Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast

Once upon a time there was a beast who dwelled in a mansion in the far outskirts of Chicago. Rarely did the beast leave his safe haven, for he’d given up on the outside world years ago. When the woman he has always loved is violently attacked, the beast must return to save her.

Many see Bruce Maxwell as a beast, but to Nefertiti Townes, he is Prince Charming. After she is released from the hospital, she goes to the one place she feels safe–Maxwell Manor. Being under the protection of the man she loves should be a dream come true for Nefertiti, but their personal demons strive for a nightmare. As Nefertiti and Bruce fight their attraction for each other, they discover there was nothing random about the random attack on Nefertiti.

Click here to read Chapter One

Note: There is very, shall we say, colorful language in this book. Purchase: Kindle Edition, Nook Edition, Print Edition

What Reviewers Had To Say

…King-Bey has written an endearing, action-packed modern day beauty and the beast drama that rivals Disney’s version. Suspense, mystery, romance and a little bit of humor–it’s all there–rolled into one very neat package. The characters were well fleshed out, the twists and turns had me hanging by the seat of my pants and I enjoyed a beneficial lesson to boot; who could ask for anything more? This book charged ahead into the question: do looks really matter in love? The heart knows; so why do we get so caught up in how we look? This is a story that will force you to take a hard look at what is really important in life. All I can say is, King-Bey, my hats off to you girl; you sure know how to tell a story.  (5 Stars, Rawsistaz)

…In this classic tale of beauty and the beast, the reader meets two not so classic characters. Although Bruce and Nefertiti are seriously flawed, their acceptance of each other is a life’s lesson in love. Ms. King-Bey weaves a wonderful tale of unconditional love and forces the reader to remember that beauty is not skin deep but contained deep within the skin. (5 Stars, APOOO Book Club)

…The author explores the meaning of beauty and how much it matters when there is true love. She also brings awareness to anxiety and mood disorders and how this issue is dealt with in the African American community. Beauty And The Beast kept me on edge, reading long into the night. I was delighted with the ending and look forward to more stories by Deatri King-Bey. This sister can really tell a story. I know you will love this novel as much as I did. (5 Stars, AALBC)

Back Story

It only took me three weeks to write Beauty and the Beast. I’ve never written a novel so quickly, but it was my most difficult novel to write. Many of you know the inspiration for the beast was my husband who happens to have bipolar disorder and my muse for the beauty was a friend of mine who actually believes no one could love her. I had the story in my mind before I began typing the first word, but then it happened. My mother told me my grandmother had agreed to move in with her. My grandmother was EXTREMELY independent, so I knew her cancer was much worse than I was being led to believe.

I packed up my bags and computer and went home to find my grandmother dying. I stayed until she passed and thank God to this day for making a way for me to be there with her. Grandma slept a lot those last few weeks. To keep my mind off of losing Grandma, I wrote Beauty and the Beast. It didn’t work. It was so hard writing that book or doing anything else for that matter.

My grandmother died when my first novel, Caught Up, was headed to the printer. The publishing house was kind enough to take the hit on the cost of updating the novel to include a dedication to my grandmother who always believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. Beauty and the Beast is a dark romance and the favorite of my novels because it connects me to my grandmother, husband and friend.

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Note: Nov. 2011 I received my rights back from the publisher for this title. So if you see a version with the orginal cover (lovely legs with a man carrying the heroine) for sale, I do not receive royalties for those purchases. I know you want authors to be paid for their efforts, so I wanted to make you aware of  this.

Posted in: Dee's Titles