Never Let You Go
by Katy Regnery
Series: A Modern Fairytale
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 12, 2015
An Interview with Katy Regnery
Everyone loves fairy tales, so it's always fun when you find a story that takes a classic and updates it to create a modern retelling of a story we know and love. Katy Regnery has created a series of books, A Modern Fairytale, with her own spin on some of these tales. Never Let You Go is the latest in the series, and retells the story of Hansel and Gretel. Katy was nice enough to stop by and answer a few questions today...
Why did you decide to write a story based on a fairy tale?
In Spring of 2014, Allie K. Adams and Jamie Davenport (two amazeballs authors, both of whom I love!) were putting together a collection of full-length novels to benefit Pets for Vets called Hometown Heroes, and they invited me to submit a novel. The problem? I'd never written a novel about a conventional (fireman, policeman, veteran, soldier, etc.) hero so technically I had nothing to offer. But I was so excited about being included, I promised I'd have a book ready in time. I decided that following the bones of a well-known story might make the writing go faster, and somehow I fixed on the beloved fairytale, Beauty and the Beast. Twenty-three days later, The Vixen and the Vet was finished. I had such a GREAT time writing that book, I knew I wanted to do more, so I put together ideas for three more contemporary romances based on fairy tales...and Never Let You Go, based on Hansel and Gretel, was the perfect project when my Shih-Tzu, Gretl, passed away unexpectedly last August. I jumped into writing a heartbreaking story about two abducted foster children and never looked back.
That must have been fun and a bit nerve-wracking for you when you committed to being part of that collection - and lucky for us you did! And what a great charity anthology that was, so a big thanks goes out to you and all the authors who contributed to the anthology to support Pets for Vets.
*So sorry to hear about the loss of you Gretl, sending some ((hugs)) your way!*
Do you have plans to write additional stories based on fairy tales?
Absolutely! I am releasing Ginger's Heart (a Little Red Riding Hood re-boot) as an American Heart Association fundraiser in February 2016 to coincide with Valentine's Day! And I will be releasing Don't Speak (a Little Mermaid re-boot) in Summer 2016. My good friend, and fellow fairy tale writer, Lauren Stewart, has challenged me to write a fifth novel based on The Princess and the Pea, and I must admit, I find it very difficult to turn down a dare. So, I'd expect that story (as yet untitled - maybe I'll make Lauren name it! LOL!) sometime in the Spring of 2017.
Oh, those both sound good! I'm a big fan of Little Red Riding Hood, so that should be a fun one...and of course what makes it even better is knowing it will also be raising some money for the AHA. And yes - you must write one based on the Princess and the Pea, which is my favorite fairy tale!
What is your favorite fairy tale and why?
Can you believe that I've never been asked this question?! Wow. I'm going to have to think for a moment, because truth told, I'm not a very princess-y kind of gal. <After 20 min of thought and internet surfing.> I'm going to have to say Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling. So many of my stories - at their hearts - are "ugly duckling" tales of transformation. Oh, no! I think I might need to add a 6th fairy tale to this collection!!
Thanks for stopping by today, Katy! Best of luck with all the upcoming books!
Regret, betrayal, kidnapping, loss, madness, abuse, passion, love.
In this modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel, thirteen-year-old foster children Griselda and Holden escape from their abductor after three years of brutal captivity, and try to cross the Shenandoah River on foot. Tragically, one of them makes it to safety, but the other is left behind.
Ten years later, Griselda’s boyfriend drags her to a fight club grudge match, and her world is turned upside down when she watches Holden step into the ring.
Though the connection between them is fierce, bitter regret, simmering rage, and a tangle of physical and emotional scars lie between them, just as dangerous as the white water of the Shenandoah.
Never Let You Go is a story of fear and hope, defeat and survival, and two people—once profoundly broken—who discover that love is the only thing that can make them whole again.
This girl. Everything about this girl made him want, made him long, made him yearn to change his life, start his life, finally live his life after a decade of going through the motions. He wanted to get a better job to take care of her. He wanted to stop fighting because she disapproved of it. He wanted enough money to have every tally mark lasered from his arm. He wanted some sort of guarantee that she’d never, ever leave him again. And he wanted all of it now. Yesterday. Ten years ago, and every day since.
Standing up slowly, he let his body settle into an upright position before taking his time crossing the hall to the bathroom and then heading out into the common room.
She stood at the stove with her back to him, her feet bare, her hair in a ponytail, the mouthwatering smell of fried chicken filling the entire cabin with goodness. Holden leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest, a grin taking over his face as he watched her.
“It’s just the thought of you—the very thought of you, my love,” she sang, using a fork to transfer a golden leg to a paper towel–covered plate.
As she reached forward to turn off the stove, some of the leftover grease in the frying pan spat up at her and burned her wrist.
“Ow!” she yelped. “Damn it!”
With a sudden rush of adrenaline, Holden crossed the kitchen in two strides. He turned on the faucet and grabbed her arm to thrust her wrist under the cold stream. He held it there, wincing at the red blotch developing on her white skin. When he lifted his eyes to hers, she was staring at him with a surprised, curious expression.
“It’s just a little burn.”
He shrugged, still holding her arm, staring down at the burn.
“You were asleep,” she said.
“You were singing.”
“Too loud?”
“No.”
“You remember that song?”
“I remember.”
He slid his palm down her arm to cradle her wrist from below.
“The stove’s still on,” she said.
Without dropping her hand, he took a step closer to her, reached around her waist with his free hand, and flicked the burner off.
“I made fried chicken,” she said softly, her cheeks flushed.
“I can smell it.”
“You like fried chicken. I mean . . . you must have mentioned it to me a hundred times when we were—”
“It’s still my favorite.”
They were both silent for a few seconds, and Holden knew he should drop her hand and step away from her, but he couldn’t. She’d hurt herself doing something kind for him, and it just about shredded his heart.
Just another moment, he told himself. A few more seconds touching her and then I’ll move away.
“Sorry about the singing,” she whispered, unmoving, her breath kissing his throat.
He jerked his neck to face her, his thumb curling into her palm, his eyes searching hers for mercy.
“I loved it,” he murmured.
She stepped forward, closing the distance between them, her lips parting, her breasts grazing his chest through his T-shirt as she stared up at him.
“Holden, I . . .”
Every breath she took seemed to draw him closer to her, as if she was breathing him, not air. He leaned forward, into her, his free hand reaching for hers.
“Griselda . . .”
Her eyes, dark blue and churning, flicked to his lips, lingered there, then slid back up his face and seized his.
His self-control snapped.
After all, he was only human.
Now a hybrid author who publishes both independently and traditionally, Katy claims authorship of the six-book Heart of Montana series, the six-book English Brothers series, and a Kindle Worlds novella entitled Four Weddings and a Fiasco: The Wedding Date. Katy’s short story “The Long Way Home” appears in the first Romance Writers of America anthology, Premiere, and she has published two stand-alone novels, Playing for Love at Deep Haven and the Amazon bestseller The Vixen and the Vet, which is book one in Katy’s a m o d e r n f a i r y t a l e collection. The Vixen and the Vet was nominated for a RITA® Award in 2015.
Katy lives in the relative wilds of northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, where her writing room looks out at the woods, and her husband, two young children, and two dogs create just enough cheerful chaos to remind her that the very best love stories begin at home.
Upcoming (2015) Projects:
The Winslow Brothers (Books #1-4)
Ginger’s Heart, a modern fairytale
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