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Thursday, August 18, 2011

FF–Carolyn Jewel’s Snow White

** Today on Dark Faerie Tales read Seanan McGuire’s take on Katie Crackenuts fable and win One Salt Sea you could also win Hellbent by Cherie Priest** 

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To celebrate the latest release on My Dangerous Pleasure, Caroyln Jewel is explaining how similar, her My Immortals series, is the Snow White and The Huntsman's tale!

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There’s a scene in the original Brother’s Grimm Snow White fairy tale when the wicked queen, who wants more than anything to be the “fairest in the land” has discovered that her step-daughter, the eponymous Snow White, has that honor. What’s a wicked step-mother to do? Why, order a huntsman to take the girl into the woods and kill her, bringing back proof in the form of body parts. The body parts are, depending on which versions you happen to read, Snow White’s eyes, heart, lungs and/or liver.  In some versions, when the huntsman returns with his proof, the queen cooks and eats it. Yuck. Just in case we weren’t all sure she’s evil.

Any skilled fairy tale reader should immediately spot the many weaknesses in the queen’s nefarious plot. Number one, if you want something done right, do it yourself. Number two, Snow White is the fairest in the land and the queen sends a man to do the job. Number three, the required proof doesn’t actually prove that the job has been done. The queen, so overcome by her lack of pre-eminent fairness in the land, has failed to realize that only Snow White’s head will suffice as actual proof of death.

The huntsman, who is handsome, strong, single and heterosexual, duly takes Snow White deep into Telos, Artwork for Future Tense, Seamas Gallagher illustratorthe forest and guess what! He falls for Snow White who is, by edict of the Queen’s magic mirror, the most beautiful woman he has ever laid eyes on. Plus, as is the nature of fairytale princesses, she’s really nice, sweet and innocent. This is not a combination any fairytale man could possibly resist. The huntsman understands evidentiary weakness of the evidence he’s required to bring back. Not only that, as a huntsman, he is uniquely qualified to return to the queen with fake evidence. And so he does. He tells Snow White she’s in danger from her step-mother and that she must flee for her life. He then goes hunting and procures the necessary organs for the queen.

I confess, I’ve always had a fondness for this tale of huntsmanly love and sacrifice. The guy has to know that sooner or later he’s going to get found out, but he’s so dazzled by her beauty and so horrified by his orders that he does not carry out the critical part of the queen’s plot. Dozens of other writers have riffed on the tale of Snow White and the huntsman. Which got me to wondering, what if Snow White and the huntsman story were to take place in the world of my My Immortals series?

For those who don’t know, the series is set in a contemporary world where there are mages (humans who can do magic) and demons, specifically, a type of demon called a fiend. The mages believe their role is to protect humans from demons who want to take over the will of innocent humans.  The mages have learned how to enslave the fiends they don’t kill outright. Once enslaved, the fiend has no choice but to do whatever he’s ordered to do. Not surprisingly, fiends object to being murdered and/or enslaved, particularly since it’s only rogue demons who harm humans these days.  Enslaved demons are always looking for ways in which they can carry out the literal meaning of their orders while thwarting the actual intent.

And that, my friends, is almost exactly the sort of thing that happens in the tale of Snow White and the huntsman. Could it be more perfect for a My Immortals story?  In fact, the first book in the series, My Wicked Enemy, contains a rather similar story. The huntsman part is played by an enslaved warlord fiend named Kynan Aijan. The part of Snow White belongs to the heroine of the book, Carson Philips. The evil step-mother part goes to a mage named Alvaro Magellan. Magellan ordered Kynan to kidnap Carson when she was quite young so that he could slowly poison her in order to block off her magic and use it for himself. Kynan watches Carson mature into a beautiful woman who does not know she’s being poisoned or that she will eventually die from the effects. He is, of course, in love with her.

Carson manages to escape from Magellan but ends up wandering alone in the forest, played by the city of San Francisco where she is found by a free warlord by the name of Nikodemus. Magellan wants Carson back, but failing that, he just wants her dead. And he has the perfect guy to make that happen; his enslaved fiend warlord, Kynan Aijan. Indeed, Magellan sends Kynan after Carson with orders to kill her, eventually. And Kynan has to do it.  The only thing that saves Carson from this fate is Nikodemus.

The My Immortals series is up to book four now. My Wicked Enemy is the first, and as noted, introduces the enslaved Kynan Aijan, ordered to kill the woman he’s fallen in love with. The second book in the series is My Forbidden Desire (a 2010 RITA finalist for best paranormal romance).  My Immortal Assassin released in January 2011 and the fourth in the series, My Dangerous Pleasure came out this June. The effect and repercussions of Kynan Aijan’s feelings for Carson and his near murder of her are carried through the four books, by the way and will continue through subsequent books.

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TEMPT THE DARKNESS Strong-willed and independent, Paisley Nichols is used to taking care of herself. But when an insane mage begins tracking her every move and threatening her at every turn, she has no choice but to put her life in the hands of a demon.

RISK THE PASSION Burned by betrayal, demon assassin Iskander won't get too close to anyone. He spends his days serving his warlord and his nights indulging in carnal pleasures . . . and that's exactly how he likes it. But when a mage wages a wrenching psychic assault on his beautiful tenant Paisley, Iskander must defend her.

Under his protection, she will be drawn irresistibly into his life and learn about her own mysterious powers. And not a moment too soon. The mage haunting her isn't acting alone-and he won't rest until he destroys both Paisley and Iskander.

Read Chapter 1 of My Dangerous Pleasure

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Interested in winning this book?

  • This giveaway is open to US & Canada only (no PO Boxes)

  • To enter, just leave a comment letting me know if you’ve started the series

You can to earn an extra entry (1) by spreading the word, please provide link in a second comment

tweet: #FantasticFables Read @cjewel 's take on Snow White | Win My Dangerous Pleasure http://www.tyngasreviews.com/2011/08/ffcarolyn-jewels-snow-white.html #giveaway PLZ RT

Ends September 7th, 2011.

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photo of Carolyn JewelCarolyn Jewel writes historical romance for Berkley Sensation (Look for Not Wicked Enough in March 2012 and Not Proper Enough in the Fall of 2012) and the My Immortals series for Grand Central’s Forever line. Her historicals and paranormals have been RITA finalists. You can find her on the web on twitter at @cjewel and on facebook at CarolynJewelAuthor.

Visit Carolyn

 

More books by Carolyn

The King's DragonCover of My Wicked EnemyCover of My Forbidden DesireCover of My Immortal Assassin

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Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

Follow Tynga on: Facebook | Twitter

30 People left their mark' :

  1. Haven't started the series yet, but reading this makes me want to start ^_^

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  2. I second that! I'm always on the look out for new series and this sounds fabulous! I'm going right over and adding them to my wishlist!

    Thanks for the great post and giveaway!

    GFC ~ erin
    efender1@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I haven't started the series yet, but I will now. It's a sad premise, but I think I smell a love triangle, maybe? I loved the section about Snow White. I never thought of it that way. Getting her head really would have been the best proof.

    eckstein99@comcast.net

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have not started, but it sounds great.

    jasmyn9[at]hotmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I haven't started this series yet either, I do have book 3 My Immortal Assassin sitting on my shelf though.

    vampiremistress2010(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  6. I LOVE this series! I've read it all:) I got the last book via NetGalley and would love a physical copy to add it to my keeper pile!

    Good reading ~ Escape by Fiction :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. A new series for me but one to add to my TBR list, it sounds great!
    Love snow white, that would be a great holloween costume!
    Thanks for the chance to win this book!

    eyesofblueice (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love how Snow White looks in this post! The series is new to me and I would like to try it.

    Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  9. This would be a new series for me! tWarner419@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have not read this series yet, but I would love to.

    angeldream3[AT]gmail[DOT]com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have not started the series but I do have the first book on my TBR shelf.

    rachaelmccully@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I also tweeted

    http://twitter.com/#!/ERachaelM/status/104331038477656064

    rachaelmccully@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Haven't started yet, but ooooohhh I so want to after reading this. Thanks for introducing me to another series. My TBR list keeps growing.

    mljfoland AT hotmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  14. +1 tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/Rogue237/status/104344663200247808

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have not started this series yet but I am quite interested in it! It sounds amazing.

    Thank you for the giveaway!

    twiztidsharkie@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Haven't started this series yet but have it in my tbr stack now.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I tweeted
    https://twitter.com/#!/Pamk258/status/104380457906479104

    ReplyDelete
  18. I liked the story, and it makes me want to read My Dangerous Pleasure even more now that I've read it. I haven't had a chance to start the My Immortals series yet, but I do have some of the books on my TBR shelf.

    Barbed1951 at aol dot ocm

    ReplyDelete
  19. I haven't read this series but I've been looking at the books on the shelf for a while wondering about them. Now I know I have to get (or win ;-) )them because of your humor and writing voice!

    glittergirl54[at]ymail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  20. I have not started this series yet but I have all the books in the series except this one. So I hope to start it soon I've heard good things about this series.

    I tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/RBJunkies/status/104542288587403264

    ReplyDelete
  21. I've read the first three books. I was thinking about this series the other week and wanted to see if another had been released yet, but couldn't remember who the author was. Thanks for the reminder.

    acm05atjuno.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. I haven't started the series yet but I really, really want to! I've heard only good things about it:)
    jwitt33 at live dot com

    ReplyDelete
  23. I've not yet started the series, but it sounds really good and I'll be sure to look for the books!

    bibliocrazed(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  24. I love the snow white story--
    please enter me into the contest
    audie@wickerness.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. This is a new series for me but I would love to read it. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

    LadyVampire2u AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Here's my tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/LadyVampire2u/status/104833393560264704

    LadyVampire2u AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  27. I haven't read the series yet! But I want to.

    tjotjoc at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  28. I have kind of started the series... I say kind of because I didn't read the first book, rather, I read My Immortal Assassin and enjoyed it :)

    chibipooh(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  29. I haven't read this series but have the first couple books in my TBR pile. It sounds really good.
    marlenebreakfield(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  30. Yes, I have started the series and love it!

    little lamb lst at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete