The seventh Once Upon a Prince book is here, and it’s my turn! Today is release day for my novel, The Silver Prince: A Twelve Dancing Princesses Retelling!
Are you ready for a gripping whodunnit with a sweet, star-crossed romance?
A soldier who conjures shadows. A princess cursed to dance. A mystery none can solve.
The people of the Silver Isle are brutes. Savages who live in darkness for half the year. They are not to be trusted, or so Princess Isadora has been raised to believe. As Crown Princess of the Golden Isle, she is the shining light of her kingdom. But Issy is hiding a dark curse that cannot be broken. And all who attempt it end up dead…
Anders is a son of the Silver Isle, a soldier afflicted with shadow magic. This alone carries a death sentence when he steps off a ship into the port capital of the Golden Isle and finds himself in the dungeons beneath the Gilded Palace.
Now his life hangs in the balance. Can he solve the mystery of the curse and earn his freedom? Or is he doomed either way?
In the glittering, royal city of Orovía, danger doesn’t lurk in the shadows, it hides in the light. Can a Golden Princess and a Silver Prince work together to uncover the truth before it’s too late? And will their fragile alliance be enough to unite their rival kingdoms?
The Silver Prince, a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling, is book 7 of Once Upon a Prince, a multi-author series of clean fairy tale retellings. Each standalone story features a swoony prince fighting for his happily ever after.
I had so much fun writing this culture clash, enemies to lovers mystery, with meddlesome gods and more red herrings than my local chippy. Just kidding, the chippy is very well stocked. But there are definitely a fair few tricks, twists and misdirections in The Silver Prince!
I’ve been so lucky and privileged to be involved in this series, I’ve learned so much from these incredible writers and women, and we’ve become a real force to be reckoned with, knocking each release out of the park and dominating the new release and bestsellers lists each week. I’m so proud of this team!
There are five more fabulous fairytale retellings to come, and I couldn’t be more excited to read them all and watch this series continue to succeed. I’m so grateful to every single reader, reviewer, supporter and friend for helping us to make these books so popular and successful!
I’d love to hear if you’ve read TSP or any of the other books in the OUAP series, what did you think? Which has been your favourite so far? And what did you love about it?
A royal huntsman. An illegitimate daughter. And one heart — delivered on a silver platter.
Max is training to become the royal huntsman, a respected position his lineage has held for generations. Between his mother’s noble family and his father’s prominent appointment, he has no end of invitations and offers of friendship. But, he much prefers bantering with the intriguing Snow White every morning in the kitchens.
Orphaned Snow is an unremarkable palace servant of questionable origins. With the ability to sense moods at a single glance, Snow won’t risk feeling Max’s emotions and ruining their unlikely friendship. Besides, as soon as she scrapes together enough coin, she must journey to find out what happened to her mother.
When the king winds up dead, the best friends are thrown apart. Between Snow’s bloodline and her fae-gifted ability, she tip-toes on a blade’s edge. The kingdom devolves into chaos under the queen’s rule—and Snow is a threat to be eliminated.
The longer Max juggles the plotting traitors, lies, and unstable queen, the more he realizes he must choose between his family and Snow, the woman he’s grown to love. And it’s painfully clear that he can’t save both.
The key to saving the kingdom may lie in Snow’s unraveling of her past, but her heart lies in the hands of the queen’s huntsman.
The Poisoned Prince is a best friends to forbidden romance retelling of Snow White and is book 6 of Once Upon A Prince, a multi-author series of clean fairy tale retellings. Each standalone story features a swoony prince fighting for his happily ever after.
How awesome does that sound? I was lucky enough to chat to the author, Kristin, in the run up to release day. Read on to see what we chatted about and find out more about her books…
Hi Kristin! I’m so excited for The Poisoned Prince, I’ve always loved Snow White but I don’t think I’ve read a retelling yet. For anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure, can you tell us a little about yourself?
I live in the Pacific Northwest, which I feel is almost like its own little country. We are surrounded by high desert to the east, so we are a bit isolated from the rest of the US. It takes a long time to drive to major cities outside the I-5 corridor. The benefit is we are surrounded by beautiful mountains, and we’re near the rugged coast. People in the PNW enjoy nature.
That sounds sort of fantastic! Where I live in the UK we’re just a short drive to the Peak District, and there are so many national parks and beautiful slices of countryside a stone’s throw away – including Sherwood Forest! You sound like you’re surrounded by the best source of inspiration for writing. What got you started?
In the sixth grade, we were assigned to write a short story. I often wrote science fiction or portal fantasy as a child, and I included pictures (which is hilarious because I’m not an artist). I was getting a failing grade in English because I didn’t turn my short story in. Well, I did eventually, but it was a massive world story, and it was nearly novelette-length. And that pretty much tells you everything you need to know about the writer I am at my *core*.
Sixth grade you sounds like a legend, I wish I could have met her! So you started out writing portal fantasy (one of my favourite genres) and sci-fi, but what do you prefer to read?
When I discovered The Giver, I was smitten. I had always been an Anne of Green Gables girl before that, but then I discovered YA dystopian. And I’ve been chasing that high ever since.
I feel like we all went through that phase of being obsessed with YA dystopian, whether it was The Giver, Divergent, The Hunger Games (a personal fave) or one of the other absolutely brilliant dystopian teen novels that came out in the 90s and 00s that us into the genre. What are you working on right now?
I’m currently working with a group of authors on a fairytale retelling series (Once Upon a Prince). Each book is independent of the others, and each is set in its own world. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction to the series. I think people are resonating with the familiar tropes and comforted knowing they’ll get a happily ever after.
I’m so glad Once Upon a Prince seems to have captured to hearts of our readers! The response has been incredible so far, and we’re only halfway through! Where do you usually get the inspiration from for your stories?
I get a lot of my inspiration from reading history or even watching documentaries. It’s true what they say (whoever “they” are): truth is stranger than fiction.
It’s so true, I get a lot of inspiration from podcasts, real life can be absolutely crazy. So many true stories are that bizarre that if they were fiction readers would think they were completely unbelievable! Do you consider yourself a plotter or a pantser, or somewhere in between?
I am a plotter. I tried branching out and doing a pantser story, and … it ground to a halt pretty quickly. I wanted to challenge myself to try to see where a story/character would take me. Now it’s on pause, and I’m trying to plot it, which is much more difficult to do retrospectively. NEVER AGAIN!
Gah, I know your pain, I’m definitely a plotter too, pantsing just winds up going in circles for me. So what are you planning to write next? What can readers look forward to?
Right now, I am focused on the fairytale. But I’m excited to get started on my elven/fae series again. I have a duology that I’m working on that I’m hoping to publish in 2024!
Ooh that sounds right up my street, I can’t wait to read it. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
For anyone who wants to become a writer, my best advice is to read. The reason is that you’ll figure out what you love. Make a list of the things that excite you about stories, and then use those in what you write. You’ll love the process more, and your readers will love it, too.
Brilliant advice! Okay, where can we keep in touch with you and find out about all your upcoming releases?
If you like funny or thoughtful bookish memes, follow me on Facebook at @KristinJLiterary
If you like book reviews and bookish news, follow me on IG at @KristinJDawson (I put lots of fun stuff in IG stories, too)
How lovely is Kristin? I can’t believe we’re halfway through the series now, it’s absolutely flown since the first book released. There’s six more Once Upon a Prince books to go, have you preordered them all?
A bitter prince. A rejected servant. A revelation that could change everything.
When Prince Kirran of the autumn fey returns home from war, all he wants is food, drink, and sleep. But with his older brothers dead, he’s now the only heir — and he needs a wife. As soon as possible. Which wouldn’t be a problem, except that he’s not over the girl who shattered his heart seven years ago.
Half-human Alia avoids her noble stepfamily by living among the fey king’s servants. Her life of anonymity serves her well and helps her forget how Kirran betrayed her — that is, until they’re thrust back into each other’s lives.
Their hostile reunion leaves both reeling — until they realize their memories of their breakup don’t match, and neither is lying.
With mere days before Kirran has to choose a bride, they must put aside their hurts and fight to uncover the truth.
And in the process, maybe, just maybe, they’ll find a second chance to fight for each other.
The Midnight Prince, a retelling of Cinderella, is book 5 of Once Upon A Prince, a multi-author series of clean fairy tale retellings. Each standalone story features a swoony prince fighting for his happily ever after.
I’m really excited for this one, I love a Cinderella retelling and the tropes in this one are *chef’s kiss*. Can you believe that next week we’ll be halfway through our releases? I can’t believe how quickly it’s going! But I’m looking forward to having all 12 paperbacks on my shelf.
Lyndsey Hall | Author 