A dead cellphone calls with a job offer and a promise of dragons. Imagine if Terry Pratchett sat down with Kathy Bates to make up fractured fairy tales for Edward Everett Horton to read aloud: you'd get MAVEN FAIRY GODMOTHER: THROUGH THE VEIL. Down and out, Maven Morrigan is ready to give up what's left of her self-esteem for a cup of coffee when her last chance to redeem her life comes as a job offer as a fairy godmother. But Faery is shrinking, the other fairy godmothers have disappeared, and nothing she does turns out right. How can she put together the happily ever after each of her clients wants with her boss standing in her way? MAVEN FAIRY GODMOTHER: THROUGH THE VEIL is fast, fun read that shows that none of us is ever old enough to know better as we try to wish for we think what will make us happy. =====An Excerpt==== Again, for a few seconds, Maven lost all sensory information, suspended in dizzy darkness. Her ears popped, and she plopped back in the chair in the test room. Fiona removed the sensors, visor, and gloves without a word and turned back to the machine, which now looked like a pile of computer parts duct-taped to a crystal ball. Maven stretched her neck and arms. "Quite a setup you have there. Is that the product?" She stared, disoriented. She felt like she had run ten miles over wet sand. Fiona didn't answer, but moved slightly to keep Maven from seeing what she was doing. Tricks of the light made Fiona's hair pearly pink. "How does it work-biofeedback?" Maven wondered about street price of this rig. Did they need sales reps or beta-testers? Bump of Direction just sat there, drinking it all in, but not spitting any of it back. At least this interview had been fun. When Fiona turned around, her expression was one of controlled professionalism winning out over some other emotion, just covered at the last with a smile. The Bump did notice, but wasn't showing any cards yet. Raise and call. Fiona clasped Maven's hand and patted it. "You did very well for your first time with no training. Come into my office and let us discuss your duties. Can you start immediately?" Maven slowly took her hand back. "Yes, I'm available. What's the job?" "Fairy godmother, of course." Fiona smiled. "We make wishes come true." The hair on the back of Maven's neck stood at attention. The Bump hit red alert. She crossed her arms and set her feet flat on the floor, braced apart and unmovable. Finally, her adrenaline got through to her language center. "Do what? Fairy godmother? Are you for real?" Fiona's expression froze for a second, her smile drooping as it thawed out. "We do not use the word real in polite company, but as you use the word, yes, I am a real fairy godmother."

Abandoned by her mother at a young age, Tara Cummings has been passed from foster home to foster home; not wanted anywhere by anyone. At thirteen she's skeptic and suspicious, with no family, and no friends. Horse therapy "will teach trust, perseverance, respect, and the value of teamwork," or so says the program's instructor. Tara is unconvinced. Trust only broke her heart, perseverance meant more failures, and no one respects or wants to team up with the misfit foster kid. At the farm, Tara meets Trouble, an angry and defiant horse, bent on destroying everything and everyone around him. Tara is frightened of the enraged horse, until she realizes Trouble is as misunderstood and untrusting as she is. Pushing aside her fear, a special bond is formed, much to the surprise of everyone at the farm. Trouble trusts Tara, and Tara in turn finds hope and acceptance as well as the will to love and trust again herself. But, Tara's confidence is shaken as an even greater challenge looms ahead. Trouble's mean and manipulative owner is the one and only Alissa, Tara's nemesis. Can Tara overcome her own limitations and fight to save the horse who freed her heart and gave her life value and meaning? Or will Alissa destroy them both?

In 1587, 117 colonists disappeared from Roanoke Island, NC, leaving behind not only unanswered questions, but a terrifying evil. Now, it's up to twelve year-old Jack Dahlgren to unravel the age-old mystery and save his family from the hateful beast haunting his home. With the help of newfound friend, Manny, a Native American shaman, and an elusive Giant Mastiff, Jack must piece together the clues to the disappearance of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island to uncover what really happened. Shrouded in ancient Native American folklore, it's up to Jack to discover what the evil is and why it haunts his island in a horrifying campaign of revenge. But can Jack stop the beast...before it destroys him?