Cherry Lips

Title: Cherry Lips
Author: Lacey Dearie
Genre: Chicklit/Fairytale












Cerise is not a witch. She's an apprentice herbalist whose father is a wannabe warlock and fairy
godmother is a madame. But Cerise has a closely guarded secret - the cherry lip-stain she
manufactures and sells to the richest and most powerful women in the land is a potent
aphrodisiac that makes the wearer irresistible.
Of course, with such power comes responsibility, something Cerise did not consider while she was
testing each batch of the product on the men of her home town.

Soon, word of the magical make-up reaches the childless Queen Merewald, and she becomes
determined to uncover the secrets of the lip-stain herself and use them to seduce her ageing,
impotent husband, King Palen. Her best chance is to send her feline brother-in-law, Blaxton,
to befriend Cerise and spy on her. What the Queen didn't count on was her nephew falling for
Cerise without the use of magic or her niece using their jester as bait to uncover the secrets before she did.
Cherry Lips is a chick-lit fairytale about a medieval amateur cosmetologist, a nymphomaniac witch, a kinky jester, an unconventionally handsome prince, a wizard with magical healing powers, a castle
made of sand and crystals, magical lip-stain that makes the wearer irresistible and cats.
Lots and lots of cats.

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‘Shh!  Fendral’s coming.  Don’t tell him how I got the bread.  He’ll think I’m a whore,’ Cerise said, 

hushing her friend, even though she knew she would probably tell Fendral everything the next day 

when she visited him for her next reading lesson.

‘You are,’ Shelle snorted.  

‘Good morrow, ladies,’ Fendral greeted them, clasping his hands behind his back and smiling.

‘Good morrow, Fendral,’ they chorused.

‘Ah, that bread looks delicious.  You’re very fortunate to live in a bakery, Shelle.  

You must have your pick of the different loaves your father makes.’

‘Not really.  He mostly gives me the burnt ones,’ Shelle sighed.  ‘I have to go hungry quite often.’

‘Oh,’ Fendral frowned, his face showing an appropriate level of concern.

‘It’s fine though because it keeps my figure nice and trim,’ Shelle winked, puffing out her tiny 

chest. Cerise grimaced, seeing Fendral’s completely puzzled expression.  He clearly didn’t know what to make of Shelle’s flirting.

‘Would you like to share some of our bread, Fendral?’ Cerise asked, holding out the loaf for him.

‘No, thank you.  I’ve eaten already this afternoon.  

You ladies look like you’re enjoying it anyway,’ he smiled.

‘Don’t think we’re too hungry to share,’ Shelle blurted.  

‘We’re planning on having a hearty meal tonight.’

‘Really?  What’s happening tonight?’ Fendral asked.

Cerise shot Shelle a warning stare.  The details of their plan for that evening were not to be 

divulged under any circumstances.  They had agreed it was to remain a secret.

‘We’re going to The Silver Knave Inn.  Heloise has hired someone to put on a show for the 

patrons and we’re being permitted to watch from the attic for free,’ Shelle smiled.

Cerise watched Fendral’s eyes darken and knew there was a lecture coming.  

She groaned inwardly, anticipating judgement and moral guidance ahead.

‘It’s not an establishment for upright Christian women,’ Fendral advised.

‘Correct,’ Shelle said, throwing another chunk of bread into her mouth while Cerise snorted 

accidentally while trying not to laugh.  

‘Would you like me to chaperone you?’ he asked, looking directly at Cerise.

‘Thank you for the kind offer, but we’ll be fine.  

My godmother owns the place, so we should be safe enough,’ Cerise said.

He took a step forward and glanced over each shoulder, checking nobody could hear.  

The two women looked at each other, quite amused at his reaction, and leaned down to listen to what he was about to say.

‘There are things happening at The Silver Knave Inn.  Things that virtuous women, naïve of the 

darker side of this world, could find upsetting,’ he said, in a hushed tone that made Cerise want to 

whoop with laughter.

‘We know!’ Shelle squealed, clearly delighted to have her hopes about the tavern confirmed by 

someone else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The candlelight is glowing from every corner of the room, giving everyone’s complexion the kind of 
dewy glow that 21st century supermodels envy, except this is definitely not the 21st century and I am not sitting opposite a supermodel.  Here in the Silver Knave Inn with us today we have Heloise, the fairy who owns this tavern.  I watch her tuck into a succulent fistful of crab, lick her wrinkly fingers and ask my first question.

Heloise, it’s lovely to meet an actual live fairy, even though you don’t look like the stereotype.  
Can you tell us what sets you apart from other fairies?

What?  You mean like Tinkerbell?  By Satan’s nails, I do wish these writer people would stop putting us on a pedestal.  Well, the truth is that fairies age, just like everyone else.  Real fairies have crows’ feet and scars just like mere mortals.  As we age, our wings droop and our magic changes.  I can’t fly like I used to.

Can you tell us a little bit about what you were like as a younger fairy?  
You must have some wonderful anecdotes from your youth about how you used to use your magic!

Not really.  I used to fly around with no knickers on, just for a laugh.  That shocked everyone.  
And there was one time that I used magic to give my wand a vibrate setting.  Oh, the fun I had with that, I can tell you!

So, what’s your role in the story, Cherry Lips? 

I’m not really one of the main players.  My goddaughter Cerise gets into a sticky situation here at the Silver Knave Inn, which is the tavern I own and run.  She didn’t known exactly what went on here.  
I say it’s a tavern but yes, there are girls here who entertain gentleman for a few extra groats.  
What are you looking at me like that for?  Even fairies need to earn a living!

How do you see the story progressing in the sequel?  Will you be in it?

Well, I see a lot of trouble ahead for Cerise.  That family she’s married into aren’t right in the head 
and I’m sure her husband has some secrets that will come out in the wash.  I will definitely be part of 
the story and most likely an important one.  Everyone who was in Cherry Lips will be in Bewitcher, 
even the ones who died.  Because he didn’t really die, did he?

If you were in a fight with other famous fairies, ie Tinkerbell and Sookie from True Blood, 
who would win?

Me of course.  I’m far more streetwise than the other two.  Tinkerbell is a complete drip and Sookie can fight but she can’t handle men the way I can.  If you put me in a room with the absinthe fairy from Moulin Rouge, well I have to say she might win that one!  I am fond of a little drink or two.

Thank you for taking time to speak with me today, and for not using magic on me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A brief, magical read that will keep your interest captured until the very end.
Cerise is not a witch. There is magic in her bloodline and she has a fairy godmother who is really a fairy, (as well as running a brothel and gammbling institution.) Other unusual and unexplainable things happen daily in the village. 

This is not a traditional fairy tale.
True, there are damsels in distress and curses placed on people. No one gets turned into a frog or toad!
Cerise's mother has been institutionalized after having an affair with the reigning King. 
He ends up being turned into a cat. The younger royal sister also has magical abilities and her brothers are afraid of her. The royal family is totally disfunctional and backstabbing.
No one seems able to conceive an heir so as a last resort they want to steal a secret from Cerise to produce an heir.

With a sense of humor and rolicking fun, if you enjoy retellings and magical fantasy, you will enjoy this book.

Lacey Dearie is the creator of the best-selling Leger - Cat Sleuth Mysteries Series about a talking 

Glaswegian cat detective. She loves observing cats and their idiosyncrasies and has a particular 

fondness for black cats with amber eyes or pretty calicos. She would own a house full of pets if her 

allergies allowed it.

She is also the author of chick-lit novel and Amazon UK Top 100 best-seller, The Tangled Web 

(currently available only on Createspace), chick-lit fairytale Cherry Lips, two nonsensical short stories about amorous foods and the soon to be released Candlelight Lane Mysteries which blend culinary cozies and magical realism.

In her spare time she loves to travel and is a regular visitor to Cyprus - a place that has influenced 

almost every story she writes as much as her home country, Scotland. 

She has a personal blog dedicated to lingerie and fragrances, studies perfumery and is a tiny bit obsessed with cute stationery and ska.

Lacey loves to hear from her readers and can be contacted on Twitter as @laceydearie 

(please be aware of adult content) or on her Facebook page www.facebook.com/laceydearie 

(family friendly).