☼ A Place In The Spotlight ☼ with M.C.V. EGAN: The Lady Raven A Dark Cinderella Tale by Rebecca Henry Genre: Dark Fantasy

In The Lady Raven, Rebecca Henry tells the tale of Zezolla, a little princess abandoned by her father into the hands of her evil stepmother and wicked stepsisters. A familiar fairy tale you may think but all is not as it appears. The reader is soon drawn into a web of witchcraft, lies and deceit, and gradually realises that this is no typical fairy tale but a dark and macabre take on one. Zezolla is treated with the utmost cruelty, neglected and vilified, and left to live in the damp cellars of the castle. The only friends Zezolla has are her beloved raven and her pet wolf. Her only comfort lies in the loyalty of the creatures of the forest and her mother’s hazel tree. Will Zezolla have the power to escape her torment and ultimately save herself from the unscrupulous clutches of the king? The Lady Raven is a compelling tale and one that is not for the faint-hearted.

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Tell us an interesting experience that happened to you.

I believe in the possibility of the paranormal. With that said, I do have an experience to share, but whether or not it was a product of the paranormal, or a shift in energy which can be determined through scientific explanation, I don’t know. But, I’ll leave that up to you to make the decision. It’s a bit more interesting that way. The first time I moved to England I was in my twenties with my husband and our daughter who was a toddler. We lived in an older brick townhouse. About two years into our move I began to notice strange happenings in the house. My daughter’s room was riddled with all your quintessential toddler battery operated toys. One of my daughter’s favorite toys was a Disney speaking kitchen oven and stove combo. Snow white would say “It’s a beautiful morning!” and other sweet phrases. I was sitting at the dining room table with my little girl, Penelope, when I heard the familiar sound of snow white’s voice saying from the upstairs bedroom “It’s a beautiful morning!” followed by the sound of an egg frying. I went upstairs to check on the toy oven to discover it was turned off, and obviously the room was completely empty of people. That was the first of many odd happenings in my daughter’s room with her toys. Over the next year this would happen weekly. Battery operated toys turning on and making sounds. Things eventually progressed to my kitchen radio switching on while I was cooking dinner. I was never frightened by the occurrences, but rather puzzled and alarmed by why this was happening. I used to investigate the wires and batteries and finally began removing batteries and unplugging the radio when I wasn’t using the items. This remedied the situation until the lights in my bedroom began to turn on not off, but on in the middle of the night waking me up. A few months before we moved my neighbor who lived in the adjacent townhouse came over for a cup of tea. She mentioned something that shook me to the core, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. She said “Rebecca, I had the weirdest dream last night. I woke up in the middle of the night to a little girl dressed in old fashion clothes standing at the foot of my bed. She didn’t say anything but when I turned on the light she was gone.” I never did tell my neighbor what I was experiencing as I didn’t know what I believed it to be. A shift in energy? A current of magnetic energy? Loose wiring? I didn’t know so I didn’t say, but I did start to yell out into the room whenever my radio would turn on “Don’t do that. Please stop now.” Just in case it was a little girl who needed a mother’s direction. I moved shortly after and my daughter’s toys never did spontaneously turn on again.

Rebecca Henry is a newly published author. Her debut novel is The Lady Raven, A Dark Cinderella Tale, which was published in 2017. The Lady Raven, is for those who have an infinity for fairy tales retold with a link to witches, magic and the macabre. Her second novel, Louisiana Latte, a chick lit comedy was released February 28th 2019. Louisiana Latte, is a feel good comedy that focuses on the bonds of sisters, and how audacious life can be when you have a diva for one! Both books are available on amazon as well as Barnes & Noble.

Rebecca Henry is a world traveler living abroad in England. Besides being an author of two published books, Rebecca is also a podcast talk host on the show The Latte Talk. The podcast was inspired by her latest novel, Louisiana Latte and her diva sister Deb. She is a serious vegan, gardener, crafter, wife and mom who practices yoga. She loves to laugh, her drug of choice and loves all things witchy with a hint of the macabre. Her favorite holiday is Halloween and her favorite movie of all time is Practical Magic.

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