First Frost
Series-The Frost Series Book # 1
By-Liz DeJesus
Publication Date- June 22, 2012
Published By- Musa Publishing
Fairytales aren’t real…yeah…that’s exactly what Bianca thought. She was wrong.
For generations, the Frost family has run the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts, handing down guardianship from mother to daughter, always keeping their secrets to “family only.”
Gathered within museum’s walls is a collection dedicated to the Grimm fairy tales and to the rare items the family has acquired: Cinderella’s glass slipper, Snow White’s poisoned apple, the evil queen’s magic mirror, Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted spinning wheel…
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Frost wants none of it, dreaming instead of a career in art or photography or…well, anything except working in the family’s museum. She knows the items in the glass display cases are fakes because, of course, magic doesn’t really exist.
She’s about to find out how wrong she is.
Glass Frost
The Frost Series Book # 2
By- Liz DeJesus
Publication Date- July 19th, 2013
Published By- Musa Publishing
When joined together, Cinderella's slippers grant the wearer her heart's desire. But whose wish will be granted?
When Cinderella’s glass slipper is stolen, Queen Felicia sends her faithful steward Terrance to the real world to retrieve his love and witch-in-training, Bianca Frost. The power of the glass slipper, when paired with its mate, and in the wrong hands, could ruin the peace of Everafter. Bianca must gather every bit of magic she has learned in the past few weeks to find the slipper and protect her new love. Together, Bianca, Ming, Prince Ferdinand, and Terrance venture deep into the heart of Everafter to seek clues as to who has stolen the slipper and why. Along the way, they uncover what happened to the Seven Dwarves after Snow White married the prince, but also learn the awful risk of tampering with black magic and the high price that must be paid for magic, even when used for good.
Bianca and Terrance’s relationship is put to the test. Through the pain of suffering and loss, Bianca must determine if following her gallant boyfriend into his faraway world is in fact her heart's desire.
Excerpt
Reluctantly Bianca sat down on a nearby stool; the chairs
were so small that she worried she would break them. Luckily for her, they were
quite sturdy. Bianca took a seat next to Terrance. Ming eventually joined them
and sat beside the prince. Bianca noticed the awestruck look on Prince
Ferdinand’s face as he ran his hands along the table.
“Are you okay?” Bianca asked.
He lifted his gaze at her. “Incredible. Isn’t it?”
Bianca grinned and nodded. When she closed her eyes, she
could easily imagine a young Snow White living here. A beautiful little girl,
scared, with nowhere else to go. Probably relieved to have found a safe place
to call home. Someplace where she wouldn’t be abused, threatened, or killed. A
steady energy seemed to run through the cottage. It hummed with warmth and
love.
The three dwarves joined them in the dining room where they
all sat and drank herbal tea. Bianca breathed in the warm and aromatic
fragrance of the cloves and cinnamon.
“This cottage was half the size when Snow lived with us,”
Collier said.
“Really?”
“Snow didn’t care though. She loved it here,” Howard said.
“She helped rebuild the kitchen and planted a vegetable and rose garden beside
the cottage. It hasn’t been touched since she passed away, but every year there
is a fresh crop of vegetables ripe for the pickin’. I swear every year the
roses smell sweeter and sweeter.”
Bianca imagined Snow White helping them build the kitchen
and the other rooms in the house. She could picture her with silver-colored
nails glinting on the corner of her mouth and a hammer in her hand, ready to do
anything to help. Bianca wondered if she helped carve the designs on the walls,
and if so, which ones was she responsible for.
“She loved you,” Bianca said.
“Aye, she did,” Knox said. All three brothers nodded in
agreement.
“Were you angry with her when she left?” Terrance asked.
“No. Not at all. This wasn’t a place for a beautiful
princess. We were sad to see her go, but never angry,” Knox explained.
Bianca was happy to hear that. Did Snow White know how they
felt? She liked to think so.
Knox finished his tea and set his mug down on the table.
“Come…follow me,” he said. He grunted as he got out of his
chair. “You’ll have to forgive my slowness…these old bones aren’t what they
used to be. I am nine hundred and ninety seven years old after all.”
Bianca set her tea aside and followed Knox as he led her up
the steps.
“Is it true?” Bianca asked.
“Is what true?”
“That dwarves live until they are a thousand years old.”
“Yes, it’s true.” Knox gave her a single nod.
“Doesn’t it scare you? Knowing that you only have three
years left?”
“Death doesn’t frighten me, child. I’m looking forward to
being finished with this life. I’ll see my brothers again. I’ll see Snow White
once more. I won’t be so tired anymore.”
Bianca had a hard time believing what Knox just said. She
had never met anyone that was looking forward to dying. In all honesty, she had
never thought about what she would be like twenty years down the road. As far
ahead as she was thinking at the moment was her senior year in high school and
her eighteenth birthday. But other than that? She had no clue.
Bianca continued to follow Knox up the lopsided stairs. She
had to bend a little so her head wouldn’t touch the ceiling. Once they reached
the hallway, she studied her surroundings. There were four rooms. Three of them
she could peek into, but all she could see was the foot of their beds. The door
to the fourth bedroom was closed. That was the room he led her to.
Knox opened the door; it released a soft creak, as though it
had been ages since anyone had stepped inside its threshold. It had a higher
ceiling than the rest of the cottage. In the middle of the room was a full-size
bed with white lace sheets and a single pillow. There was a small night table
with a silver candlestick and a single half-burnt white candle. At the foot of
the bed was a large wooden trunk. It was a beautiful polished cherry. All
Bianca wanted to do was open it and find out what secrets it held.
“This was Snow’s room,” Knox said.
“It’s beautiful.” And Bianca meant it. She was struck by the
simplicity of the place. It was elegant. Uncomplicated. Much like the woman
that inhabited this space.
“We’ve left it just as it is. We come in every once in a
while to dust and clean off the cobwebs.”
He opened the trunk and very carefully placed the items on
top of the bed. There was a white dress, a pair of dusty-rose silk slippers,
black work boots, a navy-blue and white quilt, and lace gloves that had
yellowed with age. Then he tugged on a small piece of rope and revealed a
secret hiding place. Patiently, Bianca waited. Knox pulled out a red velvet bag
with gold ties.
“Here.” He handed the bag to Bianca.
“What is it?” she asked as she took the bag from him. She
couldn’t get over the rich velvet fabric she held in her hands. The fabric felt
soft against her fingertips. Bianca had never seen anything so luxurious in her
life.
“I don’t know. I’ve never looked inside. She never said what
it was or what to do with it. All she told me was that she would return someday
to retrieve it. Unfortunately that day never came. And seeing as you’re her
kin, I like to think she wouldn’t mind if you had it.”
Knox took the items he had placed on the bed and put them
back inside the trunk. He gently closed the lid and walked out of the room. He
closed the door behind him with a soft click, leaving Bianca alone to examine
the red velvet bag.
She let out a deep sigh. It never ends.
She sat on the corner of the bed. The color on the blood-red
bag was still bright. It was as though it had been at the bottom of the trunk
for a few days and not a couple of centuries. She undid the knot and emptied
the contents on top of the bed.
“Apple seeds,” she whispered.
About the Author-
Liz DeJesus was born on the tiny island of Puerto Rico. She is a novelist and a poet. She has been writing for as long as she was capable of holding a pen. She is the author of the novel Nina (Blu Phi'er Publishing, October 2007), The Jackets (Arte Publico Press, March 2011) First Frost (Musa Publishing, June 2012), Glass Frost (Musa Publishing, July 2013), Morgan (Indie Gypsy, July 2014) and The Laurel (Musa Publishing, November 2014). Her work has also appeared in Night Gypsy: Journey Into Darkness (Indie Gypsy, October 2012) and Someone Wicked (Smart Rhino Publications, Winter 2013).
Liz is currently working on a new novel and a comic book series titled Zombie Ever After (Emerald Star Comics, Fall 2014).
Frost Series-
Zombie Ever After-
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