Waltzing with the Wallflower by Rachel Van Dyken & Leah Sanders

Growing up in a small town where cows and tractors were a dominant part of the community, Ms. Dyken, desperately wished to be a princess. Even though while playing with her sister; she ended up playing either the evil stepmother or the prince. Being a dreamer and thinker, she thought in college that she would change the world one child at a time via counseling while earning her MBA degree but always felt she was not doing what she was passionate about. Then one day after a sad-counseling session with few young girls, she came home, started writing and has been since. After being a prince, a toad, a monster, the evil stepmother, and sometimes the slave girl waiting to be rescued, she is now an author.

A middle child in a family of seven children, Ms. Sanders has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Southeastern University and a master’s degree in educational technology from Boise State University. Living in Idaho with her husband and three children (no pets), she has been teaching English for 15 years, mostly in high school. She always loved to write but it took the encouragement of her friend, to get her to write something to be published.

This is a beautifully written story. From the prologue, I was helplessly pulled into the story to know what happens and why. Both the main and supporting characters are life-like and vibrant. They come out of the page and speak to you. The humor in the story is really funny and the serious moments are very endearing. For me, very few short stories can pull you completely in, get you involved and cover all possible areas of a full-length novel. This is one of them. It made me laugh and made me cry. Loved it!

Rachel Van Dyken’s Website

Leah Sander’s Website

Read my full review here