Ashley J. Barner

Challenging readers to rethink what they read and why, the author questions the aesthetic assumptions that have led to the devaluing of fanfiction--a genre criticized as both tasteless and derivative--and other "guilty pleasure" reading (and writing), including romance and fantasy. The complicated relationship between "fanfic" and intellectual property rights is discussed in light of the millennia-old tradition of derivative literature, before modern copyright law established originality as the hallmark of great fiction. "Absorbed reading"--the practice of immersing oneself in the narrative versus critically "reading from a distance"--is a strong motive for the appropriation by fanfiction of canon characters and worlds.

Aveline was a brilliant but quiet girl who learned how to speak the secret Birdtongue from her scholarly father, a skill known only by three people in the entire kingdom. Not quite peasant, but not of nobility, she had long accepted the fact that any marriage would require one person or the other to have to “marry down.” So she was content with her studies and immersed herself in the language of the birds. But all that would change when a strange blue bird arrived... Aras was a noble lord. When he became aware of a sorceress’s attempt to usurp the kingdom, she transformed him into a bird. But, as an extra act of cruelty, she left one place where he can be human again—an isolated, out-of-the-way place no one would ever look for… Until the day Aveline found him. Together, with the aid of three bird princes, Aveline and Aras must save the kingdom from the sorceress. But before they can do so, they must first discover the three things more powerful than despair: courage, hope, and love.

A scientist's research into weather patterns gives birth to a deadly weapon.

Linnea Santiago loves everything about Ben Fortune. Sadly, he’s a fictional character. And now he's standing in her living room. Mr. Fortune was supposed to remain the hero of Linnea's favorite Regency romance, Fortune's Folly. But Linnea has stumbled across a magic spell in the library archives, and now Ben Fortune is real, adjusting to the 21st century—and changing the plot in every copy of Fortune's Folly, wreaking havoc by his absence. Worse yet, his young sister is now in danger, and he needs to go back into the book to save her. Can Linnea find the right spell to send him back to fictional Regency England—and does she even want to?

He discarded his dreams to hide what he’s become. She sacrificed everything to protect what’s most dear to her. Have they found family at last—or will their secrets drive them apart? Forever changed by a mysterious past, Hugh Pembroke has given up any thought of home and family until the death of an old friend makes him the guardian of a child he’s never seen. Little Lettie is frightened and alone, and he longs to give her the life she deserves. Aoife Donnelly has given up everything: her name, her status, all she values most, to protect her own secret. Accepting a position at Juris Hall as governess to Mr. Pembroke’s ward seems to offer the security she seeks. But Lettie’s grandfather, the vengeful Viscount Rainsford, will stop at nothing to ruin them all. It will take a miracle to save them—or perhaps just a little magic. Can Hugh and Aoife trust each other enough to keep Lettie safe—and maybe find happiness as well? You'll love this Regency romance—with a twist!