Bring it Back(list) - Once Upon A Princess Series

The Once Upon A Princess stories came to me in excerpts. Bits and pieces of the story ideas came to me but I didn't know what to do with them. Finally after a lot of drafts I figured out what the stories would be about for Heart of Stone and Beauty & the Faun. They both have Beauty & the Beast as an influence, and Cinderella too. Land of Dreams came later and was inspired by a friend of mine (also a book blogger and reviewer) who really liked the hero from Heart of Stone. So he got his own story. 

Two of the books are on sale for the month of February. Read about them below!

 Formula for Fairy Tale Love: 1 Adventurous Heroine + 1 Tortured-But-Noble Hero = Happily-Ever-After

"Heart of Stone:" Leesa trespasses into a haunted palace, where she meets a lonely gargoyle. Breaking the spell that cursed him may carry a price steeper than she's able…or willing…to pay.

On sale for 99 cents until Feb. 29th at Amazon, B&N, Apple & Kobo.

Buy link: https://books2read.com/u/bP5dLJ

Read an excerpt:

Leesa headed up the stairs and stopped at the 2nd floor landing. Eduardo and Erokan's rooms had been on this floor. Dust was everywhere, but otherwise the furnishings were just as they'd been left. Varmont's bedroom, private study and library were on the 3rd floor. Most likely he would've hidden some of his valuables there. She went upstairs to check. The doors to the Duke's room, study and library were open. But the fourth door was closed. The treasure room, perhaps? 

She opened the door and stepped inside. Strangely, this room wasn't as dusty as the others. 
The air was heavy with perfume. Across from the door was a folding screen decorated with blue and yellow flowers. Behind it she could make out the base of a claw-foot tub. 

To her surprise, the entire room had a feminine feeling, from the huge bed covered with blush pink coverlets and plush furs to the gold-trimmed white furniture. Even the jewel-encrusted skylight above her had its own beauty, reflecting colorful sprinkles of light over the pale stone walls. 

A white cabinet with glass doors caught her attention. The shelves held glass bottles of different shapes and sizes. Some had liquids inside, others were empty. What were these? Perfumes? Or maybe potions. 

The Duke used magic. Maybe this was where he'd kept his enchantments. Would they be worth anything? Possibly. But just as Leesa reached out to open the cabinet, the door slammed behind her. 

Startled, she spun around. She was alone. Who had closed it? Leesa ran to the door and gripped the handle, expecting the door to open as easily as it had when she'd come in. But it didn't. She pulled and banged on it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Beauty & the Faun:" Kayla flees an arranged marriage and falls for a faun shifter instead. But how can she ignore her duty by refusing to marry a prince?

On sale for 99 cents until Feb. 29th at Amazon, B&N, Apple & Kobo

Buy link: https://books2read.com/u/47ZqV7

Read an excerpt:

Kayla leaned against the tree, her legs drawn up. A flash of memory from her childhood came to her, reminding her that she'd once had days like this back when her father was alive. The forest had been home then, with the three of them in their small house on the edge of the woods. 

"Del, I've never met anyone like you," she said. "I haven't had a chance to have fun since my mother and I lived in the forest. I'm always working." 

"You lived in the forest?" he asked. 

"When my father was alive. But when he got sick and died, my mother and I moved in with my uncle and aunt." 

"That's too bad," Del said. "You must miss him." 

"I do. Do your parents live in the forest?" 

"No. They live in a big house. I live there too, sometimes. But I love it out here. I feel free. The forest folk are very open and welcoming." 

"Are there fairies here too?" Her father had talked about them, and how nice they were. 

"Of course." Del yawned. "They're a lot of fun." 

"Like satyrs?" she asked. She did want to know more about them. 

He chuckled. "Not quite. Satyrs are always wanting to drink and have fun, but you have to watch them. They get too drunk and then, everybody's fighting. And they cheat at cards." 

Kayla giggled. "Cards? They play cards? You're kidding." She couldn’t imagine the two who tried to kidnap her sitting at a card table. 

"Sure they do." Del sat up and stretched. "They do everything humans do, just wilder and louder." He took a last bite of his apple, then threw the core aside. 

Wild. That’s what Lady Agnes said her husband-to-be was. Wild. Maybe he was a satyr. Kayla suddenly felt queasy. What would she do if he shifted into one of those? Scream? Run away? What was she going to do? 

"Del, I don't know what to do. If I go back, they'll marry me off." Going to town to find work seemed like a ridiculous idea now. As soon as her uncle found out, he'd come and force her back to his house. 

"It's your choice, Kayla." 

"But my mother can't stay at the house when I'm gone. She deserves a place of her own. My aunt has her there sewing her gowns. It should be the other way around." 

He sighed, then ran his fingers through his curly hair. "We'll figure it out. I wish you could stay here with me."

Read more about the books here: https://authordebbailey.com/paranormal-romance/

 

New Release from PG Forte: Put a Ring Around the Rosie

 My new book Put a Ring Around the Rosie is out today! This very short and sweet story is only lightly paranormal (sad to say, because I do love the spooky stuff) but, as with all the books in the Atlas Beach/Games We Play universe, all roads lead back to the Wild Geese Inn with its cursed-slash-enchanted (depending on your point of view) stone, its interfering ghosts and a boggart that, sadly, does not make an appearance in this book. (Not to fear, he'll be back!)

This is the first book in the third Games We Play story collection, Whole Latte Love. I hope to have a second story out later this year. Fingers crossed!

Put a Ring Around the Rosie

​

https://books2read.com/RingRosie

February 14th is just another day...until it's not.

 

They say timing is everything, and that certainly has always been the case where Alex and I are concerned. We met nearly two years ago when he was hired to work at Cup of Joe, the coffee shop where I was already an old timer. It was lust at first sight, at least on my part, but I had a boyfriend then, and so did he. By the time we were both single and I’d worked out that he was bi, things between us had become complicated in so many other ways that it seemed much simpler and safer to just stay friends.

​

We were work spouses for a while, and then we weren’t. And when we reconnected with each other last month it was after a prolonged period of hurt feelings and miscommunication during which we barely spoke to each other at all. 

 

Now, even though our friendship’s caught fire, so to speak, I feel like we’re both still recovering from that last, disconnected phase. Heaping a bunch of unrealistic expectations, or a need for chocolate hearts, plush toys, or rose colored anything on top of that seems like a little too much added pressure. 

​​​

Read an excerpt HERE

HERE BE NEWS for Monday February 12, 2024

 

 

 Monday February 12, 2024 

Welcome to HERE BE NEWS, where each monday we bring you all the latest from the fantasy romance authors at Here Be Magic:

Thursday February 8, 2024: Nicole Luiken treats us to a Blast from the Past with this post about her first published novel, Unlocking the Doors.

PG Forte's short and sweet NA novella releases tomorrow! It's a small-town, feel-good romance with a cursed stone, a magical kiss beneath the mistletoe, and two friends who finally find their way to being lovers just in time for Valentine's Day...what's not to like?

Put a Ring Around the Rosie

A Games We Play/Whole Latte Love Story

​

February 14th is just another day...until it's not!

Timing is everything. After three years, Rosie and Alex's friendship has finally caught fire. But is Valentine's Day too much, too fast? 

https://books2read.com/RingRosie

Read an excerpt HERE

Last few days on these special promos!

If you're curious about Ream Stories, the new subscription site for fiction, there isn't a better time to check it out. Almost 30 authors (mostly paranormal) have teamed up to offer new members a first month free to their introductory tiers. There's also a giveaway involved offering a grand prize of six months free subscription to any or all of the participating authors' sites. 

While not all the authors write paranormal, the majority of them do. Click on the link below for details. 

 https://amynovabooks.com/why-choose-ream

All the Valentine's Day goodness! Only 3 days more!

https://books.bookfunnel.com/valentines24/s34z5w4ahl

 The first Games We Play trilogy was the result of a Submission Call from one of my publishers, the much lamented Loose Id. (For more info, check out this blog post here: https://allieritch.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/loose-id-books/) The idea was to put together three linked stories, each of which had to take place around a Winter Holiday. I chose Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day, which, yes, stretched the definition of winter somewhat, but there were reasons!!!

In any event...usually I'd be posting about the first book, Truth or Dare, what with Valentine's Day coming up next week, but THIS YEAR Mardi Gras falls on February 13th--the same day that the latest Games We Play book is set to drop. So today, you get an excerpt from book two, instead.

Never Have I Ever

Games We Play 2.0

 

Kristy loves Luke but if anything was clear to her back when they were kids it was that gawky, awkward, tomboys didn't stand a chance with the king of the schoolyard. She watched her older brothers set their caps for Luke's glamorous cousins and get shot down. So she did what she had to in order to salvage her friendship with Luke. She hid her true feelings and her need for him to take control. 

 

Luke wants Kristy in the worst way -- actually, in all the worst ways: tied up, held down, beaten, bitten, whipped. But he knows he has no chance of ever having her. They'd been childhood friends and sweethearts, until she friend-zoned him in the fifth grade. He knows he can either keep her as a friend, or take her to bed and lose her forever. His biggest mistake—so far—was in hiring her to work alongside him in the bar he and his cousins inherited from their grandmother. He knows Kristy needs the money and the job, but Luke's self-control can't take the constant contact with the girl he wants to dominate–both in and out of the bedroom. Something has to give—and soon!

https://books2read.com/NeverEver

Excerpt:

The walk back to the inn itself didn’t take long. It was, in fact, just long enough for Luke to make up his mind, to decide on what fantasy he’d be getting off to tonight. It wasn’t even a fantasy, really. It was a memory of sorts. A dressed-up version of the night he’d come so close to having it all.

Had it really been ten years ago?

He’d been a senior in high school at the time, and Kristy had been a junior, so he guessed it had to have been. It was shortly after Thanksgiving—something else he remembered clearly because it was just a few days after he’d gotten back from spending the holiday weekend in Atlas Beach.

His family had moved to Bergen County, in the northern part of the state, four years earlier, when his mother had gotten a teaching position at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Technically, it was still New Jersey, but culturally it was almost a different planet. Or so it had felt at the time.

He remembered he’d been surprised when Kristy called him. Not because she never did; their phone conversations over the previous four years had helped him through several rough patches as he’d adjusted to his new community. No, what had surprised him was the timing. He’d only seen her a few days earlier.

“There’s this dance coming up at school,” Kristy said, in a tone that seemed to veer between nervous and annoyed. “Did I mention it last week?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Okay, well, it’s the junior class’s semiformal.”

“Your class?”

“Yes. And it’s scheduled for the Saturday before Christmas.”

“Uh-huh,” Luke replied unenthusiastically. Maybe, if he didn’t express much interest, she’d take the hint and stop talking about it. At the best of times, he didn’t like hearing about events he was missing in what he still considered his hometown. He especially didn’t want to hear about some dance she’d be attending without him.

As Kristy continued talking, Luke opened his desk drawer and took out the folder of sketches he kept hidden from his mother—pictures of naked women, tied up or in chains. He picked up a pencil, and as he half listened to Kristy talk, he added details to a half-finished picture.

“It’s going to be at the hotel. So I thought maybe someone there might have said something about it to you?”

“Nope.” Maybe they had, but if so, he hadn’t been listening then either.

“Okay, well, I’m on the decorating committee, and I think it’s gonna be really cool, you know?”

“Uh-huh,” he repeated, wondering why they were still on this subject. For that matter, why did she sound so weird, so…nervous, almost? Did she realize how much he hated this conversation? Nah, couldn’t be. Kristy was nicer than he was. If she knew she was making him unhappy, she’d stop. He added a gag to the picture.

“So, the thing is, it’s the kind of thing where the girls have to ask the boys.”

Luke’s pencil stilled. “Uh-huh.” What the fuck? She couldn’t be asking him out…could she? It had been her idea that they just stay friends. Did this mean she’d changed her mind? Or was she going to ask his advice on which of their friends she should go with instead? Maybe it was neither. Maybe she just wanted to talk. He sure hoped that was all it was.

“And, well, you know my father!” Kristy’s frustrated sigh vibrated through the phone, leaving Luke guiltily aware of the fact that he’d missed a critical part of the conversation.

“Sorry, I missed that. What did you say?”

The phone went silent. “What part did you miss?” Kristy asked in cautious tones.

Luke winced. “Everything after ‘the girls have to ask the boys,’” he admitted, steeling himself for Kristy’s reaction.

Kristy sighed. “I said, ‘my father will only let me go with someone he approves of.’”

“Well, that sucks,” Luke said, even though he was secretly—and selfishly—relieved.

“Yeah, so will you?”

“Will I what?”

“Will you go with me to the dance?” Kristy replied, then quickly added, “I mean, you don’t have to. It’s okay if you don’t want to. I just…well, it kinda sucks, that’s all, to put in all that work and not even see how it all turns out…”

“Wait. Didn’t you just… Are you saying your father approves of me?” Luke asked in disbelief. That couldn’t be right.

“He thinks you’re a good influence.”

“He does? Does he even know who I am?”

“Yes, Luke. He knows who you are. He knows your family. I guess he figures because you and Rocco are friends that you’re…I dunno. Safe, maybe?”

“Safe?”

“Or something, I guess.”

“He oughta talk to my mom.” Luke thought about that for a moment. “On second thought, no, he shouldn’t.”

“So…?”

Luke bit back a sigh. She didn’t want him as a boyfriend, but she didn’t mind using him as a sort of pretend boyfriend when she needed a date. Being there, surrounded by real couples, was going to suck. He had every right to be angry, every right to tell her no. But then she’d be disappointed. She’d have to stay home, or she’d find some other loser to go with—maybe someone every bit as “safe” as him. There was no way he was going to let that happen.

“What time do you want me to pick you up?” he asked, giving in to the inevitable.

“Really? You mean it?” Kristy practically squealed with happiness, which made Luke feel even more confused. Much as he liked being her hero, he kind of wished he’d been able to tease her a little more first. To drag it out. To make her beg. Maybe next time.

He sighed. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

​​​

Bring It Back(list) ~ Never Have I Ever by PG Forte

 The first Games We Play trilogy was the result of a Submission Call from one of my publishers, the much lamented Loose Id. (For more info, check out this blog post here: https://allieritch.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/loose-id-books/) The idea was to put together three linked stories, each of which had to take place around a Winter Holiday. I chose Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day, which, yes, stretched the definition of winter somewhat, but there were reasons!!!

In any event...usually I'd be posting about the first book, Truth or Dare, what with Valentine's Day coming up next week, but THIS YEAR Mardi Gras falls on February 13th--the same day that the latest Games We Play book is set to drop. So today, you get an excerpt from book two, instead.

Never Have I Ever

Games We Play 2.0

 

Kristy loves Luke but if anything was clear to her back when they were kids it was that gawky, awkward, tomboys didn't stand a chance with the king of the schoolyard. She watched her older brothers set their caps for Luke's glamorous cousins and get shot down. So she did what she had to in order to salvage her friendship with Luke. She hid her true feelings and her need for him to take control. 

 

Luke wants Kristy in the worst way -- actually, in all the worst ways: tied up, held down, beaten, bitten, whipped. But he knows he has no chance of ever having her. They'd been childhood friends and sweethearts, until she friend-zoned him in the fifth grade. He knows he can either keep her as a friend, or take her to bed and lose her forever. His biggest mistake—so far—was in hiring her to work alongside him in the bar he and his cousins inherited from their grandmother. He knows Kristy needs the money and the job, but Luke's self-control can't take the constant contact with the girl he wants to dominate–both in and out of the bedroom. Something has to give—and soon!

https://books2read.com/NeverEver

Excerpt:

The walk back to the inn itself didn’t take long. It was, in fact, just long enough for Luke to make up his mind, to decide on what fantasy he’d be getting off to tonight. It wasn’t even a fantasy, really. It was a memory of sorts. A dressed-up version of the night he’d come so close to having it all.

Had it really been ten years ago?

He’d been a senior in high school at the time, and Kristy had been a junior, so he guessed it had to have been. It was shortly after Thanksgiving—something else he remembered clearly because it was just a few days after he’d gotten back from spending the holiday weekend in Atlas Beach.

His family had moved to Bergen County, in the northern part of the state, four years earlier, when his mother had gotten a teaching position at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Technically, it was still New Jersey, but culturally it was almost a different planet. Or so it had felt at the time.

He remembered he’d been surprised when Kristy called him. Not because she never did; their phone conversations over the previous four years had helped him through several rough patches as he’d adjusted to his new community. No, what had surprised him was the timing. He’d only seen her a few days earlier.

“There’s this dance coming up at school,” Kristy said, in a tone that seemed to veer between nervous and annoyed. “Did I mention it last week?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Okay, well, it’s the junior class’s semiformal.”

“Your class?”

“Yes. And it’s scheduled for the Saturday before Christmas.”

“Uh-huh,” Luke replied unenthusiastically. Maybe, if he didn’t express much interest, she’d take the hint and stop talking about it. At the best of times, he didn’t like hearing about events he was missing in what he still considered his hometown. He especially didn’t want to hear about some dance she’d be attending without him.

As Kristy continued talking, Luke opened his desk drawer and took out the folder of sketches he kept hidden from his mother—pictures of naked women, tied up or in chains. He picked up a pencil, and as he half listened to Kristy talk, he added details to a half-finished picture.

“It’s going to be at the hotel. So I thought maybe someone there might have said something about it to you?”

“Nope.” Maybe they had, but if so, he hadn’t been listening then either.

“Okay, well, I’m on the decorating committee, and I think it’s gonna be really cool, you know?”

“Uh-huh,” he repeated, wondering why they were still on this subject. For that matter, why did she sound so weird, so…nervous, almost? Did she realize how much he hated this conversation? Nah, couldn’t be. Kristy was nicer than he was. If she knew she was making him unhappy, she’d stop. He added a gag to the picture.

“So, the thing is, it’s the kind of thing where the girls have to ask the boys.”

Luke’s pencil stilled. “Uh-huh.” What the fuck? She couldn’t be asking him out…could she? It had been her idea that they just stay friends. Did this mean she’d changed her mind? Or was she going to ask his advice on which of their friends she should go with instead? Maybe it was neither. Maybe she just wanted to talk. He sure hoped that was all it was.

“And, well, you know my father!” Kristy’s frustrated sigh vibrated through the phone, leaving Luke guiltily aware of the fact that he’d missed a critical part of the conversation.

“Sorry, I missed that. What did you say?”

The phone went silent. “What part did you miss?” Kristy asked in cautious tones.

Luke winced. “Everything after ‘the girls have to ask the boys,’” he admitted, steeling himself for Kristy’s reaction.

Kristy sighed. “I said, ‘my father will only let me go with someone he approves of.’”

“Well, that sucks,” Luke said, even though he was secretly—and selfishly—relieved.

“Yeah, so will you?”

“Will I what?”

“Will you go with me to the dance?” Kristy replied, then quickly added, “I mean, you don’t have to. It’s okay if you don’t want to. I just…well, it kinda sucks, that’s all, to put in all that work and not even see how it all turns out…”

“Wait. Didn’t you just… Are you saying your father approves of me?” Luke asked in disbelief. That couldn’t be right.

“He thinks you’re a good influence.”

“He does? Does he even know who I am?”

“Yes, Luke. He knows who you are. He knows your family. I guess he figures because you and Rocco are friends that you’re…I dunno. Safe, maybe?”

“Safe?”

“Or something, I guess.”

“He oughta talk to my mom.” Luke thought about that for a moment. “On second thought, no, he shouldn’t.”

“So…?”

Luke bit back a sigh. She didn’t want him as a boyfriend, but she didn’t mind using him as a sort of pretend boyfriend when she needed a date. Being there, surrounded by real couples, was going to suck. He had every right to be angry, every right to tell her no. But then she’d be disappointed. She’d have to stay home, or she’d find some other loser to go with—maybe someone every bit as “safe” as him. There was no way he was going to let that happen.

“What time do you want me to pick you up?” he asked, giving in to the inevitable.

“Really? You mean it?” Kristy practically squealed with happiness, which made Luke feel even more confused. Much as he liked being her hero, he kind of wished he’d been able to tease her a little more first. To drag it out. To make her beg. Maybe next time.

He sighed. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

Now Available for Pre-Order:

Put a Ring Around the Rosie

​

https://books2read.com/RingRosie

February 14th is just another day...until it's not.

 

They say timing is everything, and that certainly has always been the case where Alex and I are concerned. We met nearly two years ago when he was hired to work at Cup of Joe, the coffee shop where I was already an old timer. It was lust at first sight, at least on my part, but I had a boyfriend then, and so did he. By the time we were both single and I’d worked out that he was bi, things between us had become complicated in so many other ways that it seemed much simpler and safer to just stay friends.

​

We were work spouses for a while, and then we weren’t. And when we reconnected with each other last month it was after a prolonged period of hurt feelings and miscommunication during which we barely spoke to each other at all. 

 

Now, even though our friendship’s caught fire, so to speak, I feel like we’re both still recovering from that last, disconnected phase. Heaping a bunch of unrealistic expectations, or a need for chocolate hearts, plush toys, or rose colored anything on top of that seems like a little too much added pressure. 

​​​

Read an excerpt HERE

Blast from the Past

 I was feeling nostalgic this past week and got to thinking about my first published novel, Unlocking the Doors, which came out in 1988 from Scholastic Canada.

A little backstory. I wrote my first novel at age thirteen. Unlocking the Doors was the fourth one I wrote and I was lucky enough to have it published while I was still in high school. 

Boy, how times have changed. 

I wrote the first draft on a manual typewriter, but switched to computer for later drafts. The top left picture is me at my Tandy 1000 (bought from Radio Shack). 

When I finished the novel I printed it out on a dot matrix printer, stuck it in an envelope and mailed it off to Scholastic Canada. You could do that back then. The publishing houses all had slush piles and staff to read them. You didn't need an agent (though they were definitely a bonus.)

I still remember the day I got THE CALL from Scholastic. It was a cold, dark morning in February. The phone rang as I went out the door, but I thought nothing of it until my mom stepped onto the porch and yelled down the driveway, "Nicole, they're going to publish Unlocking the Doors!" Such a wonderful moment... and then the bus pulled up and I had to get on and go to school without finding anything else out for another hour. 😂

I was paid the grand sum of $1000 (that's the cheque I'm holding in the top right picture.) I got 24 authors copies to hand out to friends and family and we had a party at my house. I remember that one of my cousins brought champagne, which I'd never tasted before.

The book is long since out of print, and I'm a little afraid to reread it, but I'm still proud of what teenage me accomplished.

 

HERE BE NEWS for Monday February 05, 2024

 

 

 Monday February 05, 2024 

Welcome to HERE BE NEWS, where each monday we bring you all the latest from the fantasy romance authors at Here Be Magic:

Tuesday January 30, 2024: Linda Mooney treats us to the first chapter of her fantasy romance, Dark Hours

If you're curious about Ream Stories, the new subscription site for fiction, there isn't a better time to check it out. Almost 30 authors (mostly paranormal) have teamed up to offer new members a first month free to their introductory tiers. There's also a giveaway involved offering a grand prize of six months free subscription to any or all of the participating authors' sites. 

While not all the authors write paranormal, the majority of them do. Click on the link below for details. 

 https://amynovabooks.com/why-choose-ream

New from Linda Mooney:

Valentwines: 14 Tales of Romance That Didn’t Quite Go As Planned

https://www.amazon.com/Valentwines-Tales-Romance-Didnt-Planned-ebook/dp/B0CTS7M51X

Stories included are:

CHOCOLATES - The salesman was persuasive, the samples delicious, and the price was where Melvin couldn’t turn down buying a box.

BUBBLE BATH - Chet decided drawing her a hot bubble bath and ordering in some Chinese food would make for a perfect night.

DICE - A little love play based on a set of "romance dice" sounded like just thing to spice up their marriage.

ROMANTIC MOVIE - Word on the street was that it was the perfect movie for a date night.

STRAWBERRIES AND CHAMPAGNE - It was something different, which was why Lewis chose to spring this gift on Stacia.

MOTEL ROOM - It was their chance to get away for the night—no kids, no worries.

ROSE - He was dead broke, but fortune helped him find a way to get her the rose she wanted.

DINNER OUT - They were looking forward to celebrating the holiday at the exclusive restaurant.

JEWELRY - The heart-shaped earrings had to be real diamonds.

BREAKFAST IN BED – Callen’s brother had a great idea, including what to fix.

CARD - Travis couldn’t find one that expressed how much he really loved her.

NIGHTIE - It was sheer, sexy-looking, and they had her size.

PET - Hale swore they’d never have one, no matter how much his wife wanted it.

GIFT CARD - Kevin was stumped on what to get his wife, until he found the perfect solution.