How this treasure hunt inspired a book quest

I grew up with a lot of books as a kid. One of them held the key to treasure, and not in a metaphorical sense.

The picture book Masquerade was designed as a puzzle. If you cracked it, you would know where to find a golden hare designed and hidden by the artist.

Now, I never had a chance. The treasure had already been claimed by the time I discovered the book and anyway, the puzzle was way too difficult for a kid (and most adults).

But I was entranced all the same. A quest.

A quest in a book.

It was probably inevitable that I would eventually tuck a quest into a book, too.

The treasure in this case isn't made of gold (sorry!), but this handmade Cinderella brooch is quite delightful:

Click on the image for the specific rules. The tl;dr is that most anyone has a shot at the physical prize through March 1, but to win bragging-rights digital prizes, you need to demonstrate your impressive skills.

Specifically: How many (mostly) hidden references to fairy tales can you find in my new fairy-tale-inspired book?

Into the Bargain is a quick-read fantasy romance novella about a woman reluctantly vying for a marriage offer from her town's unpleasant wizard. She gets a dodgy offer of help from the wizard's intriguing assistant, which she really shouldn't accept on principle ... but also because she's starting to fall for him instead.

The fairy tale references started off as a sprinkling. But as I found more and more spots to surreptitiously tuck them, my inner kid started chanting quest quest quest.

It felt fun.

We need more fun, don't you think?

If you've already gone questing, hit reply to tell me what you thought. And don't forget to fill out the form to get the digital prizes and a chance for the brooch.

I can't wait to see if anyone finds every single one of the references.

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Oh! And another new book alert: If you're in the mood for grumpy/sunshine where the grump is a big ol' softie dragon shifter and the sunny fae needs a pretend engagement for purposes of revenge, Dance with the Dragon Duke will hit the spot exactly.

(Also, this book made me cry at a made-up word. TWICE. That is some devious magic right there.)

For a desperate duchess, an Unseelie duke could be the perfect fake fiancé ...

Read the book

(Read it already? Check out this excellent deal on the audiobook for Wedded to the Wanton Witch, in the same series.)

You made it to the end! You're awesome. (Of course.) And oh hey, here are my latest books.

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