Monday, June 7, 2021

Happy Book Birthday, Sleeping Beauty and the Cursed Code by Emma Jean

 Today, you can sneak a peek at a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. What makes this one original and refreshing is that this Sleeping Beauty has a head on her shoulders. She doesn't wait around but uses science and technology to battle dark magic. It is for middle graders and directs toward STEM and encouraging girls to get involved in science.

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This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 5 till 18 June. You can see the tour schedule here.

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Sleeping Beauty and the Cursed Code
 The STEM Princess Series #1
by Emma Jean
STEM Fantasy, Fairytale Retelling
Middle Grade



 

Sleeping Beauty's thirteenth birthday looms on the horizon as she and her friends hole up in the cursed princess lab, determined to prove that science and technology can defeat dark magic and save the kingdom from 100 years of cursed sleep.

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SNEAK PEEK

My mother offered me her arm and together we walked down to the banquet hall for the breakfast feast.

My dad was in the banquet hall. He’s pretty much permanently attached to the velvet red throne that adorns the head of the feasting table. I honestly almost never see him anywhere else.

Our feast was like it is most mornings, eggs, ham, fruit, yogurt, French toast, bagels, muffins, lox, caviar, and T-bone steaks. My mom and I usually eat fruit and yogurt. My dad usually eats everything else. 

Typically my dad would stay at the table after breakfast, in wait of his mid-morning snack, but today he rose with my mother and I. His round belly tipped the table slightly as he stood. The leftover steak bones and empty cream cheese containers toppled to the floor, which caused a few plates to shatter. 

Dad made a great show of picking up after himself, bending over and everything, but a slender servant rushed him out of the hall, vowing to clear the mess. The mess that he assured my father was no worse than after any other of his meals. 

My father bowed oddly to the waiter, then took me by the arm. He and I followed the sound of clicking heels that echoed through the halls as we tried in vain to catch up with my mother. She was not going to let me be late to my first day at the Cursed Princess Lab.

Soon I learned, Woz had constructed the lab on the top floor of the castle’s east wing, right after my christening, but I’d never been there before.

As we walked the very long corridors from the banquet hall to the lab, my father and I chatted.

“Are you nervous?” he asked.

“Yes!”

“Why?” 

“I have no idea what they do in the Cursed Princess Lab!” 

“Oh,” he said. 

“Do you know what they do?” I asked.

“Oh no! I don’t really concern myself with that kind of thing. I always assumed they just did lab stuff there. Or maybe, they do something called coding.” 

“Lab stuff? Coding?” I asked.

“Don’t worry Sleeping Beauty, Woz will explain everything,” he said.

“Do you really think she can help me break my curse?” 

“Sure, she just helped that Princess Lucy with hers.”

My mother who had been walking with purpose, in silence, suddenly spun angrily around, her red dress twirling elegantly around her.

“Princess Lucy was turned into a toad three weeks ago, Harold!” she said.

He let go of my arm, and started to turn back towards the banquet hall. 

“Mid-morning snack must be ready, I really ought to be going,” he stammered. 



And here she is...

Emma Jean writes books for children of all ages.

She lives in Massachusetts, near the Mayflower (the one the Pilgrims sailed on... or at least a pretty good replica), with her husband, two sons and one troublesome Basset Hound.

She studied Creative Writing at Holy Cross then earned her Masters in School Counseling at Assumption College.

She spent years working in adolescent mental health both in academic and therapeutic settings. Like her reporters in the Charles McCheese series, she found time to travel the world, helping with the Katrina clean up effort in New Orleans, studying abroad in Sri Lanka, and working alongside the Peace Corps. in Armenia. She worked with the Red Cross and counseled children in some of the toughest cities in Massachusetts.

For more information on the author, and to see pictures of the aforementioned basset hound, find her on instagram @Emma.Jean.Author or visit 4Pigs2Fly.com

Author links:
- Website
- Instagram

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