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Valley Stream author releases fairy tale

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Once upon a time there was a 12-year-old fro m the Bronx who wanted to make her mark in the literary world by writing an original fairy tale. However, there are no glass slippers, seven dwarfs or evil witches in the real-life story of author Patricia Gordon’s writing experience, but her latest book “The Queen of Broken Hearts” pays homage to the world’s most beloved fairy tales with a unique twist of its own.

Gordon, who has lived in Valley Stream since 2001, has always been a fan of fairy tales, but her two previously published books didn’t have any Prince Charmings or mermaids in them.

“People of all ages will always be charmed by the romanticism of fairy tales,” she said. “Who doesn’t want to get lost occasionally in imaginary worlds where an ugly duckling is really a beautiful swan and dreams can come true if you wish upon a star? Who doesn’t want to believe in true love so powerful that it can awaken Sleeping Beauty and Snow White out of their coma-like slumbers or turn a frog and a beast back into princes?”

While growing up she was a fan of fairy tales, but was under the impression that people at Disney created the famous stories she knew on their own. When she was 12, she discovered that it was the work of Hans Christian Anderson that inspired “The Little Mermaid.” That fact encouraged Gordon to write her own fairy tale.

“The Queen of Broken Hearts” is about a lonely maiden named Corona who must overcome a tragic fate after her heart is struck by Cupid’s arrow, Gordon said. In the story, which takes place during Valentine’s Day, Corona seeks to find love, but Gordon added, this in not your typical fairy tale.

“Even though I was inspired by the old-fashion style of fairy tale writing, there aren’t really any stereotypical damsels in distress in my story,” she said. “In fact, the females in the tale seem to be the heroines of the day who don’t focus on getting a prince and his castle at the end to have a happy ending.”

Gordon, now 33, said she wrote the first draft of “The Queen of Broken Hearts” between the ages of 12 and 14. She then tried to get the book published by sending it to agents and publishers, but they weren’t interested in fairy tales.

Her first published book, “Destined,” which is a romantic suspense story and is available at the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library, was published by Create Space, which is affiliated with Amazon. “The Queen of Broken Hearts” was made available the same way and can be purchased on Amazon. The 132-page book is only available in paperback and created on a print-on-demand basis.

After many revisions, Gordon’s 14-year-old goddaughter was one of the first people to read “The Queen of Broken Hearts,” and she loved it, Gordon said. “It made me feel so special to have a child read it and actually enjoy it,” she added.

“The Queen of Broken Hearts” was released on Dec. 27. Gordon is currently working on getting the book available in the Waldinger Library, and is also in discussions with two schools about reading her book aloud to students.

She is not sure if her next book will be a fairy tale or if she will return to writing romantic suspense, but said she has a folder full of ideas that are ready to go.