Stepmother

Before she was Cinderella's stepmother, she was Hélène Longe, the beautiful only daughter of a prestigious Parisian family. Her mother and father doted on her, catering to her every wish-but just as Hélène was about to make her societal debut, a fatal carriage accident altered her fate, leaving her penniless at just fifteen.

Faced with debts she can no longer pay, Hélène is given a choice: work for the seamstress she owes, or wait for her unknown uncle to decide her future. Working to pay off her debt in the seamstress's atelier, she dreams of her former life. With the help of her fairy godmother, Hélène is given another choice.

Love or wealth?

But the choice isn't as simple as it appears. Hélène knows what she needs to survive, but where will her decisions lead her?

Be careful what you wish for...

Stepmother is a stand-alone novella, but it is part of the Hellish Fairytale Universe. This book is not intended to be historically accurate. It is set in the fictional human world of the Hellish Universe, which we also see in Towerwood.

Readers who've met our famous villain:

"We often just see villains are evil for no reason, but Callaghan's glimpse into the Stepmother's life really helps you understand why she is the way she is. The perfect story to help get you out of a reading slump!" - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Loved the writing style. It was very interesting, different, and short." - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐



"This is a fascinating story about the life of stepmother aka Helene before she became the bad stepmother of Cinderella aka Ella and also explains why she became the monster we all know from the original story." - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐