Introducing 'The Spellbound Spindle'

Here is it, my third book! I am so pleased with how the cover turned out. For the longest time, I was convinced I had to have a person on the cover, but when I saw this image, everything else fell into place.

I have to thank my editor, Cassandra, for suggesting book covers in a similar genre, which I used as inspiration.

My first taste of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ was the sanitised fairy tale followed by the Disney version. The starting point, for me, for writing a retelling was questioning the ‘happy ever after’ of the prince and princess when they didn’t know one another. When I came across the original versions, where the prince raped the sleeping princess, I knew I wanted to take mine in a quite a different direction.

Having read Laurence Gardner’s ‘Realm of the Ring Lords’, I decided to have the princess’ origins in an elven realm. She’s sent to the human realm to keep her safe from an elf who’s misguided in her attempts to gain magical powers. I’ve changed the fairies to elves who derive their power from gems. In my story, the prince and princess grow up knowing one another, establishing a relationship before they’re married, which, for me, makes more sense even though I know, historically speaking, marriages took place with neither party knowing one another. But, in my story, I wanted there to be more of a connection.

As I said in a previous post, the story underwent a major rewrite, making it vastly different to the original. But I’m so pleased with it. At the moment, I’m proof-reading the story – yet again – in preparation for publication. Although I usually find endless proof-reading tedious, I’m enjoying this one. I guess because of the changes I made.

One thing I do find tiresome – my weird penchant for semi-colons! They’re everywhere!! What’s strange is when I read the printed manuscript, I didn’t notice them, neither did I notice them when I read through the story again on the e-reader. But reading the printed book, those semi-colons are jumping out and messing with me!

Anyway, here’s the back cover blurb:
‘A misguided elf curses a baby to die on her sixteenth birthday.
Gem elves alter the curse to one of sleep.
But, to break the curse, the elf must die.
Princess Lilyrose seems to have it all, a family who loves her and a betrothed who is also her trusted friend. As the passing years bring the fated birthday closer, as she secretly struggles not to give in to her fear of the curse, she’s determined to live a full life.
She learns to fight. She dares to love. She discovers her true heritage. But when she learns her betrothed’s life is also in danger, she knows she must face the elf and her dark magic to break the curse.’

I’d love to know what you think of the cover.