Congratulations to the 100 people who won copies of Curse of the Healing Kiss last night. Enjoy!
If you liked the book and want to help others find it, here’s a page with links to all the places where you can rate and review it.
Readers of fiction typically see only the finished product. Literature scholars sometimes have access to an author’s notes, but most early drafts of a work end up in the trash or the bit bucket. In the case of Curse of the Healing Kiss, I published the narrative seed the same day I wrote it, on a flash-fiction website called burrst. This was on February 18, 2013 — nearly seven years before I published the novella. I already had the bigger story in mind, and wanted to write an experiment, to see if I could establish a lyrical voice for the story. I’m sharing it here mostly so I don’t lose it — in case the original website shuts down — but I thought some folks might also be intrigued to have a glimpse into how a longer work of fiction was started from a 950-word “burst”.
This is a handy way to get started on a major work without feeling like you’re strapping yourself to the mast. It’s a sketch, a quick way to experiment with ideas and aesthetics that will shape the longer work — or help you decide to bail early and work on something that clicks better for you.
If you have not yet read Curse of the Healing Kiss, a SPOILER ALERT is called for. This all happens within the first chapter, but you might prefer to read it in its final form first.
Enter by January 29, 2020 for a chance to win one of a hundred free copies of Curse of the Healing Kiss for Amazon Kindle. If you enjoy the book, return the favor by rating or reviewing it.
Giveaway ends January 29, 2020.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Amazing and suspenseful read for lovers of fantasy, allegory and human psychology. Curse of the Healing Kiss gives you enough cloaks, princes, carriage rides, dramatic declarations and curses to satisfy lovers of magic and fantasy, but unlike many centuries-old fairy tales, it is grounded in a very real psychological dialogue that the struggling lovers engage in with each other and themselves. It’s also filled with breathtaking turns of phrase that echo the poetry that plays such a major role in the plot.
Jennifer Boeder, Content Specialist & Editor
Mark McClelland’s novella-length story of love, trust, and jealousy, Curse of the Healing Kiss, is now available on NOOK and Kobo — and every other ebook platform I’m aware of.
It’s exciting to see feedback starting to come in from readers! “Engaging, well told story“, writes Fred Gorrell. “Amazing and suspenseful read for lovers of fantasy, allegory and human psychology“, says writer/editor Jennifer Boeder, in the first major review the book has thus far received.