Ring of Wishes

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my millennia of observing mortals, it’s that love is more powerful, and more enduring, than anything else on Earth, or in heaven, for that matter. And life is too short not to seek it, and when it’s found it should be held onto as if your life depends on it. Because in many ways it does.” – AphroditeRosalind Douglas is a 25-year-old textbook example of “failure to launch.” She lives with her mom, is a chronic date canceller, and runs a candy-bouquet business whose primary customers are charitable friends and relatives. When her beloved grandpa Chess dies and leaves her a mysterious, highly valuable ring from the fourth century BC, she quickly discovers that her inheritance contains much more than sentiment: namely, a goddess.Aphrodite, goddess of love, who has taken up residence inside the artifact, fancies herself the Olympian version of Aladdin’s genie. The goddess will grant whoever is in possession of the ring three wishes, which can encompass everything from fame and wealth to miraculous physical and emotional healing, the latter of which Rosalind and her family desperately need.Rosalind’s mom, Joan, and Rosalind’s two older sisters could use a wish-granting genie or two. Joan has been suffering silently from depression ever since her husband died of cancer three years ago. Joan is weary. Weary of going through the motions every day, and weary of making excuses for Rosalind, who just can’t seem to get her act together.Rosalind’s sister, Ginger, is thirty-two and unmarried, and tired of complete strangers finding that so hard to believe. At the same time, she’s painfully aware that the reason she despises questions about her relationship status is because she longs for the rock-solid, till-death marriage her parents had. After Rosalind is given Chess’s strange gold ring, Ginger’s disapproval of Rosalind’s lifestyle edges toward full-blown resentment and jealousy. Ginger works hard, at a real job. She’s reliable, disciplined, and self-sacrificing. When will she finally gain the recognition and sense of fulfillment she’s certain she deserves?Rosalind’s other sister, Mae, has a full-time job, two small children, and is recently divorced. Her ex, Campbell, had an affair with their hairstylist and then married the woman one week after the divorce was finalized. Mae is still secretly in love with Campbell, which she absolutely hates herself for; she had assumed that, given enough time, her anger toward Campbell would morph into hatred, and she’d cease feeling like the composure and strength she labored to project for her children’s sake was a complete charade. On top of her current state of aimlessness and grief, Mae can’t help but feel snubbed by their grandpa Chess. Why couldn’t he have seen that if any of his granddaughters needed a valuable ring, it was Mae, not Rosalind?The truth behind Chess’s reasons for bequeathing the ring to Rosalind may be a mystery to his family, but it’s no secret to Aphrodite. As the world’s foremost expert on the virtue—nay, the incomparable force—of love to transform and often save us, she’s taken a special interest in the fate of the Douglas women. Will the ring of wishes prove to be a blessing in disguise, or a Pandora’s box?Ring of Wishes is a witty, warm, family-affirming story that sparkles with the magic of Greek mythology.