The Cousin Curse: a retelling of The Six Swans and Paul Bunyan, available now!

 

The Spectra Crown Tales just got a little bigger!

When I started to work on this book, I knew only a few things: the fairytale (the Six Swans), the location, and a few of the characters.   Viola is the main character. She's a princess with Sprite abilities (life magic) including shaping fibers and shifting into a bison-like animal. She was born without vocal cords, so in this version, she never had a voice.   Only one of the swans is her brother, 10-year-old Beck. The other five are her cousins, with a variety of abilities. You might recognize Perrin, the human with Spectra abilities, from book 1, The Seventh Clan (which incidentally is only 99 cents). The last character that I knew for sure was another cousin, Kelda Sage, who has the ability to change other people into animals. She's been isolated for most of her life and never developed a sense of empathy. Kelda will be the protagonist of the next book, The Songbird's Hearth. Viola's twin sister Lilac makes a few appearances in this book. You might remember her from her own Crown Tale, The Dream Realm, which is this month's free book! Grab the ebook on amazon for free from March 1-5th, 2025.

I knew that this story takes place in a wild forest contested between kingdoms which is often used for logging. That's what led to the main love interest, who is inspired by Paul Bunyan. He's big but still a regular human and uses an ax to chop trees. He's also a gentle giant who is kind and supportive, and who came from a village where everyone speaks sign language, inspired by a real-life location called Martha's Vineyard. I have a BS degree in Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation, so I have taken forestry classes, and a little of that seeps into the story as well.   The next story chronologically will be The Songbird's Hearth, as mentioned, but it won't be the next book released. That's because I'm pausing to write a prequel. The Masters of Wishes is a mashup of Cinderella and Aladdin. You haven't met any of the major characters yet, but some familiar names will appear.