The Gingerbread Curse

 

 

The Gingerbread Curse

by April Marcom

GENRE:   Fantasy/Fairy Tale

All her life, Falon's grandfather told her the age-old tale of 'The Gingerbread Man'. Even as a teenager, she'd fallen asleep to his favorite bedtime story, a special tradition she knew she'd never outgrow.  However, when he makes a dying wish, asking her to visit a secret underground world of magic to rescue the best friend he left behind fifty years ago, the tale begins to come to life.

Setting out with her self-obsessed cousin and a cure for the magicked man with skin like gingerbread, she finds herself tangled within an adventure nothing like the story her grandfather always told.

Once having found the long lost man of her grandfather’s youth, her only hope of ever returning home, or even surviving his world, lies in the talons of a deadly hybrid she scarcely trusts. Together they must face the animals taken from the children's tale and magicked into monsters, a man who can move mountains who is bent on killing them all, and a labyrinth rumored to have never allowed a survivor.

Excerpt:

Hidden within the Evanish Mountains, there is a crevice that leads to an unknown world deep within our earth, where magic bleeds through the ground, transforming whatever it touches.

Over time, a great many wanderers have fallen into the enormous underground world, drawn in by its magic and turned into beings who look like they could have been made from gingerbread. The only way to escape is to face a maze filled with monsters and peril nearly impossible to survive.

Men have become lost until time consumed them. Others were destroyed and eaten by horses, by pigs, by oxen, or by whatever creature was unlucky enough to be touched by the magic of this underworld. It affects every sort of animal differently, but all are transfixed by the maze to crave the taste of the magicked man. The wind, as prey cuts through it, seems to chant:

 

“Run, run as fast as you can.

The moment you stop, you’re a dead man.”

 

None are worse than the vixens, however, a cache of female foxes with unparalleled speed and teeth that can cut through anything like butter.

Only a few have ever made it past them. The rare escapee is where the age-old tale of “The Gingerbread Man” originated, told differently from mouth to mouth. Not to mention that each “gingerbread man’s” tale is different.

About the Author:

April Marcom works as a Pre-K teacher's assistant, but her true passion is writing. When she's not teaching or creating stories, she's enjoying the country life with her car-obsessed husband and three fabulous children. She also enjoys rainy days, traveling, and her very rowdy dogs. April grew up a southern bell in Mississippi, but is now a proud Oklahoman.

Q&A With the Author
When did you first consider yourself to be a writer?

 

I've loved to write and dream up stories for as long as I can remember. I didn't finish my first novel until after I became a mom, even though it was so much harder to find the time for it. Funny how it worked out. 

What advice do you have for a new writer?

 

Be prapared to fail and keep trying. When you're feeling hopeless and just over it all, go back and read things you've written. Enjoying the stories you've created feels great, like reconnecting with old friends.

What is the easiest part of the writing process for you?

 

Dreaming up my stories is the easiest and most fun part of writing. Organizing my ideas and putting them onto paper is a lot harder. Imagining who goes where and does what is a real thrill.

What is your favorite part of this story?

 

That's hard. I love Aurora's realization of her flaws and the magical characters sprinkled through the story. But if I had to pick a favorite, I'd choose all the sweet little instances of my star gingerbread man, Nick, revealing his growing attraction to Falon.

Which Character was the most fun to write about? Why?

 

I loved writing about Falon's grandpa and about Nick. It's a special thing to tie parts of olden times with today. To me, there's something magical about an oldfashioned gentleman like Nick, and Falon's grandpa is a lot like mine was when I was younger. There are glimmers of the sensation of spending time with my late grandpa in lacing fragments of him into Falon's. 

Which Character was the hardest to write about? Why?

Aurora was hard to write about because she's so vain and selfish. Her attitude stinks. She's the sort of character that really makes the heroine shine, though, and she's full of opportunities for self growth. 

Contact:

Website: http://www.5princebooks.com/aprilmarcom.html

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AprilMarcom

Buy links:

The book will be $0.99.

https://www.amazon.com/Gingerbread-Curse-April-Marcom-ebook/dp/B07M7Q4PQY

https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-gingerbread-curse/id1449194526

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-gingerbread-curse

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-gingerbread-curse-april-marcom/1130194688?ean=2940161412503

GIVEAWAY:

April Marcom will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway