Welcome to a fascinating world where magicians literally use books to work magic. Libriomancer, the fabulous first installment in the Magic Ex Libris series, depicts a magical system, libriomancy, created by Johannes Gutenberg, who believed that the mass production of books via the printing press would allow him to draw on the mutual belief created by legions of readers.

When Libriomancer begins, Isaac Vainio, a libriomancer sidelined after a big mishap in the field two years previously, now a librarian, gets attacked at work by three vampires who demand to know why the Porters, the group Isaac works for that hides magic from becoming common knowledge, has been hunting vampires. Though prohibited from using his ability, which allows him to literally reach into books to retrieve objects, Isaac has to do so in order to defend himself. Luckily for him, Isaac gets additional aid from Lena, a dryad, and between them they manage to destroy all three attackers.

Later that evening, Isaac learns from a colleague that other Porters, not so lucky as Isaac, have been killed, though no one seems to know by whom or for what purpose. Driven by the knowledge that one of the dead is a close friend and that someone he trusts is being controlled by the vampires, Isaac resolves to get to the bottom of the two-pronged mystery that affects both the Porters and the vampires. Working with Lena to look for answers, Isaac’s life has become a lot more complicated than having to worry about what Smudge, his magical fire-spider, may set alight next.

Libriomancer’s unique premise alone sets it apart from the pack, but the concept combined with the quirky characters secures its place as a distinct new chapter in urban fantasy. Writers and readers alike know in their bones that books work metaphorical magic all of the time, but Hines provides a fascinating glimpse of a world where the written word actually serves as a focus for magic created by readers and authors together. Isaac’s palpable joy when he uses his libriomancy to solve a problem possesses an infectious quality, causing the reader to imagine what that ability feels like.

The author infuses the narrative with just the right touch of humor, adding dimension to Isaac’s character as he deals with the setbacks and challenges of his situation as well as the joy. The terrific Libriomancer should please urban fantasy fans, especially those looking for something fresh, and this reviewer eagerly awaits the next chapter in Isaac’s story.

Book Stats:

Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Hardcover: 308 pages
Publisher: DAW Hardcover (August 7, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0756407397
ISBN-13: 978-0756407391

Purchase a print copy of Libriomancer from Amazon
Purchase a Kindle copy of Libriomancer from Amazon

Books in the Magic Ex Libris series in the order they should be read:
Libriomancer

BBB: Tell us 3 things not in your bio we don’t know about you that might make us leery of befriending you. LOL

JCH: I’ve been studying my family tree, and it turns out I’m ¼ puppet. I eat way too much pizza and cheesecake, and may corrupt you with my decadent habits. Finally, I will totally go all Jayne on you if you diss Firefly in my presence.

BBB: What actors would you choose to play some of your characters if your book were made into a movie or a TV show?

JCH: I want to see Samuel L. Jackson as Jig the goblin, purely for the joy of watching people’s heads explode from cognitive dissonance. (Also because I want to see Jig say, “I am sick and tired of these motherf****** humans in our motherf****** lair!”) And David Tennant should play … anyone. He could be Snow White for all I care. I just want an excuse to meet David Tennant!

BBB: How do you keep track of your world building?

JCH: Various notes scribbled on whatever’s available, bookmarking assorted worldbuilding-related websites, and lots of searching through old manuscripts to see what I’ve already done. I tried creating a wiki for my last series, and that worked for a while, but I found myself forgetting to update it. I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of the writing to go do note-taking. Short answer: I wing it, jot down assorted details the best I can, and usually manage to find them again.

BBB: Are you a plotser or a panster? or a Planster (a combo of both – lol)

JCH: I need my outlines. Otherwise I meander all over the place and utterly lose track of what I’m doing. I eventually realized my brain simply isn’t big enough to hold an entire novel. Of course, most of my outlines end up getting broken too, so I have to stop in mid-novel and re-outline again and again. I’ll go through three or four outlines during the process of writing a first draft. It’s annoying, but it gets me where I need to go.

BBB: How did moving into the Urban Fantasy genre with the Magic Ex Libris series affect your approach to writing?

JCH: It didn’t, really. There were a few tropes I wanted to address that don’t appear as much in other subgenres, but ultimately it’s still about interesting characters, fun ideas, and a (hopefully) good story.

BBB: Please tell us more about Libriomancer the first book in the Magic ex Libris series and the storyline that drives it.

JCH: The official synopsis: “Isaac Vainio is a libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg.  Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and create things from their pages. When Isaac is attacked by vampires in his upper Michigan library, he barely manages to escape. He soon discovers that vampires have been attacking other magic-users as well. Even worse, Gutenberg has been kidnapped…”

It’s also a book about the love of books, about wonder, about ass-kicking dryads and enchanted convertibles, about why you should never piss off a librarian or his fire-spider, about the joy of discovery and about running for your life from big, scary things.

BBB: How many more books will there be in this world?

JCH: I’ve got a contract for the second book, which will be called Codex Born, and I’m working on that now. I have a general idea for a five-book story arc, but we’ll see what happens and how many more my publisher decides to buy.

BBB: Did you do any kind of research to determine the details of your characters lives / lifestyles?

JCH: There’s always research. I had thought maybe by setting the book in Michigan, a state I’ve spent most of my life in, I could reduce the amount of research I needed to do. Ha! I was constantly looking up locations, occupations, towns and communities … by the time I was done, I wanted to go back to just making up the whole darn world.

BBB: What types of creatures can readers expect in your world?

JCH: The first one we meet is Isaac’s companion Smudge. Smudge is a four-inch spider who sets things on fire. Isaac pulled him out of a fantasy book by some unnamed hack writer. We also see a number of different vampire species which leaked into our world through various books. For example, you have Sanguinarius Stokerus, which came from Bram Stoker’s work. Sanguinarius Henricus vampires have pretty much the same traits as Charlaine Harris’ southern vampires. There are even Sanguinarius Meyerii, informally known as sparklers…

BBB: In Libriomancer, books really are magic, or at least active participants. Please describe the basic premise that defines the magical system of the series.

JCH: Magic is a function of power, will, and belief. Very few people have enough magical power to be true Gandalf-style sorcerers, but there are others with some minimal magical ability. Johannes Gutenberg was one such man. He couldn’t perform much magic on his own, but he learned to use books to tap into the collective belief of readers, which allowed him to create the things described within the books. Basically, a libriomancer can reach into the pages and pull out anything that will physically fit through the book, from swords to laser guns to everlasting gobstoppers from Willy Wonka. There are limits, of course, but the possibilities are a great deal of fun.

BBB: Do you plan any novellas or short stories featuring Isaac?

JCH: I don’t know at this point. The idea for libriomancy came from a short story I did called “Mightier than the Sword,” but that was a slightly different take on the character. (Smudge was in it, though!) It would be fun to do some short stories in this universe, and maybe explore some of the secondary characters and settings. The biggest thing I’m struggling with these days is budgeting my time, and the book has to come first.

BBB: Aside from Isaac, which character in the book was the most fun to write?

JCH: That’s a hard one. Smudge the fire-spider is always a delight to write. For a character with no dialogue and only one real trick, he’s got an awful lot of personality. But there were bits I loved about pretty much every character in the book.

BBB: What role have libraries played in your life? Do you have any librarians in the family?

JCH: Not in my immediate family, no. But I have several very good friends who are librarians. (One of whom even let me turn her into a monster for the book.) As for libraries, I’ve used them a lot for research, both as a student in school and as a writer trying to get more information than I can pull up from Wikipedia. My children both participate in the local library reading programs, which is wonderful. I can’t say enough good things about libraries, librarians, and the services they provide.

BBB: What’s coming up for you in 2012 and 2013?

JCH: Libriomancer is the big book event for 2012. I’ve got Worldcon later this month, and a few guest of honor gigs coming up that I’m looking forward to. I’m hoping Codex Born will be out in 2013. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine.

Note for Bitten by Books readers:

We are trying something new for our contests to see if it works out better for you and for us! I am sure many of you have seen the Rafflecopter widget on other blogs. If you have any trouble PLEASE email me at rachel@bittenbybooks.com do not post in the comments because I probably won’t see it. The only mandatory action is the first one which of course is your Name and Country as usual. All others are optional. Also, you can post as many comments and questions as you like. You can by pass using the widget at all, if you don’t want to enter the contest. The ONLY way to enter this contest is by using the Rafflecopter widget. It will add up all your points and save all of your data for me. So, the good news is you don’t have to count points or keep track anymore!

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Learn more about Jim C. Hines below:

Read Reviews of his work here.

http://www.jimchines.com
Blog: http://www.jimchines.com/blog/
http://twitter.com/jimchines
http://www.facebook.com/jimhines

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rumplestilzchen is up to his same old tricks when his accomplices show up at Danielle’s castle with an interesting new story. However, Danielle and her friends are not so easily fooled. Then a sudden turn of events brings the wolf (or is it Red Hood?) to her doorstep and Danielle becomes a prisoner in her own castle. The chase begins and Danielle, Talia and Snow end up in the faraway land that was once Sleeping Beauty’s home. Our trio finally decide to team up with the Lady of the Red Hood, but even with the mark Snow put on her to keep her from harming them, they still do not trust her. Who could blame them when they know what really happened to Grandma and what lies beneath the cape? Red’s thirst for revenge breeds danger and the ultimate betrayal.

I love, love, love this trio. Jim Hines has given me three kick-ass friends that I always look forward to hearing from. Impossibly, this story is even better than the last two. Hines delivers history on Rumplestilzchen, Red Riding Hood and even more background on our hard core Sleeping Beauty. I was “all in” within the first paragraph and was still turning pages into the wee hours of the morning. In true form, there is once again no prettily-packaged happy ending for my friends, but it makes the story more genuine and has me anxious for more. I am breathless with anticipation to stand in the “The Snow Queen’s Shadow.”

Book stats:

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: DAW; Original edition (July 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756406080
• ISBN-13: 978-0756406080

Purchase a print copy of Red Hood’s Revenge from Amazon
Purchase a Kindle copy of Red Hood’s Revenge from Amazon

Books in the Princess Novel Series in the order they should be read:
The Stepsister Scheme
The Mermaid’s Madness
Red Hood’s Revenge
The Snow Queen’s Shadow

The royal family of Lorinder’s annual trip to welcome the undine (merfolk) back from their winter migration turns tragic. Instead of meeting with King Posannes, Queen Beatrice discovers her friend is dead and her encounter with his daughter leaves her mortally wounded. In order to save their queen, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella must embark on another dangerous adventure that transforms them in ways they never imagined.

The trio discover a mermaid hidden in their midst who in turn must help them find her banished grandmother. When our seasick Cinderella calls upon one of the royal fleet’s ships and it’s unusual Captain to take them on their voyage, they begin to unravel the twisted tale of the mermaid who fell in love with the human prince and the price she paid for that love.

At last! I waited patiently for the next book, and Jim Hines definitely delivered! I thought The Stepsister Scheme would be impossible to follow, but The Mermaid’s Madness exceeded my expectations. Surprising facts about Talia (Sleeping Beauty) are revealed, and we once again see our three princesses storm in and kick some tail to set things right. We don’t get our happily ever after, but it goes on the way that life should. I cannot wait for Red Hood’s Revenge.

Book stats:

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: DAW; Original edition (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756405831
• ISBN-13: 978-0756405830

A big welcome to our readers today! Be sure to read to the end of the interview to find out how to WIN the fabulous prizes being offered up.

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a fixed time event, the post just goes live at 10:30 am CDT. You can stop by any time during the day or evening and leave your questions and chat.

PLEASE KEEP SPOILERS TO A MINIMUM. Not all of the readers today have read Jim’s books.

Interview:

Hi Jim!

Welcome to Bitten by Books, we are excited to have you here today!

I would like to thank you taking the time to join us for the question and answer session with our readers. It has been very interesting to get to know more about you and what makes you tick as a writer! Readers, if you haven’t done so already please stop by and get your copy of Jim’s newest book The Mermaid’s Madness.

BBB: What are the most challenging and the most rewarding aspects of writing?

JCH: One of the most challenging pieces has always been time management. Writing is wonderful, but it doesn’t support my family, so I also work a day job. Add in wanting to make time with my wife and two young children, and it becomes an ongoing balancing act trying to manage the priorities. As for the most rewarding, I’d probably have to say that moment when a scene just *works*, when everything comes together and you sit back knowing this is the scene that’s going to blow people away. That and hearing from readers who truly loved something you wrote. It’s an awesome feeling.

BBB: Do you consider different books fantasy or urban fantasy? and do you think it is important to distinguish between the two?

JCH: Ah yes, good old urban fantasy. Also known as “That subgenre of fantasy that outsells goblins and princesses six-to-one.” Not that I’m bitter, mind you. I’m actually very happy writing what I do, even if my
books aren’t the current hot trend in SF/F. I’m not in marketing, so for me the various genres and subgenres boil down to, “If you like this sort of book, you’ll probably enjoy this other book here.” I do think it’s
important from a marketing standpoint, making it as easy as possible for people to find (and buy) more books they’ll like.

BBB: You seem to have a really good understanding of the dynamic and interactions between women. Were you raised with sisters?

JCH: Thank you, and nope, just me and my little brother. I think the most important thing about characterization is just learning to listen to other people, particularly people with different backgrounds and experiences from yourself.

BBB: What is the most ridiculous thing that you have thought about doing to any of your characters but never did?

JCH: Hm … well, there was the time I wanted to bring Smudge the fire-spider out of the goblin books and drop him into the middle of a science fiction convention to see what happened, but I actually managed to
write and sell that story. So I guess I’d have to go with turning one or more of my princesses into zombies or vampires for a kind of Halloween special.

BBB: Our reviewer AJ asks “Why did you decide to change the characters names in The Stepsister Scheme? I really loved the characters but was a little disconcerted at first that their names were changed. Have others given you that feedback?”

JCH: I’m guessing AJ is referring to Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty being called Danielle and Talia in the books? Snow White is Ermillina, but she goes by Snow, so that shouldn’t be as disconcerting. Mostly I did it because these characters deserve their own names. Sleeping Beauty is a title, a description of a princess who’s a symbol instead of being her own person. Cinderella, or Cinderwench, was an insult tossed out by her stepmother and stepsisters. These women deserve better. I haven’t gotten much feedback, aside from the occasional question as to where I came up with the names. (Talia and Ermillina both came from more obscure versions of their respective stories.)

BBB: How do you keep track of your world building?

JCH: Not as well as I’d like. For the princess series, I experimented with creating a private wiki file of characters, nations, timelines, and other world building details. The wiki actually works really well, allowing me to find particular details fast and add information as necessary. The problem is I don’t like to stop writing long enough to update the silly thing, because I don’t want to lose momentum on the story. So about half of my world building made it into the wiki, and the rest is jotted down in random notes and on the backs of flyers and such, all of which is jammed into a folder.

BBB: What do you feel are the benefits of the new electronic readers such as Kindle 2 or Sony Digital Book Reader to the environment?

JCH: At the moment, I don’t think there’s been much of an impact, but I imagine that will change as the price continues to come down and e-readers become more standardized.

BBB: What impact do electronic readers create on the bottom line for authors in the end? Do you feel they have a negative impact or positive, or no impact at all that you can see?

JCH: Electronic sales make up a small fraction of my overall royalties, so right now I don’t know that the e-readers are having that much of an impact. Ask me again in five or ten years, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that answer changed a lot. I don’t think electronic books are going to be the End Of Publishing, and I suspect the demand for good stories will stay strong for the foreseeable future. I’m just planning to keep writing, and one way or another I trust there will be ways to connect stories and readers.

BBB: Can you tell us about your different stories and the general storylines that drive them?

JCH: The goblin books were all about looking at the fantasy genre from a different perspective, exploring what heroism and adventure and quests meant to someone on the opposite end of the food chain. Well, that and the occasional nose-picking joke. The princess series has been similar in many ways. Not the nose-picking, but the desire to look at things from another perspective, to give these characters the chance to take control of their own stories and kick some ass in the process.

BBB: What else do you currently have in the works? When can we expect your next book?

JCH: I’m doing final revisions on Red Hood’s Revenge, the third princess book, which should be out around July of next year. After that, the as-of-yet-untitled fourth princess book will probably wrap up the series. I’ve got a few ideas for a new series, but it will probably be another year before I start writing it.

BBB: You came up with some really unusual names for the secondary characters in The Stepsister Scheme. Where did those names come from?

JCH: Mostly it was a matter of playing with sounds and syllables until I came up with something that felt right for the character or race in question. I tried to keep the tradition of having fairly ridiculous-sounding fairy names, as you get in the old fairy tales, which is where you get names like Arlorran and Trittibar and Febblekeck. A lot of these characters went thought many different names before I finally settled on the right one.

BBB: The fate of the stepmother was an awesome but gruesome twist. Where did that concept originate from?

JCH: Thank you! Like a lot of the backstory for the books, this came from the older (pre-Disney) fairy tales, which were a lot darker than the stories we hear these days. Without spoiling anything, if you read Aschenputtel, one of the old Cinderella tales, you’ll find the inspiration for the fate of Danielle’s stepmother.

BBB: Where do you see the fantasy/urban fantasy genre headed? Can you see it slowing down in the near future, or do you think that the immediate future is pretty bright for it?

JCH: In the future, the entire fantasy genre shall be made up of classic works with monsters added, a la Pride and Prejudice with Zombies. I’m planning to stake out Shakespeare Cthulhu as my own niche.

BBB: Do you have any personal traits that you have written into the characters of your books?

JCH: Jig the goblin’s nearsightedness. I’ve worn glasses since age four, and every once in a while I find myself wondering why everyone in the fantasy genre has 20/20 vision. And my family would be quick to point out that most of the smart-assery in various characters is very much me.

BBB: Do you feel that you might lean towards doing some more urban fantasy type books in the future?

JCH: I’ve never done much urban fantasy (though I did have a story in Esther Friesner’s anthology Strip Mauled, which is suburban fantasy–does that count?) The new series, post-princesses, will probably be set in today’s time, and may have more of an urban bent to it.

BBB: True Blood or The Vampire Diaries?

JCH: Charlaine Harris and I share an agent, so just to be safe, I’m going with True Blood. But the truth is I don’t really watch that much TV, and haven’t caught either show. I’ve read some of Charlaine Harris’ Harper
Connelly series and enjoyed it, though.

BBB: Do you have any plans for book signings/ readings anytime soon? If so, where can our readers find you?

JCH: I’ve got a few more book signings in Michigan, and I’ll be Guest of Honor at Icon in Iowa later this month. I keep all of my upcoming events posted on my web site at http://www.jimchines.com/appearances/

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Learn more about Jim C. Hines below:

Read Reviews of his work here.

To visit the author’s website go here.
To visit the author’s blog go here.

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CONTEST: PLEASE NOTE THE NEW CONTEST EMAIL ADDRESS TO SEND YOUR ENTRIES TO BELOW. There are also revisions to the rules for this contest, please read them all carefully. Also, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR FIRST AND THE INITIAL OF YOUR LAST NAME in your comment/post so we can give you the proper credit for your entries.

Readers, here’s how to enter the contest. You can do just ONE or ALL of these things, and each thing you do will give you additional entries at a chance to WIN. REMEMBER you have Until 10/13/09 at 11:59 pm PDT to do the different things that YOU choose to do.

He will be giving away 1 set of painted goblin miniatures from Garden Ninja Studios and his awesome publisher DAW Books has agreed to donate THREE copies each of the following anthologies:
Gamer Fantastic
Terribly Twisted Tales
Misspelled
If I Were An Evil Overlord

Open to readers worldwide

1. The easiest way to enter is by purchasing copies of Jim’s books.

From Amazon:
here

From Barnes & Noble:
here

Good for 300 entries per book you purchase by using the links above.

OR you can use the Barnes & Noble search banner on the right hand side of the site or this link HERE to make your purchase of ANY kind of merchandise during the contest. You can also use the Amazon search box or this link HERE to shop as well. Good for 100 entries to the contest for EACH item you purchase. Not valid on past purchases.

It is NOT mandatory to purchase anything to enter the contests, there are plenty of other ways to enter and win. Just email us a copy of your purchase receipt to bittenbybooks.contests @ gmail.com (no spaces). Sorry no faxes or snail mail copies.

2. In order to be entered into this contest the ONE thing you ALL have to do is ask Jim a question or leave a comment. It can be ANY question you like. No questions/comments = no entries! You can come by through 10/13/09 and ask Jim your questions. Good for 10 entries. (max 2 questions that count towards entries)

3. Spread the word! Use this direct link to the event: http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=11707 on twitter, at another blog, website, Myspace, Ning Group, Facebook, Yahoo Group, Goodreads, Shelfari (any group where it is appropriate). You MUST come back here to this interview and post those links in one response here in this thread so we can verify your entries. Good for 100 entries per place you post the event link.

NOTE: if you post multiple links here, your post will not show up right away. If you don’t see it, don’t keep posting it, we WILL approve your entry later on in the day.

4. Be friends with Jim by joining him here:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/jimchines

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jimhines

Good for 100 entries per place you friend. Please send proof of friendship to bittenbybooks.contests @ gmail.com (no spaces).

5. VOTE in the The Vampire’s Assistant Movie Giveaway here: http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=11315 and leave a comment. Good for 50 entries.

6. VOTE in the 2009 Favorite Paranormal Fiction Author of the Year – Round 3 here:  http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=11704 and leave a comment where you heard about the poll. Good for 50 entries.

7. Make a purchase in our Bloody Cafe store here: http://www.cafepress.com/bittenbybooks. We are all volunteers so your continuing support is deeply appreciated. Email us a copy of your purchase receipt to bittenbybooks.contests @ gmail.com (no spaces). Sorry no faxes or snail mail copies. Good for 100 entries.

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The contest ends on 10/13/09 at 11:59 pm PDT and the winners will be contacted via email. You will receive your prize bag directly from the author and publisher. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR FIRST AND THE INITIAL OF YOUR LAST NAME as well as a valid email where we can contact you. REMEMBER the more things you do, the more entries, the greater the chances of winning.

1. Please note, the prize stated IS the prize you will receive, there will be absolutely no substitutions or changes the prize is non-transferable. If you don’t want the prize being offered, please don’t enter the contest. If you ever win an electronic copy of a book, please note that it is ILLEGAL to forward, give away or copy it in anyway once you receive it. Doing so violates copyright. If we find out that it has been done, you will no longer be eligible to win any of our contests.

2. You have THREE days from the day the we contact you to claim your prize by sending your name/mailing address to me. Failure to contact me will forfeit your prize. BBB can at that time, choose either to re-award the prize to another entrant or not.

3. The prize stated IS the prize you will receive, there will be no substitutions, trades or changes. No exceptions. Please do not ask. If for some reason you do not wish to claim your prize, please let me know as soon as possible. Bitten by Books has the option to re-award it or not.

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5. Bitten by Books is in NO way responsible for the prizes being offered in any of the contests. If for some reason a contributor does not honor their prize, there is nothing we can or will do about it. We are not worried that this will happen, but we want to be very clear that WE are not offering these prizes, the contributor is and it is their responsibility to fulfill their prize obligations.

6. These rules are subject to change or be modified without prior written notice.

7. Contest is void where prohibited.

8. By entering this contest you are agreeing to our terms of entry

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: DAW (January 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756405327
• ISBN-13: 978-0756405328

To purchase a print copy of The Stepsister Scheme click here.
To purchase a Kindle copy of The Stepsister Scheme click here.

Once upon a time…is not like I remember it. Cinderella does marry the handsome prince, Armand, but her real name is Danielle de Glas, and her stepsister’s are out to get their revenge on her for stealing their prince. Danielle soon discovers that Armand has been kidnapped and his mother, the Queen, enlists the help of two other princesses to bring Armand back.

Danielle’s servant, Talia, is forced to reveal that she is actually Sleeping Beauty when Danielle’s stepsister, Charlotte, comes to the castle and attacks her. Talia is a skilled fighter and defends Danielle, but Charlotte escapes. She then takes Danielle through a secret passageway to the queen where she encounters the princess, Snow White.

Danielle, Talia and Snow go to Fairytown in search of the prince. The political climate does not support their presence there and strong magic is being used to keep the prince’s location hidden. They need Talia’s physical prowess, Snow’s magic and Danielle’s connection to the prince to help them find the way. There are enchanted trees, goblins and all manner of creatures trying to prevent them from ever finding him.

The Stepsister Scheme is an amazing twist on the tales of the three princesses I grew up with. Each girl’s story is woven in great detail as we discover what became of each “happily ever after” fairytale and their not-so-happy endings. Being a princess is much more difficult than I ever imagined, and there were some fun twists in turns in this story that kept me thoroughly engrossed. I laughed often, found myself sitting on the edge of my chair, and even shed a tear or two. I’m thrilled to know that two more books are on their way and will be watching for them. It was beyond my expectations, and I absolutely loved it!

Visit the author’s website by going here.
Visit the author’s blog by going here.