# It's time for everyone to get their real on!



## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

****Beautiful Beautiful Officially Released November 15****

Every night, Kerrin tells her daughter a fairy tale. Mirabella's favorite is the one about her mother meeting her father. As Kerrin spins the tale wrapped around the most dark, and equally light, period in her life, she considers the questions: What is beauty? When is it nourishing... And when is it treacherous?

Indie-film director, Kerrin Mayham was the frontrunner for the Golden Pinnacle's "Director of the Year." Winning meant generous financial backing for her next project, and the most beautiful men in the industry competing for the leading role of Demion Glass. The opportunity Kerrin had sacrificed to achieve was within reach. So were her personal demons.
~~~
The core story is a retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale "Beautiful," and the novella is the first release in Heidi Garrett's Once Upon a Time Today collection. In these stand-alone retellings of popular and obscure fairy tales, adult characters navigate the deep woods of the modern landscape to find their Happily Ever Afters. (Adult language & situations, no explicit sex)


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Heidi ------------------------

Welcome to KBoards, Or Welcome Back  OR Hi, glad you're still here.  Congratulations on the book! 

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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

The Beautiful Beautiful Blog Tour just wrapped up. You can find reviews, interviews, guest posts, and excerpts here:

*http://heidigwrites.blogspot.com/#blog*

The giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card will be going for the rest of today!


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

*Beautiful Beautiful is FREE December 9-December 13*

Fantasy Science Fiction Author, Jimena Novaro reviews Beautiful Beautiful:

*Search for beauty
*
Kerrin has a thing for beauty. It goes beyond liking to look at pretty things-she has a sort of craving for it, which I think she shares with a lot of artists. I really clicked with her from the beginning because of it. The thing is that there are different kinds of beauty, and Kerrin has to learn to tell them apart, as does most of humankind.

This could have been reduced to a Disney-esque "Don't judge people by their appearances!" and "What matters is what's on the inside!" but it's a lot more complicated than that. The story is really about examining beauty through Kerrin's eyes, not as a simple dichotomy, but as a nuanced part of human experience.

More of her review on her blog: http://www.jimenanovaro.com/posts/beautiful-beautiful-blog-tour/


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

*$0.99 New Release for Memorial Day Weekend!*

Years ago when her mother traded her to the Sea Witch for a love potion, she became the witch's apprentice. Now Gia Chantal must find her own apprentice. If she doesn't, the Devil won't take her soul when she dies, and she'll spend eternity tormented for every spiritual crime she's ever committed. However, it's the 21st century, and Gia doesn't know where to begin when it comes to finding her replacement. She'll turn to social media mastermind Cole--an exiled mer prince--to help her.

Ten-year-old, Miriam, an orphan with visionary tendencies, sought refuge in a convent to escape a life on the streets. Now, a young woman, the walls and rules that have kept her safe for over a decade feel constricting. When she comes across the ad to be the wealthy Gia's caretaker, she's never wanted anything more in her life... until she meets Cole.

_Dreaming of the Sea_ is a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's _The Little Mermaid_.

The second novella in the _Once Upon a Time Today_ collection, _Dreaming of the Sea_ is now available.

Prelude to the_ Once Upon a Time Today_ collection:

_The Girl Who Watched for Elves
The Girl Who Dreamed of Red Shoes
The Girl Who Couldn't Sing_

Other Novellas in the _Once Upon a Time Today_ collection:

_Beautiful Beautiful_ is now also $0.99!


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

When I create settings for the stories in my _Once Upon a Time Today _collection, I love to draw on real people, places, and reference points, while changing the names and/or other aspects to keep the tales feeling classic and timeless.

In _Dreaming of the Sea_, I had fun tapping the artist, Paul Gaugin, and his painting, _Rock and Sea_.








_Gia traipsed down the hall. She didn't stop until she reached the marble fireplace in the salon. Drake's favorite painting, Rock and Sea, hung above the mantel. Her fingers traced the gilt frame. She still remembered the day he'd purchased it, through an art broker, sight unseen. The artist, who'd abandoned a provincial life of law for an exotic existence in Tahiti, had been on the cusp of fame when Drake had snapped it up. He'd told her it made him feel joy whenever he thought of home... It was the only thing that did.
_


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

As I mentioned in my last post, when I create settings for the stories in my _Once Upon a Time Today_ collection, I love to draw on real people, places, and reference points, while changing the names and/or other aspects to keep the tales feeling classic and timeless.

In _Dreaming of the Sea_, when the sea witch and the mer prince arrive on land, they find themselves at Three House Island. Three House Island is loosely based on Montauk Island. The name came from this bit of Montauk history:

_The annual cattle drives were on May 1 (going on) with a return on November 1 (going off). These annual cattle drives in which some 1200 to 1500 cattle would come from all over Eastern Long Island were a big local event, and townspeople went out in numbers to watch the riders herd their livestock.

While on Montauk, the keepers guarded the herds. Three houses were built to house them. Except for the lighthouse, they were the only buildings on Montauk until the late 19th century. *First House*, located just where the hills called the Nominicks rise from the flat plain of Napeague, burned down in 1774 and was never rebuilt. *Second House,* built in 1797, is now a museum run by the Historical Society. *Third House*, overlooking Indian Field on the grounds of Theodore Roosevelt County Park, dates to 1806 and is now run by Suffolk County as a museum._

Of course, there's a lighthouse in the story too!

_The Montauk Lighthouse was commissioned by George Washington and built in 1797. It was a Coast Guard station for many years and its signal light and foghorn warned ships to stay clear of the treacherous rocky shoals that extend outward from the point. The lighthouse is now operated as a museum by the Historical Society and is visited by a million visitors annually..._

From _Dreaming of the Sea_...

_One-hundred-forty years later, the lighthouse still watched over the north end of Three House Island. A museum now, people swarmed up and down its spiral staircase-inside, and ate picnic lunches at the wooden tables-outside, all day long._


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Jonathan Walkingstick, a minor character in _Dreaming of the Sea_, was inspired by Stephen "Talkhouse" Pharaoh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Talkhouse and this song by Patti Griffin:


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

​
Author Heidi Garrett has written a lyrical collection of short stories woven with the threads of three very poignant fairy tales that pull this literary tapestry together to create a shimmering picture of love and acceptance. THE GIRL WHO WATCHED FOR ELVES desperately needs to find her elf--it's her only hope for happiness and, ultimately, survival. THE GIRL WHO DREAMED OF RED SHOES is slowly dying inside until she learns that nothing is right until it's the right fit--and in vivid, living color. Lastly, THE GIRL WHO COULDN'T SING has to step out into her dream or she's going to die with her song hidden inside her heart.

Anyone who misses these tales, will miss the experience--no,_ transformation_ of a lifetime. *It's time for everyone to get their real on! *


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