Maria K.

On the eve of a holiday, while most households prepare for a celebration, one family is faced with a separation, possibly forever. Their peace of mind, safety, and very survival suddenly become dependent on two clever children and one very unusual feline...

Imagine an alternative Earth, where elves, imps, demons, and extraterrestrials coexist within the bounds of an unimaginably diverse, complex, and intricately structured society.

International Research Institute of Sleep (IRIS) is the last resort for patients seeking a good night's sleep. When an odd sleep disorder epidemic flares up in multiple locations around the world, IRIS must call on its secret weapon - a group of sleep experts unafraid to look for answers beyond...

After a prolonged battle with a strange sleep disorder, Philip Stokes becomes one of the patients at IRIS - International Research Institute of Sleep. He comes to realize even this exclusive institution doesn't have all the answers, and sometimes, its highly capable specialists must rely on...

Serafima Nichols decided a cross-country road trip from North Carolina to Oregon would be an adventure. Little did she know that somewhere in the middle of nowhere, this adventure would take a very unsettling turn...

Who came up with the idea that if a man is a prince, he must always marry a princess? Things come to a head when one rebellious royal decides to dispute this rule...

Fed up with Jack's beanstalk shenanigans, the ogre and his wife decide to turn the tables on him...

Bethany Simmons takes a shortcut on a stormy night and ends up in a place where one man is both sustained by the ghosts of his past and held captive by them...

What if the Little Mermaid took a moment to reconsider her deal with the sea witch, and decided to change the course of her life her own way, on her own terms? Listen to this charming, alternative story!...

This installment of the Alternative Endings series takes a fresh look at Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen", following Kai and Gerda in a somewhat different direction than the original...

The tale of Little Red Riding Hood takes an unexpected turn when the wolf's intended prey turns the tables on him and changes the course of his life...

There are many versions of the Cinderella story. Not one of them, however, points out that one does not have to wear the glass slipper—even if it fits...

After being rescued from the greedy mole by her faithful swallow and brought to the tropical kingdom populated by elves, Thumbelina finds herself thrust into the intricacies of elvish court politics and facing yet another marriage no one had asked her about...

Alternative Endings series dips into the realm of alternative beginnings by pondering what might have really happened before the opening scene of the beloved classic Beauty and the Beast...

Sleeping Beauty might be the title character of the famous fairy tale, but, in truth, she didn't do much to bring the story to a happy ending. Let us find out who really did all the hard work...

A new force arises in the elemental universe and immediately turns it all upside down. It is unpredictable. It is powerful. It is alarmingly intelligent. It's...a gnome...

What would happen if damsels in distress defied evil wizards and wicked queens, dismissed the marginally competent princes, and took the matters of their rescuing into their own hands? Find one possible answer here, in the first installment of Maria K's Alternative Endings series...

A Child in Translation is a deeply personal autobiographic narrative about growing up in Soviet Ukraine that delivers a vivid picture of life in a part of the world most outsiders have never thought about. Please meet Maria from the Ukraine. She came to the West as an alien, bringing with her a...

Smirk the hiring gnome wreaks havoc for his superiors once again. He accidentally rescues two spirits - a human and her dog...

On the heels of the worst year in his life, Carter Wolski loses his will to live. He is prodded, shoved, sniffed, and slobbered back to life by a trio of very strange helpers...