The last two weeks have been a whirlwind, Victoria Morgan, reflects as she approaches the ancient ruins of Ephesus, Turkey. I’m putting my humdrum life behind and embarking on a new, hopefully, exciting path. The only remaining question is, where will that path lead? As the weeks progress, Tori’s hoped-for exciting summer adventure morphs into a tale of mystery, danger, and romance when she, her long-time friend, Mark, a theologian, and their two roommates, an archeologist and an historian, set out to solve the mystery of a 2000-year-old local legend. As they seek clues to uncover the truth about Flavia, a patrician Ephesian girl, and her slave, Junea, Tori’s tale becomes tangled with that of her first-century heroines. Like Flavia, whose life hangs in the balance in 56 A.D, Tori, faces a life-threatening situation in 2022. Was Flavia, with Junea’s help, be able to escape death? Will death be Tori’s fate? In this well-researched historical novel, the reader is transported back and forth between the once magnificent Ephesus of the first century and the city that lies in ruins today. As Tori and Flavia walk their separate paths, the reader comes to realize that life’s challenges can be similar for women of every century. Beautifully illustrated with many photographs of the Ephesus ruins as they are today and some of Ephesus as it would have looked during the first century, Tangled Tales presents an unforgettable story of Ephesus then and now.
Unsettling Stories from Unheard Voices These stories traverse through the lives of ten ordinary individuals living in the USA and India (Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Varanasi and remote Arunachal Pradesh) but they all have one thing in common - their unexpected and convoluted reality. Sometimes regular life can be wicked! Hello Sunshine! In Minnesota, amidst the Covid19 pandemic, a neighborhood is scared about a different omen of death. What can be worse than the pandemic itself? Mirror Mirror on the wall A story unfolds in suburban Mumbai, leaving everyone perplexed. There is a schizophrenic husband with an illicit affair, and there is his crazy wife, who is supposedly hatching a plan to kill him. Who are they really? Only their mirror seems to know. Two truths and a lie In an affluent Kolkata neighborhood, an old man recites a story about the famous Kohinoor diamond, forcing the protagonist to question the present narrative. The Perfect Storm On a stormy night in remote Arunachal Pradesh, a lady in distress, a lone driver, and an escaped psychopath cross path momentarily. Who will survive this short encounter? And More. If you love reading books by Roald Dahl and Ruskin Bond, you will love these twisted tales. *** "Intriguing collection with a surprising twist. Highly recommended for literature collections for the contemporary Indian writings." - Midwest Book Reviews "It is a short story reader’s delight! All stories cover a range of emotions, experiences, and settings; giving one the sensation of seeing a great deal of the world and the people who inhabit it, without moving an inch. A great satisfying collection all in all!" - Ushasi Sen Basu – Author Kathputli & A Killer Amongst Us "Suduhita has beautifully penned the various facets of human life in urban societies through love, marriage, agony, jealousy, conspiracy, and human psychology." - Prof. Tamo Mibang, Former Vice-Chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi Central University
Julie Castle's Tangled Tales Complete Series—Reimagined Fairy Tales A WOLF’S TALE: Gina Sinclair is trying to look after her grandma's best interests and the family estate as she fends off attempts to send grandma to a rest home. She’s got no time or desire to fall for a man, but there’s something about the mild-mannered accountant she can’t resist. Mitchell Wolf is a creature with only a few weeks to live unless he finds the key to his survival hidden at Xanadu, the Sinclair's family mansion. When Libby Sinclair secretly hires Mitch to protect her granddaughter, he can't believe his luck. Protecting Gina will absolve his clan from a centuries old debt, and give him a chance to surreptitiously search for the key. Posing as a mild-mannered accountant, he moves into the estate to conduct an inventory, and finds his hands full trying to protect Gina from danger. From the moment they meet, Gina is suspicious, yet curiously attracted to him. Can Little Red turn the tables and tame the Wolf? Tropes: secrets, protector, fairytale retelling, damsel in distress, forbidden love, disguise CINDY REVISITED: Cynthia Jane Taylor is a twenty-nine-year-old virgin. She's turned into a drudge during the last six months serving her stepmother and party-girl stepsisters since moving home to save the family ranch. On top of that, she's had to fend off Randal Industries’ increasingly aggressive attempts to buy the property. When a trio of smiling ladies show up at her door on the night of the Policeman's Ball, she gratefully accepts their offer of a Fairy Godmother's Makeover. At the dance, she spots “the” bad boy, the star of her teenage fantasies, and decides to seduce him. Jake Randal has quietly slipped into town to investigate the corruption at his father's company. He's instantly smitten when he locks eyes with Cyn, but it’s clear she isn't the experienced seductress she claims to be. When she slips away after their interlude is interrupted, he's determined to track her down. She's left one clue behind, her gold panties. Now all he has to do is find the redhead who fits them. Will there be an actual happy ending for this modern day Cinderella Story? Tropes: virgin, fairytale retelling, secret crush, orphan, rejected, interlude, wallflower GOLDIE & THE 3 BEARS: When Goldie Lockwood, a half-breed werebear with no powers, flees from her clan, the last thing she expects is to stumble on a trio of studs straight out of her erotic dreams. It’s mating season, and she isn’t even in the running, being a dud DNA-wise. But when they touch her, enticing wild fantasies, she can’t resist making them her harem. Just who seduces whom in this twisted tale? And will Goldilocks find the mate that’s just right? Tropes: reverse harem, fairytale retelling, rejected, love triangle, rivals KNOCK THREE TIMES: Chemise finds an old lamp in the antique shop she's just inherited from her aunt. It bears an inscription which says: “Knock Three Times.” Curious, she does just that, and a handsome, muscular genie named Lucien appears. He claims she's his beloved and their love is fated. But the course of happily-ever-after does not flow smoothly, what with warring goddesses and an evil jinn trying to end them. Two star-crossed lovers, a charmed lamp, a sexy reluctant genie, and a goddess who bears a grudge? What a magic carpet ride of sheer enchantment. Tropes: fairytale retelling, fated, star-crossed, sworn off love, damsel in distress, instalove
The tale of the legendary golden flower is widely known. The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the flower is coveted by an old witch to keep herself young and beautiful. And always the flower is used to save a dying queen, who then gives birth to a princess with magical hair. Not willing to lose the flower, the old witch steals the princess and locks her away in a high tower, raising her as her own. But the princess always finds out who she truly is and manages to defeat the old witch. And yet this is only half the story. So what of the old witch, Mother Gothel? Where does she come from? And how does she come across the magical golden flower? Here is one account that recounts a version of the story that has remained untold for centuries . . . until now. It is a tale of mothers and daughters, of youth and dark magic. It is a tale of the old witch.
Rapunzel is not your typical princess. For one thing, she has returned to her kingdom after eighteen years spent trapped in a tower and she's still getting to know her parents. For another, she has to get used to royal customs, like the proper ways to sit and curtsy, when she'd really rather climb a tree and paint. Plus, she hates wearing shoes. Cassandra is not your typical lady-in-waiting. As the daughter of the captain of the guard, she has grown up fascinated by security and weaponry. It has been her life's goal to become a soldier in the guard, and princess-sitting doesn't really fit into her plan—especially when that princess's aggravating boyfriend is always hanging around. But when Rapunzel and Cassandra stumble upon a secret lagoon said to hold the key to the kingdom's greatest power, it will be up to them to solve the mystery... before someone more sinister does. Follow this tale of adventure and intrigue, love and destiny, and, most important, friendship.
Discover a terrifying world in the woods in this collection of five hauntingly beautiful graphic stories that includes the online webcomic sensation “His Face All Red,” in print for the first time. Journey through the woods in this sinister, compellingly spooky collection that features four brand-new stories and one phenomenally popular tale in print for the first time. These are fairy tales gone seriously wrong, where you can travel to “Our Neighbor’s House”—though coming back might be a problem. Or find yourself a young bride in a house that holds a terrible secret in “A Lady’s Hands Are Cold.” You might try to figure out what is haunting “My Friend Janna,” or discover that your brother’s fiancée may not be what she seems in “The Nesting Place.” And of course you must revisit the horror of “His Face All Red,” the breakout webcomic hit that has been gorgeously translated to the printed page. Already revered for her work online, award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll’s stunning visual style and impeccable pacing is on grand display in this entrancing anthology, her print debut.
Tangled: The Series on Disney Channel is set between the events of the original film and the start of Tangled Ever After. The series follows the long-locked Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore) as she acquaints herself with her parents, her kingdom, and the people of Corona. Realizing there is much more she needs to learn before she can truly accept her royal destiny, Rapunzel puts her crown--and her marriage--on hold to seek out epic adventures, much to the dismay of her father, the King. Accompanying Rapunzel on her journey is the charming Eugene (voiced by Zachary Levi); the plucky chameleon sidekick, Pascal; the no-nonsense horse, Maximus; the Snuggly Duckling pub thugs; and newcomer Cassandra, a tough-as-nails handmaiden who becomes Rapunzel's confidante. Two favorite episodes of Disney Channel's hit show Tangled: The Series are retold in each collectible chapter book with black-and-white illustrations throughout. They're perfect for adventure-loving kids and Disney Princess fans ages 6 to 9. The long blond hair is back in Disney Tangled: The Series, an animated series that continues the fantastic adventures of Rapunzel and Eugene that began in Disney's 50th animated classic, Tangled.
The first book in a new middle grade series that features the adventures of Disney’s most loveable roguish heroes as kids! “You know the great thing about beginnings? It means we’re only getting started.” ? Flynnigan Rider and the Hunt for the Red Pearl Twelve- year-old Eugene Fitzherbert needs a plan. It’s not that he doesn’t love his time in the orphanage that raised him?Miss Clare and the boys are his family. As is his best friend, Arnie, with whom he’s often in cahoots, acting out passages from his favorite Flynnigan Rider books, or pretending they’re Lance Archer, the iconic thief who takes from the rich to give to the poor. But Eugene knows that most orphans his age set off to make their own way, and the orphanage already doesn’t have the means to support them all. Besides, he wants to see the world with Arnie, and maybe, just maybe find his parents someday. So when a traveling circus comes to the kingdom promising a life of adventure, brotherhood, and riches, Eugene jumps at the chance to join them. He even convinces Arnie to come too. But soon it becomes clear that there’s more to this ragtag crew than meets the eye, and they may have a dubious plot in the works. It’ll take new heroes?namely, Flynn Rider and Lance Strongbow, to save the day. Filled with adventure and fun, the Lost Legends series explores the untold origins of Disney’s most infamous rogue boys.
