Prancing Around With Sleeping Beauty by @StacyJuba

I’m excited to have my friend Stacy Juba visiting today. Stacy writes delightful romances, and I’m pleased to say she has just released a new book in her Storybook Valley series.

About Stacy Juba

Stacy Juba got engaged at Epcot Theme Park and spent part of her honeymoon at Disneyland Paris, where she ate a burger, went on fast rides, and threw up on the train ride to the hotel.

In addition to working on her new Storybook Valley chick lit/sweet romance series, Stacy has written books about ice hockey, teen psychics, U.S. flag etiquette for kids, and determined women sleuths.

She has had a novel ranked as #5 in the Nook Store and #30 on the Amazon Kindle Paid List.

Stacy is also the founder of the Glass Slipper Sisters, a group of authors with fairy tale-themed romance novels. When she’s not visiting theme parks with her family, (avoiding rides that spin and exotic hamburgers) or writing about them, Stacy helps authors to strengthen their manuscripts through her Crossroads Editing Service. She is currently writing the next book in the Storybook Valley Series.

Visit Stacy Juba Online: Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Amazon Author Page *  Sign Up for Stacy’s Newsletter

Stacy’s Imagination At Work

I asked Stacy that question readers always ask.

Where do you get your ideas?

I always seem to get ideas for my Storybook Valley novels when I’m on vacation.

The first book, Fooling Around With Cinderella, occurred to me when I was visiting a fairy tale theme park with my family.

We had just taken pictures at Cinderella’s castle, where the cheerful princess posed with my daughters. As we were leaving the castle, an idea popped into my head.

What if there was a reluctant theme park Cinderella? And what if she fell for her boss?

(I later named the boss Dylan.)

For the second book, Prancing Around With Sleeping Beauty, I knew it would be about Rory Callahan, Dylan’s younger sister. Since she made an appearance in the first book, I already knew that she was a dance teacher named after Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.

What I didn’t know was how the book would begin.

One afternoon, while visiting my in-laws at their beachfront condo, I happened to glance out the window and see an airplane flying over the beach with a banner streaming in its path.

Usually these airplane banners advertised restaurant specials like pizza deals, or events such as a wet T-shirt contest. However, this time it had a more unusual saying: Will you marry me?

Instantly, I knew that was how I had to open the book. Except with this being a romantic comedy, I had to make it humorous. Plus, I couldn’t have Rory engaged to her soulmate on page one. What fun is that? I decided to make the scene a comedy of errors. Since the banner would say, “Will you marry me, Rory?” naturally she would assume the proposal was for her. But what if it wasn’t? And what if her boyfriend wasn’t her prince, anyway?

You can read some of the scene below. I hope you enjoy this peek in Storybook Valley, my fictional family-owned theme park in the Catskills of New York.

Sneak Peek: Prancing Around With Sleeping Beauty
by Stacy Juba © 2018

High above the crowded beach, an airplane skimmed the cloudless blue sky, its hum a distant whine over the thunderous surf. Behind it trailed a banner with red block letters. Cupping her hand over her brow, Rory Callahan squinted in the glaring sunlight.

WILL YOU MARRY ME, RORY?

She gasped, and her bare feet pressed into the gritty sand. Rory gripped the sides of her sunken beach chair. Her boyfriend, Dr. Brad Walker, a general surgery medical resident at Mountain View Medical Center, occupied the second chair, engrossed in a sports magazine, oblivious to the romantic gesture—or pretending he was oblivious.

Rory had accompanied him to the Jersey Shore for his parents’ thirtieth anniversary party. When Brad suggested a morning at the beach before driving back to the Catskills, she never expected a marriage proposal. Her stomach clenched, the semi-queasy reaction surprising her.

After all, she had wanted this—well, maybe not this, not yet—but Rory had wanted a declaration of love from the guy her mother worshipped and that her annoying big brother insisted “wasn’t that into her.”

 Obviously Brad was into her. This proved his willingness to make their relationship work. She would show her brother, and her friends, too. Rory knew her roommates worried that Brad didn’t carve out enough time for her, but unlike Dylan, the girls minded their own business.

All brides-to-be probably felt jittery during the proposal. She choked down the very normal mound in her throat, reached over, and touched Brad’s hand. “I had no idea you were planning this. Yes. I’ll . . . I’ll marry you.”

Brad dropped the magazine onto his nearby flip-flops as if sand fleas had nested inside the pages. His chiseled face had blanched whiter than his pale chest, arms, and legs. Summer was almost over, and Rory would bet this was the first time he’d worn the charcoal print swim trunks she bought him.

“What? What the hell are you talking about?”

This Sleeping Beauty isn’t sure she wants to wake up…

Dance instructor Rory Callahan likes to play it safe. When she meets Kyle, he’s impulsive, persistent, and her exact opposite. He’s pushing her to tango way past her comfort zone and keeping Rory on her toes more than twenty years of dance teachers ever had.

Unfortunately, he’s the grandson of her family’s arch rival and she doesn’t want to disappoint them. After all, her parents imagine her as a proper princess – hence her namesake Aurora, AKA Sleeping Beauty. Complicating matters, Rory’s also dealing with a surgeon boyfriend who’s perfect for her (sort of), an obnoxious boss, and desperate dance moms. Kyle wants to change her whole life, but Rory doesn’t like the stakes. After all, princesses are the ones who get the happy endings. . .aren’t they?

Add Prancing Around With Sleeping Beauty to Your Library

You’ll find this chick lit romantic comedy at: Amazon * Barnes & Noble * iBooks * Kobo.

Takeaway Truth

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Prancing Around With Sleeping Beauty. You’ll be glad you did.