My Fair Godmother

If you've ever read a fairy tale and wished for your very own Fairy Godmother to magically appear and make everything wrong in your life, right, you're not alone. But watch what you wish for, Chrissy Everstar just might show up and make everything worse.

Savannah's life is pretty good, until her boyfriend dumps her for her older sister right before prom. Then at the party where she intended to find a new prom date, a guy who happens to be her ex's best friend, embarrasses her in front of everyone. With so many jerks out there, where's a prince when you need one?

Savannah doesn't think her life can get any worse. Then Chrissy (Chrysanthemum) Everstar shows up to grant her three wishes. Sounds great, right? Well, it would've been if Chrissy knew how to grant good wishes. But when Savannah wishes for her own Cinderella story, Chrissy zaps her back to the Middle Ages and Savannah finds out that life is pretty rough for Cinderella. The prince is an incredible snob, too. After enough chores and bad food to last a lifetime, Savannah begs Chrissy for a prince that's kind, but still handsome. And...presto....she's Snow White.

Snow White isn't too bright, according to the dwarves, who treat Savannah like she's a serious mental case. But Snow White has a load of chores too, and Prince Hubert is a clueless wonder. As a emancipated modern teenager, Savannah's had enough. She demands that Chrissy restore her to the 21st century and find her a princely prom date who's smart, handsome, and kind.

Zap!

Savannah arrives home safe and sound and ever so happy to see the refrigerator and shower. But Tristan, the boy who accidentally embarrassed her at the party, suddenly disappears and Savannah guesses how. She already knew that Chrissy wasn't a very good fairy godmother - only fair - but now Tristan is gone and Savannah is the only one who knows where. And since no one would believe her if she told anyone, it's up to her to get him back. After learning of a clause in Chrissy's contract that allows Savannah to supervise her wishes, Savannah returns to the Middle Ages to help Tristan defeat an ogre, vanquish a dragon, and become a 'prince' so he can return home.

Things get a little more complicated when she meets the handsome princes of the kingdom and Tristan is on the verge of marrying the princess. Then there's the mysterious Black Knight that Savannah can't get out of her head. What follows is a fun romp of deceit, intrigue, and romance with a few delicious twists thrown in. How does a girl survive a ball as Cinderella, Snow White, and a girl trying to get back home - all at the same time? She might have pulled it off if it weren't for one step mother trying to poison her and the other scheming to send her back home to sweep cinders from the fireplace. Good thing her knight in shining armour (pun intended) shows up, but you'll have to read the book to find out who he is.

This book has been optioned for a movie and I HOPE it gets picked up. Full of humor, adventure, and clean romance, it would be a perfect summer flick. Excellent job Janette!

Grant for Windwatchers of Freed

I've written one whopping thing in the past month. I wrote a grant that would give me funds to attend the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators annual meeting in Los Angeles. I hope I get it. I'd never spend the money to attend otherwise and it would be so amazing to participate in the workshops. It'd also be cool to visit Darin and Kate afterward, take the kids to Disneyland, and spend a day at the beach before heading home. Anyhow, here's the first page of my submission:

Winds, nets, waves, tides
In the deep my soul resides.
Near, far, where 'ere I roam,
the sea will ever be my home.
-First verse, Mariner Folksong

Chapter 1

Lost at sea - what a lonely way to die. So many questions go unanswered when there aren't witnesses or bodies to bury. How did it happen? When? Was it quick and painless or a desperate struggle to the end? Maybe no one else wondered these things, but I did. I feared the sea. Her mood swings terrified me and her depths were a mystery I didn't care to probe. I felt much safer on land. But now I would have to take my chances. I sailed on the next tide.

The clan pennant flapped in my fingers as I stood on the Breakwater Cliffs for the memorial service. The village Alderman tried, and failed, to fill his speech with something meaningful. He and Father never liked each other much. A gust yanked the pennant from my hands just as a waved slammed against the cliff. The wave snatched the pennant from the wind, and then drowned it like the ship it had already claimed.

The Alderman went on and on about the tragedy of Father's untimely death but didn't seem too upset himself. Maybe that's the best he could do, what with the recent conflict between our families and all. And in truth, Father's death was untimely. Now the whole village would suffer. An entire cargo of trade goods had gone down with the ship. Never before had a ship been lost. But the moons hadn't met up in their orbits before either. No one predicted the wild, untamed thing the tide would become when that happened. In hushed whispers, folks were calling it the Death Tide.