risk losing their freedom, his powers, and their passion,
to the evil of the Black Queen.
Dare
to enter Jessica Aspen’s world of steamy, fantasy romance in book two of her
fairy tale trilogy: Tales of the Black Court
Excerpt:
Kian barely got into
his chamber and slammed the door shut before succumbing to his desperate need,
frantically clawing off the confining cloak, scrunching it into a bundle, and
viciously hurling it into a corner. He shook with the effort of controlling
himself, his rage, anger, and frustration, spewing out in a bone-shaking roar.
As the dust settled,
he paced the room, shoving broken furniture out of his way and listening to the
tinkling of the crystal chandelier as it quivered to a stop.
He’d been here too
long. So long he’d forgotten how a single breath of rose-scented skin could
tempt a man to violence.
From the long blond
hair and almond-shaped glass green eyes, all the way down her very long legs in
those ridiculously short shorts, she couldn’t have been any more tempting. And
he’d been tempted. Tempted to rip off her clothes and see what her full breasts
looked like below the low scoop of her tank top. Tempted to lick and taste and
devour her skin all the way down to the soft indent of the belly button that
had flashed him when he’d scared her. Tempted enough to take her, and ravish
her, and jeopardize all chance of her good will.
The wench had no idea
how close she’d come to being violated.
If she hadn’t turned
out to be a witch, would he have been able to resist the lure of her
femininity? He’d been alone with only Beezel and the goblins for too long. He
didn’t think any man would resist a fantasy sex slave dropped into his prison.
But she wasn’t a slave. She was his only hope, and he would need to woo her
into helping him break the curse.
Kian crossed to the
full-length mirror he forced himself to look into once a day, lest he forget
how much his mother hated him. She had twisted his Gift, and it was twisting
his soul. His magic was strong, a legacy of his royal blood, and she’d used it
against him the way only his twisted mother could. She’d taken his Gift, a
thing of beauty, the ability to take on any shape—a mouse, a troll, a wolf,
anything at all—and she’d perverted it before imprisoning him.
He stared and brooded
at his reflection in the mirror, at the worst motley of animals he’d ever seen.
Himself. And wondered what the terribly young, terribly beautiful, terribly
innocent witch would think.
The upright stance of
a human, but the humped-up shoulders of a bear. The razor-sharp talons of an
eagle, but the heavy, earthbound weight of a boar. Long tusks protruded next to
his wolf-like muzzle, and if it weren’t for magic, his too long tongue and
sharp fangs would make speech impossible. His mother had stolen all his shapes
from him and left him a mess, but at least she’d left him the ability to
communicate. Goddess only knew why.
No woman would want to
look at a creature like him. No woman would kiss a man with a wolf’s face and
tongue, and a boar’s tusks. No woman would be running her hands down his
coarse, hairy chest, and when she discovered what lay between his thighs? No.
His fist lashed out
and connected with the mirror. Gleaming shards of glass flew, catching in his
short, scrubby mane and fur.
The girl would help
him. And soon. He didn’t know how long he could restrain himself from burying
his face in her hair, and his cock between those long, long legs.
A hesitant knock
sounded on the door.
“Come in.”
Beezel entered and
scrambled into a low bow.
“Enough of that.” Kian
began pacing again, too restless to stand still. “Does she like her room? Do
you think we should have put her in the one next to the library instead?”
The gnome’s accusing eyes
took in the broken glass and the shattered mirror, but like the good servant he
pretended to be, he kept his opinion to himself. Kian restrained the
overwhelming urge to beat the gnome for the reproach he would never voice.
“I’m sure she’ll be
fine, Your Highness. She doesn’t seem to care.”
“Doesn’t care?” Kian
crossed to the trembling gnome, who edged closer to the open door. “Explain,”
he growled.
Beezel hesitated. “She
threw herself on the bed, sobbing, as soon as she entered. She doesn’t want to
be here, none of us do.”
Kian stalked up and
down the large room, pushing chairs and tables out of his way. “She’s staying.”
“Sire, I doubt your
mother will let her.”
“My mother!” Kian
crossed the room and picked up the gnome, shaking him hard until his arms and
legs flew as if on strings. “You will not tell the queen. You will not tell
anyone about this girl. Do you understand?”
“B-b-but, I must.” The
gnome’s knees knocked together.
“Beezel,” Kian lowered
his voice and drew close to the gnome. “If you do, I will kill you.”
“If I d-d-don’t the
q-q-queen will do much worse.”
The reek of the
gnome’s fear overwhelmed his sensitive wolf’s nose.
“Beezel, the queen is
not here. I am. The strength of the spell confining me here has left her blind
to whatever goes on within the confines of my prison. She’ll never know if you
don’t tell her.” He lowered his voice and whispered into the gnome’s bumpy,
pointed ear, “But I’ll know if you tell the queen and the girl is taken away
from me. And I’m sure you will still be here for me to punish.”
He lowered Beezel to
the ground and patted his bald head. “Beezel, what do you desire? Jewels? Gold?
An underground palace such as this one?” Kian swung his arm wide. The warren
was falling apart, but for a cavern gnome such as Beezel, it would be more
lavish than any other home he would have in his lifetime. “Once I am released I
can give you all of that, and more. But only once the witch has freed me from
this curse that binds my form and my powers. If you tell the queen and she takes
the witch, I will still be stuck here, but without a chance of freedom, and
whatever hold she has over you will remain.” He paused, and sighed. “Trust me,
she never lets go. If you do this, I’ll set you free and make sure you’re well
rewarded.”
The little gnome
avoided his gaze. “Well, Beezel? What’s it to be? Do I reward you, or do I have
to kill you now to gain some time?” Kian pushed out a frustrated breath. “Are
you in?”
Beezel moved his head
in a slow nod.
Kian’s muscles relaxed
in a rush of relief. He didn’t know what he would have done if the gnome had
refused. He likely would have had to kill him, and who knew what the queen
would send next.
“Good,” he said.
“Swear to me you’ll not tell anyone about our visitor, anything about the girl,
nor my endeavors.”
The gnome’s voice came
out almost too low to hear, but Kian caught the words. “I swear.”
For the first time in
too long the tell-tale energizing upswing of joy and anticipation tingled along
his nerves. Finally, after too many years in this dusty abandoned place, he
would have his own shape, his powers, and his freedom.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
1. Describe
your books in 3 words?
- Fairytale fantasy romance
2. If you could
be any character from one of your books who would it be?
- Tough one. All my characters have such hard rows to hoe, I’m not sure who to pick. I think it would have to be Red, in Little Red Riding Wolf. She’s spunky and gets to play with Ethan, her super-sexy forest ranger. I love that she’s completely comfortable in both her skins and that she fights for the right to be herself.
3. What is your
greatest fear about being an author/publishing your book(s)?
- Probably the same fear every author has, that people aren't going to like the books. I love reading my reviews and discovering that, yes, readers DO love my version of twisted fairy tales. Every four or five star review gives me the confidence to keep writing the next one, so thanks to everyone who reads and reviews!
4. Would the 10
year-old version of yourself kick your butt or praise you for what you've
accomplished in life?
- She’d love it! She just would be puzzled about why I waited so long to really settle down and be a real author since she knew exactly what I was going to be in the future. Too bad it took me so long to remember.
5. What do you
do when you finish your book and turn it in to the editor?
- Breathe a sigh of relief and get started on the next one.
6. What is your
favorite Genre and why?
- I love all kinds of genres. I read fantasy and paranormal romance, but I also love mystery and suspense. I still re-read Jane Austin’s books and think about diving back into Tolstoy, when I have time.
7. What is one
thing that would surprise us to know about you?
- I love walking in the rain, especially when it’s a little dark and spooky.
8. Was there an
Author who inspired you to write?
- So many authors I can’t pick one. Just the idea of writing and creating lured me in from my earliest memories. Books are magical and the fact that people actually can create entire worlds has fascinated me and called me to write.
9. How did you
come up with the characters in your books?
- Some of them came from the fairy tales themselves. When you are working within a fairy tale framework, you have to choose which parts of the fairy tale to keep and which to get rid of. One of the most interesting things about fairy tales is that when you go back to the original stories, they are usually quite short, and frequently different than what the popular version has become. I’ve tried to keep the essence of each fairy tale heroine. Let’s face it, Snow White is always making mistakes based on her view of the world, so Trina, my heroine in The Dark Huntsman, makes a lot of mistakes. In Beauty and the Beast, Belle is the one who quietly saves everyone, from her father who screws up in the beginning, to the prince, who is unable to rescue himself. I wanted to keep that competence for Bryanna, in Prince by Blood and Bone, even if she doesn’t think she can do magic, she is more than capable.
10. Do you
prefer to write alone or do you like to collaborate with other authors?
- I write alone, but I edit with a critique partner. She helps me figure out the big holes in my plots and when my characters are heading off into the distance. I’ve considered writing with a partner, but I’m not sure my control-freak writing self would want to share.
11. Everyone
uses computers, tablets, phones and no one uses handwritten form or
typewriters, what do you prefer to use?
- I use a laptop. At first, I thought I would hate it, it was so different from using the keyboard with the stationary computer. But now I prefer it. I have a tablet, but I don’t like typing on the screen and I hate that I have to go to a different screen for an apostrophe. Writer’s use a lot of apostrophes! Someday I’ll buy a separate keyboard for it and see how that works.
12. Is there a
ritual you do before you begin your book?
- Ritual, no. I do use a method called the Snowflake method to brainstorm and fine tune my outline. I used to just jump in and write, but now I love the Snowflake method and it has me writing much faster. I never realized how much time it takes to figure out where a story was going in the middle of writing it. Now I know, and I can sit down and just write. Of course there are still times I veer off track, but having an outline in an Excel spreadsheet means I can tinker with it and get back on track very easily and still keep those bursts of inspiration when they come.
13. What do you
do when you finish your book and turn it in to the editor?
- Breathe a sigh of relief, do the happy dance, and move on to the next one!
Fast Fairy Questions-(one word answers)
1. Apple or
Windows? windows
2. Dog or Cat? both
3. Pepsi or
Coke? water
4. Facebook or
Twitter? facebook
5. Summer or
Winter? both
6. Fairies or
Angels? fairies
7. Dark or
Light Fae? both
8. Vampires or
Werewolves? werewolves
9. Amazon or
Barnes and Noble? amazon
10. Funny or
Serious? funny
11. Print or
E-book? ebook
12. Eyes or
Smile? depends
13. Dean or Sam
(Supernatural)? Dean
14. Dream spot
to visit? Scotland
About
the Author:
Jessica Aspen
has always wanted to be spirited away to a world inhabited by elves,
were-wolves and sexy men who walk on the dark side of the knife. Luckily, she’s
able to explore her fantasy side and delve into new worlds by writing
paranormal romance. She loves indulging in dark chocolate, reading eclectic
novels, and dreaming of ocean vacations, but instead spends most of her time,
writing, walking the dog, and hiking in the Colorado Rockies.
Website: http://jessicaaspen.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaAspen
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jessicaaspen/
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Aspen mailing list! Get the scoop on new releases, sales, plus the chance to
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