by Z.A. Cross
A mother's desperate bargain with dark literary forces transforms her into the monster she never thought she'd become. Evelyn Tremaine had a perfect life, a loving husband, and two beautiful daughters. But in a world governed by absolute, merciless Narrative Laws, her family has been marked for tragedy. Her husband is dying, coughing up black ink, and her daughters are slowly fading from reality—erased by a Story that demands their suffering. Discovering a hidden underworld of Narrative Weavers and Story-Bonds, Evelyn learns there is only one way to anchor her daughters to existence. She cannot be the hero; that role is already taken. To save her children, she must sign a contract with the dark forces of the Narrative Loom. She must sacrifice her morality. She must become the story's necessary monster. She must become the Evil Stepmother. What to expect: Hard-Magic Metafiction: A logical, rule-based approach to literary tropes and reality-bending.Villain Origin Story: A psychological, heartbreaking descent into true villainy.Grimdark Survival: Zero romance focus; pure manipulation, sacrifice, and fighting a rigged system. (Note: This is the dark prequel to The Other Glass Slipper. Read this to see the devastating sacrifices that set the stage, and read the sequel to see her daughter shatter this cursed system with ruthless modern economics!)
