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200 years ago, the Brothers Grimm unleashed their stories upon the world. Literally. Now the characters of the Grimms' stories walk among us. With every day that passes, they grow more evil. They are the Corrupted, and only a hero can stop them.
For 18-year-old Alice Goodenough, that means taking precious time off from her summer vacation. In addition to volunteering at the local library, Alice must stop the Corrupted who are now actively hunting her down. With the help of her magic pen and her trusty rabbit friend, the world has suddenly gotten a lot more complex. The Corrupted are everywhere, and only Alice can see them for what they truly are.
This book contains the first 3 episodes of the critically acclaimed series
Episode 1: Prince Charming Must Die!
Episode 2: Happily Never After
Episode 3: Revenge of the Castle Cats
Additional features for this special edition:
- An introduction
- Two special "Lost Diaries"
- A behind-the-scenes interview
- A collection of original Grimms' Fairy Tales
The Grimm Chronicles is intended for Young Adults aged 13 and up. The goal is to provide Young Adult readers with a strong, charismatic young woman in the role of the hero and provide readers with a positive protagonist who uses her brain to overcome obstacles life throws in her way.
Also Available Volume 2 of the Grimm Chronicles
Book 4: The Orphanage of Doom
Book 5: Blood and Thunder
Book 6: The Order of the Golden Dragon
Praise
“5 stars!” ~ Bookies Book Blog
"Highly recommended for all who love fairy tales and the YA genre." ~ My Cozie Corner
"All in all the books were excellent." ~ LilyElement
"If you love fairy tales and them being turned into modern day stories you will love these short stories." ~ Mom With a Kindle
5 stars (out of 5) ~ I Am, Indeed
“Isabella Fontaine and Ken Brosky’s incredible talent for storytelling takes the reader on an amazing action-packed ride fueled by endless creativity and limitless imagination. TGC is like a high-stakes version of Harold and the Purple Crayon meets a contemporary, above ground Alice in Wonderland. “ ~ Bookfetish
“I absolutely loved this book! No, let me rephrase that, I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK! Nope, that doesn't even do it justice. Vol. 1 has the first three stories from the 12 that will ultimately make up the chronicles.” ~ Jesse Kimmel-Freeman
Excerpt:
I’d
made a habit of cutting through the alleys to get home quicker. Really not a
big deal in my neighborhood—the most recent crime had happened two weeks ago:
some teenagers had toilet-papered a house. They got caught and were promptly
grounded for two weeks … it was big gossip.
Briar
the giant rabbit was with me, gleefully recounting old stories about past heroes.
He seems to enjoy doing that. Usually I listened pretty intently, but tonight I
couldn’t stop breathing in the perfect air. Somewhere, a handful of birds were
finishing up a conversation before bedtime. The end of a beautiful Wisconsin
summer day.
So
I wasn’t exactly expecting a giant frog monster to be lying in wait behind the
Williamsons’ garage.
“Rabbit!”
I shouted, pushing him aside the moment I saw the shadow spring out from behind
one of the tall green garbage cans next to the garage door. Briar went flying
to safety … and I ended up right in the monster’s path.
I
didn’t even get a good look at him before a pair of strong, slimy arms wrapped
around my body, pushing me across the alley and toward the Carlyle family
garage. I could feel his hot breath on my neck. I could hear saliva vibrating
in the back of his throat and it was all I could do to keep from screaming in
horror.
My
leg planted itself firmly on the concrete. I dropped my weight and spun us
around, letting the momentum carry us forward. Only now the slimy creature was
leading the way; he slammed into the garage and his grip loosened enough for me
to pull away.
Slip
away, actually. Because he was really slimy.
I
jumped a few steps back so I could get a good look at him. The sun had almost completely
set; the light on the Carlyle’s garage blinked on like some serendipitous
spotlight.
“You’re
disgusting!” I exclaimed. I couldn’t help it … he really was disgusting. He looked like a giant human-shaped frog. His arms
and legs were thin and green. His head was big and round and he had enormous
bowl-sized white eyeballs. His mouth opened, letting thick white drool ooze
out.
“Alice!”
he said. Or maybe it was just a slurping sound and my mind was playing tricks
on me.
He
smelled like a sewer. Like rotting grass mixed with old banana peels and dog
dung. I smelled that way, too. My second-favorite sleeveless linen Pintuck top
was soaked through with whatever stinky slime
had been coating his arms.
“Stay
back!” I warned, but the creature stumbled forward, reaching out for me. I
dodged out of the way and backed up, trying to put some distance between us.
But before I could, the frog-creature turned and hopped.
Right
on top of me.
We
fell onto the hard concrete. His slimy webbed fingers held me to the ground.
His giant mouth opened and more drool oozed out. Deep inside that giant mouth
were teeth: little, sharp teeth.
“No!”
I cried out. I kicked wildly and connected with one of his legs; he groaned in
pain, losing his balance. I pushed with all my might and rolled him away from
me. The sharp tips of his webbed fingers cut my skin as he tried in vain to
grab me again.
But
now I was up. My elbow hurt from when it had landed on the concrete and my arm
was bleeding from the stupid creature’s claws, but I was still up.
“The
magic pen!” Briar called out.
I
turned, searching for his familiar rabbit-shaped form in the darkness. Only a
few of the garages had floodlights so most of the alley was full of creeping
shadows. My vision blurred. The entire alley seemed to be spinning. Get a hold
of yourself, Alice! Use the pen!
I
pulled it from the pocket of my jeans and ran to the other side of the alley. I
drew a saber on the garage door and pulled it away. I spun, watching the
frog-creature stumble to his feet, groaning a stomach-churning guttural groan.
My
sweaty hand tightly gripped the handle of the sword. The weight felt good. The
blade looked sharp. About 88 centimeters long, give or take. Unlike the foil,
which was a fencing sword designed for stabbing, the saber’s entire blade was
sharp. I could slice this nasty frog-guy in half if I really wanted.
“Alice!
Look out!”
I
glanced up and jumped out of the way right before the frog-creature could grab
me. He kept going, slamming into the garage door with a thud and falling over.
I stepped up and stabbed my saber at his head. He ducked out of the way and the
saber’s tip connected with the concrete.
The
blade bent, then snapped in half.
“Oh
cripes!” Briar cried out from the shadows.
“Settle
down, rabbit!” I shouted. OK. I still had half a sword. The end was sharp
enough. Don’t panic, Alice. Death by frog is not happening under any circumstances.
The
frog creature was standing again. His mouth opened and closed, opened and
closed. Even in the darkness, I could see his sharp white teeth. Each webbed
finger twiddled, ready to bury itself in my soft slightly tanned flesh.
“Come
on, then,” I told him.
He
obliged, taking two steps toward me and then he was airborne, a good ten feet
in the air. I clutched the hilt of my saber and drew in a long, deep breath. As
he descended, I could see the terrible claws of his webbed fingers, all of them
pointed directly at me. I ducked low, stepped left, and then stabbed the broken
blade upward.
Poof!
The frog-creature burst apart into a thousand little papery shreds that burned
away as they floated to the ground.
“Wonderful!”
Briar exclaimed, stepping out from behind the Williamsons’ garbage can. He
clapped his little paws together.
“Yeah,
right,” I murmured. “You know, this whole hero business would be a lot easier
if I had some super powers. That really hurt when he landed on me!”
Briar
shrugged. “Yes, well, we do what we can with what we have.”
“And
where were you, might I ask?” I stabbed a finger at his soft belly. He always
wore the same outfit: slacks and a vest.
“I
was monitoring your progress,” he said, “from behind the garbage can. I did at
one point offer some advice, too.”
Purchase:
1. The Juniper-Tree
Definitely one of the prettiest stories.
2. The Musicians of Bremen
Funny. Downright hilarious. Only a couple pages long.
3. The Golden Bird
I don't remember why I liked this one.
4. Hans in Luck
Ah, Hans. He has many adventures. Unless there's more than one "Hans."
5. Snow-White
The original is good. A little more violent than you may expect, though ...
6. The Glass Coffin
This is definitely one of the creepiest stories. It inspired Stephen King, too.
7. Twelve Dancing Princesses
The moment I read this, I had an idea for a book in the Grimm Chronicles series. It's definitely going to be scary.
8. The Fisherman and His Wife
The original "too many wishes" story. An inspiration for writers for centuries.
9. The Valiant Little Tailor
This is one of those fairy tales that's just delightful. And most people have never read it.
10. The Miser in the Bush
I like this one because the hero of the story goes on a journey and gets a bunch of neat magical items!
About the Authors
Ken Brosky received his MFA in fiction writing from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He also teaches English at Madison College. This is his first Young Adult series.
Isabella Fontaine owns a farm in Wisconsin and enjoys reading weird books like House of Leaves. This is her first Young Adult series.
Tour Giveaway
5 Kindle ebook copies of The Grimm Chronicles Volume 1
Ends 3/15/13
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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