The Snow Queen's Shadow

. . .
    Snow Queen was the book that gave me the most title trouble. My editor rejected more titles than I can count, including The Snow Queen’s Scourge , Shards of the Snow Queen , and Godzilla vs. The Snow Queen . I finally went to my blog and begged my readers for help. Huge thanks to Arlene Medder and Lara (a.k.a. Miladygray the Internet Muse), who both suggested what would become the final title for the book.
    Snow Queen was challenging in other ways, too. It’s one thing to finish a book, but this time I needed to bring closure to an entire series. How the heck do you end a series that’s all about what happens after the “happily ever after”?
    I blame Talia. Back in ’04, I was planning to write a more episodic series, something like James Bond for the Fairy-Tale Princess set, which would allow me to write book after book, make millions of dollars, and buy Hawaii. There would be no multi-book arcs, and no need to write a true end to the series. Then Talia had to go and fall in love, and I realized I couldn’t just leave her hanging. Either the relationship needed to go somewhere, or else Talia needed to move on. And it wasn’t just Talia; all three of my protagonists had to grow and change. Suddenly I wasn’t just writing episodes, but larger character arcs and stories.
    Ultimately, I believe that made the series stronger (even if I didn’t get to buy Hawaii). I’m proud of these books. I love the characters. I love their stories. I love their strengths and their flaws. I love their struggles. And I’ve done my best to be true to the characters and their stories, and to find the endings that felt honest for each of them . . . even when that was hard to do.
    Especially when it was hard. My beta readers told me they got choked up while reading the final few chapters of this book. Well, good! Because I had the same problem while writing them, and I’d hate to be the only one.
    Thank you to everyone who has read these books. Thank you for joining me for these stories. Thank you for your letters and your e-mails. It makes my day to hear from someone who loved one of my books, to know that something I wrote connected and resonated with that person. Thanks also to everyone who told their friends about the series, or posted reviews. The bottom line is that without all of you, I’d have no writing career. And I really, really like my career!
    As long as I’m thanking people, I have to give a shout-out to www.surlalunefairytales.com . This is a wonderful resource, and includes annotations and research information for a ton of fairy tales. I’ve used them a great many times over the past six years.
    Thanks also to Sheila Gilbert, Debra Euler, and everyone else at DAW Books. To my agent Joshua Bilmes. To my friends and fellow authors Stephanie Burgis and Seanan McGuire, who read a draft of Snow Queen and helped me pound it into shape. To my cover artist Scott Fischer. To my family, who put up with me and the emotional roller coaster that is my writing process.
    One thing I’ve learned from this series is that the line between ending and beginning is a thin one. I hope you enjoyed the final (at least for now) book in the Princess series. If you need me, I’ll be in my office beginning the first book of the Magic ex Libris series. That book is tentatively titled Libriomancer. What will it be called when it comes out in 2012? Your guess is as good as mine . . .
     
    —Jim C. Hines

Once upon a time...
    Cinderella, whose real name is Danielle
Whiteshore, did marry Prince Armand.
And their wedding was a dream come true.
     
    But not long after the “happily ever after,”
Danielle is attacked by her stepsister Charlotte,
who suddenly has all sorts of magic to call upon.
And though Talia the martial arts master—
otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty—
comes to the rescue, Charlotte gets away.
     
    That’s when Danielle discovers a number of disturbing facts: Armand has been kidnapped; Danielle is pregnant; and the Queen has her own Secret Service that consists of Talia and Snow (White, of course). Snow is an expert at mirror magic and heavy-duty flirting. Can the princesses track down Armand and rescue him from the clutches of some of Fantasyland’s most nefarious villains?
     
     
     
    The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines
    978-0-7564-0532-8
     
     
    “Do we look like we need to be rescued?”

    DAW 130
    There is an old story...
    ...you might have heard it—about a young mermaid, the daughter of a