Vonnie Winslow Crist

From Cold Moon Press:

The Greener Forest by Vonnie Winslow Crist

Fantasy stories featuring spriggans, goblins, swan maidens, angels, dragons, ningyo, and other Faerie creatures lead the reader into The Greener Forest where all is not what it seems at first glance. There is dark and light, evil and good, and uncertain dusky gray lurking between the pages of this book-- "The world is full of mystery & magic. We just need to look, listen & believe that wondrous things are still possible." -- Vonnie

Order Your Copy of The Greener Forest:

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FREE Greener Forest Maze:  http://www.coldmoonpress.com/forreaders.html

*The Greener Forest was voted one of the Top Ten Books for Young Adults in the 2011 Preditors & Editors Reader's Poll. It also placed in the Top Ten for Book Cover Art in the 2011 Preditors & Editors Poll.

 *The Greener Forest was selected "Indie Book of the Day" for December 3, 2012.

Published Reviews of The Greener Forest:

  Valentina's Review of The Greener Forest at Carabosse's Library:

"I highly recommend this collection." To read full review: http://tinyurl.com/carabosses-library-review-GF

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  Lindsay's Review of The Greener Forest at Lindsay and Jane's Views & Reviews:

5 Stars - "I do think this is quite possibly a book that everyone, of any age would enjoy reading... This would make a beautiful gift...”  To read full review: http://tinyurl.com/lindsay-review-greener-forest

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  Review of The Greener Forest by the editor of Little Patuxent Review:

"Crist is a master of metaphor. In The Greener Forest, her modern fairy tales stand out. These stories use traditional fairy tale tropes, artfully layered with modern concerns..."   To read full review: http://tinyurl.com/little-patuxent-rev-review

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  Natalie's Review of The Greener Forest at Besotted With Books:

"The Greener Forest is a delightful collection of great stories, poetry and imagery...some stories are beautifully magical and others sent a chill down my spine..."   To read full review: http://tinyurl.com/besotted-with-books-review

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  Boomtron Review of The Greener Forest by Douglas R. Cobb. Here are some excerpts:

"Where the everyday world and the world of the Faerie collide; where spriggans, Acorn Cap Brown Men, Mud People, magical swan maidens, giants, boggles, dragons, and angels are commonplace, if only we could fine-tune our visions to see them; these are the places and Fae folk that the talented author Vonnie Winslow Crist writes about in her page-turning anthology, The Greener Forest... Vonnie also illustrated The Greener Forest, and the black-and-white drawings are very cool and added to my enjoyment of the book...

"Poems are interspersed throughout the anthology, with “The Greener Forest” beginning it, and a great poem, “The Key,” concluding the book. “The Greener Forest” helps set the mood for the rest of the collection, as it’s about a mysterious forest that can be found just beyond a gate “in the out-of-the-way/ corner of the fence.” The greener forest there has beings like acorn sprites, dryads, stray-sods, bogles, goblins, giants, “and kelpies, eager to drown the unwary.” But, if you’re lucky, you just might be granted the gift of the Fae’s blessings, in the form of “an unusual pebble,” or a feather, or a “most colorful leaf.” The poems are fun to read, and are a sort of interlude between the stories.

"I’ll talk about just five of the stories, though they’re all fantastic... “Appleheads” is a terrific short story about a... “Gardener of the Greener Forest,” called Miss Lilly Greenspan, who has the power to animate the applehead dolls she makes and bring them to life…

"The second short story I’d like to mention is “Blood of the Swan...” I liked the story because of the atmosphere it created in my head as I was reading it, putting me in a magical place, like the best fantasy novels and stories do...

"The third story on my list of favorites in the collection is “Angels.” It’s a touching story, and another of the many in the anthology that transported me briefly to another place as I read it...

"Yet another story in the anthology that I especially enjoyed is “Scarecrow.” This has Mud People in it, though it is about really about one specific Mud Person, Brook...

"The last short story in the anthology I want to discuss is “Blame it on the Trees.” This is another poignant story, this time about a giant of a man (though he’s a man with giant blood in him, apparently) who likes to photograph animals at the zoo... Berg is the man’s name, and his rescuing of a teenage girl who falls into a grizzly bear enclosure–despite her having made fun of him and his friend earlier in the story–showed me that his heart was as large as the rest of him.

"The Greener Forest is a great anthology of short stories about the Fae folk. The stories are quite varied, and though I only mentioned five in detail, they’re all very entertaining to read. I haven’t read much by Vonnie Winslow Crist, but what I have read so far has shown me a high quality of writing, and I look forward to reading more of her stories in the future..."

To read the review in full go to: http://tinyurl.com/boomtron-review

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  Poet, Laura Shovan, comments on The Greener Forest at Author Amok: 

http://authoramok.blogspot.com/2011/03/poetry-friday-make-believe.html

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  Editor Fran Johnson reviews The Greener Forest in Harford's Heart Magazine:

"Once upon a time..." is the traditional beginning of fairy tales, stories from every culture and country about the "wee folk" who populate the woods and waters, with differing abilities to transform themselves or vanish from sight...

In The Greener Forest, author Vonnie Winslow Crist suggests that the fairy world of our ancestors has not completely disappeared...

The premise is intriguing. Most of the stories in Crist's collection place a variety of "fairy folk" firmly in contemporary settings, interacting with humans who think and react with modern skepticism...

All of the stories in the collection leave the reader with a sense of "what if" and the willingness to suspend (for a little while, at least) our modern logical viewpoint. Crist has created believable characters, including some who are not-quite-human. As they move between our world and the fairy world, all is not what it seems at first glance. Readers are tempted to enter The Greener Forest with the author and experience the fairy world that still might exist, just out of sight..."

To read complete review: http://tinyurl.com/harfords-heart-review (flip to page 10).

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Additional Reviews to appear at:

The Wormhole Book Blog, The Ink Puddle, The Book And Biscuit, Aine's Realm...

The Greener Forest back cover:

I continued the aged journal or scrapbook feel of the front cover onto the back of the book. The color tones were also selected to give an "old" vibe to the cover.

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The Intro poem for

The Greener Forest:

The Greener Forest

Leave all iron, red thread, bells,

and four-leafed clovers secured

in your cozy house.

Then, cross the yard and unlock

the gate in the out-of-the-way

corner of the fence.

Walk between its posts

into unruly grasses

who mutter with each stride.

Tug though the brambles and briars

who grip, grasp, attempt to

dissuade you from moving forward.

Next, stroll past gnarled vines

heavy with grapes,

step beyond abandoned apple trees,

crouching low,

their elongated limbs

burdened with fruit,

and enter the forest.

It will be greener there,

and smell of pine, moss, wild flowers,

mushrooms, earth, and decay.

From the corner of your eye,

you'll think you spy acorn sprites

swinging on oak branches.

You'll tilt your head,

certain you hear the voices of dryads

harmonizing with bird songs.

You'll lift your hand,

brush at the spiderweb touch

of something finer than an eyelash

against your cheek--

but do not tarry.

Instead, follow the butterfly-filled path

that winds to the banks

of a stream rich with trout and sprites.

But tread carefully --

stray-sods, bogles, goblins, and such

skulk nearby waiting for the careless,

giants sleep below the moss,

and kelpies, eager to drown the unwary,

paddle just below

the water's silvery sheen.

Kneel down, but don't wade in.

Scoop a handful of cool liquid,

take a sip, close your eyes,

and proclaim your belief in Faerie.

At that moment,

should you spot an unusual pebble

or should a feather drift down

or a most colorful leaf scamper by --

grab it, hold it tightly,

and count yourself lucky.

For They have heard you,

and send bright blessings.

(c) Vonnie Winslow Crist All rights reserved.

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A sampling of Amazon.com reviews of The Greener Forest:

 "5 Stars - If you enjoy well written and beautifully illustrated works - you can not go wrong with this gem." - Harper Kris

"5 Stars - Wonderful, fantasy journey. You'll fall in love with the stories...A great read for ALL ages and the illustrations are beautiful." - Wendy

"5 Stars - For Grimm lovers, a book of modern fairy tales.." - Laura Shovan

"5 Stars - An excellent read...A very, very good book." - Patti Novakoski

"5 Stars - A welcome respite...My only complaint - I wish the book were longer!" - Dawn C.

"The Greener Forest is a treasure trove of creative wonderment." - Deb S.

"Illustrations are charming. A great book for the family to read." - Adriana

"This was a lovely collection to read... If you are still looking for a holiday gift for a child or a fanciful adult, I highly recommend this collection." - V. Cano