What if you found out the artifacts from the fairy tales you loved as a child were real and one of them just predicted your death?
Title: The Mirror
Author: P.K. Eden
Publication Date: October 14, 2024
Pages: 390
Genre: Urban Fantasy
What if you found out the artifacts from the fairy tales you loved as a child were real and one of them just predicted your death?
That’s the dilemma Scientist Ben Michaels faces when Siene Dower, descendant of the Brothers Grimm, tells him that Snow White’s Magic Mirror sent her to stop him from getting into the cab that crashed and burst into flame right before his eyes at the intersection at Penn Station, New York City. Does practical Dr. Michaels dismiss everything he knows about reality and science and follow the curious and beautiful woman who just saved his life?
The Mirror is available at Amazon.
Book Excerpt
“Sit.” Siene motioned to the black sofa next to the door. She walked to the back bookshelf and pulled forward an old book with her forefinger. She skimmed the pages as she walked back to him. About halfway through the book she retrieved a fragile-looking, folded paper with timeworn brown edges.
She sat next to him. “Show me your palm.”
Ben held out his hand. “Why? Are you going to read it?”
“Do I look like a fortune teller?”
“You did predict the cab accident,” Ben replied.
She rolled her eyes and gently unfolded the paper. Carefully, she dropped three brown, shriveled ovals into his palm.
Ben’s brow furrowed. “What are these?”
“Beans.”
“I can see that.” He looked up. “Is this when I ask you why they were hidden in the book?”
“No, you’re supposed to guess.”
Ben lifted an eyebrow. “Do you really want to play games, Siene?”
She crossed her arms in front of her. “Actually, yes. You’re the hot-shot genius. I’m curious to see if that big brain of yours can think outside the . . .” She felt a wicked smile form on her lips “. . . outside the spit glands.”
He shot her an annoyed look and used his forefinger to move the beans around on his palm. They were shrunken but all the same size and shape. Kidney beans, he guessed. Very old kidney beans. He glanced at Siene. “Beans hidden in a book. Did you get them from a prom date instead of flowers and this is your way of telling me that you’re still thinking of the prom king?”
She saw amusement replace the annoyance on his face. Okay, maybe inside all the gray matter the man had a sense of humor. She’d try sparring with him later. Right now, she had to make a seemingly very obtuse point. “Did your mother ever read you fairy tales when you were a child?”
“Yes,” Ben replied, still holding the beans in his outstretched hand.
“Which ones?”
“The usual. Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, the Shoemaker and the Elves.”
“What about Jack and the Beanstalk?”
Ben glanced down at the beans in his hand and then back at Siene. “Of course, and I suppose you’re going to tell me these are magic beans.”
Skepticism lit his eyes and Siene knew he wasn’t quite there yet. “I know I’m asking a lot, but for a minute, just send all the Einstein stuff to the back of your gray matter and go with it.” His expression told her he thought she was nuts and she suspected ninety-nine percent of the world’s population would probably agree with him. “I guess laymen might say they are magic.”
“Laymen.” Ben paused before shooting her a probing stare. “People off their meds like you, you mean.”
She held up her finger. “You agreed to go with it.”
“No, I did not.”
“Let’s pretend you did. These beans are the last ones left. It drives my brother, Reed, crazy that I keep them in a book. He thinks it’s the first place a Taltoian would look.” She held the book up so he could see the title.
“Taltioan?”
“I’ll get there in a minute.” She lifted her chin. “Look at the book.”
White paper showed through the frayed corners of the cover and the embossed lettering worn low by the passing years made the words hard to read. He leaned closer and squinted. Tales by the Brothers Grimm. His head snapped up. “Is this an original edition?” He turned the book over and then back. “It looks very old.”
Siene nodded. “They are my great-great–maybe another great, maybe not, it really doesn’t matter at this point–Uncles Jacob and Wilhelm. The book has been passed down through the generations.”
Ben’s wide-eyed gaze flared. “You are crazy. You expect me to believe these are the magic beans they wrote about? That if you plant them, a stalk will grow as high as the clouds and if we climb it, we will meet a giant who has a goose that lays golden eggs?”
“Yes, and other things. A golden harp…”
Ben stood. “This has been an adventure to say the least, and I will admit you might have a very valuable book that could command millions, but you being related to the Brothers Grimm, “ he looked down at his hand, “And these are magic beans, I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
He handed her back the book and held up fingers in a vee. “Two reasons. One, I suspect if there actually was a goose that laid golden eggs, some billionaire would own it and two, a giant, by sheer atomic weight and mass, cannot stand or live on a cloud.”
Siene shrugged. “Whether you believe me or not, it’s still true.”
“Which part?”
“All of it.” She slipped her hand under his. “I better take those back now.” She carefully placed the beans inside the paper and back into the book.
Ben remained still for several minutes as though processing the information he just heard. “It appears your uncles, if they truly are, are not the only ones who can tell tall tales.”
She put the book back on the shelf. “They wrote the stories to protect the artifacts.”
“Artifacts. Like those in a museum?”
She looked at him and smiled. “No, the ones in my uncles’ stories.”
“Which stories?”
“All of them.”
– Excerpted from The Mirror by P.K. Eden, The Wild Rose Press, 2024. Reprinted with permission.
Interview with the Authors
At what point did you decide to be an author and what was your path to publication?
I can honestly say I like telling stories. I used to read a lot as a kid and then I would sit on the steps while mother was in the kitchen and re-tell the story I had read. She would listen with rapt attention, and I thought how nice it would be if others listened with such patient grace and enthusiasm. Of course later on you find that everyone else is not your mother. (lol).
As with most writers I was on the fast train to the town of REJECT-VILLE, soon to be part of a large quantity of other writers, who just didn’t make it. But as I tell every single aspiring writer, you will get a lot of THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUBMISSION, BUT YOUR WORK IS NOT FOR US AT THIS TIME. Or, WE ARE UNABLE TO ACCEPT YOUR SUBMISSION (no reason given).
There may be a lot of those, but then one day there will be a letter or email beginning with “We are pleased to accept your submission of…” and you don’t have read any further because you know your path has been set.
What do you do when a new idea jumps out at you while you’re still working on a book? Do you chase the squirrel (aka “UP syndrome”) or do you finish your current project first?
Who are you and how do you know me so well? (smile) this is me to a T. I am so guilty of this that it makes me even laugh. I have been known to start two and three projects at a time. Sometimes I can hear or see something, and all of a sudden, “I want to write about that.” Crazy? Absolutely. But what I do is I write the concepts down and put them in my FUTURE IDEAS folder. Just so I don’t forget.
Who is your favorite character to write, and why is that person your favorite? If picking a favorite character would be like picking a favorite child, which character seems to be the most demanding or your attention and detail as a writer?
I start with the story and let the characters speak to me. As I write them (unless I am writing about a specific person) I let them go their way until one of them jumps out. The problem I find most is that it is always my secondary character who steals the show. I think I have to work on that.
Describe your writing process. Do you outline, plot and plan, or is your writing more organic?
This one is easy. Because I am part of a writing duo (P.K. Eden)
I am a Pantser. My co-author is the supreme Plot Diva. I rely on her to get me into the story by her superb plotting skills. My head is aways so full of ideas, that sometimes I can’t get them down fast enough.
The only thing I outline is my character chart. It’s quite unique for me and I always keep it at the top of the story (until I finish) so I know everything about each character as well as keeping a timeline, and description. You have no idea how many times my heroine’s eyes were brown at the beginning of the story and then were suddenly hazel or smokey black. (thank goodness for editing)
Tell us what you enjoy most about writing your genre.
Please don’t kill me, but I enjoy writing historical westerns that includes one (1) real life character, Kit Carson, Judge Roy bean or Bass Reeves, the first African American male who went from escaped slave to a respected law man who spoke and understood many native American languages. I also love to write humorous novels or at least novels with humor in them. Laughter is always good medicine.
What have you found to be most challenging about writing in your genre?
The most challenging thing for me is finding “the something new” aspect. We know it’s all been done, we just have to find new ways of putting a new spin on things.
Have you been able to incorporate your previous experience in your jobs/education in your writing?
Absolutely, with me having worked at a Law enforcement agency and my co-author in County government, we have been able to make some great entries in our novels.
Do you identify with your main character or did you create a character that is your opposite?
We’ve done both. I sometimes live inside my own fantasy to the point where I want to rule the world, or I want to be the savior of mankind, but all characters (unless based on a real person) are embellished to be great. It’s called imagination.
Is there anything you would like people to take away from your book?
We would love for our readers to enjoy a wonderful ride through reality with a bit of fantasy thrown in for fun.
Do you have any odd (writing) habits?
Yes, when I can’t think, or I have lost an edge on a plotline. I immediately go play an online game Like BENGAL game of Gods or a fast paced cooking game. It relaxes me.
What has been the toughest criticism you have received as an author? What has been the best compliment?
During critiquing, if three (or more) people advise you to rearrange or remove something out of a chapter. DO IT! No matter how much you love it or it pains you. I have learned more often than not, they are right. I was just too close to see it.
The best compliment we received was from a renowned critique organization with thousands of followers that our first novel was as good as Lord of the Rings. We were overjoyed.
Share some advice for aspiring authors. What advice would you give to your younger self?
Learn the process. Learn all you can and do not be deterred by bad critique. Sometimes it helps more than it hurts. Be patient.
What is your take on book boyfriends? Do they actually exist? Or do they set the bar for “real life men” impossibly high?
Oh my, I have groaned over this for years. Early on if anyone will recall, all boyfriends, were tall, gorgeous, blond, blue eyed rich or a jock. I was so happy when writers finally began using the “everyday man”. The guy who wasn’t so fit, the guy who held a fulltime job at a garage instead of Wall street. The every man contributes in real life, why can’t they do the same in novels? Some may say escapism, and I am all for that, however in our First Grimm series book, THE MIRROR, the hero is a nerdy, sort of bumbling character who finds himself immersed into a world of the fantastic. My writing partner and I weaved in his sexiness in such a way that we are hoping the reader will see him that way through our subtle transformation.
Have you ever experienced writer’s block? How did you deal with it?
Oh goodness yes. Sometimes I just lose the idea of where I thought I wanted the story to go and BAM! Nothing but blank wall. I can’t think of a thing. Nothing seems to make sense.
So I do what other wonderful authors have told me to do. Put it aside, don’t think about it, take a walk, meditate, clean your bathroom. Soon enough out of nowhere, the idea, the thought will come. Sometimes it comes so fast that the chapter starts to write itself.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I crochet hand-beaded shawls for seniors, cancer and hospice patients. They love them and I love doing them, for ANYBODY who wants one.
Last but not least, I am not only a writer, but a reader/listener as well, and not everyone can or wants to be a writer, but without readers we would be nowhere. Everyone likes praise, but I always appreciate it when a reader tells me what they didn’t like or something that didn’t make sense to them. Writers are very close to their novels, but the reader isn’t, and it makes me grateful that readers take the time to let me know what works or what doesn’t.
P.K. Eden (Patt & Kathye)
P.K. Eden is the alter ego of multi-published and award winning authors Patt Milhailff and Kathye Quick whose debut novel FIREBRAND was lauded as comparable to the Harry Potter series, garnered 5-Star reviews, and won numerous Reviewer’s Choice Awards.
Born long, long ago in a place not so far away, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, Kathryn Quick has been writing since the Sisters in St. Casmir’s Grammar School gave her the ruled yellow paper and a number two pencil. She writes contemporary and career romances, romantic comedies, historical romances as well as urban fantasy.
Kathye has twenty fiction books in print with various publishing houses and one non-fiction compilation of her town’s history at the behest of the Manville Library Bord. She was honored to have been named an Amazon top 100 Romance Author for Ineligible Bachelor published by Montlake Romance. Other works include a three book Grandmother’s Rings Series – Amethyst, Sapphire and Citrine, a rom-com series that follows three siblings as they use their Grandmother’s Rings given to them by their mother to find their soulmates.
Because she has been fascinated by King Arthur and his knights for almost forever, her series Beyond Camelot, Brother Knights, is her vision of how the majestic kingdom may have survived after Arthur. Two books are written in this series with the third and final still in concept.
She is a founding member of Liberty State Fiction Writers and has been a part of Romance Writers of America and New Jersey Romance Writers.
She is married to her real-life hero, Donald, and has three grown sons, each having romantic adventures of their own. Her two grandkids, Savannah and Dax, happily cut into her writing time but she still manages to get a few pages done each day.
Website & Social Media:
Website ➜ www.Kathrynquick.com
Twitter ➜ https://x.com/KQuickAuthor
Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/
Instagram ➜ https://www.instagram.com/
Goodreads ➜ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217228581-the-mirror
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Thanks to novelist and editor, Dr. Nathasha Brooks-Harris who invited Patt Milhailff to write for several TRUE CONFESSION lines of magazines where she learned tight and entertaining writing and resulted in the publication of more than two hundred short stories and articles.
One of Patt’s most gratifying experiences was when she moderated a standing room only workshop at the African American Romance Slam Jam in 2004 and has since enjoyed speaking engagements at libraries, book clubs and other forums.
She was awarded 2009 Author of the year and 2010 Mentor of the year by Romance writers of America, New York City Chapter, a terrific organization that helped her to obtain valuable lessons and insight while on her writing journey.
Patt is also featured in A Dream Deferred, A Joy Achieved, a non-fiction novella by Charise Nesbit a co-producer at Tyler Perry Studios, about foster care, as well as being included in two of Times Bestselling Author Zane’s anthologies.
Patt is one half of the writing duo P.K. Eden along with Kathye Quick, authors of Firebrand, that received a five star Affaire de Couer Reviewer’s Choice Award.
She is also a member of Liberty States Fiction Writers the home of a magnitude of talented writers and fellow authors and is the author of nine novels.
Patt was raised, and educated in New York City, residing in New Jersey, and has since relocated to Delaware.
Social Networks for P.K. Eden:
Follow on Twitter: https://x.com/PKEdenAuthor
Follow on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/P.K.
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p.k.
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