Book Excerpt
‘Shh! Fendral’s
coming. Don’t tell him how I got the
bread. He’ll think I’m a whore,’ Cerise
said, hushing her friend, even though she knew she would probably tell Fendral
everything the next day when she visited him for her next reading lesson.
‘You are,’ Shelle snorted.
‘Good morrow, ladies,’ Fendral greeted them, clasping
his hands behind his back and smiling.
‘Good morrow, Fendral,’ they chorused.
‘Ah, that bread looks delicious. You’re very fortunate to live in a bakery,
Shelle. You must have your pick of the
different loaves your father makes.’
‘Not really. He
mostly gives me the burnt ones,’ Shelle sighed.
‘I have to go hungry quite often.’
‘Oh,’ Fendral frowned, his face showing an appropriate
level of concern.
‘It’s fine though because it keeps my figure nice and
trim,’ Shelle winked, puffing out her tiny chest.
Cerise grimaced, seeing Fendral’s completely puzzled
expression. He clearly didn’t know what
to make of Shelle’s flirting.
‘Would you like to share some of our bread, Fendral?’
Cerise asked, holding out the loaf for him.
‘No, thank you.
I’ve eaten already this afternoon.
You ladies look like you’re enjoying it anyway,’ he smiled.
‘Don’t think we’re too hungry to share,’ Shelle
blurted. ‘We’re planning on having a
hearty meal tonight.’
‘Really? What’s
happening tonight?’ Fendral asked.
Cerise shot Shelle a warning stare. The details of their plan for that evening
were not to be divulged under any circumstances. They had agreed it was to remain a secret.
‘We’re going to The Silver Knave Inn. Heloise has hired someone to put on a show
for the patrons and we’re being permitted to watch from the attic for free,’
Shelle smiled.
Cerise watched Fendral’s eyes darken and knew there
was a lecture coming. She groaned
inwardly, anticipating judgement and moral guidance ahead.
‘It’s not an establishment for upright Christian
women,’ Fendral advised.
‘Correct,’ Shelle said, throwing another chunk of
bread into her mouth while Cerise snorted accidentally while trying not to
laugh.
‘Would you like me to chaperone you?’ he asked,
looking directly at Cerise.
‘Thank you for the kind offer, but we’ll be fine. My godmother owns the place, so we should be
safe enough,’ Cerise said.
He took a step forward and glanced over each shoulder,
checking nobody could hear. The two
women looked at each other, quite amused at his reaction, and leaned down to
listen to what he was about to say.
‘There are things happening at The Silver Knave
Inn. Things that virtuous women, naïve
of the darker side of this world, could find upsetting,’ he said, in a hushed
tone that made Cerise want to whoop with laughter.
‘We know!’ Shelle squealed, clearly delighted to have
her hopes about the tavern confirmed by someone else.
About the Book
Title: Cherry Lips
Author: Lacey Dearie
Genre: Chicklit/Fairytale
Cerise is not a witch. She’s an
apprentice herbalist whose father is a wannabe warlock and fairy
godmother is a madame. But Cerise has a closely guarded secret – the
cherry lip-stain she manufactures and sells to the richest and most
powerful women in the land is a potent aphrodisiac that makes the wearer
irresistible. Of course, with such power comes responsibility,
something Cerise did not consider while she was testing each batch of
the product on the men of her home town.
Soon, word of the magical make-up
reaches the childless Queen Merewald, and she becomes determined to
uncover the secrets of the lip-stain herself and use them to seduce her
ageing, impotent husband, King Palen. Her best chance is to send her
feline brother-in-law, Blaxton, to befriend Cerise and spy on her. What
the Queen didn’t count on was her nephew falling for Cerise without the
use of magic or her niece using their jester as bait to uncover the
secrets before she did.
Cherry Lips is a chick-lit fairytale
about a medieval amateur cosmetologist, a nymphomaniac witch, a kinky
jester, an unconventionally handsome prince, a wizard with magical
healing powers, a castle made of sand and crystals, magical lip-stain
that makes the wearer irresistible and cats. Lots and lots of cats.
Author Bio
Lacey Dearie is the creator of the
best-selling Leger – Cat Sleuth Mysteries Series about a talking
Glaswegian cat detective. She loves observing cats and their
idiosyncrasies and has a particular fondness for black cats with amber
eyes or pretty calicos. She would own a house full of pets if her
allergies allowed it.
She is also the author of chick-lit
novel and Amazon UK Top 100 best-seller, The Tangled Web (currently
available only on Createspace), chick-lit fairytale Cherry Lips, two
nonsensical short stories about amorous foods and the soon to be
released Candlelight Lane Mysteries which blend culinary cozies and
magical realism.
In her spare time she loves to travel
and is a regular visitor to Cyprus – a place that has influenced almost
every story she writes as much as her home country, Scotland. She has a
personal blog dedicated to lingerie and fragrances, studies perfumery
and is a tiny bit obsessed with cute stationery and ska.
Lacey loves to hear from her readers and
can be contacted on Twitter as @laceydearie (please be aware of adult
content) or on her Facebook page www.facebook.com/laceydearie (family
friendly).
Links
Amazon US: Amazon US
Amazon UK: Amazon UK
Amazon CA: Amazon CA
Amazon AU: AMAZON AU
Createspace: Createspace
E-Store where you can purchase a signed copy with author swag included in the price: laceydearie.storenvy.com
Author Facebook page: www.facebook.com/laceydearie
Sign up form for the author’s mailing list
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