Once Upon Four Cover Reveals (The Epic Tale Continues…)

The Reader turned a slow circle. Nothing but pine trees, white oaks, and other trees she couldn’t identify, surrounded her. She had to finally admit it: she was lost. Reaching into her back pocket she pulled out the flyer. It said:

Cornerstone Book Series coming soon from Beyond the Bookery! Come see the Summer cover reveals for books 5-8. Refer to @beyondthebookery ‘s bio to get pre-order links.

Cover designer: @mountainpeakeditsanddesign | Cover Design by Mountain Peak Edits & Design

Publisher: @beyondthebookery | Bellator de Lux Publishing

Below the rest of the poster were directions on where to find the cover reveal. But unfortunately, it had been torn off. The Reader frowned. She should have been more careful around those three gruff billy goats. The smallest one had decided that her flyer was a tasty snack. At least, The Reader had made it safely across that troll bridge. Shuddering at the thought, she stuffed the paper back into her pocket and continued forward.

“It should be around here somewhere,” she said aloud, wandering further into the trees.

Suddenly, the earth gave way and she tumbled down a bank. Oof! She landed flat on her stomach and groaned. This adventure was not going so well. If only her fairy god-mother were here. But alas, her god-mother had been called away to an emergency meeting of the United Councils of Fairy God-Mothers and Genie Alliance. Apparently, someone had dared to wish that they could be able to wish for more wishes. Or something to that affect. The Reader started to pull herself up once more, but the ground felt funny. She lifted up a handful of dirt only to find that they were…bread crumbs? Leaping to her feet, she spotted a trail of them heading off into the trees.

“I’m saved!” she cried, racing along the trail. Tiny birds were starting to gobble up the bread, so she ran faster and faster until…

She reached a brick house?

“Wait, who lives here?” The Reader ventured forth and knocked on the door. A rotund pig answered the door, a piece of gingerbread in one hoof.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“I’m looking for the Cornerstone Cover Reveals,” she replied. “I think I got turned around though. Can you help me?”

“Sure, I know where they are. Say, you’ve got bread crumbs all over you.”

“Yes, they led me right to you.”

“Hmmph!” said the pig. “Were those two kids littering again?” Stuffing the rest of the gingerbread in his mouth, the pig drew her a squiggly looking map. “Use this if you need help,” he added, handing her a magical looking flute. And with that, he went back inside. Eager to start, The Reader continued her journey. But as she got deeper into the forest, the colder and chillier it seemed to get. Suddenly, she stumbled upon a large, sleeping lion. It opened its eyes and stared at her. With a sudden roar, he leapt to his feet!

The Reader yelped and climbed up the nearest tree. The lion glared at her and paced around, not letting her get down.

“What can I do now?” she wondered. Then, she remembered the flute. The Reader yanked it out, nearly dropped it, then blew a few notes. At first, nothing happened. But all at once, there was a fluttering of wings. Looking up, she saw six swans descending from the sky.

“Hop on!” said the biggest one and they carried her far away from the terrifying forest. Clinging to the swan, The Reader suddenly lost her grip on the flute. “Oh no!”

Alas, though. It was too late to retrieve it. For the lion grabbed the flute and carried it off to its den.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take you someplace safe,” the swans assured her.

“Thank you,” The Reader paused to look at the tiny landscape below. The wind felt so refreshing and she found herself laughing.

“Where are you heading?” the swans finally asked.

“I’m off to see the cover reveals. Do you know where they are?”

“Hmm,” said the first swan. “They’ve actually gone missing. They were supposed to be revealed at The Giant Shoe House where a little old woman lives…but they never arrived.”

“Wait!” said a second swan. “I remember that two children saw a mailman heading up the mountain. Perhaps it was the person delivering the covers!”

With that, they kept flying until they reached the base of a large mountain. Once The Reader hopped off, the swans grinned and bowed. “See you soon!” And they flew off.

The Reader turned to the mountain. At the base were two children, a red kite, and a large wolf.

“We’re Hansel and Gretel,” said the girl. “Don’t worry, the wolf is friendly.”

“He has a super-power,” Hansel bragged. “Wanna see it?”

Gretel motioned for him to be quiet. “Not now, Hans. Sorry about that,” she added to The Reader. “Who are you?” Quickly, The Reader introduced herself and asked if they had seen the missing covers.

The boy scrunched up his nose. “Yeah, I think that mailman took them up there.”

“We’ll help you,” Gretel said. They followed the old goose trail to the top where a tall tower stood.

“How do I get up there?” The Reader asked.

The boy shrugged. “We don’t know. All we know is that it’s up there.”

The Reader spotted the ivy around the tower and got an idea. Pulling them free, she began to twist and tie them into a long rope.

“This looked easier in the books,” she panted. Hansel and Gretel helped her braid the vine while the wolf scratched his ear. Finally, it was finished. Now, if only she could figure out how to get it up there…

“Do you have any ideas?” she asked the girl. Gretel shook her head.

“Oh, oh, I know!” Hansel cried, dancing around like he had ants in his pants. He pointed to their giant wolf. “Like I said, he has a super-power. He can huff and puff up a giant storm. You can use my kite to fly the end of the rope up there.” The wolf grinned and thumped his tail like a puppy. The Reader tied the end of the makeshift rope to the kite.

Then with a huff….

and a puff….

The wolf let out a mighty blow and sent the kite up into the air. The Reader held onto her hat as the gust of wind rushed past her. The kite swooped and dipped. Then it caught hold of the window ledge. At that moment, a head poked out.

“Who’s knocking on my window?” the woman in the tower asked. The Reader apologized, saying she was looking for the Cornerstone book covers.

“I had no way of getting in,” she added.

“No problem,” the woman called down. “I’ll hold this rope while you climb up.”

The Reader thanked the children and their wolf.

“Good luck.” they said, and they skipped back down the mountain.

Soon, The Reader was inside the tower. To her surprise, she found braids of… golden hair? It looped around the chair and across the bed.

“Oh sorry about that,” the woman said. Her hair was surprisingly short. “I recently got a hair cut and have spun it all into gold. Straw into gold was so last year. By the way, nice rope!” While she collected the hair, or rather braids of gold, into a large bag, she added, “The cover reveals are up there. They accidentally got shipped to me instead of whoever else they were to go to.” She waved a hand toward a curtain.

The Reader gave a tug to reveal…

“Oh, these are just as beautiful as the last ones! And they even have the Pre-orders up too!”

She heard a strange thump behind her. Turning, The Reader spotted the young woman pulling out a hang-glider.

“What are you doing?”

“Why, I’m leaving this tower,” the young woman replied. “I’ve been stuck here my whole life, and now I’ve finally had a chance to break free and explore the world. Bye–“

“Wait, why are you taking my rope?”

“Huh? Oh, well someone has to stay in this tower. It’s the rules. So…you’re the lucky winner!” The young woman took the cover reveals. “I’ll bring this with me too and drop it off where it needs to go. Bye now!” And sticking the covers in the bag of gold, she swooped out the tower window on her hang-glider.

“No!” cried The Reader. But the young woman was gone. And now, The Reader was stuck in a tower. “How will I ever see the rest of the cover reveals? And how will I get down from here?”

To be continued….

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The Cornerstone Series is a collection of 16 clean, non-magical fairytale retellings full of faith, sweet romance, danger, and courage. All authors include:

Laurie Lucking, Kirsten Fichter, E. G. Bella, Jewel Windall, Saraina Whitney, Rachel Kovaciny, Abigail Kay Harris, Madisyn Carlin, Lucy Peterson, Anna Augustine, Olivia Godfrey, Kendall Hoxsey, K. R. Mattson, C. K. Heartwing,  Kendra E. Ardnek, and Katja H. Labonté.

The Summer authors can be followed on Instagram at:

@sarainawhitney

@rachelkovacinyauthor

@authorabigailkayharris

@madisyn_carlin.