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Markelle Grabo

@markellegrabo

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author of 🌈 fairy tales
THE REDWOOD BARGAIN
CALL FORTH A FOX
📍chicago area, @hamlinemfac alum
rep: Tricia Lawrence @aevitas_creative

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It's her season! 🌿

Fall is an excellent time to read my sapphic gothic fairy tale THE REDWOOD BARGAIN and I've got three events lined up in her honor.

Swipe for more details about my @chicagopubliclibrary event with @k.ancrum and @bydonmartin and to see what seasonal activities I've been up to lately.

More info about Books by the Banks to come!!

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Keywords: fall reads, Halloween reads, gothic fantasy, gothic romance, botanical fantasy, YA fantasy, sapphic romance, author events, book signing. by @markellegrabo

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8 hours ago

Happy bi awareness week and bi visibility month! Both my fairy tales, Call Forth a Fox and The Redwood Bargain, feature bi main characters, plus there's a supporting bi character in FOX.

While I don't believe queer characters need a reason to exist on the page, I did write my bi characters for specific craft reasons.

🦊 In Call Forth a Fox, Ro's bi identity helps her navigate the faerie curses she's trying to break. She refuses to "pick a side" or established path, choosing the less obvious path of nonviolence, progress, and care for all over tradition and conflict. And through her character, I bring the queer subtext of the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale, "Snow White and Rose Red", to the surface.

🌿 In The Redwood Bargain, Katrien has learned to hide her bi identity in order to survive life as an orphan and indentured servant. But life is more than survival. As she prepares to spend seven years as the captive of a forest creature, she realizes that denying herself, even for "good" reasons, hasn't given her strength. Instead, she finds strength in her sapphic romance with Lady Zaviera, in repairing her relationship with her cousin, and accepting that you can't (and shouldn't try to) control everyone and every situation.

Bi books | bi characters | bi romance | fairy tale retellings | cozy fantasy | gothic fantasy | ya fantasy by @markellegrabo

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a month ago

Add a little fairy tale magic to your Sapphic September TBR ✨️

Swipe through for more about my books + the sapphic reads I've been loving this year. And catch me September 12 at the Meet Me On North Romance Book Crawl in Milwaukee, WI!

🌿 THE REDWOOD BARGAIN is my sapphic gothic fairy tale about a kitchen maid named Katrien who agrees to pose as her lord's stepdaughter in a bargain with a dangerous forest creature, but matters are complicated when she falls in love with the very lady she's meant to impersonate. Downton Abbey x the Brothers Grimm x The Haunting of Bly Manor.

🦊 CALL FORTH A FOX is my cozy sapphic retelling of "Snow White and Rose Red" about a girl named Ro who saves a fox from a bear, only for the bear to turn into a boy with no memory of who he is; all he knows is that he must kill the fox. Ro vows to break his faerie curse to make her forest safe again (and begins a sweet romance with a local village girl, who just might be involved with faeries too).

Sapphic romance | fairy tale retellings | gothic fantasy | cozy fantasy | YA fantasy | book recs | fall reads | bi books | botanical fantasy by @markellegrabo

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a month ago

We are so excited to announce that Markelle Grabo will be at Ink & Ivy Book Boutique for a book signing on October 18th, 2026 from 1-3pm!

Looking for your next fall read? Check out The Redwood Bargain by Markelle Grabo!

“Downton Abbey meets the Brothers Grimm in this gothic fairy tale featuring a lush upstairs/downstairs sapphic romance.”

See you there! 🍂

#booksigning #markellegrabo #indiebookstores #localbookstore #madisonwisconsin taken in Ink & Ivy Book Boutique by @markellegrabo

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14 days ago

TOMORROW!! Find me and my romantic fairy tales in Wauwatosa, WI at the Meet Me On North Romance Book Crawl!

📍 My signing table will be in the Wauwatosa Public Library. Purchase copies of my books right there from the onsite vendor, @thewellreddamsel

🌿 The Redwood Bargain: a lush, gothic fairy tale that's Downton Abbey meets the Brothers Grimm, featuring slow burn sapphic romance and botanical fantasy.

🦊 Call Forth a Fox: a cozy sapphic twist on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Snow White and Rose Red" featuring faeries, sweet sapphic romance, and a cottagecore setting.

Last year's crawl was amazing and I know this one will be too. Hope to see you there! 💕 by @markellegrabo

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a month ago

Help us celebrate the release of Hocus Pocus Handbook and join us for a sit down Q+A with author @ann_aguirre_author hosted by The Well Red Damsel!

Ann will be joined in conversation with @markellegrabo !

Eventbrite tickets are required.

📅 September 4, 2026 from 6:30pm to 8pm
📍The Well Red Damsel, 6429 W North Ave, Wauwatosa WI 53213

About Hocus Pocus Handbook :

From NYT bestselling author Ann Aguirre comes a cozy fae fantasy romance featuring a sunshine-shadow slow burn, a grumpy-but-secretly-tender love interest, an unforgettable found family, and a world lush with wildcraft magic. Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries.

Thea Winter didn’t choose to be a changeling ― stolen from the mortal world as a baby, raised in the wildlands by a hobgoblin named Mudge who taught her everything worth knowing. How to read the weather in a crow’s wing. How to barter with brownies. How to stay alive in a world of capricious fae courts. What Mudge couldn’t teach her was how to stay out of trouble. Which is why she’s entangled in a objectionable marriage of convenience.

Or would be, but her spouse bolted. Now she has to hunt down Devan J. Fenelon, but she’s been saddled with a taciturn, humorless hunter known as Winter’s Hound. He answers only to his cousin, and she’s not looking forward to this quest at all.

Kerboros has survived the Winter Court by being exactly what they made him: relentless, invisible, and careful never to want anything at all. His life is an endless series of ceaseless commands from his reprehensible cousin, Lord Liskaal. Since his father’s failed rebellion, Kerboros has been permitted to survive only as an example to others, an object lesson as to how far one may fall. But traveling with Thea―wild, warm, impossible Thea―is a glorious torment for an enforcer who has never known freedom.

She is sunshine. He is shadow.

Their love is forbidden, but when irresistible force sweeps up an immovable object, the resulting reaction might be magical… taken in The Well Red Damsel by @markellegrabo

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2 months ago

Life lately! From amazing book events and weekend adventures to great films and chill time with my cats, I've spent the summer so far trying to unplug and enjoy.

And right now I'm taking a much needed break from book promo, but I'll be back later this month with a bunch of fun fall events to share. Stay tuned 🌿

Had a blast @yamidwest in July! Loved every panel I was part of (was surrounded by so many brilliant authors and friends) and it was amazing to meet so many readers and lovers of fairy tales.

Thanks @andersonsbookshop for hosting such a great YA focused event year after year. 💕

Return trip to the Smithsonian Zoo to see my favorite pandas.

Also at the Smithsonian Zoo, an adorable baby elephant!

Tiki drinks on the DC wharf.

The most delicious crab legs enjoyed (more like devoured) right on the wharf.

Had a great book signing at @bnoakparkil to celebrate the new store.

Returned to one of my favorite B&Ns, @bnwickerpark, for an incredible signing during Lollapalooza weekend. (Car traffic was terrible, but the foot traffic was fabulous).

Thieving whiskey straight from the barrel in Shelbyville, Kentucky!

As big whiskey fans, our second trip to the Kentucky bourbon trail was an absolute delight.

Gorgeous waterfall hike near Frankfort, Kentucky.

Signed copies of Call Forth a Fox and The Redwood Bargain @anovelromancebookstore 💕

Saw The Odyssey in its most perfect form, IMAX 70mm!

Kava being greedy about the new catnip snakes.

Matcha presenting me with an offering (toy shark). by @markellegrabo

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2 months ago

Matcha turned 8 yesterday! 🎉

Every day I am grateful for her sweetness, her silliness, her resilience in the face of a very obnoxious brother, and her endlessly calm and comforting presence.

Swipe for a few baby pics and some highlights from the last year!

#nebelung #nebelungsofinstagram #nebelungcat #sheltercat #birthdaycat

Matcha's first night home after we picked her up from the shelter. I can't believe how tiny she was!

Sadly, the cardinal toy has long been retired, but at least I still have this sweet photo.

Matcha has always known how to pose!

Proud of Matcha for asserting her dominance more with Kava this past year! She used to give up the prized sleeping spots but now she fights for them.

She's beautiful and she knows it.

When the food is late, the cats turn on spooky ghost mode.

Too snuggly to resist.

Morning stretches on top of the fridge.

Their relationship is evolving, slowly but surely! by @markellegrabo

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3 months ago

Where to find me this Saturday at YA Midwest, a book fest for YA readers hosted by @andersonsbookshop at Metea Valley High School in Aurora, IL!

I'll be part of 3 panels chatting about my latest novel, The Redwood Bargain, a gothic fairy tale retelling ft. upstairs/downstairs sapphic romance. Then I'll be signing with all YAM authors to close out the day.

Tickets still available from @yamidwest

#theredwoodbargain #gothicfantasy #sapphicromance #queerYA #YAbooks by @markellegrabo

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3 months ago

The closest these two frenemies will ever get to snuggling. But I take what I can get!

Honestly I'm surprised Kava is allowing Matcha to have the scratcher bed. That's a sign of real growth from him. 👏

#catsofinstagram #nebelungcat #siberianforestcat by @markellegrabo

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3 months ago

Calling all Chicagoland YA readers! The YA book event of the summer is back! 📖☀️

Join four of our talented Page Street YA authors at YA Midwest Book Fest on Saturday, July 25th in Aurora, Illinois! Catch Brianna Jett, Don Martin, Markelle Grabo, and Michelle Kulwicki on panels such as “Character Development”, “Lion, and tigers, and dragons… OH MY”, “Heated Rivalries” and “A Whole New Retelling.” Learn about writing, publishing, and all things YA straight from your favorite authors. 📚

🌿See the full lineup of author panels at at andersonsbookshop.com

✨Grab your tickets now at the link in @yamidwest’s bio! by @markellegrabo

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3 months ago

Upcoming book events through September 🌿

So excited to be returning to both YA Midwest and the Meet Me On North Romance Book Crawl this year! More details on where to find me to come, but I'll be on 3 panels for YA Midwest with a signing to follow, and if you want to secure copies of my fairy tale retellings for the romance book crawl, you can preorder them individually or as a bundle from The Well Red Damsel.

Thanks @andersonsbookshop @thewellreddamsel and @mkebooksbeers for the invites 💕

And if a festival isn't your thing, you can also find me at B&N table signings across the Chicago area!

#theredwoodbargain #callforthafox #midwestauthor #booksigning #bookfestival by @markellegrabo

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3 months ago