For Maine: you are a wonder.
For Ron McCulley and Tricia McCulley, who are a model of patience, support, and just the right amount of parental devotion: thank you.
My elegant sister, Cynthia McCulley: thanks for always putting a smile on my face, and for agreeing to be a horse. Your shared love for dramatic music helped write this novel’s most exciting scenes. The next one is for you.
Beloved friends who helped this process by just being their superb selves as the story unfolded—Kimberly Stein, Sarah Glover, Emily Kiebel, Cassandra Splittgerber, Elizabeth Wagner, Jordan Powers, Terri Miller, Nicole London, Katie Hall, and Karen Groves: thanks for listening when I described something in my head for hours.
My intimidating test readers, Michelle Rehme, Erika Bates, Jen Lehmann, Denise McCulley, Patty and Sarah Jones, Deb Sjulstad, Angela Turner, Holly Cameron, and Stefanie Feustel: thank you for helping sculpt this novel into something I am very proud of.
This book passed through the hands of more than a few skilled editors: Erin Armknecht, a story and formatting editor whose input is so great that it simply cannot be calculated, Jeni Miller, whose skill and editing eye were both completely terrifying and completely accurate, and Jess Riley. The Queen of Hearts blazes so much brighter because of you.
Crystal Patriarche, Heidi Hurst, and the entire team at SparkPress, a BookSparks imprint: you are an amazing bunch, the lot of you.
To Erin Chan, equal parts charming and talented: thank you for the gorgeous images that lift these pages, and thank you for being the striking silhouette that graces the cover.
Mae Whitman: thank you for being the inspiration behind my Dinah. You are a fierce little thing, and I admire every bit of your work.
Finally, the man, Lewis Carroll: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is the most delightful, cavernous thing I have ever read. Thank you for being the true genius behind these characters, and for letting me wander, pen out, in this magnificent place.
About the Author:
Colleen Oakes is the author of both the Queen of Hearts and the Elly in Bloom series. She received her B.A. in Creative Writing at Concordia College in Bronxville, New York, and is currently signed with SparkPress, a BookSparks imprint. A proud member of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Oakes lives in Denver with her husband and son, where she reads, swims, and blogs. Connect with Colleen at www.colleenoakes.com.
Queen of Hearts is her first fantasy series. Look for her next fairy tale, Wendy Darling, coming soon.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Enjoy a Sneak Peek of the Rest of the Queen of Hearts Trilogy:
Acknowledgements
About the Author:
Queen of Hearts (The Crown) Page 19
