One Week to Snow Queen! (And a Book Giveaway)

With one week until the release of The Snow Queenโ€™s Shadow [Amazon | B&N | Mysterious Galaxy], a new review rolled in from SciFiChick, who says, “As before, the action and adventure are non-stop with plenty of drama, magic, and inspired characters. Donโ€™t miss this brilliant, action-packed fantasy series.”

I’ll take it!

One thing that intrigues me … of the three reviews I’ve seen so far (four if you count Klausner), not one has talked about the fairy tale I’m using this time around. If you’re not familiar with The Snow Queen, you can check it out on the SurLaLune site.

The first time I used a Hans Christian Anderson tale for one of these books, it was The Little Mermaid. I read the fairy tale, and my initial response was “Oh hell no.” Thus was born The Mermaid’s Madness.

When I read The Snow Queen, I had the opposite reaction. Oh hell, yes! This was exactly the framework I needed for this book. I definitely took some liberties in order to write my story and my characters, but the story Anderson wrote fit very well with what I wanted to do in the last book.

Do you have to read the fairy tale to appreciate the book? Not at all. Is the fairy tale a spoiler for the book? Not really … if you know the tale, you’ll recognize elements in the story, but I don’t think you’ll be able to predict what’s going to happen. Though if you prefer to avoid anything with even the slightest hint of spoilers, you could always wait and read the fairy tale afterward.

I don’t know where else to go with this, so I’m going to jump straight to the giveaway. What’s your favorite fairy tale or fairy tale adaptation, and why? Leave your answer in the comments, and I’ll pick a winner at random to receive an autographed copy of one of my books — your choice.

We’re heading up north on Friday, so you’ve got 24 hours to get your entry in. Anyone can enter; there are no regional restrictions on this one.