Ginger's Heart by Katy Regnery
Date of Publication: March 22, 2016
Blurb
**NOTE: ARCS WILL NOT BE DISTRIBUTED UNTIL 3/18 TO ALLOW EVERY READER TO EXPERIENCE THE FULL BOOK AT ON-SALE.
In this modern retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood," the wolf and the woodsman are cousins, and Ginger is the little girl who claims both of their hearts.
Cain.
Woodman.
Ginger.
When three children grow up together in the rolling hills of Kentucky horse country,
One becomes a predator
One becomes a protector
And one becomes prey.
Ginger McHuid has been in love with the "Dub Twins" – Cain Wolfram and Josiah Woodman – for as long as she can remember. And for as long as the cousins can remember, they've each loved Ginger in their own all-consuming ways.
One will win her
One will be cast away
While one follows her heart.
Ginger's Heart
This is a standalone novel inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to profanity and very strong sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
(The next standalone a modern fairytale novel, Don't Speak, inspired by The Little Mermaid, will be released in June 2017.)
*****
Ginger's Heart is part of the a modern fairytale collection, which will include four standalone, unrelated novels:
"The Vixen and the Vet" (Beauty & the Beast) - available now
"Never Let You Go" (Hansel & Gretel) - available now
"Ginger's Heart" (Little Red Riding Hood) - available March 22, 2016
"Don't Speak" (The Little Mermaid) - available June 16, 2017
Available From
About Katy Regnery
Katy Regnery, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author, started her writing career by enrolling in a short story class in January 2012. One year later, she signed her first contract for a winter romance entitled By Proxy.
Now a hybrid author who publishes both independently and traditionally, Katy claims authorship of the six-book Heart of Montana series, the six-book English Brothers series, and a Kindle Worlds novella entitled "Four Weddings and a Fiasco: The Wedding Date," in addition to the standalone novels, Playing for Love at Deep Haven and Amazon bestseller, The Vixen and the Vet.
The Vixen and the Vet is included in the charity anthology Hometown Heroes: Hotter Ever After, and Katy's novella "Frosted" will appear in the upcoming (Jan '15) anthology, Snowy Days Steamy Nights. Additionally, Katy's short story, "The Long Way Home" appeard in the first RWA anthology (Feb '15), Premiere.
Katy lives in the relative wilds of northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, where her writing room looks out at the woods, and her husband, two young children, and two dogs create just enough cheerful chaos to remind her that the very best love stories begin at home.
Find Katy Regnery Online
Teaser
Excerpt
from Chapter 12 of Ginger’s Heart, a modern fairytale, by Katy Regnery. All
rights reserved. Used with permission.
An
hour later they stopped by the Glenn River, eight miles downriver from Ginger’s
house and two from the distillery where Cain had partied last night.
“We should water them,” he said, reining
in Thunder and dismounting with the ease of a lifelong horseman.
She reined in Heath, who nickered in
protest, and grinned down at Cain who reached up for her. His hands lingered
for an extra moment on her hips as she slid down the front of his body. Leaning
her head back, she stared up at him, daring him to pull her closer, to kiss
her, to admit that this whole “friends” thing was bullshit on fire. But, he
clenched his jaw, cleared his throat and dropped his hands.
“Thanks,” she murmured, her voice husky in
her ears as he stared down at her, his eyes flinty and dark.
Taking Heath’s reins with a grunt, he
turned away from her, leading the horses to the river’s edge and leaving her to
follow behind. She leaned down to pick up a flat stone and skipped it across
the slow moving water.
“Not bad,” said Cain.
“You
were always the best.”
“Nah,” he said. “Woodman was better.”
“Nope,” she countered, picking up another
stone. “Woodman was good, but you were better. Remember that Fourth of July
that you skipped eleven times? Eleven
times. It was a record.”
Satisfied that the horses were calm and
drinking their fill, Cain leaned down and grabbed a rock of his own, skipping
it over the dark water.
One-two-three-four-five-six-seven…
“Wow!” she said, clapping lightly. “You’ve
still got the touch!”
He turned to her, grinning. “You always
get excited about the littlest things. What’s it like gettin’ a kick out of
everythin’, Gin?”
“What’s it like gettin’ a kick out of
nothin’, Cain?” she asked, her voice full of sass.
“I’m gettin’ a kick out of you right now, princess.”
A charge zapped between them as the words
left his mouth, and her breath hitched and held for just a moment, but she
looked down and picked up another rock. She was enjoying today too much to go
back to Awkwardland.
She skipped her rock, which sunk after
three measly hops.
“Remember when you saved my Cabbage Patch
doll from certain doom in this river?” she asked him.
He screwed up his face as her. “Wasn’t me.
Must have been Woodman.”
“It was you!” she insisted. “Not Woodman!”
“Savin’ a dolly? Please. That has Woodman
written all over it. I couldn’t have cared less if it drowned.”
“But
I cared,” she said softly. “Which is why you saved it.”
“Fine. Have it your way,” he said, sitting
down on a large rock near the water’s edge.
She sighed, squatting down to wash her
hands in the clear water before looking back at him. “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Let Woodman take credit for all the good
things?”
He shrugged, looking away from her, out at
the water. “I don’t.”
“You just did. Twice.”
He sighed, giving her a long-suffering
look. “If somethin’ good happened, chances were, it was Woodman’s doin’.”
“How do you figure?”
“He’s the better man, Gin,” said Cain, his
eyes severe, his words deliberate.
She stood up slowly, turning her body
completely to face him. “Do you really believe that?”
He looked away. “It’s the truth.”
“Cain. Cain, look at me.” Her words didn’t
feel like enough so she beseeched him with her eyes too. “You’re just as good a
man as he is.”
“Ha!” scoffed Cain, standing up and moving away from her. “Not in this life, princess.”
Q&A
GINGER’S HEART / Katy Regnery
1. What draws you to
write modern fairytales?
Honestly, I stumbled into it. I was invited to include
a story in an anthology called “Hometown Heroes” and the hero of the story had
to be a fireman, policeman or military. I only had a few weeks to write the
book, and since I didn’t have a character that fit the bill, I had to write a
brand new story. It occurred to me that if I could use the structure of another
story, it would go faster for me than coming up with a plot from scratch. And I
figured, since it was in an anthology, it was okay to take a shortcut, right?
Twenty-three days later The Vixen and the Vet (inspired by “Beauty and the Beast”) was finished.
What I never really expected was how much readers would love it. They loved the
story of a injured veteran finding love, of course, but they were delighted by
the concept of a familiar story being reimagined, and clamored for another
fairytale. It took me a little while to settle on “Hansel and Gretel” but once
I had the story fixed in my mind, Never
Let You Go was born. And, in short
order, Ginger’s Heart, a reimagined
“Little Red Riding Hood.”
I love the structure when I base modern romance on fairytales,
but I think my readers love the universality of it. These are familiar stories,
so they have a base line expectation going into the book, but there’s also that
wonderful suspension of belief in fairytales that works really well for love
stories too!
2. You call this not a
typical "love triangle"- can you talk about this?
YES! LOL!
When I first said I was writing a “love triangle” my
readers fell into two major categories – one half was worried it would be a
“threesome” and the other half was turned off by the idea of a woman waffling
back and forth without a clear hero.
First things first – GINGER’S HEART IS NOT A THREESOME
BOOK!!! I wouldn’t even know HOW to write a threesome. I’m serious. There are
no threesomes, no bedhopping, no simultaneous screwing. I promise. Nothing like
that.
What makes Ginger’s
Heart an atypical triangle is that it’s not a physical triangle, it’s an emotional
triangle. There’s a short paragraph from the book that I love:
Two
cousins.
One
girl.
Someone
wins.
And
someone loses.
That about sums it up. And emotionally, it might wreck
you a little. But there’s nothing tawdry about Ginger’s Heart. It’s a true American love story.
3. This story spans a
large timeframe with the characters ages- from young adult, NA to Contemporary.
How did you tackle the changes in them as they grew older?
Great question!
In my first draft of Ginger’s Heart, my editor came back to me and said, ‘The voices are
very wobbly in the beginning. You have a 12-year-old and 15-year-old speaking
like their 20-something selves. You can’t do that. Tap into their teenage
voices if you want their reflections to be genuine.” She was SO RIGHT! But I
had such a good time going back and imagining how a 12-year-old would think and
say something. I cut out certain “grown up” words and replaced them with
“tween” varietals so that the voices were more authentic. The amazing thing
about that exercise was that it made me closer to my characters, because now I
truly KNEW them as kids and adults. It added a richer layer to my understanding
of them, and will give my readers better insight into their motivations and
choices.
4. How do you decide on
your titles?
Sore subject! LOL! No, I’m just kidding. Well, kind of.
When I released The
Vixen and the Vet, I got SO MUCH mean feedback about the title. Reviews
would start by saying “Ignore the stupid title, this is a great book…” or “I
almost couldn’t get past the title, but I’m glad I did…” The reality is that I chose the words “vixen”
and “vet” to be the same sort of alliteration as “beauty” and “beast.” In fact,
I almost named that book Savannah and the
Soldier, but decided against it for Vixen.
Because the feedback was so negative about Vixen’s title, I went sort of
harmless-ambiguous with Never Let You Go.
It’s a line from the book, but it’s also a crowd-pleasing title because it’s so
innocuous.
Ginger’s
Heart was originally titled Virginia and the Wolf, but I worried that it might be taken as an
homage to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
to which it bears no resemblance. So I shortened “Virginia” to “Ginger” and we
were off to the races!
5. How did you settle on
your cover?
I work with the AMAZING Marianne Nowicki, who has done ALL of my covers, and at this point we are so
symbiotic, it’s really easy for me to tell her what I’m looking for and for her
to produce it. Basically, I always start with the art…since I don’t use models
or do photo shoots, I go to Shutterstock (and occasionally Getty or Corbis) for
my images. I know how my characters look in my mind and I try to find art that
will not only represent the characters, but lay a foundation for the tone. The Ginger’s Heart cover was almost
finalized when I asked Marianne for something to lighten it up a touch. She
added the tiny heart on the Ginger loop and I knew it was perfect.
6. Can you give readers a
sneak peek to your next modern fairytale choice?
Sure! In fact, I’m happy to chat about the next two!
The next modern fairytale, coming in 2017, is called Don’t Speak and it’s inspired by “The
Little Mermaid.” I don’t want to give too much away, but the story takes place
in North Carolina (all of my modern fairytales take place in the American
South) and features a fisherman’s daughter from the Core Sound, who speaks with
a very strong Carolina brogue (a regional dialect that sounds very much like a
Scots-Irish accent.) The hero, a very wealthy society son from Raleigh, spent
his summers in a town on the Outer Banks near the Core Sound, and now – many
years later – is running for governor of North Carolina. Because I wanted the
names to pay homage to “The Little Mermaid,” the heroine’s name is Laire, which
is an anagram of Ariel, and the hero’s name is Kieran, which includes an
anagram of Erik.
In 2018, I will be releasing Swan Song, inspired by “The Ugly Duckling.” I haven’t started
plotting this book yet, but there is a species of swan called the Whistling
Swan that breeds along the Arctic Ocean coast but spends the winter at the Atlantic coast of the USA, mainly from Maryland to South Carolina, but some move as far south as Florida. So, I’ve been thinking about using St. Augustine, FL. I love the
name, it sits right on a harbor, plus it’s sort of singular in its architecture
and has a super-rich history.
7. How does your writing
differ from your Blueberry Lane books to your modern Fairytales (*again feel
free to tinker to talk about how you approach these, longer books more editing,
however you'd like to talk about)
OMG. SO SO SO DIFFERENT.
My Blueberry Lane books follow a very specific
structure: 55-80K words, hero and heroine, dual-POV, first-world problems. The
BLS is meant to be enjoyed poolside or on an airplane. That’s not to say that
there’s no depth in the stories – there is. But I don’t tackle “issues” as much
in those books. They take me about 4-6 weeks to write and the world of
Blueberry Lane is well-established.
My modern fairytales? Well, first of all, every book is
written as a fundraiser. I give away 25-50% of my first two-month profits. For The Vixen and the Vet, I donated to UCLA
Operation Mend. For Never Let You Go,
I donated to Operation Underground Railroad. The money collected from Ginger’s Heart will go to the Ridgefield
Fire Department in my home town of Ridgefield, CT.
Second of all, push myself HARD to break new ground in
the subject matter of my modern fairytales. In The Vixen and the Vet, I tackled the way that returning servicemen
are treated when they have been profoundly disfigured in war. Never Let You Go dealt with tough topics
like foster care, child abuse, kidnapping and domestic abuse. Ginger’s Heart includes a character
slowly deteriorating from Parkinson’s.
Third of all, I allow myself to experiment with
different structures. In The Vixen and
the Vet, the entire book was outlined in the first chapter as Scarlett
reads from a bridal magazine, and each chapter heading corresponded with the
points made in the article. In Never Let
You Go, I experimented with flashbacks. In Ginger’s Heart, I write the story at four major points in time with
three-year gaps between sections, in addition to writing my first tri-POV –
three points of view with overlapping scenes.
What’s funny is that the modern fairytales are sort of
exhausting, so by the time I finish one, I’m ready to write a few formulaic
Blueberry Lane books…but after a few of those I’m ready for the challenge of a
fairytale once again. It’s the perfect set-up for me!
8. How would you
"cast" your book if made into a movie?
Early on, I shared an excerpt from Ginger’s Heart with
my street team, Katy’s Ladies, and one of members, Tanya Baikie, actually chose
Ian Somerhalder for Cain and Jensen Ackles as Woodman. And it clicked for me
immediately. And I have always pictured Ginger as actress Natalie Hall. As for
Gran? Someone like Jacklyn Smith or Cheryl Ladd. Since the younger three actors
are best known for their TV roles, it would make sense for Gran too, right?
9. How important was it
to have all of your readers to experience Ginger's "choice" and
the book fully without any spoilers?
Honestly? Maniacal levels of importance. Like, all out
ridiculous levels of need for readers to have a fresh experience with this
book! It keeps me up at night! I mean, it’s a solid story, but the suspense
element for 75% of the book is who she will choose!
This is why I have isolated early readers to 1. Less
than ten fellow-author beta readers (between 2/20-3/18) 2. Bloggers and
early-readers (3/18-3/22) and then 3. Release (3/22). I usually give out books 10-14 days in
advance to bloggers and early readers, but I just couldn’t risk it this time!
10.
What other authors/books on modern or fractured fairytales are you
a fan of?
My friend, Lauren Stewart, did an AMAZING job with her
book Darker Water, inspired by “The Frog Prince.” And Mia Sheridan’s Grayson’s Vow definitely had a fairytale-esque feel to it. And L.H. Cosway did a
fun “Romeo and Juliet” thing with Hearts of Blue, which I loved. But I don’t know of a ton of authors rebooting
fairytales. Or maybe I just haven’t happened across them yet!
11.
Were there any major struggles with writing GINGER?
Well, my writing schedule was a little nuts. I slated
writing to start on Monday, November 30 and end on Friday, February 12 and I am
very, very strict with deadlines. But, I didn’t totally take into consideration
that I had scheduled the book over Christmas and New Year’s. So, I lost about
10 days of writing time smack in the middle, but luckily Ginger’s Heart is separated into four parts, so I made sure that
parts 1-3 were finished by Christmas Eve and jumped back into part 4 after New
Year’s. I was lucky! It worked out!
Also, I wanted to share excerpts with my readers, but
it’s been hard keeping Ginger’s choice on the down-low. Like, I want to scream
it from the rooftops, “Enough already! Ginger chooses—” but I know I can’t. I
hope that readers who have already chosen loyalty to one cousin or the other
aren’t too disappointed by the outcome!
12.
Was this book different in any way from your previous fairytales
(writing approach, how long it took, etc)
Hmm. Well, The
Vixen and the Vet took me 23 days. Never
Let You Go took about five months. All told, Ginger’s Heart took me nine weeks. So there’s clearly no rhyme or
reason to writing time! I would say that I felt more pressure writing Ginger’s Heart because readers really
love this series and I don’t want to let anyone down, so there was that element
in play as I was writing. And I’d never written a love triangle, so that was a
little challenging for me, because I only write monogamous love stories and
this one is no exception, regardless of the structure. I guess the best answer
is: they’re all unique, they’re all different and I promise to keep them that
way as long as my readers keep reading!
More from the “A Modern
Fairytale” Collection from Katy Regnery
The Vixen and the Vet
A Modern Fairytale
**WINNER 2015 Kindle Book Awards
(Romance)**
**2015 RITA Finalist!**
"With Southern charm and a
deeply romantic plot, readers will fall in love with this modern day fairy
tale." --RT BOOK REVIEWS
In this
modern-retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," Savannah Carmichael,
betrayed by an unreliable source, returns to her hometown of Danvers, Virginia
with her once-promising journalism career in ruins. Given the opportunity to
get back in the game by writing a patriotic human interest piece, Savannah
turns her attention to the town hermit, Asher Lee, a wounded veteran who
returned to Danvers eight years ago, and hasn't been seen since.
After an IED
explosion in Afghanistan took Asher's hand and disfigured half of his face,
he's lived a quiet life on the outskirts of Danvers where the locals respect
his privacy...that is, until Savannah Carmichael comes calling in a borrowed
sundress with a plate of homemade brownies. When Asher agrees to be interviewed
by Savannah, he starts feeling things for the beautiful reporter that he hasn't
felt in years.
Misfits in
small-town Danvers, Savannah and Asher create a bond right away, touching each
other's hearts in ways neither thought possible. When a terrible mistake
threatens to drive them apart, they'll have to decide if the love they found in
one another's arms is strong enough to fight for their hard-won happily ever
after.
The Vixen
and the Vet is a standalone novel inspired by Beauty & the Beast.
Contemporary Romance: Due to profanity, realistically depicted scenes of war
and very strong sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the
age of 18.
All novels
in the ~a modern fairytale~ collection are written as fundraisers.
Goodreads:
Buy Links:
Amazon
Kindle: http://amzn.to/1pqNxXh
B&N Nook: http://bit.ly/1oWolqW
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1TftXth
iBooks: http://apple.co/1TVpNH3
Google Play:
http://bit.ly/21LhIJQ
Never Let You Go
A Modern Fairytale
In this modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel, 13-year-old foster children, Holden
and Griselda, escape from their abductor after three years of brutal captivity
and try to cross the Shenandoah River on foot. Tragically, one of them makes it
to safety but the other is left behind.
Ten years later, Griselda’s boyfriend drags her
to a fight club grudge match where her world is turned upside down when she
watches Holden step into the ring.
Though the connection between them is fierce,
bitter regret, simmering rage and a cache of physical and emotional scars lie
between them, just as dangerous as the whitewater of the Shenandoah.
Never Let You Go is a story of fear and hope, defeat and survival, and
two people - once profoundly broken – who discover that love is the only thing that can make them whole again.
This is a standalone novel inspired by Hansel
& Gretel. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to profanity, scenes of
physical abuse and very strong sexual content, this book is not intended for
readers under the age of 18. (Note: children are notsexually
abused in this book.)
In June and July 2015, 25% of all gross
royalties were donated to Operation Underground Railroad (a partner of the
Elizabeth Smart Foundation).
Goodreads:
Buy Links:
Amazon
Kindle: http://amzn.to/1pqNGtI
B&N
Nook: http://bit.ly/1RtsKsq
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1QwE0Ij
iBooks: http://apple.co/1UG1bBB
Google Play:
http://bit.ly/24GPuyZ
Hosted by:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks so much for leaving a comment! It means a lot!! Happy Reading!!