Inside an old abandoned shoe box factory on the outer rim of a great metropolis, lies the magic Kingdom of True Believers in Imagination. Each Christmas, the Box Keepers, Crones, the Others, the elves, trolls and the many who live in the kingdom, gather in the great hall in the Crones' castle to celebrate Christmas and to listen to the year's new Christmas stories. This year, there are six new stories and an adventure leading the Crones, Box Keepers and the Others on a merry chase to Folgoth Woods to retrieve a rare Christmas gift.
In "The Small and Rancid Wizard who Knew Odor was in the Nose of the Smeller", a small wizard endures a hot time in a forgotten desert with noisy company.
In "The Crabby, Baffling, Hermit Boy and the Arcane Alchemist's Box", a boy receives an unusual companion for a Christmas gift.
A gorgeous blue magic box arrives just in time in "The Tolling Midnight Bells that Chimed Christmas".
In "The Rose Paper Magic Box with Warm, Red Courage", a lost legacy is found and reclaimed.
A vagabond band of brave little beings make a long and perilous journey to find a new home in "The Smile so Snug in an Old Magic Box".
In "The Box and the Beautiful Green Bottle", a lifelong love filled with ancient magic is celebrated.
Text and Illustrations by the author Patsy Stanley with A.B. Snow (Avis Barrett Snow) The authors wish to announce that the stories in this book will soon be available in script form for fun play and theatrical formats.
About the Author
Patsy Stanley is an artist, illustrator and writer. She has authored both fiction and non-fiction books, including novels and children's books, energy books and art books. She lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX area.
A.B. Snow is a world traveler interested in ancestral magic among other things. She carries a sketch book with her at all times to capture that magic and the wonderful words that go with it.
Author Biography:
Patsy Stanley is an artist, illustrator and author and a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She has authored both nonfiction and fiction books including novels, children's books, energy books, art books, and more. She can reached at: patsystanley123@gmail.com for questions and comments. As a child, I imagined spinning straw into gold, writing something beautiful and boldI knew who I was, and what I was here to do. I understood the depth of what "Once upon a time" foretold, the Shadow's deep drawland the troll's lazy tolls.I was to become an author. A story growerand a line drawer.an icicle mower of ink.a particle examiner of fractions, bones, gnomes and moody moanshiding in somber back woodswhere whimpers, sobs and howls roam. Doodling threads and twines and vines, of ink lines take over each time I should not find the wordsracing to the edges of pages framing the unheard.The lines lay lazy like stretched out, catswaiting to creep further into home to flush out a flustered purple tome.My Christmas book"Christmas Stories From the Crones Castle" began this way. "Christmas Stories From the Crone's Castle". Growing up in displaced circumstances and enduring long, dreary winters, I fantasized about how wonderful Christmas could be. The magical Christmases created in my imagination comforted me at Christmas and many times throughout the year. The magic collected in my heart each year and filled my soul with hope and wonder. A meager Christmas dinner and hungry, arguing relatives all faded away as I watched the falling snow twinkle like diamonds. I built castles in my mind and peopled them with warmth, wisdom, generosity and adventures. The seeds of those fantasies lived on as hope held on tightly to my soul through barren, snowy Christmases. The magic left a colorful, imaginative Kingdom behind that I could enter, and often did, long after I'd escaped the reality of my beginnings. I was compelled to draw and write to keep the magic alive. I mapped out the Kingdom, stories and characters. All flourished while I wrote, and drew, and came to know the inhabitants very well....The Crone's wisdom. The Box keeper's rescue missions. The Others, with all their flavors, sizes and talents. I began to think that others might might enjoy these beings, the spiritual helpers that peopled the Kingdom of True Believers in Imagination, and come away with their own Hopes, Wisdoms and Laughter, too. It took much time to collect and illustrate the characters and adventures in order to begin putting my own Christmas book together. I so admired the beautiful vintage 1950's Christmas books, and wanted fairy tales and funny, clever, positive short stories framed in wonderful illustrations for the young at heart reader. Each story became a simple play, easy to act out. Please accept my invitation to enter The Kingdom of True Believers in Imagination with me, where we can adventure together.
