This image is the cover for the book Happily Ever After

Happily Ever After

Find Your Inner Princess and Live Happily Ever After

Don't let anyone tell you true love is a fairy tale. You can find the romance of your dreams, and this book will tell you how.

In Happily Ever After, author Wendy Paris offers a contemporary spin on ten classic fairy tales, going behind the scenes with these legendary romantic heroines to show what they did to live happily ever after. Contrary to popular belief, fairy-tale heroines are not weak and passive. They are noble, brave, optimistic women who know that the formula for success in a chaotic world is to hold fast to their own beliefs despite what fate happens to throw their way. Ultimately, it is their character that saves them, not the prince on the white horse.

Take Cinderella, for example. Despite having a less than ideal job, she didn't let bitterness and regret give her an ulcer, bad skin, and frown wrinkles. She knew "cinder maid" was a job title, not a life description.

She didn't hide in her carriage, crying, "I can't go to the ball by myself! Everyone will think I'm a loser! " She had the courage to attend a party alone.

At the stroke of midnight, she didn't cling to the prince's hand and wail, "Save me from my miserable life!" She had the confidence to know that if he liked her, he'd come calling.

This humorous, heartfelt book shows women how to focus on their strengths and character rather than resort to manipulative strategies to "land" a man. The perfect antidote to negative dating guides that just don't work, Happily Ever After offers practical, empowering advice that's been proven effective for the last 500 years and is still relevant today.

Wendy Paris

Wendy Paris was born in Columbus, Ohio. She attended high school in Michigan and graduated with a BA in literature and creative writing from the Honor's Program at the University of Houston. She currently lives and works in New York City.

Prior to writing Happily Ever After, she coauthored Words for the Wedding (Perigee, 2000). She's also written about relationships, love, marriage and honeymooning for a variety of publications, including Glamour, Self, Brides, Modern Bride and Fitness. She's reported for Marketplace on National Public Radio and contributed essays to National Public Radio's travel show, Savvy Traveler, and food show, Splendid Table. She has also worked as a TV reporter and producer and newspaper reporter and editor.

Wendy recently re-entered the dating world in New York City -- probably the most competitive dating terrain on the planet. Her frustration with the love-is-war dating advice available, and her experience with what she sees as a new wave of gallantry among men, led her to write Happily Ever After.

HarperCollins Publishers