No Matter How Small by Sharon Gibbs - Lovely Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, in a land not that far over the horizon, in a little hamlet called The Grove, there lived a little girl called Sarah.
Sarah was not like the other members of her family. Yes, she was a regular person but she was much smaller than anyone else her own age. At eight years old she was the size of a two-year-old child. The Fae in the glen did not know why she was this size. It seemed strange that a human would not grow at the same rate as all the others did and so Sarah had to learn to live life closer to the ground that most.

Sarah was a lively child, always wanting to join in the fun with her friends, but she was too small to do most things the other children like to do.
Luckily her friend Sam always helped her out. When the other children were hopping from rock to rock crossing the stream, Sam picked Sarah up and lifted her upon his shoulders. He would carry Sarah while they made their way across the stones, dodging the current as it flowed past them.

~~~

No Matter How Small

By Sharon Gibbs

Illustrated by Alexandra N. MacVean

Sarah...wished with all her heart that she were bigger so she could help her mother in the kitchen. "I hate being small. I'm no use at all."
"Sarah, I'm sure there is a reason why you are so small. One day that reason will become apparent and all your questions will be answered."
Sarah sighed and continued rolling out the pastry...
~~~

Anytime somebody is different from "average," there are bound to be special problems, aren't there... I was called names in school just like many have been... Interesting, though, an uncle started calling me "shorty" when I was very young...and continued to call me that even when I was grown and a little taller than he was... Sometimes, names can be mean and sometimes names can be endearing...

Sarah was a short person. She had one special friend that would carry her when she could not travel as fast, or go where other children were going... Still, she knew that her size was a disadvantage...she couldn't even help her mother in the kitchen except for certain tasks. Once her mother tripped and almost dropped a big, hot pan of soup...but there was no way that Sarah could help her--either to carry the soup, or help her if she fell and needed help getting up.

One day she was walking through the woods with Sam and they heard someone calling for help!

They rushed towards the voices. Children were gathered at the edge of a cliff. There was something on a ledge. It was a unicorn and it looked hurt!

People kept coming to try to help, but they could all see that the ledge was tiny and would not hold those who could climb down to help...

"What will happen to the unicorn if we don't help him?" a boy from the village asked.
The Fae then appeared.
"The outlook is bleak. This magical beast will die unless we heal him. He needs the healing powers from the Ju Ju berries, which grow within this forest. That is why he has come here to feed."
~~~



Tying a rope around Sarah, to keep her safe, the men from the village helped to lower her down towards the injured unicorn. Carrying the Ju Ju berries and some water, Sarah knelt by the divine beast and patted his neck. The unicorn's coat felt cold and no longer held the luminescence that it once did.
He did not move...
~~~ 

You know, I've always liked fairy tales where humans and fantasy creatures can talk and share with each other... In this case, the Fae came to help while everybody was talking about how to get to the unicorn...

And guess who they realized could go down to help him?

But even with Sarah's help, would she be able to take care of the unicorn and save him? Well, we do know that she was trying everything possible to do so!

This was a great story about self-esteem, values and friendship. You know what, though, I never would have guessed the story's ending! Loved it!

Do check out this short story...I read it on my Fire and it was okay, but then couldn't read it on my computer...so do check out that it will be okay for your particular device. 

If your children like old-fashion fairy tales...this is highly recommended!


GABixlerReviews

Sharon Gibbs was born in Yorkshire U.K. and immigrated with her parents to Australia in August 1971. It took until her children were grown and flown from the nest to discover her love for writing. After being given a book from a friend, Sharon fell in love with the world of fantasy. Working full time at the local hospital, she writes when she can. Sharon is producing a series of children’s books under the Good night Sleep tight collection. She lives in Adelaide South Australia on a small property with her husband and their four dogs.

Becket Brings A New Genre, Steampunk Sorcery, What A Tale!

Wow! Check out the Whole Cast of Goblins!

in

Good The Goblin Queen

By Becket

Illustrations by Raven Quinn

The pots, the pots,
it's the Pots and Pans Parade
We prance, we dance
like ants in pants
in the Pots and Pans Parade!
~~~

This is a silly book! It has lots of silly words! And pretty soon, you will begin to feel silly too, wouldn't you? Because there are lots of silly thoughts! And lots of silly rhymes... How could you help but begin to act silly too?! Say, for instance, little Good's parents... welllll, adoptive parents that is...

OK, you might not think of a little girl having orangutans for parents, but, when I did, in fact I thought it was...silly...

Good was never allowed
to cook anything if it did
not have banana in it.
She had to make banana
soup, banana stew,
banana bread, banana
butter, banana applesauce
banana salad, banana
sandwiches, banana
meatloaf, banana mashed
potatoes, banana ice cream
...(get the idea!)

Now, you see, Good was not a little baby orangutan because that would have been fine...Instead, Good was a little girl, just like you and I once were! In fact, when Good was reading this story, she started laughing and said "that's silly!" Good decided one day, that her life was not good at all!

The first reason for this decision was because her mom and dad had named her Good. She did not want to be called "bad." but she never liked being called Good either. It was not a normal name. She would have rather been called another lovely name, like Ginny,...People were always misunderstanding her. "What's your name?" they would ask and she would reply, "I'm Good." And they would think that she was not very smart because good is usually how someone feels, never what you're named...

What a silly life!

...there were always large piles of
bananas all over the place...There
were bananas in the kitchen,
bananas in the living room,
bananas in the bothroom and in
Good's bedroom. She had to sleep
on a pile of bananas and her pillow
was a bag of banana peels. The
more her mom taste-tested bananas
the more banana peels carpeted the
floor. Good was always slipping on
them and dropping her books.
And she was never allowed to
clean the house either. Her mom
and dad liked everything being in
a specific order, which meant that
there was no order whatsoever!

I told you this was a silly book. Good also had two other reasons for not liking her life. You'll find out about those when you read this fun book!

Can you imagine that where they lived everybody thought they were a regular family?! And her father had even become President of the country! Her mom had a job as a banana tester and was able to keep the family completely in bananas to the delight of everybody, but...Good...

And then one night Good sneaked out of the tree house and dug up her box of books--she couldn't leave them in her room because her mom or dad would eat them! She read that night a story about a Goblin Queen and then, looking up, she saw bright shooting stars and wished upon each one!

No one ever thought of Good as a good girl. They never thoughts of her as bad either. In fact, she was so ignored by so many people that no one really ever thought of her. She went to school and had no friends. She came home and had no friends. She walked around the neighborhood or the park or the beach and she still had no friends. But one day she started to change. And then she was noticed, not by people, but by a troop of goblins marching by in the Pots and Pans Parade!

~~~

First she met an elderly ghost named Mr. Fuddlebee...

who appears below in glasses and a derby...

And before Good knew it, she had turned green!

And, of course, the Goblin Band sang loud and free--

They knew right away that Good was their Queen!

Then the goblins lined up before Good and bowed so low to the ground that they all lost their balance and fell over. They got back to their feet after they fought with one another about who had lost their balance first. Finally, they stood once more in a line before her like soldiers at attention.
They saluted her by punching themselves in the face.
A short one spoke up. "All hail, Our Pie-ness."
"No," the tallest one hissed at him. "Not pie-ness. High-ness. Your highness is how you address the Queen."
"Maybe she has some pies," the first replied.
"I like mud pies," said a third.
"She doesn't look that high to me," said a fourth.
"Maybe it's cry-ness," a fifth goblin said. "She looks like a weeper."
"Did you say she's a keeper?" said a sixth. "I think we could throw her back and get another."
"We could keep her toes and throw away the rest," said not the seventh who was silent, but one of the others.
Then the tallest goblin, who had a long sword and was wearing the heaviest armor, stepped forward and silenced the other six.
He took out an old photograph, crept closer to Good, and held the photograph beside her face. The other six goblins looked at it and then they all nodded together, saying among themselves, "Yes, yes, they do look a lot alike."
Good studied the photograph too. She was surprised to see a girl who looked exactly like her, not the way she had been before she made the wish, but the way she was now, looking a little too much like these goblins. The girl in the photograph had a tall black crown, a long black dress, red eyes and lips, and she clearly very green skin.
"My fellow goblins," said the tall goblin beside her. "I believe we have finally found our long lost queen..."
!!!

Well, I must tell you that once Good realized what had happened, and the Goblins had declared her their Queen, why the story turns around totally! It's no longer silly--okay, maybe a little! Because, of course, Goblins are not silly, are they? But it was very hard to get used to all her new friends and followers... And, now, they had a very long way to go to get to their home and introduce the Queen to her kingdom!

And it wasn't going to be exactly an easy trip to get there!

They went through a Hollow Tree...Down a long Hallway...into the Hall of Countless Doors...Entered The Dream Kingdom...Chocolate Heaven!...and on to Nightmare Hollow...and they still weren't there! But each of these are the chapter titles of what you'll be reading... In all there are 35 chapters for those middle-grade children--and adults if you're like me--to enjoy! 

And Good the Goblin Queen proved to be both a wise and kind queen, even when faced with a giant coming into her Kingdom, she knew exactly what to do. All of the members of her kingdom knew what a wonderful Queen they had and all readers will see how they, too, can become wise yet kind when dealing with difficult situations!

One final thought--this is a new genre for me and may be for other adults. It's called Steampunk Sorcery... What it seemed to me to be was a way to be wildly imaginative and cross-genre...which it indeed was... But the majority of the novel was, to me, an old-fashioned fairy tale... In fact, I had a few thoughts about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as it related to the motley Pots and Pan crew.  Sure, the silly part up front will get your children interested, but, the basic story of Good the Goblin Queen is traditional, with the usual moral to the story, or, in this case, a number of individual, smaller stories... So, if you worry when you see this title, let me assure you that the material is entirely suitable for middle grade and above. After all, we all need to be a little silly, right?!

Highly recommended!


GABixlerReviews

Becket is the personal assistant to international best-selling author ANNE RICE. He has a BA in music composition, an MA in systematic theology, and an MS in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. He has been working for Ms. Rice since 2005, and he has spent that time learning from her the craft of writing.
You can find out more about him at www.becket.me

C. S. Lakin's Latest Is BRH Favorite--So Far!

The Crystal Scepter:
 The Gates of Heaven Series

http://monster.wikia.com/wiki/Basilisk

A Fairy Tale By
C. S. Lakin


The Crystal Scepter is a darker, heavier Tale than earlier editions, or so it seemed to me. And, an old legend of the Gorgon adds a sense of horror as well. You remember the Gorgon? the Woman who had snakes around her head and was so hideous that if you saw her, you would turn to stone?

http://monster.wikia.com/wiki/Basilisk
"He needed his nerve and made for a large group
of men huddled on the shore where the main ship
dock once stood. Not a piece of wood remained standing,
nor could Perth see any boats up and down the coastline,
although in the dark he could only see so far. Though,
the dozen or so torches held aloft revealed total
destruction of what had once been the seaport for
his village...
"Arnyl tore his glassy gaze from the door and found
his son. 'I ran to the harbor, looking for you, when
the first big wave swamped the village. I never saw it
coming, only heard loud crashing in the distance.
The force of the water knocked me against Rickard's
Dry Goods. I blacked out, but heaven be thanked--
Alyck chanced upon me and got me to my feet.
That's when I found I could barely walk. I think my
leg might be broke.' His pa drew in a long breath and
shuddered, as if his ribs ached from the motion. 
"Alyck and Gayla managed to get me home but I'm
afeared I won't be up and around for many a day..."
"His pa stared wistfully toward the window, where
the dark night encroached. "So many hurt, their
homes gone, swept away. What will happen to
Tolpuddle?"

And then we also met her spawn, who was not quite so ugly, but did have more going for him in size and weight...LOL You got it, I just had to have pictures of what I thought they looked like, even though the Gorgon was also a shape shifter, which I thought was way cool, since she had quite a number of men enchanted with her!

How did she do that? By stealing all the beauty from the King's three daughters! Who instantly became Trolls!

Ok, I'd better stop - I did try to find a picture of a troll, but nowadays they are all cute little girl trolls...So think of the older stories of trolls that lived under the bridge, etc., for your mental pictures...

These are your monsters for this event, although, once you get to know the trolls, even though they are thieves, who will steal anything nice or beautiful, you will find they are just silly princesses who were still spoiled even if no long beautiful...

Because they lived in Elysiel, a beautiful place that was under God's grace and which was kept secret because of evil enemies who wished to destroy the land and steal the magic held there.

But as always seems to occur among humans, word got out that the Kings of Elysiel possessed a Crystal Scepter that gave them extra long lives. This time, however, the King was killed, murdered, and the Scepter stolen!

It was another King, Pythius of Paladya, that had entered the secret Crystal Cave, killed the King and left, but not before he had touched one of the huge crystal stones and seen what his future might be...

He had been helped to enter Elysiel by Lady Vitrella, who was the gorgon in disguise and who then attacked Pythius when he left. Pythius had kept his sword handy and wounded her. Now he had another enemy... But Pythius was used to danger. When his father had fought to take over Paladya, he had been but a boy...

But old enough to lust after his father's power and he committed his first murder to ensure he became King!

His lust had also led to him taking a young woman who was visiting Paladya and she was now pregnant. But when he returned from Elysiel, his hand had been hurt, burned by and with the mark of the Scepter... Nothing seemed to help it get better until he started calling those with magical skills. The first seer explained: "As the son has done to the father, so shall be done to the son."

And so as another man once feared the birth of a child, Pythius determined to kill his son first! But his wife had been brave enough to send her servant to listen. When she came back and explained that the boy would be killed, they ran away. Pythius was so angry that he sent soldiers out to find them, finally ordering that all baby boys should be killed. Fear like none before spread as Pythius' anger grew--just as his body was racked with pain as the mark on his hand spread up his arm...pains shooting out through his body. What good was the scepter when he couldn't even touch it! But he would never give it up!

Years passed as readers read of the baby boy, safe, living in a small village, dreaming, waiting... until the ghost of the King of Elysiel came to him...

There is much more action and adventure in this latest book, as monsters from the waters attack villages so that the wastelands will once again take over... The author reviews some of earlier classic tales from which she gained inspiration and readers will glimpse a brief scene or two but the story of the land of crystal is like no other. Lakin is a truly masterful genius of imagination and creativity... Once I got past getting used to the strange, ancient spelling of names, I was being pulled in by various things, like the princess-turned trolls adding humor, and the story of the man who found the little boy and kept him as a son--and so much more. This just might be the best of the series! But, of course, I'll have to add until the next one comes out!

Consider this a contemporary classic--this series will undoubtedly continue on into the future! Fairy Tales do, because there is always something for us to learn, if we but allow ourselves to read the lines, and between them as well! Highly recommended for 14+ and all lovers of fantasy, especially ones which are inspirational as is this wonderful series!

GABixlerReviews

C. S. Lakin grew up in the Big Orange, when there were still orange groves in the Los Angeles basin. My first novel, A Rip in the Redwood Curtain, was picked up by the first agent who read it, Ben Kamsler -- Elmore Leonard's agent at the time.

While running a bed and breakfast inn, raising two daughters, and breeding dozens of pygmy goats, I wrote another two novels. One--Innocent Little Crimes--made the top 100 in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest, with Publisher's Weekly calling it "a page-turning thrill-ride that will have readers holding their breaths the whole way through." In 2006  I wrote my first fantasy book, now published with AMG/Living Ink Publishers as part of a seven-book series. I have now written twelve novels, five of which have been contracted for publication and three more scheduled to write and publish.

I currently work as a freelance copy editor and writing coach, and also teach workshops on writing at conferences. I belong to numerous writing and editing groups, and often guest blog and contribute articles on websites that focus on the craft of writing. My website Live Write Thrive is dedicated to helping writers learn the craft of writing with tips on how to thrive and prosper through understanding changing publishing trends.

C. S. Lakin spends her time divided between developing new book ideas and helping writers polish theirs. She is the author of six contemporary novels and six in the fantasy/sci-fi genre. Whether she is exploring the depths of the human psyche and pushing her characters to the edge of desperation, or embellishing an imaginary world replete with talking pigs and ancient magical curses, she is doing what she loves best – using her creativity and skills to inspire and affect her readers.

In all her books she seeks to journey to the heart of human motivation, to uncover unmet needs, and show the ath to healing and grace.

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A "New" Classic Fairy Tale Series Becomes Must-Read For Me!

The Land of Darkness:


A Fairy Tale By
C. S. Lakin




Have any of you been watching "Once Upon A Time" or "Grimm" on television? I am enjoying both of them, especially watching how pieces of the original stories as I knew them are used as the basic story, while the creators have taken much liberty in taking the concepts and moving on to an entirely different tale! C. S. Lakin has done something similar--as her latest novel opens we meet a young girl with two sisters and a mother who hates her new daughter...sound familiar as Cinderella? But almost immediately you will forget the touch of that fairy tale and move into a new world, one you will never have heard of--The Land of Darkness!

"It is not the land that is dangerous, Callen. The danger lies in your heart. Others have lost their lives searching for the bridge. Are you certain that you are prepared to pay that price?"

And you must travel through that Land to find The Bridge...

"Now, his mind raced with a dozen warnings, but they came too late. For he was a stranger to this part of the world. He had never heard of the tales whispered in dark corners over mugs of ale, or told as harsh threats to badly behaved children. He had set out as many do, to find his fortune. But now he would find only misfortune, for fate or carelessness or stupidity--it didn't matter which--had led him to the Land of Darkness...He stepped into the maw of blackness as if he had been swallowed whole; he left no footprint behind...No one who entered that bewitched land ever came back out."

We meet Callen first, a young carpenter apprentice. But his skill was especially in creating those marvelous  engravings, those designs that a talented individual would carve into what once was a piece of plain wood. Beren, his mentor and the man for whom he worked had allowed him to work on beyond his other apprentices, finding designs in the shop and copying them so that they appeared just as originally sketched...

But one day he found a very old sketch that Beren had told him he must have picked up in his youth. It was a bridge, one that had been carved just as he would carve a chest or table--it had to be made of wood, but how could a bridge be made of wood? Then he noticed that there was nothing under the bridge for support. Rather, it was suspended from above... Callen became obsessed as he studied the drawing--he had to find that bridge!

While nearby a little girl, Jadiel, was alone with her father, Ka'rel, after her mother had died.But then he met Huldah, an outsider who was not known in the community and Ka'rel had changed, as if he were bewitched. Although he loved Jadiel so much, as soon as Huldah drew him near, he would forget anything else and seemed under her spell. Jadiel was old enough to realize that Huldah did just that every time Ka'rel was going to talk or sit down with Jadiel.

But then Jadiel noticed something about her stepmother and began looking at her strangely. Huldah noticed her studying her and immediately realized what was happening! Jadiel had to go! She began to send her out on dangerous trips to bring something back for her stepmother. The latest one would require her to be gone for a long time and she had no guidance where she could find the tree that had been requested. At that point, Huldah made it quite clear that if she didn't return with the tree leaves, Huldah would kill her father!

It doesn't take long for Jadiel to meet dangerous men. Fortunately for her, Callen had chosen to begin his search in the same direction and he saved her! Then discovers they have a connection and decide to do their search together...

And then the adventure begins!

What a creative genius! C. S. Lakin's Series, in my opinion, will ultimately be included in what we refer to as Classic...I haven't had a chance to read the first two, but The Land of Darkness is timeless, has a moral to share for all readers, no matter their background and no matter their age. At a time when Fairy Tales are "big in literature, tv, and movies, C. S. Lakin has to be considered one of the top writers in the field.The entire series will be a must-read for me...Highly recommended for your consideration!

C. S. Lakin is novelist and writing coach who spends her time divided between developing new book ideas and helping writers polish theirs. She is the author of eleven novels – six contemporary novels and five in the fantasy/sci-fi genre. Whether she is exploring the depths of the human psyche and pushing her characters to the edge of desperation, or embellishing an imaginary world replete with talking pigs and ancient magical curses, she is doing what she loves best – using her creativity and skills to inspire and affect her readers.

In all her books she seeks to journey to the heart of human motivation, to uncover unmet needs, and show the path to healing and grace.

My fantasy series, The Gates of Heaven (AMG/Living Ink), debuted with the July 2010 release of The Wolf of Tebron, followed by The Map Across Time (March 2010) and  The Land of Darkness (September 2011).

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