Kirjahaku

Once upon a time, it became common to say that "life isn't a fairy tale." But is that accurate? Romance, darkness, creativity, faith, revenge, miracles, satire-they're always there, embracing us like eager thorny roses. In this collection, explore ten short stories blending fairy tale, historical fiction, and psychological narrative with Christian themes. Encounter entities with past life memories, a Robber Bridegroom retelling, a curious stranger in the woods, a building that's more than it appears, an artistic residence program gone wrong, a natural disaster of sorts, and more. Enter and discover this place where our lives are fairy tales.

A rare and necessary historical fiction view into pre-Islamic Arabia and the Middle East through three characters, from a multicultural Christian writer with Christian Palestinian heritage. Born in early 525 AD in northwest Arabia, Jayida is secretly raised as a boy for her safety. In defiance of al-'ayn, the evil eye, she grows up as Jonder and soon becomes known for perceptiveness and bravery. But her meeting of Khaled, whose father is the reason for her unusual upbringing, turns her world upside down. Will she risk revealing her true identity and win his love? And whose lives must be sacrificed when her fame finally draws her into 'Antarah's quest, the mixed-race badawi-Aksumite poet of the Banu 'Abs, whose last challenge is to capture her to win his own beloved 'Ablah?This is the timely retelling of a little-known tale of Sirat 'Antar. Set in the 1500-year-old historical context of Arabian tribal poetry, Roman-Persian-Himyarite-Aksumite relations, and climatic and plague events recorded worldwide, this colorful era is once more revived.

The elusive 18th century French monarch, Louis XV, offers a Gothic-sentimental glimpse into his life and mind. Journey into the turbulent life of the introverted and second longest-ruling French king, after his great-grandfather and predecessor Louis XIV. From his return to Versailles as a twelve-year-old in 1722, to marriage at fifteen, fatherhood, and mounting psychological and amorous strife amidst rising political and religious pressures, Louis XV reveals his own conflicted artistic-literary perspective.