Red Snow

by Debra Goelz

Eighteen-year-old Daphne is a prisoner in the wintry confines of the Forbidden Forest serving Claudia, an evil witch. Daphne has no memories of her past. She lives alone in a magical cabin entertained by shelves of fairy tales and fantasies of being rescued by a chivalrous prince. When handsome Zach Caldwell crashes headfirst into a tree, somehow breaching the powerful wards surrounding the Forest, Daphne has to decide where her loyalties lie—to Claudia, the only “mother” she’s ever known or to the dashing stranger with ambiguous intent.

Genres: Fantasy

47 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 3, 2017

About the author

Debbie Goelz is a refugee from Hollywood. She served for ten years as a financial executive for such companies as Universal Pictures, Dino de Laurentiis and Jim Henson Productions. Her performing career began and ended with her puppeteering a chicken during the closing scene in Muppet Treasure Island. She was thrilled to be included in the "Once Upon Now" anthology as well as in "Imagines: Celebrity Encounters Starring You." She also wrote a YA humorous fantasy on Wattpad under the pseudonym Brittanie Charmintine called "Mermaids and the Vampires Who Love Them." It won a Watty award in 2014. She lives in a redwood forest in rural Marin County. Her two children have abandoned her to seek a college education in New York.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really cute story. It was a short story, less than 50 pages, but I felt like if it was fleshed out more it could have been a full length novel.

I actually got Tangled vibes from this, but that could be because of Daphne’s sassy snake friend Eugene. It also reminded me of The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, which is the first book in a series for children.


Spoilers!

In some ways I would have liked to see more world building. It wasn’t clear at first what sort of world this story takes place in, where a fictional one or our own world. I was also a bit confused as to why it was randomly winter inside the barriers. Also, Ria later says that Daphne as guardian created the barriers so she can take them down, but Daphne doesn’t know how that could be yet removes the barriers with a wave of her arms. I thought that Claudia’s death was anticlimactic, because the darkness suddenly encompasses everything and then when it clears she is dead. I felt like it happened too quickly, and to talk about something I learned this semester in my creative writing class, “it doesn’t hold us in the moment long enough”.

[Neerja · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful fairy tale with a freshness.It's a story about a guardian who lives alone and serves a witch, leading a difficult life. She wishes to meet her prince charming one day. I think that is the thing that keeps her going. I loved it from beginning to end. It sent me to the time of my childhood. Not only was this story has a proper plot but it also imparts several message. It's a story that will surely make you feel good.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit odd, but a fun read overall. A weird but cute fairytale.

[R.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly original and engrossing twist on Snow White.