Tag: Short Story

Book Review: Princesses, Spies, & Other Modern Lies by Hannah Carter

Book Review: Princesses, Spies, & Other Modern Lies by Hannah Carter

Twenty Hills Publishing is a fairly new publishing house that caught my attention earlier this year as a Christian publishing house that tries to emphasize Christian values and light-centered stories without requiring those stories to be 100% squeaky clean in every context. When I entered a giveaway over the summer, one of the entries was to sign up to one of their street teams, so I ended up receiving an ARC of Princesses, Spies, & Other Modern Lies to review and was glad to have the opportunity to read something from Twenty Hills Publishing.

(Required disclaimer that though I received a free copy to review, the following opinions are my own.)

What is Princesses, Spies, & Other Modern Lies about?

The country of Umbra is caught in a war between its magical history filled with spellcasters and the new modern revolution. At the core of this civil war is the missing princess, who is prophesied to end the war and put the spellcasters back in a position of power.

To figure out where the heir is, the spellcasters throw a ball and invite all twenty-year-old women to see if one of them is the princess.

Though she’s forced to attend, Hazel Cartwright has no magical powers, so she can’t possibly be the missing heir . . .

Right?

Princesses, Spies, & Other Modern Lies is a short story full of political intrigue, a missing princess, magic versus modernity, banter, and spies.


This story starts off with a very Anastasia-esque premise, albeit Continue reading “Book Review: Princesses, Spies, & Other Modern Lies by Hannah Carter”

Short Story Sunday: Salvation

Short Story Sunday: Salvation

I have another short story instead of a snippet this week, because I still haven’t made a lot of progress on my stories. (I have made more progress on writing-related stuff, just not actual drafts.) This is something of a mish-mash of genres, but it’s primarily sci-fi/post-apocalyptic and it was a lot of fun to write. Enjoy. :)


Continue reading “Short Story Sunday: Salvation”

Short Story Sunday: Sonder

Short Story Sunday: Sonder

Lately I haven’t written a lot as far as my novel goes, nor have I edited anything in the past week (that’s something I need to fix this week), but a friend of mine made a list of writing prompts and I’ve written a couple of short stories. I think my favorite is this first one, Sonder. Enjoy. :)


I walk against the crowd, shoulders slumped and collar up against the rain. I bump into someone every two seconds, but in a city like this no one cares. Unless they do. But I think those people are just having a bad day and need someone to yell at. That happens a lot in this city, I think. There’s a lot Continue reading “Short Story Sunday: Sonder”

Snippet Sunday: Apple of My Eye and Underground

Snippet Sunday: Apple of My Eye and Underground

Apple of My Eye is the fourth story in The Mirror-Hunter Chronicles, which began with Bag of Beans. It’s kind of tricky to pull an excerpt from a short story when pretty much anything could be spoilers, but here’s a bit of description that I’m really happy with, and it reminded me of a bit of description from another short story that I wanted to share as well. Enjoy. :)


I’d been searching for the mirror for a week between its being stolen and our present story, tracking clues as far from Ambrel as Grell. As I stepped into the city, much different from any I’d seen before, I wondered briefly Continue reading “Snippet Sunday: Apple of My Eye and Underground”