My Top Ten Favorite Fairy Tales
Hello, my name is Roxanne D.
Howard, and I write contemporary erotic romance. As a child, I had a worn and
tattered hand-me-down fairy tale book (photo of the retro cover art below).
Albert Einstein once said, “If you want your children to be
intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want to them to be more intelligent,
read them more fairy tales.” Today I’d like to discuss my top ten fairy tales
of all time, starting with my most favorite:
i. Cinderella-
What I love about this story is it doesn’t matter if you’re poor, unloved, have
shabby clothes, or if you’ve been made to feel inferior in every possible way.
If you have a good heart and are courageous, anything is possible.
ii. The Ugly
Duckling – In a world where people are body shamed and put down for the color
of their skin or sexual orientation, this fairy tale has tremendous power and a
beautiful message of loving yourself no matter what.
iii. Elves
and the Shoemaker- I love this story, and it’s often overlooked. It’s a
beautifully told message of universal compassion and paying it forward.
iv. The Frog
Prince – Again, I feel like in our society now more than ever, we need fairy
tales like this; to learn that beauty isn’t just skin deep, and that we should
look beyond the surface.
v. Rapunzel
– This was my first voyage into the idea of feministic empowerment, because in
the end, Rapunzel saved herself and
her prince. And she had awesome hair.
vi. Beauty
and the Beast – A tale as old as time that never gets old to me. There’s a
wonderful theme in all fairy tales about finding true beauty inside, and that’s
beautiful.
vii. Rumplestilskin-
This was one of those fairy tales that baffled me as a child, but as an adult I
understand it. The underlying theme I enjoy about Rumplestilskin is not giving in when things get hard or taking the
easy way out, and as an author that’s a lesson I continually learn.
viii. Puss in
Boots- Perhaps I’ve looked at it the wrong way all these years, but a quote I
vividly remember from reading Harry
Potter was “if you want to know the measure of a man, Harry, watch how he
treats his inferiors.” Puss (the servant) ultimately gave John (the master) all
the orders and got him well underway to be King. It makes you think about just
who that girl in the bookshop or barista at Starbucks might turn out to be
someday, so treat people kindly.
ix. Sleeping
Beauty – There are several ways to look at Sleeping Beauty… one way I look at
it is that the destinies we set for ourselves can be changed through our actions
and decisions.
x. Snow
White and the Seven Dwarves – I dearly love the idea in this fairy tale that
family aren’t always the ones we’re born into, but the friends we make. And
also that narcissism is self destructive.
What fairy tales hold a
special place in your heart?
Roxanne D. Howard
Genre: Contemporary erotic romance,
modern-day fairy tale, Fairy Tales Revisited
Publisher: Loose Id, LLC.
Date of Publication: August 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-68252-207-3
Number of pages: 105
Word Count: 33,170
Cover artist: Natasha Snow
Cover artist: Natasha Snow
Book Description:
Molly Ivers has always known she’d marry a foreign man with a delicious accent. Six months ago, in a night of unbridled passion, she gave her virginity to her friend and sexy-as-can-be neighbor, rocker Evan Castle. Unfortunately, thanks to his swarm of constant groupies, things didn’t work out, but they remained friends. Now, after having just broken up with her boring, run-of-the-mill right-wing boyfriend, she’s on the verge of finishing her graduate degree and moving to Paris. She's desperate to shake things up--and find that sexy foreign man.
She’s had a crush on Nicholas Sullivan, her British professor, for as long as she can remember. So when opportunity comes knocking to spice up her appearance, in the form of a French life coach, she hires Jean Luc Dubois to help her lbecome more Parisian and hip, to reflect the person she is within. Thanks to Jean Luc’s magic, she starts to catch her hunky English prof’s eye, but the more time she spends with Evan, the more she begins to realize that her Prince Charming might just be the one she’s known all along.
She’s had a crush on Nicholas Sullivan, her British professor, for as long as she can remember. So when opportunity comes knocking to spice up her appearance, in the form of a French life coach, she hires Jean Luc Dubois to help her lbecome more Parisian and hip, to reflect the person she is within. Thanks to Jean Luc’s magic, she starts to catch her hunky English prof’s eye, but the more time she spends with Evan, the more she begins to realize that her Prince Charming might just be the one she’s known all along.
Excerpt
#3
“You know”—he fingered
a wayward strand of hair near her face—“we haven’t been alone together
since…that night. Funny the way it comes back around, hmm? So, what were you
and Grouchy McGee talking about a minute ago? What are you going through with?”
“Nothing. Just this new
thing I may or may not try. It’s a sort of…makeover.”
He tilted his head and
scanned her face. “Why do you need a makeover? You’re perfect as you are.”
She blushed and got
busy with the batter. He’d continually shown an interest, no matter how
study-obsessed or sleep-ridden she looked. She pretended it didn’t make a
difference, but it more than flattered her; it made her feel special, desired.
Once she’d stirred the batter enough, she put it in the pan to cook and found
her gaze locked on his chest. Did he put on more muscle since they’d had sex?
Or had it been too long since she’d seen him without his shirt? If she reached
out, without too much effort, she’d touch him. She fought the urge, and he
cracked a smile at her obvious dilemma.
She turned back to stir
the eggs and kept her eyes averted and hands busy. “I-I don’t know. I’m going
to try a new look. You know, to get ready to go to Paris.”
“So you’re still going
to go, huh?”
“Mmm-hmm.” He moved
into her peripheral vision. His lips came right behind her ear, and his nose
nudged her hair. She tensed.
“I’ve got to tell you,
Molly, what happened between us…”
His warm hand slid
around front, below her tank top. His fingers grazed her bare stomach, skin to
skin. He waited, gauging her reaction.
“Is this okay?”
She almost shook her
head, but she wanted his touch! She hadn’t gone without sex since being with
him, but her body sang at the heat of his palm, and she realized she was
starved for him, for what he and he alone could give her. She gave a barely there
nod, and he continued to caress her stomach.
“What happened was… I
don’t know what to call it. Amazing, sacred. We’ve kept it between you and me,
but if you need someone—”
She gasped as his hand
dived into her shorts and he slid his fingers over her clit, between her pussy
lips. His fingers slowly made their way back up. He thumbed her sensitive nub,
and she closed her eyes and tried to breathe.
“I’m here if you, you
know, feel the need. No strings attached. I’ve had my eye on you for a long
time now. But I have a feeling you already knew that.”
His voice dropped to a
low and sexy growl. He moved his hand farther down, and she leaned her head
back onto his shoulder as he thrust two fingers inside. He continued to
stimulate her engorged clit while he steadily pumped in and out of her. She let
out a small whimper, and his lips moved against her ear.
“Shh. Our little
secret, right? I have a secret of my own. I can’t stop thinking about you. What
you gave me, what we did together—do you think of me too? Hmm?”
About the Author:
Roxanne D. Howard is an author with Loose Id. Her first novel, At the Heart of the Stone, was released in February 2016. She is an Army veteran, has a bachelor's degree in Psychology and English, and enjoys reading classical literature and Stephen King. She is also an avid musical theater nut and loves everything related to marine biology. She is the proud mother of two beautiful girls, several pets, and loves to spend time with her husband and children when she's not writing. Roxanne and her family currently reside in the Midwest United States. Roxanne loves to hear from her readers, and she can be contacted at author@roxannedhoward.com.
To find out more, please visit her website at www.roxannedhoward.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RoxanneDHoward
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