Leap of Faith

The Beginning

By TalesOfSnape

By way of an explanation, this all started out with this comment thread. Bambu and I began discussing the fact that given how short of money the Weasleys were generally purported to be, it made no sense at all for Molly to be sitting at home not doing anything after Ginny started at Hogwarts. Eventually, we came to the conclusion she was actually spending her child-free days in front of a typewriter or even with notebook and pen. I suggested she might be writing children's books. It made sense to me; if anyone should know children... bambu345 had a better idea. She suggested Molly was, in fact, writing Mills & Boon type smut, with scantily dressed male models on the covers.

Somehow we got onto what Molly's reaction would be if her latest smutty blockbuster arrived from the publishers with a familiar looking gentleman on the front cover and from that idea, developed a series of letters passing between Hermione and Charlie, where Bambu wrote Hermione's POV and I wrote Charlie's. Then, there came a point where if we wanted to continue the story we needed to switch to a narrative viewpoint, so we did.

It hasn't been beta-ed. I know there's an occasional typo in some of them, but they were really just done for fun. These entries were copied straight to the site from the ones that were originally posted in the LJ community Bambu_Tales that we set up as this story's first home.

Yes, they start out short but they get longer...

And I decided to tweak this one a bit.

Book Cover by Bambu from Art by Liquidd

"Ooh!" said Molly as she opened the box containing a dozen complementary copies of her latest novel. She gave the sort of smile that she normally reserved for her husband when they were alone as she assessed the muscular torso that decorated the front cover of the books. "Look, Arthur! The model has a burn on his left shoulder just like that one Charlie has. You know, with that colouring, if he didn't have that huge dragon tattoo over his whole back, it almost could be Charlie."

"Now, Molly dear-" began her husband.

Molly took one look at his sheepish expression and exploded. "Tell me that you weren't about to say your son has a tattoo!"

"Molly, you must have known. Last summer when he was visiting... Remember he jumped if anyone even touched his back?" Arthur cautiously suggested.

Molly drew in a deep breath through clenched teeth, her bosom lifting and her face turning purple. "He told me that he had sunburn!" she enunciated icily.

Earlier Book Covers

Blurbs and Artwork by Bambu

Molly Weasley's first book, A Kiss of Forgiveness, was written shortly after Ron jilted Hermione and disappointed his family, his friends, and his fiancée.

Working out her frustrated dreams, Molly created Mary Mustela, and used quill, ink and parchment to fix her youngest son's life.

When Ralph Stuart suffers cold feet a week before his wedding to Elizabeth Blake, he breaks her heart. Will she ever speak to him again? Can their love overcome his fears?

For Mary Mustela's sophomore effort, she gives her readers the brilliant first-year mediwitch, Helen Farmer. Helen meets Fritz Smythe during her rotation on the long-term Spell Damage ward at St. Mungo's. Merely a good Samaritan during the Battle for Hogsmeade, fun-loving Fritz had been struck by a Consumption Curse while assisting first and second years' in their escape from the beleaguered school. Can Helen find a cure for Fritz before his time runs out? Or will their weekends in Cornwall be the only happiness for them?

FYI, just in case you're trying to match sibling to protagonist, Fritz is a nickname for the original Germanic Friederich of which Frederick is an English derivative. ::grins::

Continuing with the book theme; here is the cover for Mary Mustela's third book.

Tor Pellenor's ambition required a wife. His friend, Charlotte Squire, had recently suffered a broken heart and vowed never to find herself in such a position again. Surely they could survive a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience. Or is it possible they will discover that the road to political success isn't nearly as dangerous as the one where their hearts choose to lead?

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet 's Sunday Literary Section:

For those fans who wished she wrote faster, Mary Mustela has delivered her fourth effort, thereby proving she is no longer the new girl on the Alley. Said in Jest sizzles. Not only is the romance enticing, but the plot is riveting. Mustela has blended an MLE procedural with romance, and done it beautifully.

Michael Moriarty is a successful Charms expert, who has left a string of broken hearts behind him. When he turns up as a suspect in a Dark Arts investigation, Auror Rebecca Smithwyck ignores Moriarty's irrepressible enthusiasm. But Charms aren't his only appeal, behind the glib facade lurks a formidable intelligence, and Rebecca struggles to ignore the sparks which threaten to ignite between them as she doggedly tracks her culprit. Ultimately, with a little Charm from Moriarty, she solves her case and gets her man.

This is definitely a book to own.

In order to give credit where credit is due, the jester image comes from the British Costumer's Association

Excerpt from the back cover of Pharaoh's Curse : Grieving widower, Patrick O'Shaugnessy, accepts the first overseas curse-breaking assignment he can find. A newly discovered tomb in Egypt is far from where his heart is buried in Scotland, and the extraordinary layers of Dark Arts wards are the most challenging of his career. When a new Arithmancer arrives on site, Patrick looks forward to comparing notes with highly respected Alex Tennant, but when he discovers Alex is really Alexandra, Patrick is less than pleased. Can they see past their differences to discover the identity of the mummy, or will curses designed by a four-thousand-year-old wizard defeat their efforts to uncover the truth?

The Daily Prophet 's Book Review had this to say: Mustela has managed that rarest of literary achievements, she has risen above her genre. In her most recent venture, Pharaoh's Curse , readers will burn the midnight oil to read this book in one sitting. Although the UST between her protagonist and his quite obvious romantic interest is deftly wrought and will please her romance readers, her lush story-telling elevates it from the realm of romantic pabulum. The setting for her story is captivating, and the author paints the exhilarating and gritty reality of living on an archaeological dig. There is a mystery to solve, curses to break, and Mustela delivers a subtle paradigm-shifting theory of early Egyptian culture. All is not what it seems.