Old Dame Groach recruits him as caretaker of her crumbling estate, where he must tend her poisonous garden, beat her white horse daily, and keep far away from the mysterious closet beneath the stairs... and that's only the start of his fantastical troubles! A retelling and shameless embellishment of the French-Canadian folk tales "Scurvyhead" and "Sir Goldenhair."

    Book 6, The Huntsman's Prey, will spinoff from the Bad Boys and introduce the Dark Princesses. Jinni's Wish: Book 4A long, long time ago there lived a man. A Jinni, who had one wish. To know love. But the woman he thought he knew betrayed him and the love he thought they shared. Tortured for his crimes, he was cast out of Kingdom, stripped of all his powers, left to langour in pain and solitude, until eventually he becomes nothing but a ghost...Paz Lopez is an artist with a dream. To buy a ridiculously large penthouse in the swankiest section of Chicago. But there's just one hitch, she has no man to share her dream with. A fateful visit to a carnival and Madam Pandora's tent sends Paz on a mission to find the love of her life before it's too late. But the Madam forgot to tell Paz one very important detail... to meet him, Paz will have to die first.Hook's Pan: Book 5Trishelle Page has known pain in her life, but instead of it making her weak, she's stronger. Confident. That is until the day a fairy kidnaps her during her starring role in Peter Pan's play and tells her not only do fairy tales exist, but that she's the soulmate of the pirate they call Hook, making her question everything she ever thought she knew.Captain James Hook is a man at the end of his rope. He's not the villainous bastard tales have made him out to be. So when the feisty blonde drops literally at his feet, he aims to prove it to her. If only to get her into his bed. What neither one knows is that fate and magic are conspiring and they can deny the attraction all they want but their happily ever after is already written, it's just a matter of getting there.

    A small miscalculation sends her through the roof of an enchanted chateau. Stranded until her broken leg mends, Elle is forced to rely on the good will of the sour chateau owner —the cursed Prince Severin. Prince Severin—the commanding general and staunch supporter of his brother the crown prince—is cursed to look like a beast until a maiden falls in love with him. However, he has given up all hope of shattering the curse after several painful and failed attempts to break it. As such he has only disdain for Elle, leaving her to the devices of his bossy servants. This suits Elle perfectly as she dislikes the entire royal family, Severin included. Unfortunately for the unsuspecting pair, the chateau servants are determined to break the curse and spend the majority of their time pushing Elle and Severin together. After bonding over gardens, animals, and terrifying squirrels Elle and Severin show signs of friendship, and perhaps something more… But not all love stories can end that easily. After all, Elle is not what she seems, and Severin’s life is placed in danger when hostilities flare between his brother and the monarchs of a neighboring country. If they really want the love of a lifetime Elle, a loyal liar, and Severin, an indifferent beast, will have to use every trick they know to survive.

    The show's stars talk about portraying characters who are both classic and new. Plus, the show's producers, writers and behind-the-scences wizards share their secrets about creating the magical episodes you see on screen, including production art and sketches." --Publisher description.

    Here is the story within their story: The Tale of Two Sisters, the spellbinding tale found in the basement of Ever After High. Get the full fairytelling in this exclusive short story by Newbery Honor author Shannon Hale!

    Robin Hood, the Bold and Brave Outlaw of Sherwood Forest, is cowardly, spineless, and a girl.Robyn unwittingly starts the Robin Hood farce when she is mistaken for a male while saving her friend, Marian, from two foresters. Forced into hiding, Robyn unwillingly collects "Merry Men" while grudgingly robbing from the rich fools that wander through Sherwood. What starts as small scale robbery blows up into complex heists when Little John and Will Scarlet join her team, and the idiotic Prince John and his legion of soldiers comes to town. However, Robyn can't stop the theft—not when King Richard is being held ransom.Cowardly Robyn’s best chance to raise money for King Richard’s release is to rob his brother, Prince John. Will she survive the heist, or swing in the gallows?

     Wren and her brothers, Henry and Max, are orphans. They wish to be adopted, but no one wants to take in all three of them. Wren won’t be separated from her family, but no matter how hard she fights to keep them together, she fears she will lose them nonetheless. She wants more for both of them - for herself. She wants an escape. Prompted by a world she sees in a dream, Wren begins to tell her brothers stories of a place where they can be carefree forever - a place called Nevermor. It is an island at the edge of the universe, where all dreams go. There is a boy who guards it, and he is known only as the Rifter. Wren believes that this place truly exists and desires her own life there, where she can keep her family together without anyone tearing them apart. Wren gets more than she bargained for when she is kidnapped by the arrogant and volatile Rifter and taken to Nevermor against her will. It is not completely unwelcome, however. The land is beautiful and there is freedom. The Rifter and his pack of wild boys accept her, and she feels that her brothers will be happy in this place too. Wren falls in love with Nevermor - and with the Rifter - and yet the more she learns of the conflict between the Rifter and a wicked man called the Scourge, the more she comes to realize that Nevermor is not a place for children. Nevermor is a dark fantasy based on the legend of Peter Pan.

    Love Bleeds: Questions are answered. Necks are bitten. Kisses are traded. And Snow realizes sometimes love bleeds...Eye of Abernathy: Snow possesses a piece of the first dragon's soul. She needs to speak to him about that. Also, she finally understands what it's like to be in love.Resolved to Rule: Snow comes face to face with destiny. A word she can't stand.Vampire Ever After?: Snow is the only one who can destroy the Vampire Queen, but her heart isn't in it.

    She knew the spell was about to break, and ran out of the castle just in time to keep her mysterious identity a secret. Prince Charming couldn’t help himself! He had to pursue her, to track her down and invite her to be his queen. The Cinderella Rule is your guide to letting your prince do the work. Whether he knows it or not, the man God has for you longs to experience the thrill of the chase . . . and that means running out of the castle before you give away all your secrets! Find out how to be a woman of mystery who lets herself be pursued, knowing you are worth every ounce of effort. The Cinderella Rule will show you how to be the queen your prince is already looking for.

    One that will forever alter the course of those she loves...Want to find out what happened to Alice and Hatter after Danika dropped Trishelle off at Hook's feet? Author's Note: This is a companion short story to the Kingdom Series. This is a novelette that bridges the Bad Five storyline to the new Kingdom Series (Dark Princess) storyline .

    How many times had she dreamt of the bear…. Now, here he was, as if spelled from her dreams.“I will come with you, Bear,” she said.It is the beginning of an extraordinary journey for the girl. First to the bear’s secret palace in faraway mountains, where she is treated so courteously, but where she experiences the bear’s unfathomable sadness, and a deep mystery…As the bear’s secret unravels, another journey unfolds… a long and desperate journey, that takes the girl to the homes of the four Winds and beyond, to the castle east of the sun, west of the moon.This beautiful, mysterious story of love, loyalty and above all, freedom, is inspired by fairy tale, and is magically told and illustrated by Jackie Morris.

    At least until she wakes up one night and finds out she’s dead. Well, she isn’t technically dead—she just doesn’t have any hair . . . or a nose . . . or skin. Yep—all bones, no body. Human by day and skeleton by night, Cindy is definitely cursed. And because her mother recently died, Cindy has no one to turn to except a father who’s now scared of her and an evil stepmother who makes her do the housecleaning with a toothbrush. To make matters worse, the Spring Fling dance is approaching, and Ethan, the cutest boy in sixth grade, doesn’t seem to know Cindy exists. Of course, Cindy doesn’t think letting Ethan find out she’s part skeleton is the best way to introduce herself.While facing such perils as pickled pig’s feet, a wacky fortune teller, and a few quick trips to the Underworld, Cindy’s determined to break the curse—even for a single night.

    My other foot followed. I looked back at Cinderella - I mean Gabriella - who watched from the other side of the miraculous door. Behind her, I could still see the sacks of boxes in my grandmother's attic. Gazing into reality while standing in a fantasy was a pretty weird sensation. Then, without warning, the door began to close. I scrambled to grab it, but something seemed to force it shut. Perhaps Gabriella, the supposedly sweet angel, had closed the door herself."Gabriella! Help me!"Seventeen-year-old Brinlee is a modern girl living in Idaho. When she discovers a secret portal in her attic bedroom, she accidentally swaps places with the main character from her favorite fairy tale, cinderella. Lost in Cinderella's world, Brinlee threatens to ruin one of the world's greatest love stories. New mysteries surround the characters of the beloved tale, and Brinlee is determined to uncover the secrets. On

    "Have you ever wondered where ideas come from and how stories are made?Would you like to know the true stories behind some of Andy and Terry's books and characters?Are you looking for simple, practical and inspiring writing activities?Would you like to discover 45 great ways to have fun with words and pictures?If you answered YES to any of these questions, then this is definitely the right book for you!Designed for teachers, students and young aspiring writers, Once Upon a Slime contains 45 fun writing and storytelling activities, such as lists, instructions, cartoons, personal stories, poems and pocket books.Examples from Andy and Terry's books are used throughout to demonstrate techniques and to inspire readers to have as much fun playing with ideas, words and pictures as Andy and Terry do when they get together to create their crazy books."

    Although Gilding the Lily-pad is a standalone novel, it is highly recommended that you read The Frog Prince first.***BOOK DESCRIPTION: It was her quirkiness that did it. Five minutes after being assaulted with her shoe at the wake of a total stranger, Roman Habsburg von Lorraine decides it's worth crashing the funeral the next day to pursue the beautiful but odd Leigh Fromm.But when his passing interest very quickly turns into infatuation, Roman isn't sure how to court her--or if he even should. Despite the fact that his great-grandfather was Emperor Karl I of Austria and his grandfather and father Crown Princes, the family was forced into exile after Karl I abdicated in 1918--leaving his family in royal limbo. Born and raised in the U.S., his "almost royal" status makes him an oddity in the States, an object of media hysteria in Austria, and more than eligible to marry into any royal family in Europe who will have him.Despite knowing the difficulties that a relationship with a commoner would present, there's something about Leigh that makes Roman resolved to have her--the opinions of the public, his mother, and his ex-girlfriend, Princess Isabella of Denmark, be damned. But when a parliamentary motion in Austria throws him head-first into a role he never anticipated or asked for, he finds that his relationship with Leigh has suddenly become a matter of state. Worse, his desire to protect Leigh and his uncertainty about his new position leaves him turning more and more to Princess Isabella, who has taken up residence with them (along with his mother). Will Leigh and Roman's relationship survive what's quickly becoming a royal mess?A beautiful commoner, gut-busting laughs, love, cereal fetishes, fun funerals, oddities in the treetops, random hilarity-and scarcely a lily-pad anywhere. Because your princess is out there. (Or not.)

    From a seemingly insignificant word comes the most magical of fairytales. SUMMARY:Possessing magic sucks.What doesn't suck? Fashion, Cindy's boyfriend Gabe, and her best friend, Snow White.Cindy (Cinderella...shhh, don't tell) was born a witch. It's part of who she is. But there's more to her than that. She loves deeply. And has a big heart. She'd do anything for those she cares about, including risk her own life to save theirs.When her fairy godmother demands she leave Salem, Massachusetts and return to the land she was born to rule, she has two options. Tell her fairy godmother no, and seal a death sentence on complete strangers. Or, leave all she's ever known behind, including the love of her life, for an unknown land she's fated to save.So, yeah, life sucks.But Cindy is determined to change that.The Cindy Chronicles:Witch MagicWitch LandWitch TimeWitch KissWitch LoveWitch EndBooks in the BLOOD AND SNOW world.Blood and Snow: The Complete Season 1Cindy WitchThe Hunter's TaleGabriel: a blood and snow short ~ coming Dec 1After the Kiss (Blood and Snow season 2) ~ coming Winter 2013

    This box set makes a great gift for anyone who loves magic and great food.The Cindy Eller books are light contemporary fantasy with a little touch of clean romance. *Warning* these books have been known to cause cravings for sweet treats!This set contains:How (Not) to Play With Magic (a short story)How (Not) to Kiss a ToadHow (Not) to Kiss a PrinceHow (Not) to Kiss a BeastPlus some bonus chapters from Baehrly Breathing!Bring on those Magical cupcakes!

    Her entire life has been arranged, even her marriage. But when Prince Devlin falls under an enchantment, she finds she is willing to do anything to save him, even if it means fighting a dragon.Devlin's own sister, Princess Arabella, is behind the deadly plot. She wants the throne and will use any means necessary. Her perfect plan unravels, leaving Devlin caught in amagical sleep that is slowly spreading through the kingdom of Breniera. All Arabella needs to finish her spell and claim the crown is a drop of Kaylee's blood, but obtaining the single drop is proving more difficult than expected.To save her betrothed, Kaylee embarks on a quest to find an ancient sword and gather a drop of dragon's blood, while trying to stay out of Arabella's traps. But Arabella's traps aren't the only danger. Time is everything. For once the last inhabitant of the kingdom falls asleep, the spell will be sealed, and not even true love's kiss will break it.https://museituppublishing.com/bookst...

    Why couldn't Ryley have bacne, chronic case of nose bleeds, genetic baldness, or uncontrollable gingivitis? Oh no, he had to be perfect in every way. And, that body... Nuff said. It was all I could do to convince my knees not to weaken at the sight of him. Forming coherent words when he spoke my name was dang near impossible. Perhaps if his frontal lobe was a teensy weensy smaller, I might have been able to convince myself that he wasn't so intellectually stimulating. But, he was stimulating,in more ways than one; there was no denying that; no matter how badly I tried to hate him, I couldn't. That made what I was about to do so delightfully horrible that even the wicked Queen of Hearts would be impressed--Alice Mae.

    James, her childhood friend…and brother of her dead fiancé. Xavier possesses the funds necessary to keep the center open, but he offers another bargain—a devil’s bargain: submit her body to his pleasure for seven days and the building doesn’t close its doors. Left scarred from an accident, Xavier is bitter, resentful and alone. When Gwendolyn reappears in his life, need and loneliness overrides conscience and he proposes an arrangement she can’t afford to refuse. With the woman he has always wanted—but could never have—finally in his bed, he hungers for more. Her heart. But could she come to love a beast? A Perfect Fit For no-nonsense, less-than-warm Rowyn Jeong, being labeled the plainer, wicked stepsister has never bothered her…until Darius Fiore reappears in her life. Months ago, they indulged in a hot one-night stand, and the sexy business tycoon branded her like no man had before. But his return threatens her position within her stepfather's company, and he’s the man her stepsister Cindy has within her sights—and hands. Behind closed doors, Daruis discovered more lay beneath Rowyn’s hard exterior than the ice queen she presents to her family. Now, he understands the aloof reserve. Her family’s disregard has left her hungry for love and acceptance. But breaking down her walls will be no easy task. Especially since his presence threatens everything she’s worked so hard to achieve. Beware. These aren’t your mother’s bedtime stories… Author Note: The erotic romance novellas included in this set--Bargain with the Beast and A Perfect Fit--have both been previously published in 2013. I haven't changed them, except to combine the two novellas into one set. If you've read them under the titles Loving the Beast or Stroke of Midnight, then they're the same books.

    Desperation demands she quickly master the role of courageous opponent. She uses her hypnotic singing voice to lead rats to their death, and all the children to safety, in a dying city cursed by the deadly sun.

    Helena survived with triple scars that disfigured her face, and strange tales of a wolf that stood upright and spoke to her.Now at age sixteen, she knows it was no wolf. And it was not alone. A pack of similar animals banded together to kill Francois, the woodcutter who saved her from the first wolf. These creatures now threaten Helena’s family and everyone in the French province of La Rue Sauvage. To stop them, Helena must do things she never planned to do, and become something she never planned to become. Donning a red hood and cloak like the one she was forbidden to wear after the first attack, she arms herself with a repeating crossbow and other assorted weapons. She then wages a private war against the wolves, refusing to stop or slow down until she wipes them out. She only hopes she can somehow defeat the monsters when she confronts them … whatever they actually are.THE RED RIDERThe New Action-Adventure Fairy Tale Thrillerby Randall Allen DunnCome along for the ride.

    Discover the paranormal outake of what might have happened.

    Whether she’s falling off a roof, chasing down terrorists, or leading a hostage to safety, Gabby is always on the move and you’re invited to go along for the wild ride. Snow White and the Hunter (Gabby Grimm Fairy Tale Mystery #1) -- She’s got her work cut out for her when ruthless terrorists come a-calling! As the war on terror invades her idyllic Vermont village and its pastoral way of life, threatening its good citizens, Gabby refuses to surrender.... Seasonal resident Jonathan Klarsfeld is brutally murdered at his lakeside cabin while working on an antiterrorist software program for Ramparts Manufacturing, his family taken hostage. Sent to the Klarsfeld cabin to check out a report of suspicious activity, Gabby and her cohort, Woody, are just in time to witness a powerful explosion and discover the body. Enter Sam Hogan, Army counter-terrorism specialist. He shakes, rattles, and rolls his way into her world with a flash bang! With gumption and guts, she and her colleagues join forces with Sam and the Vermont State Police to wage their own campaign on the bad guys, hoping to rescue the Klarsfeld family in time. In the breathless blink of an eye, the wild chase is on and all bets are off on what happens next! Where’s Hansel and Gretel’s Gingerbread House? (Gabby Grimm Fairy Tale Mystery #2) -- A desperate plea for help from Cousin Annette takes Gabby to NYC just before Christmas, to unofficially hunt for a missing co-worker at Frist and Company. The opinionated widow, still not used to life without Paul, a true prince of a husband, isn't having much luck with finding a new guy. It’s been one embarrassment after another, especially after a jealous wife went ballistic on her in front of her co-workers. Annette’s latest office romance? It’s a complete disaster -- the guy has disappeared without a trace. Is he a con man who took a powder on purpose, leaving Annette with egg on her face, or did something more sinister happen? Little Red Riding Hood and the Secret Cookie Recipe (Gabby Grimm Fairy Tale Mystery #3) -- Willie Dumfries is the real deal -- a Big, Bad Wolf who will stop at nothing to punish Sheriff Rufus Parteger. It’s payback most horrific when Willie wants revenge! His target? A real-life Little Red Riding Hood alone in the dark, dangerous woods without her cell phone, at the mercy of wild predators, animal and human. Teenager Mary Ellen Parteger, daughter of the sheriff of Latimer Falls, Vermont, drops off a favorite family cookie recipe to Deputy Gabby Grimm late one afternoon in early spring, still wearing her red fleece hoodie, and drives off on her merry way, armed with her new driver’s license and a warning from Deputy Grimm to drive safely. Hours later, up at Pinkins Pass for a romantic rendezvous under the stars with her Army Special Forces boyfriend, Sam Hogan, Gabby unexpectedly finds the Parteger family car abandoned in the parking lot, Mary Ellen’s purse still on the seat. Snatched by a couple of creeps hired for the job by the vicious gangster Rufus Parteger put behind bars back when he was a cop in Providence, Rhode Island, the missing girl is in real peril and the Latimer Falls Sheriff’s Department is forced to call in the Vermont State Police for help. Only one problem -- there’s a bad apple with a bad secret hiding in plain sight, and he poses a threat to everyone. Buy this thrilling anthology today and save some moo-oo-lah (that's Vermont cow humor....)

    The aforementioned dwarf, Rumpelstiltskin, has escaped the Tower prison of Thiside determined to finish the sinister plot he started so many years ago. Robert Darkly, oblivious that he is the son of the Mad Hatter, must partner with the mysterious ‘Agency’ to pursue Rumpelstiltskin across our world and the world of Thiside and uncover the treacherous secret that threatens to throw both realities into eternal chaos.

    99c sale ends soon. Normal price $2.99. This special edition e-book contains every version of Beauty and the Beast as well as a wealth of stunning original art taken from two centuries worth of original illustrations. Cupid and Psyche Beauty and the Beast The de Beaumont translation The Singing, Springing Lark East of the Sun and West of the Moon The Summer and Winter Garden The Clinking Clanking Lowesleaf The Little Nut Twig Little Broomstick Beauty and the Horse The Singing Rose The Bear Prince The Small-Tooth Dog The Enchanted Tsarévich The Enchanted Frog The Prince Who Was Changed Into A Snake The Three Daughters of King O'Hara The Brown Bull of Ringlewood The Story of Five Heads And more... *Links to free, full-length audio recordings of different versions of Beauty and the Beast. *"Beauty and the Beast At The Movies" - Comprehensive list of movie adaptations from 1911-2014 *Image gallery showcasing work from renowned artists Edmund Dulac, Walter Crane and others. 22 DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE STORY *Active Table of Contents accessible from the Kindle "go to" feature. *Perfect formatting in rich text compatible with Kindle's Text-to-Speech features. *A low, can't-say-no price!

    Quinn Roberts knows it is. She's felt the presence of spirits her entire life, investigating and photographing them with her best friend. Only none of those encounters ever turned violent, until now. The menacing darkness feeding off her stepmother has promised she won't live to see her eighteenth birthday.After a chance meeting Quinn reluctantly allows actor Jason Preston into her life, which has complications of its own. She's not used to letting people get close. Falling for him while fighting for her life, and her family's legacy, only complicates things more. Jason shows her exactly what she stands to lose, especially when she's being attacked by the mysterious entity. Each attack is more violent and terrifying than the last.With Jason's help, she dives into the Roberts' family history, searching for a link between a woman who went missing a hundred and fifty years ago and what's happening now. What they find is a brutal murder and that the ghost doesn't just want to hurt Quinn, it wants revenge.It wants her life.

    Evony’s physical gestures—even the simplest movement of her hands—revealed that she had not always been destitute. The same was true of the children—of their polished manners and the boy’s knowledge of horses and tendency to be bold and fearless of strangers.Ah yes, Stavos enjoyed a good mystery. After all, interest in the inexplicable circumstances surrounding the royals of Abawyth was the very thing that had lured him to the kingdom—the enigma of Abawyth’s twelve sleepy princesses. And yet now—now his mind was all the more intrigued. Not only was the obscurity of what had caused the profound and baffling torpidity of Abawyth’s princesses laid out before him, but also he found his curiosity intensely piqued over the riddle surrounding the very lovely Evony and her siblings.As Stavos strode through the village resting on the outskirts of Abawyth Castle, his mind reeled with possibilities. His musings were drawn back to why he had come to Abawyth at all—to solve the conundrum surrounding the twelve beautiful princesses of Abawyth kingdom—to solve the seemingly impenetrable crux and thereby win the hand of one of Abawyth’s princesses, as his father, King Letholdus of Ethiarien, had commanded.

    Her stepmother wants to make sure Catherine doesn't win.Follow Catherine as she tries to outsmart her horrible stepmother and stepsisters. Will she win?A book for girls aged 8-11.

    When a new boy moves to town in this modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty, he learns that there's a house in the hills that no one has gone into in a hundred years.

    Such an encounter, however, has a price; the shadow of Madame Levier threatens Elle's happiness and even her very existence as secrets from her stepmother's past slowly begin to surface.As for Jack, time is running out. Trapped between the consequences of Molly's curse and the possibility of losing everything he now possesses, he'll do anything to escape -- even if it means manipulating a magical being whose powers are meant for another.From fairy pools and forbidden flames, to circuses and sailors' lairs, the glorious magic of a human fairy and the opulence of three grand balls paint a complex world -- one in which a beautiful gown may not be enough to conquer a throne and the persuasion of magic requires more than merely a desire to control it.

    But first, she wanted to be beautiful.Twelve-year-old Bettony has read enough stories that begin with once upon a time to know what happens to the ugly stepsisters at the end, and she’s determined to escape that fate by any means necessary—even by magic. Unfortunately, when it comes to magic, there is no place for regret, refunds, or exchanges. Even if you accidentally turn your older sister into a toad. If Bettony wants her happily ever after to end well, she’s going to have to find a way to turn her sister back into a person before their mother finds out she’s been dabbling with magic and grounds her for life. And if she wants to do that, she’s going to need more magic. Tracking down the family magic turns out to be surprisingly easy. Now, if only it came with instructions . . .

    For Elise, her friends, her father, and every other citizen of Colmar, the story was a fairy tale created by the older generation to help little children sleep at night without fear. But, forty years after Belle and over sixty years after the curse, the legend becomes a haunting reality once again. Joined on one side by Marshall, who is possessively in love with her, and joined on the other side by her invalid friend Patric, who Elise feels she must protect, Elise never thought she would also befriend the prince and take her own place in the fairy tale. Unfortunately, the return of the Beast means more than finding beauty and love among ugliness and hate. The Beast has real-life consequences that result in misery, confusion, and suffering, and the return of the Beast means Elise must choose who and what she cares about most and must discover whether, like her predecessors, she can tame the Beast.

    She just has to steal the Lord of Winter’s heart by lulling him to sleep with the Harp of the Seven Winds. Once she has it, all Aneira has to do is lock it in a magic jar Baba Yaga gives her. After that, she’s free to go home.The only way to obtain the harp, however, is to succeed at the three tasks set forth by the winds themselves—winds that are bent on protecting the harp from mortal hands at all costs.But stealing the Lord of Winter’s heart turns out to be more complicated than Aneira realized, and she must decide whether returning to her family is worth the price of the world losing Winter forever.

    Refusing to do her bidding, Connor escapes. He follows his intuition to travel far away, all the while fighting to keep his humanity from the wolf's all-pervading instincts. Lost and alone, Connor's dreams of a beautiful young woman who brings color back to his monochromatic existence. Ever since her mother passed away, Melody Saltman has been plagued by nightmares. No night occurs without her fighting for her sanity, until one evening a beautiful grey wolf breaks into her dream to save her from the inky darkness. In this dreamtime, Melody and Connor discover that each is more than what they appear to one another. Trevor has been watching Melody ever since she was a little girl, manipulating and manoeuvring to have her as his own. When she agrees to him courting her, Trevor knows that he is close to realizing his return to full power as one of the Brotherhood. One way or another, he will have Melody. When Melody discovers Connor is real, new questions about her past and her sanity come to the fore. How can it be possible to love a wolf, let alone spend the rest of her life with one, when Trevor is there for her? Can Connor become the man Melody needs in her life? More importantly, does he want to?

    Three years later she’s on the road, alone, and making a living as a curse-breaker.Aiden Divine’s bones creak, his hair (what he has left of it) is white, and he’s wishing for an end to it all. He once was the youngest High Wizard in history. Now he’s twenty-five in a ninety-year-old man’s body and resigned to the fact that his curse is unbreakable.A sudden storm, a chance encounter, and mistaken identities lead Aiden and Zoe on a wild goose chase around the countryside in pursuit of the one person who can break Aiden’s curse. Zoe.

    So when she receives a mysterious, romantic invitation to meet him at midnight, she knows she has to go.But it’s St. Nicholas’s Eve, the ancient festival of Bellsnichol, when demons roam the dark winter landscape. Tradition demands that everyone in the tiny town of Bremerton stay inside, doors shut tight against evil.Gilly thinks it’s just a quaint old superstition. She has no idea that a malevolent power has been unleashed in Bremerton—with Kai as its target. But when she answers her door at midnight, her romantic date turns deadly…and she’s drawn into an ancient web of fear and darkness that threatens everything she loves.This book is a novella - about 87 pages, 32,000 words.

    Queens & lovers... Thorns & magic... Promises made but never fulfilled... Jennifer Crow's poetry ventures into that enchanted realm, exploring the fairy tales and myths you think you've always known. These poems will tempt you with their shiny-bright surface, but their taste has become delightfully unfamiliar... There is a new sharpness here-of secrets hidden below the surface-and like The First Bite of the Apple, their sweetness soon gives way to the darkness beneath.

    Haunted by an enchanted monster from a past she dare not reveal, and hounded by the perilously perceptive young village doctor, Villem Deere, the headstrong girl of the woods gambles with fate by binding hers to that of Sigmund, the captivating orphan boy with mysterious nightly business of his own.The Swan PrinceBook One of The Wilderhark Tales<> ~ <> ~ <>An enchantress’s curse turns a spoiled royal into a beast; a princess’s pricked finger places her under a hundred-year spell; bales of straw are spun as golden as the singing harp whisked down a giant beanstalk – all within sight of Wilderhark, the forest that’s seen it all.You’ve heard the stories – of young men scaling rope-like braids to assist the tower-bound damsel; of gorgeous gowns appearing just in time for a midnight ball; of frog princes, and swan princes, and princes saved from drowning by maidens of the sea. Tales of magic. Tales of adventure. Most of all, tales of true love.Once upon a time, you knew them as fairytales. Know them now as Wilderhark’s.*(Alternate cover edition: 978-0-9891846-0-1)

    High-tech gaming and ancient magic collide when a computer game opens a gateway to the treacherous Realm of Faerie ~Violet Yamaguchi can't wait to play the immersive new computer game, Feyland--but she doesn't suspect the game wants something in return...

    When she hears an open call for bodyguards for the twelve headstrong princesses, she thinks the job could reverse her fortunes. Unfortunately, her new charges are under a nightly curse, and everyone seems determined to keep the details a mystery--including its victims.Luckily, Bay has a trick up her sleeve. Her imp owes her three wishes, and is desperate to grant them. She's been hoarding his magic for an emergency, but it might be time to cash in: according to a fine-print clause in her contract, if she cannot solve the princesses' curse in three nights, she'll be executed the following dawn.This 9000-word novelette first appeared in InterGalactic Medicine Show in January 2012.Cover elements by Jessica Truscott and Jeannie Ann Numos.

    In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.Isra wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.

    They have turned every piece of her to poison, and no one can look at her without turning to stone. But she soon finds an unlikely friend in Hades, The Lord of the Underworld, and settles in to her new life.Until the heroes arrive.Convinced that she is a monster that needs to be slain, hero after hero ventures to Medusa's cave, never to be seen again. But there's something different about the latest hero, Perseus. Something tragic. Will Medusa be able to stop Perseus and save herself? Will she even want to?

    When, at last, Belle is able to find her way back to the palace, she finds her beloved Beast lying as still as death on the ground. As Belle’s tears fall on his face, the Beast is transformed into a handsome prince – the ancient spell upon him broken by Belle’s tears of true love…

    Now a regular at Council meetings, Morgan is only getting stronger…but what good are incredible powers if you can’t even protect yourself from a broken heart?Morgan falls into old routines as her time at MAC winds down. The closer graduation creeps the more someone doesn’t want her to make it that far. Could it be her grandfather or Raven coming to finish off the job? Gathering strength from some unexpected sources, Morgan decides she is done hiding and braces herself for the ultimate betrayal. Can her fragile heart survive the truth and the uncertainty her future holds?

    Or do we?Not everyone gets a happily-ever-after. What about the villains? Why were they so mean? And how did they turn out this way?Author Shea Berkley always wondered about the other side of the story. Was the wicked queen stepmother to Snow White always evil incarnate? And was King Thrush Beard, perhaps a lesser known fairy tale, such a mean trickster from childhood? What about the spoiled princess he tries to tame?Pull up a chair and join us for two tales told from the other point of view. The point of view of the Evil Queen and the Spoiled Princess. You might never feel the same way about the stories of Snow White and King Thrush Beard again.

    Intended to be a sacrifice by their zealot parents, they were instead rescued by The Company. Raised to become soldiers in the war against zombies, they now provide safe passage through danger zones, one contract at a time.Clint's only skill is war, but he's weary of killing other men. When his contract with the Marines runs out, he takes a job on Gretchen's team, hoping that the search-and-rescue life will suit him better.On Clint's second day, their four-man team is attacked, drugged, and taken to a prison full of frightened civilians. The only way in or out is by helicopter and, here, their enemies are human. One by one, the captives are culled from the holding area. Rumors say the facility director uses the prisoners as experimental subjects for the testing of a zombie cure.When Hank is taken, Clint and Gretchen must put aside their personal feelings and find a way out of the prison, surrounded by thousands of starving zombies, before Hank becomes just one more disposable guinea pig in the hands of a twisted mad woman.

    Here, a musician plays cards with a fairy king in a game that isn’t really about cards at all, and a king’s long-suffering councillor must figure out a way to deal with a very pesky monster.Learn the price of immortality and the meaning of loss, and discover the power of love, humour and friendship in these 17 tales of magic and wonder.Explore the evanescent world of the Hinterlands, where words, wishes and music are so much more than you would ever expect…

    What, then, drove Alice to dream of bodily distortions and dangerous adults? What is happening in her waking life to cause this darkness? Reimagined using details from Carroll's original work, Jessica Young's collection ALICE'S SISTER focuses on Alice's older sister, Mary, and the trouble she faces--the quiet, shadowy disturbances--that affects everyone around. It seems the rabbit hole goes much farther down than we thought. Employing ambitious writing techniques such as rotating narrators, Young invites us in for the descent. "In this haunted reimagining of a Victorian children's book, wonderland conceals a darker story. Jessica Young writes with uncanny precision about the most occluded reaches of the heart. The breadth of compassion in these poems is all the more remarkable because of the clarity with which they make their case: that innocence is a dangerous fantasy imposed upon the young."--Linda Gregerson "Jessica Young's first collection takes us so far beyond the looking glass, it's a reluctant surprise to return to the world upon putting it down. We have here a young poet fully formed. Her voice is sure when it needs to be, and full of fear and questioning when that's called for. She has invented an entrancing time and place, and peopled it. But, although this collection has some of a fiction's best elements, this is song. Musical, all-encompassing. These poems call up for me all of my favorite poets, but Jessica Young sounds like no one else I've ever read."--Laura Kasischke "If you thought there was nothing else to say about the Alice in Wonderland story, think again. Jessica Young has taken on a detective-poet's role in potent poems of haunting, delicate strength. Read them closely to journey more deeply into the mystery of that classic, very strange book."--Naomi Shihab Nye "Jessica Young constructs a world so lush with characters and character--the red trillium flowers underfoot, the spruce piano keys--that we could be forgiven it we wished to simply linger, for a while, in the detail. But this book is far more than a poetic re-imagination of Lewis Carroll. In a series of striking formal experiments and narrative turns, Young's poetry takes on our dailiness in order to change it imperceptibly, "like a plum sliced/...silently pitted, twisted back/into place, and presented as if untouched, undamaged."--Tung-Hui Hu "I can't remember the last time I read a collection that was, all at once, as brilliantly conceived, as wondrous with language, and as fun to get lost in."--A. Van Jordan

    1. In Finnegus Boggs, Confessions of a Marid, Djinn, the genie grants two Oakland punks a chance to rewrite their destiny.2. Hawk and Megan learn a valuable life lesson about love in Bird’s Eye View.3. The Activation is a cautionary tale for bickering children, and the parents who fail to silence them.4. Sylverster McCain travels a sliver of light to reset Faith’s path in life in The Morality Police.

    This is not your mama's poetry. There is no stocking too blue, no blood too thick, no cow too sacred to escape revelation in Michelle's own inimitable style. From the rhapsodic "Snow Project" to the ribald "Grandmother's Got Game," Michelle exposes all our foibles with penetrating precision. Her poetry will make you giggle, will make you gasp, may even make you gnash your teeth. What it will never do is leave you unmoved.

    The ceremony itself promises to be the most glamorous social event of the decade. Snow White’s castle has been meticulously scrubbed, polished and opulently decorated for the celebration. It is already nearly bursting with jubilant guests and merry well-wishers. Prince Edel, Raven's fiancé, is a fine man from a neighboring kingdom and Snow White's own domain is prosperous and at peace. Things could not be better, in fact, except for one thing: The king is dead. The queen has been in a moribund state of hopeless depression for over a year with no end in sight. It is only when, in a fit of bitter despair, she seeks solitude in the vastness of her own sprawling castle and climbs a long disused and forgotten tower stair that she comes face to face with herself in the very same magic mirror used by her stepmother of old. It promises her respite in its shimmering depths, but can Snow White trust a device that was so precious to a woman who sought to cause her such irreparable harm? Can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? And finally, can she release her soul-crushing grief and suffocating loneliness to once again discover what "happily ever after" really means? Only time will tell as she wrestles with her past and is forced to confront The Reflections of Queen Snow White.

    Especially Disney fairytales, that tell of button-nosed sea princesses who fall in love with handsome, honourable princes and end up living happily ever after in their multi-turreted castles by the sea.That's not how it works. Deeper is the story of what really happens when a curious mer girl rescues a cynical, self-obsessed writer, living alone in his lighthouse by the sea. When she makes a pact she can't go back on, for love of a man she barely knows. If you think you know how it ends, you probably don't.

    But even though her mother despises sweet, beautiful Marfa, Prascovia found herself adoring her new sister instead. Their mother’s spite drives Marfa one winter's night into the bitter cold, but astonishing them all, Marfa returns with violets, strawberries, and the favor of Lord Frost. However, having Father Winter as an admirer has its own perils, and Prascovia vows to save her beloved sister from Winter’s attentions. A haunting, lush re-imagining of the Russian “Jack Frost” fairy tale.

    Bowen's dreamy, eerie poems create a subversively gothic landscape: 'mile after mile of busted/lunchboxes glinting in the sun.'"—Carol GuessFrom "ballyhoo":still-life with broken doorgod and circuslaurel, nebraskathe levitationsbad endingslocksthe sugar sequencea little feverinertiatheories of gravitytroublecurecarnival season

    Kennedy heats up the New York stage, and James Bond makes his first big on-screen appearance. It is a time of glamour, where martinis flow freely and socialites puff cigarettes as a symbol of class. The petticoat is on its way out and the pillbox hat is in while the birth control pill penetrates American bedrooms.In the midst of sweeping change, one convention remains. The American Dream: A fairytale based on a white picket fence and a woman’s commitment to being a perfect housewife. Bridget Jeane, a 22-year-old New Yorker, is about to say "I do" to this idyllic domestic future. Until the night she's almost killed in a car accident.Waking up in a hospital room, Bridget recalls a fight and her drunken fiancé losing control of the car. In the aftermath, Bridget abandons her matrimonial future. She says goodbye to the Midtown lights and swanky nightclubs of the Big Apple. On the eve of her move, Mr. Frank Connery, a successful Madison Avenue advertising executive, asks Bridget for a date and won't take no for an answer. Mr. Connery shakes and stirs Bridget through a cocktailed dreamscape of Manhattan’s glitzy nightlife. But there's a twist in the evening's drink that she doesn't see coming. Inspired by the popular AMC television series Mad Men and garnished with themes from Ira Levin's novel Stepford Wives (which was twice adapted to film), Seeing Red is an historical, coming-of-age New Adult novella that examines traditional values and gender roles during a rapidly changing era.

    One freezing cold night, Krissy locks Saucy out of the house and Saucy must sleep in the barn. In a desperate move, Saucy and Bubba run away to their aunt's house-except Aunt Vivian isn't home. Trying to take care of Bubba for several days forces Saucy to take charge of her own life and accept a terrible sacrifice in order to find safety for herself. This is a simple story that weaves through the tangled threads of a family and builds to an ending full of hope.

    What about the villains? Why were they so mean? And how did they turn out this way?Author Shea Berkley always wondered about the other side of the story. Was Rapunzel really such a victim? And why was it okay for Jack to steal from the Giant without remorse or consequences?Pull up a chair and join us for two tales told from the other point of view. The point of view of the Hag and the Giant. You might never feel the same way about the story of Rapunzel’s long hair or Jack’s tall beanstalk again.

    Meeting Kaden Walker was almost surreal, and their blossoming friendship was like a fairytale. Even the dreams were fantastical. They were so real, so amazing! Dreams of dancing princesses and handsome princes. Dreams that should have begun with Once Upon A Time and end with Happily Ever After, but instead left her waking in tears and feeling more lonely than ever before. What was the real story behind Reasonway Academy? Why did every moment feel like magic, and yet fantasy and imagination were strictly outlawed. Where did students go that they were never found again? Above all, why did Sarah feel like everyone was watching her and waiting?

    News reports include: Agoraphobic Piggy Killed in Wolf Force Winds Dwarfs Arrested After Short Fight Tuffet Use On the Rise John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt Changes His Name

    Cinderella Spinderella uses ebook technology to allow readers to choose how Cinderella looks. Is she Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, or from the Indian subcontinent? You can pick. Mark Binder’s Cinderella Spinderella began its life as a spoken-word story told to very different audiences— groups of inner city youngsters and their parents and campers with severe physical disabilities. The ebook Cinderella Spinderella, connects with any reader, offering 25 different combinations, so that every youngster can see herself or himself reflected in the story. This is Cinderella who powerfully chooses her identity! The classic story is modernized in this beautifully illustrated edition, written with delightful humor and a surprising twist. "Eleanor lived alone with two stepsisters in a skinny house that her father had left to her in his will. By all rights the house belonged to Eleanor, yet her stepsisters treated her very poorly."

    Kaedin’s hoping to get magic. Jaeda just wants to survive. But neither are prepared for the surprise awaiting them.“A Phone Conversation”An alien child calls the White House while trying to reach McDonald’s.“The Spinning Talent”When Della’s roommate is stupid enough to give away a ring that protects her from her birth-curse, Della is forced to reveal herself as a goldspinner in order to find her roommate’s true love.“Unicess”In a world where everyone gets wings, Elysia is the only one who doesn’t have hers yet.“Cindy’s Fairy Godmother”Cinderella’s daughter meets a grumpy fairy godmother who gives her three wishes — which do not go as planned.“Monster Under the Bed”Jennifer’s best friend is the monster under her bed. Unfortunately, her brand new baby-sitter wants to get rid of him.“Time Switch”After spending three months in 1923, Saylee comes back home to 2083, only to discover that everything has changed.“The Apple of Discord”In the world of Greek mythology, Cassandra’s slave picks up the Apple of Discord, instead of her brother Paris. She’s asked to choose which goddess is the most beautiful. But what answer will prevent war?“Advanced Precognition”Sarah knows she’s in trouble when her Advanced Precognition class expects her to finish her homework assignments before she’s assigned them.“Beauty and Brave”An powerful female dragon has to save her little brother when he’s kidnapped by a human who wants him for a pet.“The Dragon and the Santa”After trying to eat Rudolph, a dragon ends up pulling Santa’s sleigh.“Invoice”Buying oil from alien governments might not be a good idea.“Interplanetary Edition”Why are the humans inviting aliens to visit from every parallel universe they can find? Everybody has a different explanation, but the true answer is very silly.“Schedule TMTR”Because even time-travelers have to pay income tax.“On the Way Through the Woods”A kleptomaniac princess and a good witch meet a monster in the forest who does NOT like people stealing his roses.“When the Wilkinsons Grew”Strange things often happen when the Wilkinsons are involved.

    except when it is.There’s nothing wrong with Ella Gibson’s life— it just isn’t very exciting, despite being surrounded by lingerie. Working for Cardiff’s top modelling agency should have been glamorous, but most of the time Ella is running around with memos and cups of coffee. It’s a far cry from living the dream, but skirting the edge of her fantasy life is enough. Then comes the day when her cat starts to talk, claiming to be Ella’s fairy godmother. As if that weren’t crazy enough, the pesky puss becomes a fashion advisor and behavioral expert, too. Add an evil ex-stepmother, a hunk called Charming, plus a looming party-cum-ball, and you have all the elements of a classical fairy tale. There's even a couple of ugly sisters—the fact that they are two gorgeous gay men being neither here nor there. Ella’s not your typical fairy-tale princess though, and it will take more than a discarded glass slipper to get her man. It’s quite possible she may have to curb her enthusiasm for cursing a wee bit, not to mention her love of vodka. And can Muse, her surprisingly straight-laced feline friend, overcome her prudishness long enough for Ella to sneak a kiss or three with her intended beau?

    . . a big tower with a girl called Rapunzel trapped inside. Have you ever thought about all of the unusual buildings in fairytales and nursery rhymes and who would have designed them? If you want to know who, well, find out in 'Building the Dream' by Lynda Collins. And while you're questioning these fairy tales, did you ever wonder how the Princess managed to feel that pea under all of those mattresses? Was there some sort of conspiracy to gain the throne? You only have to read Jan Edwards' 'Princess Born' to find out. And for that matter, what about the poor bears who had their home invaded? How do the bears feel? And who are the invaders. All questions, which can be answered in 'A Taste of Honey' by Theresa Derwin. As for the Beast - well, is the Beast good or evil? Did the witch who changed him into a beast do something good or something bad? In 'Beast' Hannah Lackoff seeks to explore these issues, and maybe muddy the waters even more. In 'Gretel's Way' by Colin Fisher, we meet a Gretel who is immediately feisty, sarcastic, and quite aware of the absurdity of her situation, and the Witch was more than a little obsessive compulsive. And finally, in 'Pork Hammy and Chop' we meet William Meikle's version of 'The Three Little Pigs' where anything can happen!If you enjoy reading fairy tales that twist and surprise, then 'Grimm and Grimmer: Volume One' is for you. Step into our world of fairy tales retold . . .

    There are rats in their houses, their stores—even swimming in their stew! The rats don’t think they’re a problem. They just want to live their lives in peace. With the town’s approval, the mayor thinks of a clever way to solve the problem. He offers twenty gold pieces to a piper to rid the town of rats. He delivers only five.But he’s cheated the wrong piper, who’ll have to use both skill and wit to teach this town a lesson. Because there’s more than money at stake. An evil pattern is emerging in the way Hamelin treats any creature it considers inferior. And the Piper vows to put an end to it—once and for all.Think you know everything about this classic folktale of greed and cunning? In “Paying Piper,” you’ll learn what really happened the day a magical musician came to Hamelin—and why. Fans of fairy tales with a twist will delight in this tricky, witty middle-grade short story. (And if you’re a parent or teacher, stay tuned for bonus discussion questions at the end!)“Paying Piper” is approximately 5,000 words, or about twenty pages.