Through the Veil — Charlotte Henley Babb

A dead cellphone calls with a job offer and a promise of dragons. Imagine if Terry Pratchett sat down with Kathy Bates to make up fractured fairy tales for Edward Everett Horton to read aloud: you'd get MAVEN FAIRY GODMOTHER: THROUGH THE VEIL. Down and out, Maven Morrigan is ready to give up what's left of her self-esteem for a cup of coffee when her last chance to redeem her life comes as a job offer as a fairy godmother. But Faery is shrinking, the other fairy godmothers have disappeared, and nothing she does turns out right. How can she put together the happily ever after each of her clients wants with her boss standing in her way? MAVEN FAIRY GODMOTHER: THROUGH THE VEIL is fast, fun read that shows that none of us is ever old enough to know better as we try to wish for we think what will make us happy. =====An Excerpt==== Again, for a few seconds, Maven lost all sensory information, suspended in dizzy darkness. Her ears popped, and she plopped back in the chair in the test room. Fiona removed the sensors, visor, and gloves without a word and turned back to the machine, which now looked like a pile of computer parts duct-taped to a crystal ball. Maven stretched her neck and arms. "Quite a setup you have there. Is that the product?" She stared, disoriented. She felt like she had run ten miles over wet sand. Fiona didn't answer, but moved slightly to keep Maven from seeing what she was doing. Tricks of the light made Fiona's hair pearly pink. "How does it work-biofeedback?" Maven wondered about street price of this rig. Did they need sales reps or beta-testers? Bump of Direction just sat there, drinking it all in, but not spitting any of it back. At least this interview had been fun. When Fiona turned around, her expression was one of controlled professionalism winning out over some other emotion, just covered at the last with a smile. The Bump did notice, but wasn't showing any cards yet. Raise and call. Fiona clasped Maven's hand and patted it. "You did very well for your first time with no training. Come into my office and let us discuss your duties. Can you start immediately?" Maven slowly took her hand back. "Yes, I'm available. What's the job?" "Fairy godmother, of course." Fiona smiled. "We make wishes come true." The hair on the back of Maven's neck stood at attention. The Bump hit red alert. She crossed her arms and set her feet flat on the floor, braced apart and unmovable. Finally, her adrenaline got through to her language center. "Do what? Fairy godmother? Are you for real?" Fiona's expression froze for a second, her smile drooping as it thawed out. "We do not use the word real in polite company, but as you use the word, yes, I am a real fairy godmother."