‘Pepelina, The Slavic Cinderella’ follows an aspiring writer who, after the death of her father, is silenced and rejected, but she goes on a transformative journey with a story that can either bring destruction or peace.

‘I will punish you with something you hate the most. I do it so you will never disobey me again. If you wish to eat your golden bar and fill your stomach with magic and kindness, then do it. Eat it before the worms do.’

But why? Why be so cruel? I tried to do something nice for you, thought Pepelina.

Stepmother walked away and Pepelina went to the compost pile. The crispy golden shell of the bar lay broken, its beauty crushed but still present in pieces. In the midday icy sun, shredded colorful vegetables glinted as colorful jewels begging to be collected.

For the rest of the day, Pepelina picked every pastry crumb and every vegetable from the compost pile. She worked against nausea in her stomach, and though she was close to vomiting many times, she did not stop until she collected all the pieces. She still believed in the magic of the crumbs and the shredded vegetables, but she decided not to eat it. Instead, she put everything in a small glass jar.

Next day, stepmother ordered her to prepare sour cabbage rolls. Pepelina wanted to beg stepmother not to do this, but she knew there was no point. With no other choice, Pepelina moved hundreds of cabbage heads to the basement. She cleaned and trimmed the hard hearts. Then, she filled the cabbage roots with salt, opened wooden barrels, filled them with water and sprinkled salt. Sweat dripped down her forehead but there was no rest. Finally, she placed the cabbage in the barrels and put a heavy rock and covered them with brine. Once she covered the barrel with a wooden lid, she felt relieved that everything was over.

Excerpt From

Pepelina, The Slavic Cinderella

Written By Mary-Anne Frost

Pepelina is a young storyteller who writes stories in her father’s orchard. When her father dies, her writing heals her grief. Still, stepmother mocks her, burns her stories and forbids her to write. Desperate, Pepelina goes to the ball where she hands her story to the dream publisher who only wants to control her.
Wounded and rejected, Pepelina kneels in the ashes of her failures. The literary villains close in on her world with their many demands. Her only chance to write her way out of the ashes lies in the wings of fire, wings that can fan out the flames of a story powerful enough to break or heal the world.
This is a tale of literary slipper that fits one, befits many, and outfits any.

Book also available on Amazon, Kobo, Booktopia, Dymocks etc.

Mary-Anne Frost is a writer of fantasy stories and fairytale retellings. Born in Croatia, her love for stories started with her great-grandmother who told oral stories. Mary-Anne studied literature at University of Western Australia and completed various writing courses with Australian Writers Centre. She performed as oral storyteller at Perth Festival in 2025. Her stories are magical and empowering, rooted in folklore but blended with feminist experience. She lives in Perth and writes with her feline baby Felix.

Text and images © Mary-Anne Frost