The Trouble with Toads
Once upon a time a young girl wanted revenge. But first, she wanted to be beautiful.
Twelve-year-old Bettony has read enough stories that begin with ‘Once upon a time’ to know what happens to the ugly stepsisters at the end, and she’s determined to escape that fate by any means necessary—even by magic.
Unfortunately, when it comes to magic, there is no place for regret, refunds, or exchanges. Even if you accidentally turn your older sister into a toad.
If Bettony wants her Happily Ever After to end well, she’s going to have to find a way to turn her sister back into a person before their mother finds out she’s been dabbling with magic and grounds her for life.
Tracking down the family magic turns out to be surprisingly easy. Now, if only it came with directions . . .
THE TROUBLE WITH TOADS (45,000 words) is the first book in a new upper MG series The Secret Stepsister Society. The second book will be released Summer 2013.
Author Danyelle Leafty
Danyelle Leafty writes upper MG and YA fantasy, and is the author of THE FAIRY GODMOTHER DILEMMA series. Danyelle has always loved fairy tales, and prefers stories where someone gets eaten, or at the very least, transmogrified. Much of her inspiration has come from fairy tales, because as G.K. Chesterton so aptly states, "Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
In her spare time, she collects dragons, talking frogs, and fairy godmothers. She also collects books, and one day hopes to make a house out of them. She enjoys learning languages, fiddling with her harp, and perfecting the fine art of mothering. (It's a lot like trying to herd chickens during a lightning storm while a goat stampede is going on.)
One of her heroes is Albert Einstein, particularly for the following quote: "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The most important thing is not to stop questioning."
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Excerpt #3
At
any other time, Bettony would have felt left out, but all her attention was on
the cup Désire was handing to her sister.
Never
eat anything your grandmother concocted was something their mother had dinned
into their heads for as long as she could remember. It went for gingerbread and
other sweets, and probably potions too.
“Wait,”
she tried again. “Please don’t drink that. Here. You can have mine.”
If
Cadmilla had been looking daggers at her before, that was nothing compared to
how she looked now.
“Thank
you,” she said stiffly, taking hold of the cup Désire had offered her, “but I
already have a cup.”
Then,
before Bettony could make any more protests, she put it to her lips and drank.
At
first, nothing happened.
Cadmilla
didn’t explode or grow a second head or breathe fire.
Bettony
let out a sigh of relief. Maybe she’d been worried for nothing. Her grandmother
had said the potion was her problem. That meant it wasn’t
something their grandmother had concocted.
Then
Cadmilla’s skin turned the same greenish-brown as the potion.
“My
stomach,” she moaned, dabbing her face with her kerchief.
Bettony
held her breath. Désire’s mouth had dropped open, but Cadmilla hadn’t noticed
anything was amiss yet. Maybe if she brought their grandmother here . . .
A
funny look crossed Cadmilla’s face when warts and ridges broke out along her
face, neck, and hands. “I’m feeling most decidedly odd.”
“You—you—”
Fortunately, Désire was less than her placid, concise self.
Cadmilla’s
chin disappeared in her expression of regret. “Do you mind if we walk about the
gardens later this evening? I should be feeling better by then. It’s likely
nothing more than indigestion.”
“You—you—”
Désire tried again.
Bettony
put her head in her hands. If only her sister’s problem was one too many cakes
or rancid tea. For the first time in her life, she realized that maybe her
mother’s injunction against visiting their grandmother or practicing magic had
some merit in it.
But
she never would have visited their grandmother for a spell if she hadn’t been
driven to it. She might only be twelve years old, but she was smart enough to
know she wouldn’t always be twelve. No, children grew up. It’s what they did.
And they spent a lot more time as adults than they ever did as children.
Forever
was an awfully long time, and she wanted to spend it singing. She wanted to
sing for the king and the court. She wanted to travel to other kingdoms and
sing there.
But
she couldn’t. Not with this face.
Cadmilla
tried to stand, but she swayed and had to grip the edge of the table to keep her
balance. “I think I—”
She
hiccuped and disappeared in a shower of gingerbread-scented sparks.
“A
TOAD!” Désire managed at last, pointing at the creature blinking dazedly up at
them next to the unfortunate teacup.
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