To Crack a Soldier

A broken soldier. A wooden ballerina. When battle comes, can Alex use his gifts to defeat the Mouse King?

Alexander Monde may have survived the war with Brisia in one piece, but that doesn’t mean he’s not broken. His family, his home, and his friends are all gone, leaving him just a shell of the man he once was. When a mysterious visitor arrives at the army hospital the night of the winter solstice, Alex is given a gift that will change his life forever: a ballerina doll.

When midnight arrives and his ballerina comes to life, a battle ensues between the dancer and Mouse King. The mirror gateway to Faerie is broken, and Alex finds himself stranded in a new and completely unfamiliar world. Worse still, a wound from the recent battle is causing him to slowly become more and more wooden and stiff as time goes on. As the sprightly ballerina slowly begins cracking the shell of his heart, will Alex be able to find the missing pieces of the mirror and restore the gateway? Or will the Mouse King come out victorious against the wooden soldier?

To Crack a Soldier is a retelling of the Nutcracker. It is one of twelve novellas in The Shattered Tales, a collection of twelve fractured retellings of your favorite fairy tales. They can be enjoyed in any order, so fall in love with the swoony sweet romance, magical adventures, and tale-shattering twists one happily-ever-after at a time!