"Glitches" - A Prequel & Introduction to Marissa Meyer's Cyborg Cinderella

"Glitches" by Goni Montes*

 [Excerpt]

CINDER

by Marissa Meyer

Chapter 1

THE SCREW THROUGH CINDER'S ANKLE HAD RUSTED, THE engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle. Her knuckles ached from forcing the screwdriver into the joint as she struggled to loosen the screw one gritting twist after another. By the time it was extracted far enough for her to wrench free with her prosthetic steel hand, the hairline threads had been stripped clean.

Tossing the screwdriver onto the table, Cinder gripped her heel and yanked the foot from its socket. A spark singed her fingertips and she jerked away, leaving the foot to dangle from a tangle of red and yellow wires.

She slumped back with a relieved groan. A sense of release hovered at the end of those wires--freedom. Having loathed the too-small foot for four years, she swore to never put the piece of junk back on again. She just hoped Iko would be back soon with its replacement.

(keep reading...)

  And so begins the story of Cinder, debut author Marissa Meyer's Cyborg Cinderella. News and reviews about this book are sweeping the web with the much anticipated release happening on January 3rd, 2012.

But it turns out we now have the opportunity to find out just how Cinder got to where she was before Chapter one even starts.  

Tor.com is offering an exclusive prequel you can read online right now.

(Click HERE.)

Meet Cinder, gifted mechanic and cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. In "Glitches," we see the results of that illness play out, and the emotional toll that it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch....

Need more, now the prequel (and 1st chapter excerpt) has whet your appetite for this unusual Cinderella? You can read and/or download Chapters 1-5 HERE.

And of course, here's the book you should be putting on pre-order if you possibly can (click image):

 And since I adore seeing various versions of cover art for different countries as it gives you a different slant on the story, here is the one for Spain:

Ms Meyer has just posted her current (and still growing) tour schedule HERE, with this delightful little note: 

Note: Attending ladies, there's a grassroots movement to get as many girls wearing red shoes as possible, so break out those sexy red pumps!

Heidi over at the SurLaLune Fairy Tales Blog has had the opportunity to read an ARC and gives you more info there (hint: she REALLY liked it!) BUT she's also in the middle of a Favorite Fairy Tale Things Wish List competition with an ARC of Cinder as one of the prizes. Go enter! [Plus I want to see what you guys are craving in your fairy tale Christmas stockings this year. ;) ]

* For the art-process inclined (like me) you may enjoy seeing the artist's idea sketches and work in progress for the illustration above for the short story. Click HERE to see Goni Montes' blog posting with all the goodies.