Once Upon a Forbidden Desire: Fairy Tales and Other Stories, page 1
ONCE UPON A FORBIDDEN DESIRE
Fairy Tales and Other Stories
Foreword by
GRACE DRAVEN AND JEFFE KENNEDY
Stories by
AJ LANCASTER, HR MOORE, LISETTE MARSHALL, VELA ROTH, ERIN VERE, COLLEEN COWLEY, ZOEY ELLIS, MIMI B. ROSE, ELSIE WINTERS, TRISH HEINRICH, S. L. PRATER, KATHRYN ANN KINGSLEY, JAYCEE JARVIS, NOVEMBER DAWN, DANI MORRISON, MARIA VALE, KRISTIN GLEESON, L. PENELOPE, JENNIE LYNN ROBERTS, AND C.M. NASCOSTA
Copyright © 2022 Jeffe Kennedy & Grace Draven, AJ Lancaster, HR Moore, Lisette Marshall, Vela Roth, Erin Vere, Colleen Cowley, Zoey Ellis, Mimi B. Rose, Elsie Winters, Trish Heinrich, S. L. Prater, Kathryn Ann Kingsley, Jaycee Jarvis, November Dawn, Dani Morrison, Maria Vale, Kristin Gleeson, L. Penelope, Jennie Lynn Roberts, C.M. Nascosta
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review. For more information, contact: organisers@farofeb.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-7397219-0-9 (Ebook)
ISBN 978-1-7397219-6-1 (Paperback)
Edited by Erin Grey at the Word Faery, Colleen Cowley, and Mimi B. Rose
Formatted by Vela Roth
Published by FaRoFeb
www.farofeb.com
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Content Guide
Foreword
How to Marry a Winged King by AJ Lancaster
The Prince and the Fairy Godmother by HR Moore
Heartfall by Lisette Marshall
Blood Dance by Vela Roth
Breathing Techniques for Water Nymphs by Erin Vere
Into the Bargain by Colleen Cowley
Call of the Dark Piper by Zoey Ellis
A Dragon and a Hard Place by Mimi B. Rose
The Merman’s Kiss by Elsie Winters
Seducing the King by Trish Heinrich
Three Knights by S. L. Prater
The Big Bad Wolf by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
Wish Upon a Frog by Jaycee Jarvis
By the Skin of a Bear by November Dawn
The Troll’s Daughter by Dani Morrison
Idyllwild by Maria Vale
Dream Girl by Kristin Gleeson
Her Majesty’s Wolf by L. Penelope
Back to the Woods by Jennie Lynn Roberts
The Sadder But Wiser Girl by C.M. Nascosta
Join Us for FaRoFeb
Acknowledgements
Copyright
Content Guide
THIS ANTHOLOGY CELEBRATES THE ENTIRE fantasy romance genre and includes stories that fall within the following sub-genres: paranormal romance, epic fantasy romance, gaslamp, monster romance, and omegaverse.
These stories contain themes that are typical of fairy tales but may be triggering for some readers, including kidnapping, imprisonment, social inequality, threat of forced marriage, loss of loved ones, and parents endangering their children. Please see each story’s title page for additional content warnings.
Anthology Heat Levels
LOW HEAT
Kissing only or steamy scenes that fade to black.
SMOLDERING
Sexual tension; on-page but not especially graphic steamy scenes; not much coarse language.
HOT
More detailed steamy scenes; increasing use of coarse language.
SCORCHING
Extensive steamy scenes with heavy description and coarse language.
Foreword
Bestselling fantasy romance authors Jeffe Kennedy and Grace Draven are good friends. So it’s only fitting that they wrote this foreword in a series of texts to each other.
JEFFE
Hello Grace Darling!
GRACE DARLING
Hiya, donut!
JEFFE
So, we’ve been asked to write this preface to a fantasy romance anthology
GRACE DARLING
I’m always up for chatting/writing about fantasy romance.
JEFFE
which is arguably the basis for our friendship and our favorite topic of conversation!
GRACE DARLING
So true. Our first in-person meet-up was at Romantic Times outside of the hotel’s Starbucks. Remember? I think you’d just finished a workout session at the hotel’s gym. I’d just staggered out of my room and wove my way to the lobby area to meet you, still half asleep and desperate for caffeine. Our 30 minute coffee chat ended up being what? Two hours long? And thus a beautiful friendship was born.
JEFFE
It might have been three hours! It was the only time we could find in our schedules to meet up—and has set the tone for us, me being the early bird and you half-asleep at noon and making me wait for you to drink coffee!
GRACE DARLING
I’m getting better with going to bed before dawn and waking up when it’s still mostly morning. Although you really don’t want to talk to me prior to coffee. I’m incoherent.
JEFFE
And you end up texting me late at night when I’ve become a pumpkin and long since gone to bed
GRACE DARLING
I did that to our agent one time. I forgot it was like 4:00 a.m. and texted her some book business stuff. Many apologies from me for that slip-up.
JEFFE
Ha! And did Sarah reply? (We both have the same agent, Sarah Younger at Nancy Yost Literary Agency)
GRACE DARLING
She did and very politely told me unless it was a dire emergency (like the sun was exploding), please keep text to reasonable hours.
JEFFE
LOLOL! Gotta love her
GRACE DARLING
Right?
JEFFE
So, I figure that RT convention was the one in Dallas in 2015
GRACE DARLING
Yep. That was a fun convention!
JEFFE
Yes! And we wanted to have our coffee date, to meet IRL, because we’d been talking online for … a while
GRACE DARLING
Several months, I think. If I remember correctly, we really started chatting each other up when you asked me some technical questions about a chainmail dress that your awesome heroine Ursula would be wearing in the book Talon of the Hawk.
JEFFE
Noooooo… That came later! See, this is the high dollar question: how did we get started chatting? Because I know you read The Mark of the Tala—well before Talon—and I read Master of Crows
GRACE DARLING
Ooh, now my memory is a little cloudy on that one. Either I emailed you to say how much I loved MotT or you emailed me to say you liked MoC. I think I emailed first. I do remember we later had a conversation regarding battle and chicken sacrifice? But don’t quote that in blood. You and I have had a LOT of craft discussions since then.
JEFFE
SO MANY CRAFT CONVERSATIONS
GRACE DARLING
And it never gets old.
JEFFE
It’s true. In fact, regardless of other chats and messages on various media, we make a point to have a monthly conversation focused on writing craft and business, which sometimes last as long as that first coffee date.
(The chicken sacrifice thing you’re thinking of was about a battle in The Edge of the Blade, where you recommended I use a sensory detail of the sound of raw chicken guts hitting the floor, which I did not do, you monster.)
GRACE DARLING
~ snort ~ Sorry, not sorry. You KNOW that squishy splat sound is a perfect sensory description. Don’t be a wuss. I’ve enjoyed our monthly business chats. Even if I don’t meet some or most of my goals, those chats help me mentally put things in place and prioritize accordingly. It’s also good to bounce ideas off someone else with similar goals and plans in the same industry. And it’s a real perk that we both write in the same subgenre.
JEFFE
Absolutely! In fact, at that first coffee date, you invited me to do a duology with you, because our audiences cross over so much, and I was all a thousand times, yes! It’s been really great that we’ve been able to enjoy a close friendship and that we also share a similar business sense that lets us collaborate in that way.
GRACE DARLING
Definitely. It’s a blessing, in my opinion. Make a good friend, write some good stories, sell a few books together. That’s a win/win.
JEFFE
win/win/win?
GRACE DARLING
Seriously, donut? OMG.
JEFFE
Hey, I’m not the one rhapsodizing about the squishy splat sound of raw chicken guts!
GRACE DARLING
Case in point that you’re far more detail-oriented than I am! So glad you’re usually the one who coordinates our collaborations these days. You’re never going to let that go, are you?
JEFFE
NEVER. I shall carry the scars all my
GRACE DARLING
LOL!
JEFFE
I love doing our collaborations, though, and I’m happy to put my spreadsheets to use! I think it’s cool that the FaRo gals are doing something similar.
GRACE DARLING
Same! I’m looking forward to reading the stories in the FaRo anthology! There will be a lot of familiar and new-to-me voices in there that I’m eager to check out.
JEFFE
Me too! And it’s really wonderful seeing authors work together to boost each other’s audiences and careers.
GRACE DARLING
No doubt! I’ve never understood some of the cutthroat competition out there. Working together and lifting each other up benefits us all.
JEFFE
Yes. It’s meant so much to me to have your friendship and support over the years, that you cheer my successes louder than anyone.
GRACE DARLING
I love that we’ve become buds and have each other’s backs. We work on the same wavelength, have similar goals and philosophies about this crazy business. I love that I can call you up to share news, rant, talk business, etc. I’ll always cheer your successes, just like you’ve always cheered mine. I remember when you won the RITA for Pages of the Mind. I was in my study and watching the live stream on YouTube. I screamed so loud when you won that I scared my kids and my dog.
JEFFE
I love that story! And you sent me a fruit arrangement that I snacked on all week. I agree (of course!) that there’s so much emphasis on professional jealousy, competition, and dirty dealing in this business that it’s important to highlight all the wonderful, supportive relationships, too. I love seeing collections like this one and all the attendant cheerleading.
GRACE DARLING
Agreed. It highlights the bright and the good in this industry, which I think needs more stage time. I’ll take professional courtesy and support over professional jealousy any day of the week.
JEFFE
Plus moar books for everyone to read!
GRACE DARLING
Moar books is NEVER a bad thing.
JEFFE
Love you, Grace Darling!
GRACE DARLING
Love you too, donut! (We’ll probably have to explain that nickname at some point to folks.)
JEFFE
Because you’re actually twelve years old and whenever you’re losing an argument with me, which is always, you threaten to lick me
GRACE DARLING
No regrets.
JEFFE
You and food analogies …
GRACE DARLING
I’m a foodie, baybeeee!
JEFFE
You did come up with an awesome chain mail wedding gown for Ursula in Talon, too. Multi-talented!
GRACE DARLING
That was easy. Ursula rocks and is a source of inspiration.
JEFFE
I love that we have mutual-character love! To many more books and characters and conversations
GRACE DARLING
Sláinte! I’ll drink to that!
JEFFE
Until the next conversation, Grace Darling!
GRACE DARLING
Talk at you soon, donut!
HOW TO MARRY A WINGED KING
(Cinderella)
AJ LANCASTER
LOW HEAT
When the fae king announces he’ll choose a bride at the Thrice-Held Ball, Cinders is forbidden to attend. As a lowly human, she’s never been good enough for her noble fae family. Certainly not good enough to appear with them in public. But that was before she received an enchanted mask that alters her appearance …
LORD BLOODTHORN HAD DECREED LONG ago that he would not stand for my ghastly human presence at mealtimes, so I didn’t find out about the invitation until mid-morning. My oldest stepsister, Acantha, waved it like a flag as I came into the parlor after breakfast. She and my other stepsister, Rose, were clustered together on the sofa next to my stepmother, vibrating with excitement.
I read the invitation: The Lord of the Golden Wood invites the House of Bloodthorn to the Thrice-Held Ball.
“It means the king is choosing a bride!” Acantha said.
“It does?”
Acantha huffed at me. “King Tawhiri has been putting it off for years, playing the houses against each other, but his time’s run out. He must choose a bride from amongst the twelve houses by the final night of this ball, or he loses the throne. And he is going to choose me.” Acantha wrapped a lock of dark hair about her finger, as if she were contemplating how she might do the same to the king.
“And if he wants a meek, self-effacing sort of bride?”
Acantha batted her eyelashes. “Then I will feign meekness for three nights, and he’ll be in for a lovely surprise after we exchange vows.”
“Lucky king.”
Acantha just grinned and extended her claws. The gold of them caught the morning light, forming bright flames briefly at each of her fingertips.
“Acantha!” Lady Bloodthorn reprimanded. Acantha’s claws were the only thing about her that betrayed she wasn’t pure sidhe, and her mother was always after her to keep them hidden. It seemed both sad and foolish to me, since Lady Bloodthorn’s own mixed blood was clear enough in her daintily hooved feet and curling ram’s horns.
Acantha rolled her eyes but dutifully retracted her claws.
Rose laughed. “You can have your crown, Acantha, only please say you’ll invite me to the Golden Hall’s libraries when you are queen. They have one of the finest collections in all Faerie.”
“I still expect you to make an effort for your house,” Lady Bloodthorn told her youngest.
I looked down at the invitation again and couldn’t stop myself. “So, when do we go to this ball?”
The expected awkward silence, the hint of reproach that I had insisted on making it.
“I’m afraid you won’t be able to come. Humans are forbidden to enter the Golden Hall,” Lady Bloodthorn said eventually. She even managed to sound apologetic. “You’re not upset, are you, dear? You understand how these things are.” She looked at me hopefully.
I smiled weakly back. “It’s fine. I’m not upset.” One upside to being human is the ability to blatantly lie. Fae have to get creative.
Rose piped up. “Actually, there have been humans at the Golden Hall before, or at least once before. A human princess visited King Tawhiri’s grandfather.”
