C. Rae D'Arc's Blog, page 2

I wrote this to submit to an anthology, but (lucky for you) it only passed two rounds of eliminations. Since it’s only a semi-finalist, that means I get to share it with you on my website!

Dragon Slaying for Dummies

Something shiny in the sand caught my attention, and—being a descendant of dragons—I was naturally drawn to it. The shiny something stuck out between a rock and a shell, half buried in the sandy bottom of my lagoon home near Port Fairy, Australia. Fluttering my wings as fast as possible, I swam to it at a whopping 450 feet per hour.

Hey, not all dragons were fast. Not all dragons were gigantic monsters either. Some of us were mistakenly called seahorses.

Psh, as if I had four legs with hooves and a hairy tail to swat the flies that constantly buzzed around me. Gross.

I didn’t even look like the typical seahorse that floated upright with a curled tail.

No, I was a seadragon! (Incorrectly prefixed with “common.”) I floated like sky dragons with my belly down, face forward, and decorative flower petals—I mean, horns!—down my back and tail. I didn’t breathe fire, but I could breathe underwater! I was also a good foot and a half in length. I wasn’t a beast of burden to carry anyone on my back. No, I was a majestic creature, collecting beautiful treasures. I had stripes and spots to blend into my surroundings, and a long nose to reach for that oddly translucent and shiny—

A wave washed over me. Not like an ocean wave on the surface or a current change, but a wave of magic. It was a call to adventure from an adventurer.

A voice in my head told me to “Come.” I obeyed like I was born for this moment, swimming to the surface and edge of the lagoon.

My mum said that her great-grandad was once called by an adventurer. They never saw him again, leaving me curious about his adventures. What greatness could possibly keep him away from our beautiful lagoon and pleasant life? Every day was already an adventure as strange new pieces of human life washed into our lagoon. Even if I wasn’t curious, the voice that beckoned me was strong and irresistible.

As I abandoned the shiny what’s-it, I passed my second-most annoying cousin, Nerid. I almost didn’t notice his camouflaged body until he shifted away from the green seaweed.

“What’s your hurry?” he jeered. “Ooh! Something shiny! I bet it’ll look great in my hoard! Everything looks better in my hoard, unlike your hoard that’s full of trash.”

I ignored him and continued upward. Usually, Nerid’s words hurt and left me hiding in the seaweed for hours, but today, I was on a mission. I alone was affected by the summons. That made me extra special!

“Crikey, where is it?” a deep voice boomed from above the surface. “I summoned a water-breathing familiar, and nothing’s here.”

“Try it again,” a second booming voice said with a higher pitch.

The wave of magic crashed over me again. I fluttered faster. Almost there!

“I don’t see anything.”

I’m here! I mentally shouted. Stop trying to summon me, I’m coming as fast as I can!

“Crikey!” the summoner shouted. “I heard it. It’s on its way, but what’s taking it so long?”

I’m…almost…there! With my last word, I popped above the surface. G’day!

Two humans stood at the edge of the lagoon. They were almost as big as dolphins, but much less beautiful. Their faces were squished and round, and they wore funny fabrics over their unshiny skin. My summoner made a funny sound as he sucked liquid from a cup into his mouth. His companion had features that defined her as a female, I think.

The summoner’s eyes found me, and he cursed. “A seahorse? Crikey, I wanted a familiar that could breathe underwater, but—a seahorse? What good is this thing gonna do? I need something to help me slay a dragon, not a leaf!”

His companion smirked. “It’s fitting. That’s what you get for being a level-one adventurer trying to check off level-ten adventures.”

I am a dragon, I said proudly. Don’t you see the resemblance with my long snout, tail, and scales?

The summoner gaped at me while his companion burst into laughter.

“Looky there! It’s a level-one dragon for a level-one adventurer! Hah! Do you think you can slay it, oh mighty warrior? Careful, it might flop on you!”

“Ugh, this is useless. I quit.”

Releasing me from his magic summons, he threw his cup into the water. It splashed over me and sank from its heavy contents.

Freed from the spell, I watched as the cup bounced off the reef and landed with a ploof of sand not far from Nerid.

My annoying cousin dropped his shiny wrapper to inspect the adventurer item. It was larger than we were, though had a similar long nose sticking from one end.

The sweet-smelling contents were blocked from spilling free, but leaked lightly from the tip of the nose.

I struggled to swim for it, but, of course, Nerid reached it before I was even half way.

“Hmm, what’s that smell?” he taunted. “You want to know how it tastes? Well, too bad, because I’m here first, so it’s mine!”

I fluttered faster. First, he took my shiny thing. Then that summoner rudely rejected me. Now, Nerid would take this curiosity from me too?

Anger filled me as my cousin slid his gluttonous mouth into the long nose of the cup. The nose was translucent enough to let me see my cousin’s face as he wiggled farther, taunting me, reaching for more of the cup’s juices.

I finally arrived as he slurped up the last that he could reach and tried to pull back. He couldn’t. He fluttered harder, but remained inside.

“I think I’m stuck,” Nerid said.

Uh oh. My anger was squished by the heavy weight of dread.

His fins became frantic as he tried to swim backwards, harder and faster.

“I’m stuck! I can’t get out! Will I suffocate in here? How will I eat? I’ll starve if I can’t get out!”

We shared worried glances without an answer. The wasteful adventurer had slain a dragon after all.

Dragon Slaying for Dummies © 2024 by C. Rae D’Arc is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

Behind the Scenes

The anthology, “Feisty Felines and their Familiars,” had a theme for familiars. It didn’t need to be cats, but they wanted the story to revolve around the magic of animals.

In my research on familiars, I was fascinated by the Dungeons and Dragons option to have a seahorse familiar. This particularly entertained me because of their real-life speed (<0.1 m/h) and general harmlessness in juxtaposition to a cultural concept that they are descendants of dragons. This led me to base this short story from the perspective of a common seadragon, a type of seahorse that inhabits the southern coasts of Australia.

Reflecting on the waste and pollution of our oceans and sea life, “Dragon Slaying for Dummies” has a theme against littering that adds a cautionary punch to this otherwise cute tale.

It’s Feb. 26th, meaning…

To celebrate, I’d like a share a fairytale with you. I call it “The Three Princesses.” As an original fairytale, it isn’t based on any classic tales, but I’ve included some fairytale themes and used a more formal voice to give it that “classic” feel.

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there reigned a king and queen, blessed with three daughters born together. To honor their birth, the king and queen decreed a grand festival, inviting subjects from every corner of their realm.
Among the merrymakers was a witch, a nomad of sorts, who had traveled far and wide. She had recently passed through a downtrodden realm with a slothful and ruthless king, and the witch worried about the future attitude of these princesses.
To safeguard the virtue of the kingdom and to test the princesses, the witch cast a spell of forgetfulness over the festival and stole away the three infants. She delivered them to a humble farmstead, where a childless couple nurtured them as their own, but instead of living in a palace, the three princesses lived in a cottage. Instead of dining on exotic spices, they dined on food they harvested. Instead of wearing fine silk gowns, they wore homemade cotton and wool clothes.

Years passed, and the three princesses grew into little women named Adallinda, Minna, and Kreimhild. One fateful day, the witch returned and revealed their true lineage. Adallinda and Minna believed the witch's words, but Kreimhild did not. The witch granted them three weeks to prepare for their return to the palace, whereupon she would remove the enchantment of forgetfulness.
As the days passed, the princesses went about their chores as usual. Adallinda toiled in the fields, Minna tended to the animals, and Kreimhild idled in the shade. Resentful of her sister's respite, Minna joined Kreimhild in the shade until Adallinda found them.
"Sisters," Adallinda said, "this is not becoming of a princess, and we are princesses."
Kreimhild argued, "If we are princesses, then why should we labor?"
"It is our actions, not our status, that will define us," Adallinda explained. She urged her sisters to finish their chores. Minna came, but Kreimhild did not.

The next week, Kreimhild sought solace at the local tavern where she drank herself silly and laughed at crude jokes. Minna passed by while on errands and was drawn in by the allure of merriment. A little time later, Adallinda came by, seeking her sisters. Finding them in the tavern, Adallinda bid them to return home with her.
"This is not becoming of a princess," she said. Minna followed her home, but Kreimhild did not.

One week later, the three sisters attended an evening dance with drums, flutes, and viols. While many of the community laughed, danced, and feasted, Kreimhild sat aloof from the crowds, scorning the musicians, deriding the simple gowns of the farmgirls, and mocking the clumsiness of some dancers. Afraid of becoming a target of her sister's insults, Minna joined Kreimhild's ridicule.
While dancing among the people, Adallinda overheard her sisters. She excused herself from the party and reprimanded her sisters for their rudeness.
"This is not becoming of a princess," she said, then she encouraged them to join the folk with joy and delightful humor. Minna joined her, but Kreimhild did not.

At long last, the witch lifted the spell of forgetfulness, and the kingdom remembered their three princesses. Adallinda, Minna, and Kreimhild returned to the palace to claim their rightful inheritances. Upon seeing Adallinda and her sincerity, the king and queen welcomed her by placing a crown on her head and ring on her finger as the future queen. Upon seeing Minna and her humility, the king and queen welcomed her as an administrator in the palace. Upon seeing Kreimhild and her arrogance, however, the king and queen cast her out, banishing her to forever wander the realms far from her lost birthright.
The end.

I hope you enjoyed this little fairytale. Feel free to comment below on your thoughts.

Check out my Dreaming Princesses series for my fairytale retelling novels!
If you want more fantastic fairytale retellings (entertaining for adults yet appropriate for middle-readers), I highly recommend Jim Doran’s Kingdom series. Here’s my review!

Behind the Scenes

If you’re someone who enjoys learning about the context and meaning behind stories, I have a little to add about the fairytale that I shared above.

My friend, Jim Doran, reminded me of Tell A Fairytale Day in early February (I’ve now officially added it to my calendar, so I won’t forget next year). Despite my many projects and a business trip this month, I immediately decided to participate in the holiday.

One resource suggested multiple ways to celebrate the holiday, including:

telling a fairytale to someone (obviously)dressing as a fairytale characterhosting a fairytale-themed partyreading a fairytale book (classic or retelling)watching a fairytale moviewriting a fairytale

Of course, as a writer, I wanted to write a fairytale to share.

I considered writing a short story that included my Dreaming Princesses but had no inspiration until I woke up with this story in mind on Feb. 6th. It began with the idea of a princess proving (or disproving) her worth as she went to claim her birthright. Since fairytales like to use repetition and a standard of 3, I included 3 princesses and 3 trials.

The idea was primarily stemmed from my Latter-day Saint Christian beliefs. If this offends you, you may enjoy the fairytale in your own way as a simple tale with a moral to treat yourself and others with respect.

Otherwise, I believe we should treat others as the princesses and princes that we all are.

PS. I discovered the princesses’ names as suggestions from Old Germanic names listed on BehindTheName.com, but I like Adallinda and Minna enough that I might use them again somewhere.

PPS. To emphasize the “classic” and formal tone, I did run the fully-written story through ChatGPT for vocabulary and syntax suggestions. I can assure you, however, that I definitely did NOT copy-paste, because the AI removed all repetition and dialogue while also completely ruining the moral of the tale.

After studying fairytales on the university level, it’s safe to say that I enjoy fairytales in their many forms and versions. In part to celebrate Tell a Fairytale Day on February 26th, here’s a book review for a fairytale retelling of Hansel and Gretel.

I’ve been anticipating this book for a few months now. Not only because I anticipate any book from Michaelbrent Collings, but after self-publishing 50 books, this is his first traditionally published book through Shadow Mountain Publishing (publisher of Fablehaven/Dragonwatch, Wizard for Hire, and Mustaches for Maddie to name some of my reviewed favorites).

After reading several books by Mr. Collings and several books published by Shadow Mountain…I have to say The Witch in the Woods feels more like a Shadow Mountain book than a Collings book. Yes, it has his typical outlandish humor and creativity, but the traditional editing and standard formatting removed his unique narrative and formatting style.
Yes, his interjectory thoughts in their own paragraphs always threw me off whenever starting a new Collings book, but the juxtaposition and contrast of thoughts vs narrative was part of the fun.
Also, The Witch in the Woods had a much slower start than other Collings’ books…but maybe that’s because there’s so much going on.

Let me explain…

Let’s start with the main characters; Jake and Willow Grimm. These fifth-grade twins start in Los Angelos, California, but their parents are hired at the Think Tank in New Marburg, Idaho. And New Marburg isn’t any normal Idaho town. I’m sad to say it’s fictional, because the Think Tank is full of mad scientists/inventors, making New Marburg into a tech town of jet-packs, jello-dogs, and cop-bots.

Jake and Willow have a bit of a Harry Potter experience as they go to school in this crazy technologically advanced town and immediately become victims of their teacher. They also become fast friends with Hank and Pearl (another pair of twins in their class, step-children of their wicked teacher).

As if New Marburg wasn’t crazy enough, the Tank becomes unstable, throwing Jake and Willow into an alternate dimension where their friends become Hansel and Gretel, and their wicked step-mother becomes the witch who wants to eat them.

So, yes, it’s a Hansel and Gretel retelling, but…

In the fairy-tale world, stories begin with tragedy and end with horror.

Witch in the Woods, by Michaelbrent Collings, pg. 123

I mean…what do you expect when a best-selling horror author retells a Brothers Grimm fairytale?

Cleanliness

But, remember this is a story about kids and written for kids. This isn’t Mr. Collings’ first middle-reader series (check out his Billy: Powers Saga on Amazon). There are some scary moments where the characters honestly believe they’ve seen their sibling die before their eyes, and there are regular threats on their lives, but otherwise, it’s a tame middle-reader. There may be a couple of “disturbing” descriptions (like a man with coins for eyes, fairies being turned into candy, and children locked in cages), but there’s no swearing and no sexual references. (The closest thing to romance is Jake blushing when Pearl compliments him.)
There are about 5 full-page pictures (of less scary moments). Honestly, that kind of disappointed me. I wanted more pictures.

Overall

While in Grimmworld, the twins face several physically taxing tasks and cleverly written riddles that seem impossible to beat. (Honestly, if I’d been given the same tasks, I would have died–save for the last one that I figured out first.)
Since I resonate with sibling relationships in stories, I really appreciated the uplifting and healthy friendship between Jake and Willow. The story as a whole fits with Mr. Collings’ style of going 6-feet under to emerge with hope, and I anticipate the story’s progression as a series.
I give it a solid ****4 Stars**** for its fun twist on fairytales, creative puzzles, and wild storytelling…despite its pacing.

Rating: 4 out of 5.The Witch in the Woods: Grimmworld #1, by Michaelbrent Collings will be available March 5th.

Book Clubs are amazing! I love attending mine (it’s been going for 20+ years)! Since books are my life (working at a book store, writing my own books, and networking with other awesome authors), I really enjoy the opportunity to listen to other people talk about books.

With that said, Don’t Date the Haunted is a fantastic book club book. One book club used it as their FIRST book to get going because it talks about ALL the fiction genres, opening discussions for members to talk about their favorite genres and decide how to focus their future club meetings.
Don’t Date the Haunted is also extra fun to read in October, since that’s when the story’s set, and it’s a safe “scary” book to read for those who don’t normally read horror.

Since I don’t always finish reading my book club books, I made this post SPOILER FREE. (That’s nothing to say about your discussions though).

To encourage and support book clubs, here are some resources to enhance your discussion of Don’t Date the Haunted.

Discussion QuestionsWhere would you live in the world of Novel, and why?
If you need help deciding, here’s a quiz!Pansy Finster lives by a set of rules. Do you have a rule or motto that you live by?Which character is your favorite? Why?What twist surprised you the most? Did you predict any?This series has a common theme of working through culture-shock and paradigm shifts. When did an eye-opening experience help you understand others in your own life?Bonus Prologue

Don’t Date the Haunted originally had a prologue. I cut it from the manuscript, but you can read it here!

You can find several more deleted scenes and fun trivia about the book in my Behind the Scenes posts.

Frequently Asked Question:

One of my most common questions is “What inspired the world of Novel?” The answer is actually quite complicated, but you can read about it here!

There’s More!

Did you know that Don’t Date the Haunted is Book 1 in my Haunted Romance trilogy?

Oz’s PAPERBACK is available on Barnes & NobleContact me!

Have you ever wanted to ask the author direct questions about a book you’ve read? I’m available! If your book club chooses to read one of my books, send me an email or message me on Facebook or Instagram to let me know. I’d love to attend your meeting! Even if I’m not local to your area, I’m open for a video call.

Submit a form.

This is book 2 of Jim Doran’s Kingdom Come Series – you can read my review on book 1 here. Jim and I initially became pals because of the similarities between his fairytale kingdom and my world of Novel. If people like the idea of my Don’t Marry the Cursed, but want something for a younger audience, I recommend Kingdom Come.

Can you skip book 1?

It’s been over two years since I read the first book, so I’d forgotten most of the details of the first book, but was nicely reminded of events, characters, and characteristics through On Earth As It Is. Still, if you skip ahead to this one, you’ll be playing a lot of “catch up” as each fairytale princess has a unique magical power that’s explained more in book 1, and much more happened in book 1 than the simple fairytales.

Considering that, please read book 1 (which I recommend for any fairytale lovers) before jumping into this review for book 2, because SPOILERS AHEAD.

What you need to know from book 1:

To use an anime term, the first book is an isekai: a modern teenage boy is transported to the fairy tale world to find and help fairy tale princesses through their stories. We meet Cinderella, Snow White, Valencia (The Little Match Girl), Helga, and Penta. I loved how he used some common and some less-common stories and twisted them just enough to make them unpredictable. To separate them a little more from the typical fairytale, each princess has a magical ability. In brief: Penta teleports, Cinderella can persuade, Helga cures curses (and has awesome fighting skills), Snow White can’t be killed by weapons, and Valencia is lucky.

Also, Harold fell madly in love with a pixie named Planet. She was killed by a demon king (I warned you, SPOILERS!), but he found her doppelganger on Earth named Sondra and dated her.

On to Book 2!

For On Earth As It Is, I laughed a little at the similarities to my Dreaming Princesses series (he wrote his first). The five queens have gone missing and Harold is tasked with contacting five Earthly look-alikes to go to Kingdom and play their parts until they’re found and returned. They might look similar, but…
Snow White’s Sylvia is a social worker going up against a mafia,
Valencia’s Virginia is willing to steal for the money to keep her small shop running,
Helga’s Hildy is a cop who relies too much on her gun,
Cinderella’s Charley is a fantasy fanatic who thinks she can speak elfish, and
Penta’s Paisley is a wife and mother of two kids.

Pretending to be magical queens isn’t easy, even with personal guards and tutors. Harold accompanies them to Kingdom, but has his own adventure to find their way home.

Meanwhile, the queens of Kingdom arrive on Earth and must pretend to be their Earthly look-alikes (and there are the fun similarities with my Dreaming Princesses).

Overall

There are well-presented themes on relationship struggles and fate vs. choice, but I especially loved how the characters developed.

While I enjoyed book 1, I could see how Mr. Doran grew as a writer, strengthening his story-telling skills. The pacing was great and kept me wanting more.

Cleanliness

The romance is sweet, and the violence is mild, but there is a gang fight (including a few other fun battle scenes) and a main character death to increase the tension. There’s also some swearing, but mostly replacement words (2-3 A’s, B’s, and S’s, but lots of “cats-p*ss”). Fine for a 13 year-old by film standards.

Final Rating

I love culture clashes and this book is FULL of them. We get a wide variety of characters with differing reactions to teleporting from our modern world to a fairytale renaissance world, AND we get the fairytale queens we love from “Kingdom Come” teleporting and reacting to our crazy world.
I loved how the characters and relationships developed. Great romances, fun fight scenes, and interesting twists. *****4.8 Stars*****

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Book Clubs are amazing! I love attending mine (it’s been going for 20+ years)! Since books are my life (working at a book store, writing my own books, and networking with other awesome authors), I really enjoy the opportunity to listen to other people talk about books.

With that said, Dreaming Beauty is a fantastic book club story because it’s appropriate for all ages, retells a well-known story, and encourages discussions about paradigm shifts and culture clashes.

Since I don’t always finish reading my book club books, I made this post SPOILER FREE. (That’s nothing to say about your discussions though).

To encourage and support book clubs, here are some resources to enhance your discussion of Dreaming Beauty.

Discussion QuestionsAs a princess from another world, Emer has a unique perspective on ours. What culture shocks, paradigm shifts, or “eye opening” experiences have you had among other countries, states, neighborhoods, or even friends?Emer is forever changed by her dream of England. How have you applied new traditions, ways of thinking, or ways of life into your own?Which character is your favorite? Why?What twist surprised you the most? Did you predict any?This series has a common theme of working through disabilities. When have you struggled to accomplish “every day” tasks in your own life? How did it change your perspective?Deleted Scene

In my first draft of Dreaming Beauty, Caden and Mica originally took Emer to Tintagel instead of Boscastle while she was conscious. This would have been the end of Chapter 1 or beginning of Chapter 2, so there aren’t any spoilers, just culture shocks.

CLICK HERE to read Emer’s deleted introduction to Tintagel

The two men guided me into a busy town that reminded me of so many different parts of home.  The smooth streets and yellow paved buildings reminded me of the nobleman’s center.  The metal framework that decorated fences and bridges was like that from the craftsman’s quarter.  The quaint little shops reminded me of the market, and great buildings of stone and statues reminded me of the cathedrals.

Yet the fact that all these elements were rolled together in this town only confirmed the falsehood.  I was sleeping, and this was all a dream.  Never before had I seen so many people moving so fast.  We walked, and were passed several times by giant contraptions of metal and sound.  At first, I feared they were some kind of beast, until I saw people inside them.  In town, these massive horse-less carts were everywhere.  There were even more contraptions with two wheels, and very little to hold them up.

Mica asked for us to wait for him while he went to a stall that smelled most desirous.

If this was a dream, I had to wonder how it looked so real.

“This is Tintagel?” I asked.

Mica’s eyebrows drew together with concern.  “Do you not recognize your home?”

I shook my head, “This isn’t my home.  I have never been here before.

Caden frowned, “What were you doing on the road, outside of town, if this isn’t your home?”

Unable to answer, I turned the question, “Do you live in Tintagel?”

“No.”

“Then what were you doing on the road, outside of town?”

His lip twitched.  “We’re backpackers from London, but while we’re on holiday, anywhere will do.”

“Who is to say that I am not also a—backpacker?” I said, straightening my back.

Caden smirked, “Where’s your backpack?  Your sleeping bag?  Your identification?”

Backpack?  Sleeping bag?  He spoke familiar words that were joined in unfamiliar ways.  I understood identification though, and my need to excuse myself.  “I was robbed.”

Mica joined us again with three pastries.  “You were robbed?  I’m so sorry!  You know what, that actually explains a lot.  All the more reason then–here, take this.”

He handed a pastry to me while Caden groaned.  “Don’t feed lost dogs.  It only teaches them to come back.”

“Caden,” he muttered, “you know the story of the good Samaritan.  It’s just one Cornish Pasty.”

I took a bite, surprised by the textures and flavors.  What did he call this?  A Cornish Pasty?  Hello, heaven.

“Mica,” Caden chided back, “I know you better than to believe it’s ‘just one Cornish Pasty.’  What else were you planning to do for this delusional stranger?”

Mica and Caden spent the next minute arguing without words.  Every time Mica’s mouth began to work around a word, Caden changed his stare of accusation.

“Please,” I said, “I do not wish to be a burden.  Only direct me to a map or someplace where I may find the location of Somnus, then I will be on my way home.”

“You need a map?  Perfect, here,” Caden slipped a folded rectangle of glossy paper from his pack and flapped it at me.  Turning back to Mica, he urged, “She’s fine, now let’s go.”

I opened the map, surprised by its confusing folds.  I was even more surprised by the land that greeted me.  I found Tintagel, Tregatta, Bossiney–what odd city names.  Even more confusing was the lack of mountains in the map depiction.  The map was mostly green, sectioned by squiggly yellow lines.

“Where are we?” I asked aloud.

Caden rolled his eyes, then leaned over to point near the center, at one label of “Tintagel.”  He then pointed at a nearby line with a boxy symbol.  “There’s the bus station.  It’ll take you wherever you need to go.  It should be just up this path towards town.”

Only when he leaned away did I notice he leaned against me.  I hadn’t felt him.

Inspiration

When studying Western European fairytales at Brigham Young University for my senior capstone class, I never expected to use them in my own stories. However, when I began research for Don’t Marry the Cursed (book 2 in my Haunted Romance trilogy), I stepped into the role of retelling fairytales.

I studied Grimm’s versions specifically for Don’t Marry the Cursed, using “The Juniper Tree,” “The Fitcher’s Bird,” “The Robber Bridegroom,” and “The Yellow Dwarf.” However, in my studies, I found Charles Perrault’s “La Belle au Bois Dormant.” According to his version, Grimms and Disney cut the story short. Dreaming Beauty was meant to fix that error.
Here’s my post to explore more about the various versions of “Sleeping Beauty.”

My life-long fascination with dreams was also a large influence for this story. Especially this quote:

For it is very probable…that the good fairy, during so long a sleep, had given her very agreeable dreams.

– La Belle au Bois Dormant

She was asleep for 100 years! I had to wonder “What did she dream about?”
With my heart residing in England, I set Emer’s dream in some of my favorite places from my study abroad.

There’s More!

Again, while researching fairytales for Don’t Marry the Cursed, I laughed a little at the theme of sleep. I found enough stories of sleeping women to entertain the thought of a series involving “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.”

Contact me!

Have you ever wanted to ask the author direct questions about a book you’ve read? I’m available! If your book club chooses to read one of my books, send me an email or message me on Facebook or Instagram to let me know. I’d love to attend your meeting! Even if I’m not local to your area, I’m open for a video call.

Submit a form.

Jacob (Jake) is a geeky high school football star (jeek) with his biggest worries involving his stepdad being a creepy peeper and his biological dad haunting his dreams because Jake heals unnaturally fast, never tires from workouts, and only needs 4 hours of sleep. His worries double as he falls for his sister’s “off-limits” best-friend and has a sudden near-death-experience that results in a new friend telling him he’s a druid.
Thus begins an interesting combination of Witness Protection Program-style action with fire spells, wraiths, and vampires.

Magic

The magic system isn’t too complex (matter = energy = magic), and (despite Jake’s incredible strength) it takes hours to concentrate, days to practice, and weeks of study to master a single spell. (This isn’t the type of story where the magic comes easily…at least in most cases). The simple magic system is easily accessible to low-fantasy fans.

Cleanliness

Speaking of accessibility, I’d rate it 13+ for its high amount of teenage boy hormones, limited swearing, and limited (but severe) sexual references.
As a movie, however, it would be 18+ for its high percentage of nudity time. There are a lot of references to girl’s clothing (or lack thereof), but since the descriptions are mostly vague, it makes a 13+ book.
Since it’s Utah, there are brief (non-preachy) references to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Setting: Modern Utah

I don’t think I’ve ever read an Urban Fantasy where I actually recognized the street names, so that was a fun and repeated surprise in this story that’s heavily set in Salt Lake City, Utah. Starting in West Jordan, we get to tour places like Gateway, Jordan Commons, the never-ending-construction on I-80 and Bangerter, the insane mansions on the Eastern foothills, and the beautiful Bear Lake.

Since it’s set in Utah, Jake and his sister are casual members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (going to church maybe once a month – mostly to get out of the house and see friends), meaning topics like “church” and “modesty” are mentioned, but definitely not preached. The story’s slightly outdated as they’re called “Mormons” and attend 3-hour church, but the religious references are limited anyway.

On the topic of references, there are, however, a lot of fun 2000s pop-culture references.

This guy Dumbledored me.

Fire Light, by J. Abram Barneck

I really enjoyed the references, especially when one character doesn’t get any of them…then surprises Jake with an unlikely reference near the end.

Final Rating

“Fire Light” has a good balance between a love-triangle romance and supernatural action and was written well enough to keep me up till 2:30AM to finish. Then, I immediately looked up book 2, because a lot of plots were resolved, but there were also many plots left open. Thankfully, the trilogy’s complete. ****4.4 Stars*****

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Meet Kamo: a teenage sea elf on the last ship sailing to islands safe from the warring fire elves. Attacked, marooned, and alone, she curses the fire elves and dedicates herself to avenging her people.

Teaming with two human boys (a fellow sailor and a tracker), she begins her trip into the mountains to find the hidden entrance to the fire elf capital. Facing against earth elf gangs and rock giants, she comes into her own magical power to wield water and fire. But mastering the elements might be easier than mastering her heart as the companionship of a fellow vengeance seeker turns into something more.

Basically, it’s a mashup of Avatar: The Last Airbender and a D&D romance. Is there a such thing as too much awesome?

Knowing the author personally, I actually know this story originated from a D&D campaign but has since taken a life of its own with fun characters and well-plotted twists.

Cleanliness

There are some deadly fights, but the main characters address the wrongness and trauma of taking life, even in defense and revenge.

The main character is involved in several romantic scenes, but they’re Hallmark clean or sweet with lots of flirting and a few kisses–but not overly detailed.

There’s also no swearing or vulgar language, making this story appropriate to all ages 8+.

End Rating

To be 100% honest, the author’s one of my best friends and I had the wonderful opportunity to see this book come to life from the beginning of NaNoWriMo, to alpha reading and formatting.
So, I’ll admit this is probably my most biased review. ****4.5 Stars*****

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

But I’m not the only one who thinks it’s worth this rating. It currently has 4.25 stars on Goodreads and 4.8 stars on Amazon.

For a minor spoiler, the main reason I waited this long to post this review was because it ends on a major cliffhanger. Personally, I really dislike cliffhangers and didn’t feel comfortable promoting it (like I am now) before book 2 was released.

So, I’m happy to announce that book 2, The Fall of the Fire Elves, is now available!
Follow Kamo’s adventure as she enters the home of her enemies, searching for the villain behind the genocide, but discovering other secrets that threaten her magic and most trusted relationships.

I mentioned at the end of my Not Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” post that Book 2 of my Dreaming Princesses Series would be based on a version of “The Princess and the Frog.” If you haven’t read Fairest and the Frog, don’t worry, this post won’t spoil it. I simply want to explain the various versions of the tale so it’s understood that YES, Fairest and the Frog IS a retelling of “Snow White” and “The Princess and the Frog.”
The question is–which versions?

I’ve discovered that most Americans only know the following snippet of the tale:

A princess kisses a frog, then he turns into a prince, and they live happily ever after.

With that as the public knowledge, it’s not surprising that the creators at Disney Studios turned the story into a lengthy adventure across a swamp with Mardi Gras and voodoo.
Perhaps this is because the tale has such a wide scope of variations. All that technically classifies this tale is: a prince is won when a girl accepts a frog. Kisses not required.

Don’t believe me? I won’t claim to be an expert, but I’ll claim to know more than the average Joe after researching, studying, and picking apart western European fairy tales, British literature, and American folklore on the university level.
So, with the help of one of my university “textbooks,” Iona and Peter Opie’s “The Classic Fairy Tales,” (1974), let me take you back to the origins of the tale.

As I mentioned in my “Sleeping Beauty” post, writers didn’t create the “original” fairy tales.
The classic fairy tales we know were originally created orally by storytellers. If you’ve ever played the game of Telephone, then you know that words change with each person who shares the story. Fairytales grew and developed as various folklorists wrote them down to share with others.

That’s how we have stories like “The Frog Prince,” “The Frog King,” “Prince Paddock,” “The Popular Tale,” and “The Well of the World’s End.”

Brothers Grimm version(s)

If you know any more than the Disney version of “Princess and the Frog,” it’s probably because you’ve read the “Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.” However, my collection includes two different versions of this telling.
Unfortunately, I don’t have an original German copy of “Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm” to say which version is more accurate.

They both begin as such:

A young princess would play with a golden ball (her favorite toy) near a spring of water. One time while playing, her ball fell into the water and became lost. She cried aloud until a frog came and asked what was wrong. Lamenting the loss of her ball, the frog said he would retrieve her ball if she promised to let him live with her, eat from her plate, and sleep in her bed.
Thinking that a crazy talking frog couldn’t actually retrieve her ball, the princess agreed. Straight away, he retrieved her ball. She took it then ran home before the frog could follow her.
That night while eating supper, there was a knock on the door. It was the frog speaking in rhyme about letting him in and keeping her promise. Her father, the king, demanded that she keep her promise, so she let the frog in. They ate from the same plate then prepared for sleep in the same bed. The princess complained, but her father insisted.

summary of first section of The Frog Prince, by Brothers Grimm

At this point, the two stories of my collection divert. One version continues:

The young princess slept with the frog in her bed. When waking, he was gone, and she was relieved to think she’d never see him again. She was wrong.
He returned the next night for the same requests to eat from her plate and sleep in her bed.
When waking after the third night of sharing her plate and bed with the frog, she found no frog, but a handsome prince standing at the head of her bed. He explained that a malicious fairy had cursed him to be a frog until a princess would let him sleep with her for three nights.
Now freed from his curse, he asked the princess to marry him and join him in his kingdom where he was reunited with his faithful servant, Henry, and they lived happily ever after.

summary of The Frog-Prince, by Brothers Grimm, from Iona and Peter Opie’s “The Classic Fairy Tales”

I’m guessing the moral of the story is supposed to be about keeping your promises, but honestly, I get caught up by the fact that she lets a strange frog/man sleep with her for three days and is rewarded for doing so.

However, it’s this moment of sleeping with the frog when she joins the collection of “sleeping princesses.” Considering this, I made my characters already married to represent the princess and the frog.

The other version in my collection, instead goes as follows…

Rather than let the disgusting frog sleep in her bed even for one night, the young princess “became really cross, picked him up, and threw him with all her might against the wall.”
I think she meant to kill him, because she says, “Now you’ll get your rest, you disgusting frog!”
When the frog landed, he became a beautiful prince. He explained how a witch had cursed him to be a frog and only she [the princess?] could release him from the spring. The king bid them to marry, and they set out to the prince’s kingdom with a carriage driven by his faithful servant, Heinrich. Heinrich had been so saddened by the prince’s curse that he had his heart encased by three golden hoops to keep it from breaking.
While driving, the prince heard breaking noises and asked Heinrich if the carriage was breaking. This happened three times as Heinrich replied that it was the sound of the hoops breaking around his heart because he was so happy that the prince was healed.

summary of The Frog King, by Brothers Grimm, from Maria Tatar’s “The Classic Fairy Tales”

What’s with the random bromance at the end? And did anyone expect the princess to try killing the frog? What’s funny is this isn’t the only version…

Origins

Despite the German Brothers making it famous, the story is largely from the United Kingdom. Its concept appears to originate in Scotland from a list of stories that shepherds told each other back in 1549AD. This makes it a fairly new fairy tale compared to others like Cinderella (which has roots back to 23AD). “The Frog Prince” actually has a Cinderella-ish quality to it as “the royal suitor accepts her as his bride while she is in her humble state.” (Opie, 121, emphasis added).

Back to Scotland (a beautiful place, if I may say), shepherds had a list of stories that they shared with each other, called “The Complaynt of Scotland,” recorded in 1549. “The tayl of the volfe of the varldis end” [The Tale of the Well of the World’s End] was included on this list. However, this version of the tale wasn’t written down until Robert Chambers “set down as much of it as he could” after hearing it from Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, who heard it from his nurse around 1784. You see how fairy tales are a game of Telephone?
The story basically goes as follows:

A lady is sent by her stepmother to draw water from the well of the world’s end. After encountering many dangers, she reaches the well and finds a frog. He says that first, she must become his betrothed or become torn to pieces. The lady agrees, draws the water, then returns home. At midnight, the frog appears outside and demands entrance, calling on her promise. He asks to be given supper, put to bed, and then…
Asks for an ax to chop off his head.
The young “lassie” does so, and “the Paddo” becomes “the bonniest young prince that ever was seen.”

Summary of “The Well of the World’s End,” as recorded by Robert Chambers, 1842

Okay, how many of you expected a beheading in this tale?
Like the tale of “Sleeping Beauty,” the kiss awakening wasn’t a part of the story until centuries later.

I really enjoyed the concept of a young lady braving many dangers to reach the Well of the World’s End, and (thankfully) this version wasn’t the only one to feed my inspiration.

In the 1790s, “The Popular Tale” uses the basics of “The Tale of the Well of the World’s End,” but instead of asking for an ax, the frog asks to come in, jump up on the princess’s knee, and then he’s restored to human form.

Going back just a decade earlier, “Prince Paddock” also included a young princess to fetch water from the Well of the World’s End. Except, she didn’t have a regular bucket. She had to use a sieve.

Yeah, one of those cooking things with HOLES in them.

A frog at the well said he could tell her how to do it, but only for her promise of marriage.

This was what I wanted for Fairest and the Frog. I wanted the adventure of finding the Well of the World’s End, the struggle of using a sieve to collect water, and the concept of learning to love a detested little frog, even/especially when they’re already married.

This is a first for me. The only other time I’ve written fan fiction was for an assignment, so please take this imitation for what it is: an appreciation for some strongly built characters and a story that I enjoyed too much to wait until the next book.

After reading Stranger Sins, by Michaelbrent Collings, my stupid little hopeless romantic heart wanted more. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and wouldn’t change anything as it is, but I wanted to explore what could happen after.

You can read my book review for Stranger Sins here.

BEWARE: I wrote this scene to occur AFTER the events of Stranger Sins (I Am Legion, Book 4), so SPOILERS AHEAD.

Two Weeks After the Events of Stranger Sins…

Diantha lifted her luggage over the threshold of her new home in Los Angeles, startled to find a man in the hallway, waiting for them.
Her hand twitched toward her gun before she recognized the man. Unlike the first time she found this stranger in her home, she knew he wasn’t a flying monkey.
By all appearances, he was average and dismissible–average build, average height, brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a plain black peacoat over a plain grey shirt and dark jeans. Except Diantha knew he was stronger than he looked. Much stronger.
Her nine year-old daughter, holding her new Vulpix plushie souvenir and wearing an impossible concoction of an Armani Charizard shirt, peeked around to see what stopped her mom’s progression into the house. She squeaked with delight.
“Legion! We missed you!” Marnie ran past her mom to throw her thin arms around the man. “We went on a Pokémon cruise and there’s so much to tell you!”
He laughed and hugged her back. “We missed you too.”
Legion had many smiles, most of them dangerous and unnerving, but this one said that all was well. A good sign, considering the reason Diantha asked him to meet with her.
Before Marnie could start one of her never-ending run-on sentences about the cruise, the friends she met, the games she played, the Pokémon cards she won–Diantha cut in. “Marnie, go unpack.”
“Unpack? That’s a new one. Does it come with a rhyme too?”
“I’ll work on it,” Diantha said, urging her down the hall. She didn’t want her daughter to hear Legion’s answers to the questions she was about to ask.
As soon as Marnie disappeared with her bags into her new room, Diantha put her hands on her hips and stared hard at Legion.
“You saved Betty and Everly-Jensen. Why?”
“Did you want them to die that easily?”
Diantha groaned. “Are you ever going to answer my questions without another question?”
“As you did just now?”
Whatever Legion did to “teach” people didn’t involve giving answers, but forcing them from others. She couldn’t decide if she was annoyed or impressed with his ability to avoid her questions.
He glanced to his left, a sign that Diantha learned the hard way; he was listening to a comment from one of hallucinations–one of his dead brothers. Growing up as triplets, they’d been forced to act as one child. If one of them was injured by their insane father, they had to injure each other to look exactly the same. Now, only Legion remained.
“Hey, Fire, Water,” she said addressing Legion’s dead brother hallucinations. “Can you convince Legion to give me a straight answer for once? What happened to Betty and Everly-Jensen?”
Legion chuckled with another glance at his left and right. “We couldn’t let them die that easily. We needed to teach them first.” When Legion smiled this time, it was one of his dangerous smiles.
Diantha failed to suppress her shudder. “Are they dead now?”
“Yes.”
“How? Tell me. I need to know.”
With a calm voice that didn’t match his words, Legion explained the fates of the two people Diantha feared the most. She tried to remain stoic despite the disturbing deaths appropriate for the disturbing people. When he finished, she was sure. Impossible as it seemed, Betty and Everly-Jensen were dead.
Her body went weak with relief and she found herself sinking forward. Legion was in front of her before she knew it, holding her up.
“Diantha?”
“Thank you,” she whispered. After decades of Hell, and another decade of running, she and Marnie were free.
She wasn’t exactly sure what influenced her next action. Maybe it was a product of the intense relief she felt. Maybe it was a side effect from the cruise, watching her daughter connect with peers over Pokémon while Diantha watched happy newlyweds and families enjoy life like they’d never known fear. Maybe she was just so tired of feeling so alone because only this stranger knew and understood her most horrifying secrets. Maybe it was the sight of Legion’s smile that said everything would be alright.
And for once, it was.
She meant the kiss to be simple. No more than a quick gesture of gratitude. She didn’t even close her eyes, but when she pulled away from the peck, Legion’s hand hovered near her cheek. When had he raised it?
He slowly hovered his hand closer, like he questioned with every millimeter if he should and if she would accept it.
For the first time, Diantha found herself not only accepting of a man’s touch, but wanting it.
She thought to shake her head clear of the silly notion. Instead, the tiny tilt of her head closed the remaining space, placing her cheek into Legion’s hand, and the silly notion won.
She’d seen him kill people with that hand, but she only thought of the moment he put the same hand in a knife’s path to save her daughter.
Legion searched her eyes as if they held the answer to the hardest puzzle he ever faced. She studied him back. How had she ever thought of him as “average?”
He murmured something, then captured her mouth.
Legion kissed her with a strength beyond his appearance, but also a tenderness that said he was just as scared as she was about what was happening.
What was happening?
After a life of sexual torture, Diantha thought she was immune to these building desires. She thought Legion would be too. She thought . . .
Diantha’s mind finally registered his last murmured words.
Shut up, Fire.
One of his dead brothers. One of his hallucinations.
Why was every person who wanted to love her the President of Crazyville?
Diantha pulled away and stepped back, half surprised that he let her. Everyone else who’d kissed her had taken her by force, holding–bruising her until their business was done.
Instead, a hint of longing filled the space between her and Legion. The confusion in his eyes said that he was likewise a stranger to their situation. As much as she wanted to erase the gap–to kiss him until the confusion became an answer–the possible answers terrified her.
“Mom!” Marnie bounced back into the hallway. “I came up with a rhyme! We’re home again, so go unpack. The Witch is gone and not coming back!“

Except Sheldon Steward watched from a van down the street. As much as it disgusted him to see Gloria (falsely called Diantha) with a man not of Mother’s choosing, Sheldon was elated that the man who failed to kill him (who somehow destroyed all reason for life) had allied with Gloria, the very woman who needed the most careful grooming. He could clip two love birds with one knife. Gloria would be such a beautiful little bonsai tree when he was finished with her. Only after her trimming would Sheldon bless her with his magnificence.
It positively delighted him that he had the daughter to work with too. Mother’s love still reigned and would save this world.
Sheldon turned around in his seat to grin (he was told he had a very good grin) at the restrained Officer Garcia and paralegal Danielle in the back.
“Won’t this be fun?”