I don’t wear make-up. I hate high
heels. I positively detest dressing up. So it’s probably a bit of a shock that
all I wanted to be when I was little was a princess in a poofy pink dress. I
actually owned many versions of said poofy pink dress in matching plastic
shoes. If you met me when I was seven and asked ‘what do you want to be when
you grow up?’ I would have promptly answered ‘Cinderella!’
So
what is it that makes children love fairy-tales so much? I don’t really know.
My enjoyment of them in my youth obviously did not have a lasting impression on
my wardrobe, so what is it? Generally speaking, boys make their own suits of
armor out of cardboard and pretend to slay dragons and goblins in the backyard,
while girls wear glittering, plastic crowns and run about with fairy wands.
But
if I had to guess at why I loved fairy-tales as a child – and why I still do as
an adult – I’d say it’s because they have magic.
Can you name a fairy-tale that did NOT include a spell? Or a curse?Or an
enchantment?Or a talking beast?I can’t. I’ve always loved the thought that in a
parallel world there are fairies, dragons, leprechauns, even little gnomes
running about. It’s the sort of stuff that made my eyes go wide with delight when
I was little and the sort of stuff that inspires my work today.
So,
if I have to think about what my favorite fairy-tales are, it’s the ones with
vivid landscapes (a castle entangled in a forest of thorns, a sugar-glazed cottage
adorned with sweets and chocolate, dark, frightening forests that literally
come alive in the night).
My
favorite fairy-tales in no particular order:
Sleeping
Beauty
Beauty
and the Beast
Little
Red Riding Hood
Hansel
and Gretel
Rumpelstiltskin
Rapunzel
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears
Snow
White and the Seven Dwarves
The
Golden Goose
What
are your favorite fairy-tales? Did you gravitate to them in your youth, too? Or
were you more a monsters and zombies or aliens and spaceships sort of kid?
M. L. LeGette
About the book: The Orphan and the Thief
An adventure that will keep you and your kids spellbound.
Toad thought it’d be easy to steal from Mr. Edward P. Owl. Unfortunately for Toad, he isn’t the best of thieves. Caught in the act, he’s in more trouble than ever before. Now to save his hide, Toad must track down five rare potion ingredients for Mr. Owl. Or else.All Melena Snead wants is her family back, but after the Miggens Street Fire, that isn’t very likely. Orphaned and miserable, forced to work in an apothecary, she’s determined to find Milo, her missing brother. No matter what.
When Melena finds Toad ransacking her apothecary, Toad gets a nasty shock: apothecaries don’t carry Mr. Owl’s ingredients. Luckily, Melena’s willing to help, for a price.
With Melena’s pet Spit-Fire dragon and Toad’s enchanted talking beer mug, they embark on a fantastical journey, traveling the country in search of the potion ingredients. But can they gather all of them in time, what with monsters, pirates, and axe-wielding thieves? And if they do, is there an even greater danger waiting for them at the end?
About the author
Melissa Lee LeGette has been writing seriously since she was a teen. She loves an old world vibe with a magical twist, and she puts her full focus on creating believable characters–even if they happen to be a talking beer mug. Her books are targeted for children and teens, but have been enjoyed by adults of all ages.
She lives in Georgia where she helps run a family farm, so her nails are a fright.
Website * Twitter * Facebook * Pinterest * Goodreads
Read an excerpt
It was a beer mug. The ugliest, foulest beer mug in Calendula, and yet Melena couldn’t stop staring at it. It had been fashioned to look like a human face. The color of its ‘skin’ was a sickly tan with a splattering of pale spots all over, like the skin of someone who had baked in the sun one time too many. It had tiny, striped, glass blue marbles for eyes that spun about in a frenzy, making Melena’s stomach twist sickly at the sight. A beaked nose sat above an enormous mouth and that mouth was what she couldn’t stop staring at, even more so than the spinning eyes, for it took up half its face. With its spotted skin, frightful eyes, and long white teeth that jutted out and curved like the bars of a birdcage, it looked like something that belonged to a freak show. Or something that danced about in nightmares. And even worse: it was talking.
It was a beer mug. The ugliest, foulest beer mug in Calendula, and yet Melena couldn’t stop staring at it. It had been fashioned to look like a human face. The color of its ‘skin’ was a sickly tan with a splattering of pale spots all over, like the skin of someone who had baked in the sun one time too many. It had tiny, striped, glass blue marbles for eyes that spun about in a frenzy, making Melena’s stomach twist sickly at the sight. A beaked nose sat above an enormous mouth and that mouth was what she couldn’t stop staring at, even more so than the spinning eyes, for it took up half its face. With its spotted skin, frightful eyes, and long white teeth that jutted out and curved like the bars of a birdcage, it looked like something that belonged to a freak show. Or something that danced about in nightmares. And even worse: it was talking.
“Ahhh, sunlight,” it commented with a sigh.
Melena stared at Toad.
“What?” he asked. “What is it?”
“Such an enchanting day,” the beer mug mused through its frightful grin.
He’s Joe,” said Toad.
“Ol’ Joe. The Bewitched Beer Mug of Thieves. I saw him in that crazy lady’s wagon.”
“So of course, you decided to steal him!”
He doesn’t belong t’her,” replied Toad, hotly.
"His rightful place is among thieves. Anyone who has Joe is the Thief Lord. Everybody knows that. I couldn’t let him stay with that—woman.”
"Wait, slow down. You’re a Thief Lord now?” asked Melena, incredulously.
Toad’s grin mirrored the beer mug’s. “Sure am!”
"But—but how?”
“What d’ya mean how?” Toad snapped, glaring at her.
“I just am.”
"But,” Melena pressed, utterly confused, “how can a beer mug make you a Lord?”
"That doesn’t matter! It’s just the way it is. It’s been this way forever. Everybody knows the rules.”
The hideous beer mug started humming his stupid song again and then expelled a loud belch. How something like that made you a Thief Lord, Melena could not fathom.
Blog Tour Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 3/27/14
Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author.
1 comment:
Snow White
Snow White and Rose Red
Little Red Riding Hood
etc...
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