Fair Peril

{ June 2022 - Verified ebook for complete book description, cover image, table of contents, separation of book (front/ back matter, parts, and chapters), and epub format error checking. } ebook, 246 pages Published: 1996 Edition: Open Road Integrated Media (2015) Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (1997) Finalist James Tiptree Jr. Award Nominee for Longlist (1996) The art of storytelling and the power of a mother's love imbue this feminist fantasy novel—a contemporary riff on the tale of the frog prince . Once upon a time there was a middle-aged woman whose husband dumped her the month after their twentieth anniversary. Divorced, overweight Buffy Murphy is not a happy camper. One April afternoon, she walks into the woods . . . and meets a talking bullfrog. He asks her to kiss him so he can transform back into his princely self. This being modern-day Pennsylvania, Buffy figures she's better off with a talking amphibian than a cheating husband, so she takes him home. The fun really starts when her rebellious teenage daughter, Emily, kisses him. Suddenly, Emily and her handsome prince have vanished into the land of Fair Peril, an enchanted realm that can only be accessed through a portal in the local mall. Aided by a gay librarian named LeeVon and hindered by her fairy-godmother-in-law, Fay, Buffy shuttles back and forth between the real world and Fair Peril. Does Emily really want to be rescued, or does she just need someone to love her? It’s up to Buffy to figure out the key to reclaiming her daughter—and maybe herself, as well. The art of storytelling and the power of a mother{u2019}s love imbue this feminist fantasy novel{u2014}a contemporary riff on the tale of the frog prince Once upon a time there was a middle-aged woman whose husband dumped her the month after their twentieth anniversary . . . Divorced, overweight Buffy Murphy is not a happy camper. One April afternoon, she walks into the woods . . . and meets a talking bullfrog. He asks her to kiss him so he can transform back into his princely self. This being modern-day Pennsylvania, Buffy figures she{u2019}s better off with a talking amphibian than a cheating husband, so she takes him home. The fun really starts when her rebellious teenage daughter, Emily, kisses him. Suddenly, Emily and her handsome prince have vanished into the land of Fair Peril, an enchanted realm that can only be accessed through a portal in the local mall. Aided by a gay librarian named LeeVon and hindered by her fairy-godmother-in-law, Fay, Buffy shuttles back and forth between the real world and Fair Peril. Does Emily really want to be rescued, or does she just need someone to love her? It{u2019}s up to Buffy to figure out the key to reclaiming her daughter{u2014}and maybe herself, as well "A terrific book-I couldn't put it down. It's the best thing I've read in ages."--Marion Zimmer Bradley "Moving, eloquent ... Beneath the laughter, Springer has utterly serious insights into life, and her own art. ... Fair Peril is modern/timeless storytelling at its best, both enchanting and very down-to-earth."--Locus "A delightful romp of a book ... An exuberant and funny fractured fairy tale." - Lambda Book Report In a fairy land, Prince Adamus is transformed into a frog for rejecting the love of his queen. He surfaces in today's Pennsylvania and the spell is broken by a kiss from Emily, a teenage girl. The prince regains his human shape and takes Emily to his kingdom, but will the jealous queen allow their love?