A Christmas Sleeping Beauty

Handsome, confident, a touch arrogant, Prince Orlando thinks that now he has found Sleeping Beauty, his kiss will wake her at once. When it does not, he realizes he has much to learn about life, and love.

Princess Rosie, trapped in her enchanted sleep, dreams of a mysterious man. Is he a rescuer, or a nightmare? She must fight to recover herself, and all before Christmas, for time is running out.

MuseItUp Publishing, 2011
$2.50

Read an excerpt


Two Lips Reviews:

A Christmas Sleeping Beauty is an old standard with a very surprising twist. Lindsay Townsend has created a prince with a lot to learn about spells and the sleeping beauty, Princess Rosie. Once again, Ms. Townsend employs beautiful scenery that makes the story come alive for this splendid rendition of an old favorite. The beginning draws the reader in; the middle presents a great challenge; and the ending will amaze you. A Christmas Sleeping Beauty will absolutely enchant you. - Five Lips

Sizzling Hot Books:

I enjoyed Prince Orlando, his willingness to do what he needed-and wanted- to do to wake A Christmas Sleeping Beauty. His thoughts made me laugh. I could so see a young man thinking these thoughts! He definitely deserves to wake his Princess. Princess Rosie, asleep as she is, is a compassionate and giving young lady. She is just what Orlando needs in his life. I’ve always enjoyed fairy tales and A Christmas Sleeping Beauty is a charming twist to an old tale. The characters and flow make for an enchanting Christmas fairy tale.

Red Roses for Authors:

When Orlando arrives to rescue his princess from her sleep he discovers that it isn't as simple as a kiss. The beautiful girl just keeps on sleeping. He is nonplussed until her fairy godmother explains that he must deserve her before he can claim her. The Prince who has never thought of much but his own cleverness and his own pleasures before must become a better person before Rosie will wake.

This is a new take on Sleeping Beauty and great fun for Christmas. Enjoy this tale of morality and love. - Five red roses

A sweet Christmas fantasy - with hot chocolate

I wrote 'A Christmas Sleeping Beauty' as my take on a fairy story and as a piece of historical fantasy - which is where the hot chocolate comes in. (Hot chocolate, or rather cocoa, is my favourite Christmas drink.)

Today 'A Christmas Sleeping Beauty' is published by MuseItUp.

Handsome, confident, a touch arrogant, Prince Orlando thinks that now he has found Sleeping Beauty, his kiss will wake her at once. When it does not, he realizes he has much to learn about life, and love.

Princess Rosie, trapped in her enchanted sleep, dreams of a mysterious man. Is he a rescuer, or a nightmare? She must fight to recover herself, and all before Christmas, for time is running out.

To read an excerpt and buy the ebook at $2.50, please go to http://www.lindsaytownsend.net/2008/04/christmas-sleeping-beauty.html

Inspired by Fairy Tales

I’ve always loved fairy tales: African fairy stories, Old Peter’s Russian tales, Grimm’s fairy tales and the western classics – Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, The Goose Girl, The Frog Prince. The themes of love, sacrifice, keeping promises (the theme of the Frog prince) transformation (in The Goose Girl and Cinderella) justice (again in Cinderella) are epic to me and timeless, worthy of exploration in romances and modern stories.

Cinderella, the story of selfless devotion rewarded, is a popular theme for many romance stories, with the ‘prince’ often an Italian or Arab billionaire who sweeps in to transform the heroine’s drab, oppressed life. I’m sure there are romances to be written about the ugly sisters, too – positive stories where they grow from their petty spitefulness and obsession over balls and dances into generous, complete women, who also find love. That element of the happily ever after and the unexpected is strong in both fairy tales and in romance and both appeal to me greatly.

Fairy tales can also be epic, dealing with issues of life and death. Look at Gerda and her determination to win her brother out of enchantment in The Snow Queen. Look at Sleeping Beauty, where the prince rescues the princess from the ‘death’ of endless sleep.

Recently I did my own ‘take’ on Sleeping Beauty in my ‘A Christmas Sleeping Beauty’. I made it a story of transformation for both my heroine, Rosie, and the prince Orlando, who starts as a very arrogant and selfish young man who needs to learn to love and cherish. I didn’t want my Rosie to be passive, simply waiting to be woken, so she is active in the story both through her dreams and through her speaking directly to the hero in a letter. I also added more urgency by making it a ticking clock story – Orlando must wake Rosie in three days or he loses his chance forever.

The story of Beauty and the Beast has thrilled me since I was a child, with its dark and menacing beginning, the terrifying beast and Beauty’s courage and love for her father and ultimately for the beast. I was inspired by these basic tenets to write my own medieval version of Beauty and the Beast in my ‘The Snow Bride’. Magnus, the hero, has been hideously scarred by war and looks like a beast. He considers himself unworthy of love. Elfrida, my heroine, is also an outsider since she is a white witch, but she willingly sacrifices herself (as Beauty does in the fairy story) because of love, in her case her love for her younger sister, Christina, for whom she feels responsible. When she and Magnus encounter each other, I made it that they could not understand each other at first, to add to the mystery and dread – is Magnus as ugly in soul as in body? They must learn to trust each other, despite appearances, and come to love (just as in the original fairy tale).

I also added other fairy tale elements to ‘The Snow Bride’: magic, darkness, the idea of three (a common motif in fairy tales) spirits in the forest and more. Perhaps in the darker elements of my forest I was inspired by that other old fairy story – Red Riding Hood.

How about you? What inspires you in your reading or writing?

Romances for 99 Cents - Last Day!

I have several sweet romances and sensual romances, several with money off until Feb 28th.

Prince Orlando has found Sleeping Beauty – but can his love break the enchantment of her sleep? 

A Christmas Sleeping Beauty - Historical Fantasy Romance - now on reduced Winter Special offer at:

MuseItUp Publishing  
Amazon      
Kobo    
Omnilit      
Bookstrand
Coffeetime Romance
All Romance Ebooks

Barnes and Noble

Sweet Romance.

Only 99 cents/0.77p Amazon  and Amazon UK 

What readers are saying:
"Lindsay Townsend used her own magic wand to create a vivid and colorful backdrop for this timeless love story!"

"You'll love this twist on the classic!"

"Townsend makes a nice twist on the familiar fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty."

My historical romance novel, 'Flavia's Secret,' just 99 cents 

(0.77p) from Bookstrand.

This novel is set in Roman Bath and has its climax during the Saturnalia, the ancient Roman version of Christmas. More details, including an excerpt here.

My historical romance novella, 'Mistress Angel,' just 99 cents (0.77p) from Amazon and Amazon Co UK. 


This novella is set in medieval London and is a kind of medieval Cinderella. More details, including the first chapter, here.

My collection of short stories, 'A Rose of Midsummer,' just 99 cents (0.77p) from many sellers, including Smashwords.

Romances for Christmas

Quite a few of my romances take place at Christmas-time, or over the Yule-time period. Why is that? Because Christmas is a time for families, for gifts, for beginnings, for magic. Here are my Romances at Christmas.

'Twelve Kisses' is my latest story set at Christmas-time itself. I wanted it to be a story of love and hope, of a young couple finding each other again and reuniting in love. It's set a little later than my other medieval romances, just at the start of the Tudor period. Due out  now from Amazon, Bookstrand and Muse it Up.

'A Knight's Captive,' my 1066 historical romance, has its climax and ending at Christmas. We go with Sunniva and Marc to witness the crowning of William of Normandy and we see what happens later, when Sunniva returns with Marc, her new Norman lord, to her old Saxon homelands.

My modern romantic suspense, 'Voices in the Dark,' has many Christmas scenes and settings, including Venice in winter.

'The Snow Bride' is another historical romance. Christmas is fast approaching in this medieval tale of stolen brides and romance. Magnus and Elfrida must find them before the winter Solstice, the darkest time of the year.

If you fancy an 'older' kind of Christmas and Christmas celebrations, have a look at my 'Flavia's Secret'. This historical romance and mystery also has a climax during the ancient Roman Saturnalia - their pagan version of our Christmas.

I wrote my 'A Christmas Sleeping Beauty,' as a fairy tale at Christmas. What will Prince Orlando have to do and learn to wake and win his sleeping princess?









You can learn more and read first chapters and reviews by clicking on the covers on the sidebar of this blog. That will take you to the book pages for each story. Links to my books at bookstores are also on the sidebar.

Happy Reading!

Medieval Christmas Gifts, then and now

During the Middle Ages, Christmas was seen as a sacred time, the time for the three Christ-Masses. Charitable giving to the poor was encouraged on Saint Stephen's day, December 26, which we know as Boxing Day.  On Boxing Day in the middle ages, the poor received money in hollow clay pots with a slit in the top, nicknamed 'piggies'. Unlike modern piggy banks, these clay pots had to be broken to extract the cash.

A page from the Bedford Hours.

What about gift-giving among other classes?

Sacred gifts - of prayer books and so on - were seen as being appropriate for the holy Christmas period. Anne of Burgundy presented the Bedford Hours to Henry VI, her eight-year-old nephew, in 1430. The book is now at the British Library.

Gifts were sometimes given at the New Year. New Year's day, known at the time as the étrenne, a word derived from the Latin strena,  (used to mean both the gifts and the ritual exchange) was the traditional time to do so. Gifts might be food -Christmas was a time of feasting and, for example, it was considered bad luck to refuse a Christmas mince pie given by a host. A Christmas kiss of peace might be given under the green kissing bough of holly and other green-stuff and mistletoe, the plant of peace. Sometimes the 'gift' might be a joke, such as the 'book' given by the illuminators of Les Tres Riches Heures to the Duke de Berry, which turned out to be a block of wood. 

At times the gifts were part of very formal processions and ceremonies. At the courts of Henry Tudor and Richard II the king rose on the day of the New Year and seated himself in his chamber ready to give and receive presents, given and received in strict order or rank. Sometimes the heralds and messengers bringing such gifts could also find themselves rewarded, as happened in the court of Richard II when the carver of the King was given a gold cup by the French King Charles. Kings and Queens could exchange gifts, often of rich jewels, as a public show of respect and affection. Rulers were expected to be generous but at the same time the size and value of gifts were ranged in order of class - kings and queens, their families, nobles, servants, right down to laundresses and cleaning-women. In some years, certain symbols might be used in gifts. In 1422 at the court of Charles VI, small jewels shaped like peacocks were given out to courtiers -  the peacock being one of Charles's badges. 

In medieval England, such gift-giving also went on. People gave New Year’s gifts to those above and below them in the social hierarchy. For example, peasants who worked on landed estates brought gifts of farm produce to the local lord during the Twelve Days of Christmas. Custom dictated that the lord respond by inviting them to a Christmas feast. Personal gifts between people of equal status might have taken place but there are few records of such. In the records and for many kings and nobles, gift-giving meant ostentation and display.

Christmas and gift-giving features in several of my books:

'The Snow Bride' is a Winter Solstice and Christmas story, less than £2 or $3 on Amazon. You can read the first three chapters here.

A lighter-hearted read, still concerned with Christmas and gift-giving, is my medieval fantasy, 'A Christmas Sleeping Beauty.' This is half-price at Muse it Up.

'Twelve Kisses' touches on a young newly-married couple in early Tudor times and their first Christmas together. This is also half-price at Muse it Up.

All this didn't start in the Middle Ages, naturally. The Roman mid-winter festival, Saturnalia, had its own range of festivities which feature in my Flavia's Secret.

Book Gifts for Christmas. All 99 Cents, 99p

These books are all 99 cents/99p and make excellent Christmas gifts.

The English Daughter

Young widow Val Baker restores musical instruments, but fears her relationship with her Greek-Italian family on Corfu is broken beyond repair.

Returning to the island to work on a rare piano belonging to her Greek friend Alexia, she finds her dreams haunted by memories of Hilary; a young English girl raped and murdered ten years before. Val determines to uncover the truth about the case, and set to rest her own doubts about the involvement of her father, Yiannis, and half-brother, Markos, both policemen who were involved in the original investigation.

Joined by her friend Harry, Val begins to unravel the threads. When two strange tokens arrive, one for Alexia's daughter Chloe and one for Val, it becomes clear that Hilary's unknown killer is on Val's trail. Her search for the truth becomes a race for life.

Previously published by Severn House and reissued by Smashwords 2012
9781476410296
99 Cents 99p ebook 

At Amazon  Amazon UK

Also an AudioBook 

Read Chapter One

A Christmas Sleeping Beauty

Handsome, confident, a touch arrogant, Prince Orlando thinks that now he has found Sleeping Beauty, his kiss will wake her at once. When it does not, he realizes he has much to learn about life, and love.

Princess Rosie, trapped in her enchanted sleep, dreams of a mysterious man. Is he a rescuer, or a nightmare? She must fight to recover herself, and all before Christmas, for time is running out.

MuseItUp Publishing, 2011 
 99 Cents 99p

At Amazon  Amazon UK
Read an excerpt

Night of the Storm

Set in Rhodes and on the fictional island of Asteri off the Turkish coast, Night of the Storm involves Melissa, a young photographer, who travels to Greece to investigate the true story of her boyfriend's death and uncovers a wildlife smuggling syndicate trying to peddle a very rare and valuable animal.

(If you like romantic suspense set in the Greek islands, why not also try The English Daughter, set in Corfu?)

Previously published by Hodder Headline.
Reissued for Smashwords and Kindle, 2011
9781458080073
99 Cents ebook

At Amazon  Amazon UK

A Rose of Midsummer and other stories

Five romantic short stories: a summer rose, a valuable heirloom, chance meetings in Rhodes and Florence - and a panda collecting for charity. Light holiday reading with the romantic touch.

Smashwords 2011  99 Cents 99p 

Barnes and Noble 99 Cents 99p

Voices in the Dark

Julia Rochfort, a young opera singer, visits Italy to take part in a competition judged by Roberto Padovano, a world-famous bass. When he and Julia meet and fall in love, the consequences will be devastating. Julia and Roberto are already connected by terrifying events that took place before they were born: the atrocities inflicted on a Tuscan village in 1944 by a torturer known only as 'Scarpia' after the villain in Puccini's operaTosca. As they uncover the intricate web of betrayal, deception and guilt, the danger grows. For Scarpia and some who share his guilt are still alive - and desperate to keep their past secret for ever.

Previously published by Hodder Headline.
Reissued for Smashwords and Kindle 2011
978-1-4660-8181-9
$0.99 Ebook

Amazon   Amazon UK

Love and Letters. New Medieval Historical Romance Anthology. 77p/99cents

 Two romantic medieval tales and a retold Christmas favourite, now reissued in one volume:

Amazon UK

Amazon Com 

BRIDE FOR A CHAMPION

"I Command you to marry the bearer of this letter."

Lady Alice Martinswood has no choice but to obey her dead father’s final instruction. His choice is his champion, the mercenary Simon Paton. To Alice, the handsome, arrogant Simon is a dangerous, seductive stranger.

Bewitched in turn by Alice, Simon is appalled when he discovers that Alice’s father disowned Henrietta, her younger sister, when Henrietta fell in love and eloped. Simon promises Alice that he will help her find her sister.

Still having nightmares after witnessing the sack of Constantinople, Simon misunderstands Alice’s tears of joy on their wedding night. Swearing not to hurt her again, he decides he must not touch her—a promise he finds impossible to keep, especially when Alice vows to beguile him…

Meanwhile Simon and Alice trace Henrietta to medieval London, wandering together through the perilous, exciting streets. Will they find Henrietta? Will they find true love with each other?

PLAIN HARRY

Recovering from a brutal marriage, Esther is living quietly as a widow when a letter from her brother Sir Stephen destroys her contented life. Stephen orders her to marry Sir Henry—but who is this “Plain Harry” and how will he treat her?

Set in medieval England in a time when women had few rights, this story shows how love can flourish in the unlikeliest of places and between the unlikeliest of people.

A CHRISTMAS SLEEPING BEAUTY

Handsome, confident, a touch arrogant, Prince Orlando thinks that now he has found Sleeping Beauty, his kiss will wake her at once. When it does not, he realizes he has much to learn about life, and love.

Princess Rosie, trapped in her enchanted sleep, dreams of a mysterious man. Is he a rescuer, or a nightmare? Will he find her letters to him? She must fight to recover herself, and all before Christmas, for time is running out.

October - the Halloween Month. Medieval Romances Inspired by the Magic of Fairy Stories, with Excerpts

Beauty and the Beast

#ROMANCENOVELS #MEDIEVAL THE SNOW BRIDE(THE KNIGHT&THE WITCH 1) https://amzn.to/2MZZan0 UK https://amzn.to/2H1tYzY #EXCERPT https://bit.ly/2yV95Cb 

Free to read with Kindle Unlimited

A SUMMER BEWITCHMENT(THE KNIGHT&THE WITCH 2) https://amzn.to/2SxGj5L UK https://amzn.to/352aAfD #EXCERPT http://lindsaytownsend.co.uk/2020/04/flowers-and-romance-with-more-excerpts.html

“I am the troll king of this land and you owe me a forfeit.”

Elfrida glanced behind the shadowed figure who barred her way. He was alone, but then so was she.

Free to read with KindleUnlimited

#99CENTS #99p PLAIN HARRY http://amzn.to/2uYkNb0

UK http://amzn.to/2sCMqWp                                  

Excerpt  http://bit.ly/2uEj8Z5        

“I am to marry again,” she whispered, through frozen lips.

Free to Read with Kindle Unlimited

Sleeping Beauty - the novella "A Christmas Sleeping Beauty", part of my "Love and Letters" Romance anthology

#99CENTS LOVE AND LETTERS Amazon.com Link here 

#77p Amazon Co UK Link here

 Free to Read with Kindle Unlimited.

Cinderella

MISTRESS ANGEL  http://amzn.to/2tU1ySs           

UK http://amzn.to/2tdlAIG  

“Win him within the month, become his mistress…or I will adopt Matthew as my own.”

Free to read with Kindle Unlimited 

Enjoy!

My Knight Books, Medieval Romances and Fairy Tales. All 99 cents/99p

If you enjoy historical romance and English medieval knights and maidens, why not look at my novels, novellas and re-told fairy tales? Several you can read for free on Kindle Unlimited and many are over 400 pages plus.

You can read an excerpt from my full length medieval romance novel "A Knight's Enchantment", with my female alchemist heroine here


Joanna is an alchemist, a worker in gold and secrets, trapped in the venal court of Bishop Thomas by deadly circumstance and by her own skills. Hugh is a young knight, landless and ignored by his father but desperate to find and recover his missing brother. When Joanna and Hugh join forces to free their loved ones, they find they must risk everything, even their growing feelings for each other.

Set in the medieval world of gold and alchemy, religious intolerance and corruption, jousts and chivalry, the story follows Hugh and Joanna’s adventures and their tortured, dangerous path to a lasting, passionate love. 

Read FREE with Kindle Unlimited.
Amazon Com   99 cents

Amazon UK    78p

If you enjoy the world of chivalry and castles, have a look at my novel "A Knight's Vow"

A crusader, haunted by grief and guilt. A bride-to-be, struggling with old yearnings and desires. Can Sir Guillelm de la Rochelle and Lady Alyson of Olverton rediscover the innocent love they once had for each other? When Guillelm makes a fearful vow on their wedding night, is all lost forever between him and Alyson? And will the secret enemy who hates their marriage destroy them both?

“A Knight’s Vow” is a tale of romance and chivalry. In a time of knights and ladies, of tournaments and battles, of crusades, castles and magic.

Amazon Co UK 78p

Amazon Com  99cents

Amazon Canada

Amazon Australia

A Knight's Prize - Set in the world of the Tournament and the Joust, where knights battle for great prizes.

The eastern princess will be his prize – whether she will or no…

Sir Ranulf is a bold strong knight, ruthless in combat, but stricken by the loss of his lady. He feels dead inside and sees the glittering world of the tourney as so much frippery. In a time of great pestilence and suffering, he has become disillusioned with the petty, artifical world of lords and ladies, until he comes upon a new face at a joust, the mysterious, exotic Princess of Cathay. Soon, he swears, she will be his, his woman, his prize.

Edith had been a smith’s widow, struggling to survive with her villagers against a heartless lord. Seizing a chance, she has transformed herself and her fellows into a new creation, an eastern princess and her luxurious court. With their silks and spices, veils and tents, perfumes and flowers, they now look the part of royalty and eat well, but if she is unmasked, the nobles will kill them.

So far, Edith has been able to play the courtly game of favours, gallants and damsels with the best, but this Sir Ranulf reminds her too greatly of her hidden, secret past, and more besides. Even as she struggles to captivate him, she is drawn to Ranulf, a part of her longing to become his, whatever the cost.

 Amazon 99 Cents

Amazon UK 78p 

Free with Kindle Unlimited

Finally my novel set in an older time, just at the start of the medieval age.

A Knight's Captive

It’s 1066, a year of strange comets and portents, harsh battles, dying kings and Norman and Viking invaders. Compelled to go on pilgrimage in a restive northern England, war-worn Breton knight Marc de Sens knows his first obligation is to his three orphaned nieces. But then he encounters the stunning blonde beauty Sunniva and his life changes forever.
I
Thrust together by betrayal, Marc and Sunniva must find a way to survive these turbulent times, but both hold dark and deadly secrets and trust between them is slow to grow. What happens when their tentative truce is shattered? Will Marc be held captive by his past? Will Sunniva become his willing prisoner? And will they find a way to find love and free themselves? 

(Previously published by Kensington Publishing, New York, in 2009. Nominated for the ‘Romantic Times’ Reviewers’ Choice Best Historical Novels Award, 2009.)

Amazon Com 99 cents

 Amazon UK 99p 

If you fancy a light, feel-good, sweeter glance at the Middle Ages, have a peep at my 3 novellas, "Plain Harry" (with a nod to the story of Beauty and the Beast) "Sir Baldwin and the Christmas Ghosts" (with a medieval Scrooge) and "A Christmas Sleeping Beauty" (where this beauty just won't wake)

My sweet medieval historical romance novella, "Plain Harry" (which first appeared in the Letterbox Love Stories, Volume 1 Anthology) is now available as a stand-alone, priced just 99 cents or 78p.



Blurb.

Recovering from a brutal marriage, Esther is living quietly as a widow when a letter from her brother Sir Stephen destroys her contented life. Stephen orders her to marry Sir Henry—but who is this “Plain Harry” and how will he treat her?

Set in medieval England in a time when women had few rights, this story shows how love can flourish in the unlikeliest of places and between the unlikeliest of people.

 "Plain Harry" is for sale on Amazon 99 cents

Amazon UK 77p

Medieval Christmas Romances - Excerpts

I love Medieval Yule and Christmas-Time Romances and have written four.

THE SNOW BRIDE  http://amzn.to/15GhvMX         

UK http://amzn.to/1GiJtta

EXCERPT http://www.bookstrand.com/the-snow-bride

Chapter One http://bit.ly/2tfJq5c

TWELVE KISSES  http://amzn.to/1222vrg

UK http://amzn.to/1z5OSlZ

Chapter One 

#99CENTS SIR BALDWIN AND THE CHRISTMAS GHOSTS http://amzn.to/2vRkEKS  #99P http://amzn.to/2uRlsLa  Excerpt http://bit.ly/2fC7A5m

#99CENTS A CHRISTMAS SLEEPING BEAUTY http://amzn.to/2vyjmBH #99P

http://amzn.to/2wFsCEc

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall - the seasons in my fiction. Part One: Winter.

One of the first things I choose before I write a story is the time and the season in which it is set. Winter, spring, summer and the fall all have their own particular beauties and also their own perils.

Winter, a time of feasting,gift-giving,  hope, reconciliation, new years, new beginnings and Christmas. Also a time of hardship and danger, of being lost in the snow, biting cold, bitter frosts and long, dark nights,

 My Snow Bride, Twelve Kisses,  A Christmas Sleeping Beauty, Sebastian the Alchemist and His Captive  Julian the Sheriff and His Captive are all winter medieval romances. Flavia's Secret, my historical romance set in ancient Roman Britain, has its climax during the Roman version of Christmas, the Saturnalia.

Bargains - 3 Mainstream Novels for just $2.97

I am offering 3 full length novels (each over 100,000 words) for under $3.00. They are all romantic suspense/adventure with very strong thriller plots.

All are now just 99 cents on Amazon  and 0.77p on Amazon Co UK 

Also at Barnes and Noble for 99 cents and 0.75p on the Nook

Just 99 Cents at Smashwords   and 99 cents at Apple


If you look on my Amazon.com and Amazon UK pages you will find many other bargains, such as my seasonal "A Christmas Sleeping Beauty" (only 99cents/77p). Barnes and Noble and the Nook have some amazing bargains.

Have a browse. You won't be disappointed.