A Beauty Dark and Deadly by Heather C. Myers

Emmy Neal needs a job. Desperately. Her grandfather, the only family she has, is in and out of the hospital due to various illnesses and the medical bills are stacking up. It’s difficult to find a steady job in South Haven – everything is either taken or seasonal, except one.

Description:

Emmy Neal needs a job. Desperately. Her grandfather, the only family she has, is in and out of the hospital due to various illnesses and the medical bills are stacking up. It’s difficult to find a steady job in South Haven – everything is either taken or seasonal, except one.

Jason Marshall needs a maid. His cabin and his eating habits have been declining recently, though, to be fair, they have always been in a slippery slope. Being out o the public’s eye for the past five years has given him time to remember why he started rapping in the first place and work on his fourth studio album. The problem is, everyone still believes he killed his wife and her lover even though he was legally acquitted on a technicality, which makes the prospect of a comeback difficult to come by. If he can get one person to give him a chance, he knows others will, too.

In this modern retelling of a classic fairytale, Emmy will learn that beasts can be beautiful, love can be dark, and attraction can be deadly.

Author's INTERVIEW

(author's material)

What inspired you to write A Beauty Dark & Deadly? 

I knew I wanted to do a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It’s one of my favorite fairytales. However, it was important to me to ensure that my story was different. I love darkness, but still sappy romances. I also majored in Criminology, so legal technicalities, miscarriages of justices, and public perception of celebrity legal issues are things I’m interested in. As such, the story took shape and I wrote. I also want to raise uncomfortable questions to make my readers think: would you be with someone who murdered his wife in cold blood for having an affair? What if he was found not guilty? What if you could never be sure one way or the other? What if you did? 

Can you tell us about the love story between Emmy and Jason, without giving too much away? 

Jason is isolated and lonely. He’s dealt with betrayal of the worst kind, and stood trial for murders he may or may not have committed. He knows he’s famous and there will be women who want to sleep with him and be with him because of his money and notoriety, but he genuinely believes true love will not find him anymore because of his baggage. Emmy, on the other hand, is young and reserved. She’s helping her grandfather with medical bills and taking care of him as best as she can. But desperate times call for desperate measures, so she goes to work for this man everyone believes killed his wife and her lover. She wants to hate him – she’s afraid for her life – but she realizes there’s more to him than media perception, and as much as she doesn’t want to explore that, she does. 

Serializing your novel entirely for free is almost unheard of in the publishing industry – both traditional and indie. What made you decide to do it? 

I read a lot business books, and the best advice I ever got was to change your perception on making money. Don’t ask what value you can get from your readers, ask what value you can give to them. I’ve found the most successful I’ve ever been is offering some of my work for free, providing a professional, entertaining product on a consistent basis, and that is my intention here. It’s a different way to get my work out there, but I’m excited at the new adventure this will be! 

A Beauty Dark & Deadly is not the only serialized novel your launching next week. Can you briefly describe them and provide sign up links if anyone is interested? 

Of course! 

Love in Neverland – sequel to my dark YA retelling of Peter Pan. The first book, Death in Neverland is available to download for free here,  in case anyone is interested and wants to catch up. To sign up for the sequel, all you need to do is go here.

The Art of Persuasion – a clean (though very sassy) time traveling new adult romantic comedy. A young woman wakes up in the bed of an infamous pirate captain wearing nothing but a short dress. All she wants to do is go home. All he wants to do is rescue her. And save his sister from a hanging. Whichever comes first. Sign ups are here. *Romantic Comedy (possible swear words, sensuality, but no graphic sex)

Inheriting Starlight – a dark romantic science fiction novel. One sister is thought to be dead. One sister is set to inherit a galaxy she does not want. Both will have to find each other and themselves if they are to receive what they truly desire. Sign ups are here.  **Romantic Sci-Fi.

Goodreads

Heather’s books are being published in a fun, non-traditional way: you sign up for a newsletter after which you’ll receive roughly a chapter per week (~1,000 words). Subscribe for A Beauty Dark and Deadly here!

About the author:

Full disclosure: I am an acquired taste. I'm a typical blonde Orange County suburbanite who says 'like' more than necessary, laughs loud and probably obnoxiously, and loves to dance in the rain. I'm a 23 year old college graduate with more than a few tricks up my sleeve, and I also happen to be a pretty big Ducks fan. Oh, and I'm a writer. Like, for real.

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