I am a part-time professional pianist and full-time professional digital media designer who has recently turned my creative sensibilities toward writing vibrant, fun fiction. I am inspired by world-building adventures, bedtime stories, and being a parent. Stories that bring families together is something I have always enjoyed, and I’d like to put more of that out into the world. I like unpredictable twists, unnecessary footnotes, and breaking the fourth wall (as long as it isn’t load-bearing).
I wrote...
The Search for Reath: A Whimsically Long Short Story
The Search for Reath is a lively adventure tale for all ages (except 38). It features an endearing cast of characters searching for Reath—a legendary land of Untold Riches. Unfortunately, these characters don't know that an unforeseen evil is also searching for Reath. And it plans to ruin their day. Stupid evil. Perhaps you’ve always wondered what happens when you mix an archer squirrel, a scholarly badger, a really fast sloth, and a bunch of unnecessary footnotes together in one book. Well here’s an opportunity to find out! Whether you read it to yourself, or aloud with your kids, you’ll enjoy this whimsically long short story.
Accolades for The Search for Reath: Bronze Award Winner; Feathered Quill Book Award; Red Ribbon Winner; Wishing Shelf Awards; Finalist, National Indie Excellence Awards.
I read this book in the 7th grade. I immediately took it to school and read favorite passages aloud to any of my friends that would listen. I just thought the use of language was so clever, as was the way Adams introduces characters and situations in surrealistic fashion. There is a lot of the humor that went way over my middle school-aged head, but what landed was hilarious. I would eventually come to crave books that had more plot and grounded stories; but I have always loved Adams’ writing style.
This box set contains all five parts of the' trilogy of five' so you can listen to the complete tales of Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Bebblebrox and Marvin the Paranoid Android! Travel through space, time and parallel universes with the only guide you'll ever need, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Read by Stephen Fry, actor, director, author and popular audiobook reader, and Martin Freeman, who played Arthur Dent in film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He is well known as Tim in The Office.
The set also includes a bonus DVD Life, the Universe and…
I read this when I was young, and then read the whole series again aloud with my daughter. I love the warmth in the storytelling, and the way the author sometimes speaks directly to the reader. It’s a fairy-tale that draws you in, with the children from Earth in the book travelling to a different world and having aspects of that world revealed gradually, another great aspect of the Christian analogy featured throughout the series.
Don’t miss one of America’s top 100 most-loved novels, selected by PBS’s The Great American Read.
Experience all seven tales of C. S. Lewis's classic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia, in one impressive paperback volume!
Epic battles between good and evil, fantastic creatures, betrayals, heroic deeds, and friendships won and lost all come together in this unforgettable world, which has been enchanting readers of all ages for over sixty years.
This edition presents the seven books—The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The…
I like the way Goldman plays around with fairy-tale tropes without getting too snarky or satirical. The famous movie adaptation of the book includes the framing device of a grandparent reading to a child. This may have subliminally affected me, as I imagine parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts reading my books to kids while chuckling to themselves, or tearing up, doing it. There are a lot of books for both adults and kids that are great to read to yourself, but can be tiresome to read aloud. I strive to make mine good for both.
William Goldman’s beloved story of Buttercup, Westley, and their fellow adventurers.
This tale of true love, high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and a frightening assortment of wild beasts was unforgettably depicted in the 1987 film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Fred Savage, Robin Wright, and others. But, rich in character and satire, the novel boasts even more layers of ingenious storytelling. Set in 1941 and framed cleverly as an “abridged” retelling of a centuries-old tale set in the fabled country of Florin, home to “Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest…
When writing anything fantasy or fairy-tale-like, it’s hard to avoid the influence of Tolkien. He’s certainly an influence on me in world-building (as is Dune, Star Wars, and a host of others), but the main thing I think I’ve retained from multiple read-throughs of The Trilogy is the focus on maps. I loved looking at the maps that came with the books and imagined where the characters were in relation to everything else. They are integral to the story; even the film/TV adaptations rely heavily on them. As I’ve written more books, the map/geographical aspect of where the different terrain and resident societies are in relation to each other in my world of Aponna has taken a larger part in the storytelling. I hope to publish future books with beautiful, illustrated maps that show trails and paths of the characters, etc.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
Many are familiar with the hugely popular Chocolate Factory book and the films made about it. But I remember reading this lesser-known sequel in 4th grade, and then dressing up like Willy Wonka to do a book report presentation about it for class. I even included a “magic trick” with the hat. I liked that it furthered the original character’s adventures and got even sillier with the Vermicious Knid aliens, aging pills, and taking elevators into space. It stretches kids’ brains imaginatively and takes the story in the least predictable directions, which is something I strive to achieve in my writing.
A splendiferous new hardback of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, part of a collection of truly delumptious classic Roald Dahl titles with stylish jackets over surprise printed colour cases, and exquisite endpaper designs. WHOOSH! Inside the Great Glass Elevator, Willy Wonka, Charlie Bucket and his family are cruising a thousand feet above the chocolate factory. They can see the whole world below them, but they're not alone. The American Space Hotel has just launched. Lurking inside are the Vernicious Knids - the most brutal, vindictive murderous beasts in the universe. So grab your gizzard! Hold your hats! Only Charlie…
What happens when a novelist with a “razor-sharp wit” (Newsday), a “singular sensibility” (Huff Post), and a lifetime of fear about getting sick finds a lump where no lump should be? Months of medical mishaps, coded language, and Doctors who don't get it.
With wisdom, self-effacing wit, and the story-telling artistry of an acclaimed novelist, Elizabeth Benedict recollects her cancer diagnosis after discovering multiplying lumps in her armpit. In compact, explosive chapters, interspersed with moments of self-mocking levity, she chronicles her illness from muddled diagnosis to “natural remedies,” to debilitating treatments, as she gathers sustenance from family, an assortment of urbane friends, and a fearless “cancer guru.”
Rewriting Illness is suffused with suspense, secrets, and the unexpected solace of silence.
By turns somber and funny but above all provocative, Elizabeth Benedict's Rewriting Illness: A View of My Own is a most unconventional memoir. With wisdom, self-effacing wit, and the story-telling skills of a seasoned novelist, she brings to life her cancer diagnosis and committed hypochondria. As she discovers multiplying lumps in her armpit, she describes her initial terror, interspersed with moments of self-mocking levity as she indulges in "natural remedies," among them chanting Tibetan mantras, drinking shots of wheat grass, and finding medicinal properties in chocolate babka. She tracks the progression of her illness from muddled diagnosis to debilitating treatment…
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