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The Underground Princess: The Balderdash Saga
The Underground Princess: The Balderdash Saga
The Underground Princess: The Balderdash Saga
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The Underground Princess: The Balderdash Saga

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Not all fairytales are about beautiful princesses and dashing princes. Some are about the corpses living below our very feet....

> FINALIST: Readers' Favorite Book Awards 2015 -- Children: Fable

> AWARDED: Awesome Indies-Approved

Princess Scarlet is on a journey to find true love, but a malevolent force, Maleer, is in the process of dethroning her father, King Hurlock. Maleer intends to rule the underground kingdom of Balderdash, build an army, and break through the ground to invade the land of the living.

As Scarlet runs out of options to save those that matter most, she is forced to make decisions that will determine the fate of her entire kingdom.

EVOLVED PUBLISHING PRESENTS the first book in "The Balderdash Saga," a series of lower grade fairytales with an always fun, slightly dark edge. Meet many friends, and a couple foes, on your visit to Balderdash. Whether you're searching for true love with Scarlet the Kindhearted Princess, or fighting for honor with Roland the Pirate Knight or Hurlock the Warrior King, there is something for every reader within this coffin tale.

Reviewer Tyler Quevedo says of "The Balderdash Saga" series: "I originally read the story on my own first, not sure how dark the subject matter would be for young children with a story about an undead princess, but quickly my mind was put to ease as the story progressed. It covers all sorts of great topics that I value in a good story for children (and adults): Morality, Integrity, Loyalty, adventure, a small dash of romance, and most of all imagination. The vocabulary wasn't too difficult for the kids, and yet there were still occasional words along the way that needed explanation, further broadening their horizons as future book connoisseurs. ... If you're looking for a short read with great life lessons and core values for a budding adult, I'd recommend this book!"

From Mother Daughter Book Reviews: "The Underground Princess is a fabulous and unique book that completely took me by surprise. It features exceptional writing, relatable characters, and a very clever plot with underlying messages about loyalty, courage, beauty, and love. I highly recommend this book to children ages 6 to 12 as a great read-aloud book or for those interested in reading something with a touch of macabre. This one is definitely a candidate for a Hidden Gem Award by MDBR in the future!"

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 23, 2014
ISBN9781622533312
The Underground Princess: The Balderdash Saga
Author

J.W. Zulauf

I would love to say that from the second I could use my fingers, I began to write, but I can’t. Sure there were times through my life when writing surfaced and fell away, but the truth is, I couldn’t even read all that well through most of my teens. Then one day, my father gave me a copy of The Stand by Stephen King, and even though it took me a year to finish, I did it. This experience changed my life. From that point, I strove to become the best reader and writer I could be. I was driven by an unbelievable passion to become a writer, and here I am. I truly started from the bottom and worked hard to become who I am now. I am a believer in the words. Reading saved my life. Writing made my life.

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    Book preview

    The Underground Princess - J.W. Zulauf

    Copyright

    www.EvolvedPub.com

    To make sure you never miss out on any important announcements related to our books, special promotions, etc., please subscribe to our newsletter at the address below. And fear not, we’ll not spam you, nor will we share your information with anyone else.

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    ~~~

    THE UNDERGROUND PRINCESS

    The Balderdash Saga – Book 1

    Second Edition © 2015 J. W. Zulauf

    Original Copyright © 2014 J. W. Zulauf

    ~~~

    ISBN (EPUB Version): 1622533313

    ISBN-13 (EPUB Version): 978-1-62253-331-2

    ~~~

    Associate Editors: Deb Hartwell & Stevie Mikayne

    Senior Editor: Lane Diamond

    Cover Artist & Illustrator: Luke Spooner

    Interior Designer: Lane Diamond

    ~~~

    PUBLISHER’S NOTE:

    At the end of this illustrated chapter book of approximately 19,734 words, you will find a Special Sneak Preview of THE PRINCE’S PLIGHT, the next installment (Book 2) in this critically-acclaimed The Balderdash Saga series. We think you’ll enjoy this book, too, and provide the preview as a FREE extra service, which you should in no way consider a part of the price you paid for this book. We hope you will both appreciate and enjoy the opportunity. Thank you.

    ~~~

    eBook License Notes:

    You may not use, reproduce or transmit in any manner, any part of this book without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical articles and reviews, or in accordance with federal Fair Use laws. All rights are reserved.

    This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; it may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to your eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    ~~~

    Disclaimer:

    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or the author has used them fictitiously.

    Books by J. W. Zulauf

    ~~~

    The Balderdash Saga (Lower Grade Chapter Books)

    Book 1: The Underground Princess

    Book 2: The Prince’s Plight

    Book 3: The Shaman’s Salvation

    ~~~

    The Balderdash Saga (Short Story Collection)

    The Balderdash Saga – Special Edition

    Includes these 4 Short Stories in 1 Volume:

    Roland the Pirate Knight

    Hurlock the Warrior King

    Scarlet the Kindhearted Princess

    Screech the Feathered Guardian

    ~~~

    Kingdom in Chains (YA Fantasy Novels)

    Book 1: Kingdom in Chains

    ~~~

    www.JWZulauf.com

    What Others Are Saying...

    ...about The Underground Princess

    ~~~

    ~~~

    "This fabulous book completely took me by surprise. When I read the book summary I thought to myself, ‘Oh dear, a zombie book for middle grade.’ But, this book is nothing like what I expected. This book features brilliant writing from the author, believable and relatable characters (yes, even though they are ‘dead’), and a clever yet simple plot. The story uses basic themes pulled from classic fairy tales (e.g., girl wants to fall in love, evil person trying to rule the world, girl finds true love, etc.); but, the twist of having dead (and decaying) characters living in an underground world provides unique and innovative scenarios which resulted in the creation of a riveting and original story.

    "A word about the illustrations... the book features roughly one illustration (by Luke Spooner) per chapter and for a middle grade audience; that is definitely a good thing! Because the book features characters who are in various states of decay, I felt that it was not only appropriate to include images of the characters but advantageous so that children’s imaginations would not lead them to something more frightening than what is depicted in the story. While the illustrations are creepy, they are not frightening so I felt the illustrator did a good job in depicting various scenes and characters in such a way to not give children nightmares.

    "My Bottom Line: The Underground Princess is a fabulous and unique book that completely took me by surprise. It features exceptional writing, relatable characters, and a very clever plot with underlying messages about loyalty, courage, beauty, and love. I highly recommend this book to children ages 6 to 12 as a great read-aloud book or for those interested in reading something with a touch of macabre. This one is definitely a candidate for a Hidden Gem Award by MDBR in the future!" ~ Renee at Mother Daughter Book Reviews

    ~~~

    "I found the writing itself to be superb, and the illustrations and overall quality of the book (I have the paperback edition) are first-rate!

    "Some parents may think the subject matter is too dark, but don’t be fooled. Although it deals with corpses, the author skillfully creates a rich fantasy world filled with so many fun characters that your little reader (as was the case with my nine-year-old daughter) will soon forget the princess and her pals are corpses at all.

    "As a parent, I really appreciated the positive messages embedded in the story (acceptance, the importance of responsibility, being kind to one another, etc.) and I was also particularly impressed with how the author introduces some challenging words without bogging down the text or, worse yet, intimidating the young readers the book is geared toward. He has done a fine job here, and it’s obvious he is deeply invested in not only encouraging kids to read, but maximizing their enjoyment of the experience as well!

    Though my daughter is still reading this book, she looks forward each night to reading the next chapter, and I look forward to buying the forthcoming books in the series. ~ Dale L. Elster

    BONUS CONTENT

    We’re pleased to offer you a Special Sneak Preview at the end of this book, in which you’ll enjoy the first three chapters of J.W. Zulauf’s THE PRINCE’S PLIGHT, the next installment (Book 2) in this critically-acclaimed The Balderdash Saga series.

    ~~~

    ~~~

    OR GRAB THE FULL EBOOK TODAY!

    FIND LINKS TO YOUR FAVORITE RETAILER HERE:

    THE BALDERDASH SAGA Series at Evolved Publishing

    Table of Contents

    Copyright

    Books by J. W. Zulauf

    What Others Are Saying...

    BONUS CONTENT

    Table of Contents

    Dedication

    THE UNDERGROUND PRINCESS

    Chapter 1

    Chapter 2

    Chapter 3

    Chapter 4

    Chapter 5

    Chapter 6

    Chapter 7

    Chapter 8

    Chapter 9

    Chapter 10

    Chapter 11

    Chapter 12

    Chapter 13

    Chapter 14

    Interview with the Author

    SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW: THE PRINCE’S PLIGHT by J.W. Zulauf

    Acknowledgements

    About the Author

    About the Illustrator

    More from Evolved Publishing

    Dedication

    For Lucy.

    And they stood by each other’s side in love for the rest of their lives, Princess Scarlet said. She snapped an old, dusty book shut and drank the rest of her Preservation Potion, grimacing at the acrid taste.

    Scarlet hated drinking the horrible concoction each morning, but she did so to avoid withering back into the corpse she was prior to her resurrection.

    After setting the book and empty vial down, Scarlet jumped in front of a tall mirror and flourished herself into a bow. Her crimson hair kissed her pale shoulders as it waved back and forth. She drew closer to her reflection, examining her amber eyes. Her thin lips curled down into a frown.

    The characters in her books always appeared so perfect, so beautiful, but in the mirror, a sallow, pale girl peered back at her.

    Scarlet glanced at her owl, Screech, and smiled. The owl perched atop a bedpost, watching with misshapen eyes. His gray feathers stuck out in ruffled

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