Before 50 Shades of Grey & Bared To You There was….
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY CHRONICLES
by Anne Rice
WITH A NEW PREFACE BY THE AUTHOR
People are much more comfortable today admitting and talking about what they enjoy in fiction and film. Much more. People are “out of the closet” about sexuality, period. The whole world knows women are sensual human beings as well as men. It’s no secret anymore that women want to read sexy fiction just as men do, and there’s a new frankness about the varieties of fantasies one might enjoy. So many clichés have been broken and abandoned. And this is a wonderful thing. – From Anne Rice’s new preface in the Sleeping Beauty Chronicles
Many people know that Anne Rice paved the way for blockbuster books about witches and vampires. What they may not realize, is that she is also the godmother of pleasure and pain erotica. When Anne Rice published her seminal SLEEPING BEAUTY CHRONICLES in the mid-eighties under the pen name A.N. Roquelaure, she couldn’t have predicted that not only would her erotic take on the famous fairy tale become a huge underground hit and a mainstay for erotica fans for three decades, but it would also be a choice as ahead of the curve as her supernatural novels.
The series is more popular than ever, and with sadomasochistic erotica dominating bestseller lists, more and more people are discovering this classic trilogy. Now her books will be available for a whole new generation of erotica fans. All three books will hit stores nationwide on July 11th 2012, from Plume with a provocative new preface and gorgeous re-package.
Description:
From bestselling author Anne Rice, writing as A.N. Roquleaure. In the traditional folktale of 'Sleeping Beauty,' the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a Prince. It is an ancient story, one that originally emerged from and still deeply disturbs the mind's unconscious. Now Anne Rice's retelling of the Beauty story probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring its undeniable connection to sexual desire. Here the Prince reawakens Beauty, not with a kiss, but with sexual initiation. His reward for ending the hundred years of enchantment is Beauty's complete and total enslavement to him as Anne Rice explores the world of erotic yearning and fantasy in a classic that becomes, with her skillful pen, a compelling experience.
Beauty's Punishment (Beauty Trilogy #2)Description:
This sequel to The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, the first of Anne Rice's (writing as A.N. Roquelaure) elegantly written volumes of erotica, continues her explicit, teasing exploration of the psychology of human desire. Now Beauty, having indulged in a secret and forbidden infatuation with the rebellious slave Prince Tristan, is sent away from the Satyricon-like world of the Castle. Sold at auction, she will soon experience the tantalizing punishments of "the village," as her education in love, cruelty, dominance, submission, and tenderness is turned over to the brazenly handsome Captain of the Guard. And once again Rice's fabulous tale of pleasure and pain dares to explore the most primal and well-hidden desires of the human heart. Preceding the visceral eroticism of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey and even more haunting than her own novel Belinda, this second installment is not to be missed.
Description:
In the final volume of Anne Rice's titillating erotic trilogy, Beauty's adventures on the dark side of sexuality make her the bound captive of an Eastern Sultan and a prisoner in the exotic confines of the harem. As this voluptuous adult fairy tale moves toward conclusion, all Beauty's encounters with the myriad variations of sexual fantasy are presented in a sensuous, rich prose that intensifies this exquisite rendition of Love's secret world, and makes the Beauty series and incomparable study of erotica. In it, Anne Rice makes the forbidden side of passion a doorway into the hidden regions of the psyche and the heart.
*Excerpt Contains Adult Content*
They were plump and firm, these breasts. She’d been fifteen when the curse struck her. And he bit at her nipples, moving the breasts almost roughly so as to feel their weight, and then lightly he slapped them back and forth, delighting in this.
His desire had been hard and almost painful to him when he had come into the room, and now it was urging him almost mercilessly.
He mounted her, parting her legs, giving the white inner flesh of her thighs a soft, deep pinch, and, clasping her right breast in his left hand, he thrust his sex into her.
He was holding her up as he did this, to gather her mouth to him, and as he broke through her innocence, he opened her mouth with his tongue and pinched her breast sharply.
He sucked her on the lips, he drew the life out of her into himself, and feeling his seed explode within her, heard her cry out.
And then her blue eyes opened.
From the Author:
As Anne Rice, I’m known for certain kinds of
novels; the Roquelaure books retain the name Roquelaure (even with my
name added) to indicate that this is something “different.” If Anne Rice
is one kind of savory dish, well this is another entirely. And some
might find it far too spicy for their taste. I don’t like the idea of
confusing or disappointing readers, so the pen name helps with that. Of
course, there are many people who have read all my work, including the
Roquelaure novels, and they see me as a multifaceted writer. But the
Roquelaure material is erotica, without reservation, and it needs that
pen name on the label, so to speak. The pen name says: Anne Rice is
doing something very different here. … this is shamelessly erotic. It pulls no punches at being what it is. It’s excessive and it is erotica. Before these books, a lot of women read what were called “women’s romances” where they had to mark the few “hot pages” in the book. I said, well, look, try this. Maybe this is what you really want, and you don’t have to mark the hot pages because every page is hot. Every page is about sexual fulfillment. Every page is meant to give you pleasure. There are no boring parts. Yet it’s very “romantic.” And well, I think this worked. ~ Taken from the Prologue, ANNE RICE, JUNE 2012
Open to US residents only!
Sleeping Beauty is my favorite fairy tale and would love to see how Anne Rice rewrites it.
ReplyDeleteIt has been too long since I have read these books, I think I'm due for a reread. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI've been very intrigued by this series and appreciate the chance to win! thank you!
ReplyDeleteI love Sleeping Beauty~ I would love to read Rice's erotica take of the tale. :) I forgot to put that the way I follow is on GFC before I hit the follower entry after inputting my name. Thank you for the chance to win! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved these books! I read them back in high school, which was quite a long time ago. Would love to do a re-read.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway/ :)
My cousin read these a year or so ago, and she keeps recommending them to me. I would be very happy to have the chance.
ReplyDelete