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The Enchanted Times has previously featured the stunning artwork of Holly Mitchell in issue #3 (Red Riding Hood) and the editor is delighted to announce a collaboration which will see further exclusive illustrations for selected future Enchanted Times feature stories.

An Enchanted Times special edition is scheduled for release in 2012.  In the meantime, see left and below for a preview of some of the enchanting artwork to come:
the Frog Prince and the Pied Piper.

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The Enchanted Times is proud to announce that the Goblin Marketeers is sponsored by Enchanted Times Mini and thus has been designated its own page for further information and updates.  Click here for details of how to join and a rundown of membership benefits.

In Enchanted Times Mini #2.5 vol ii an extended editorial examines the question of whether or not the Gingerbread Man’s reputation as a potential psychopathic killer has any founding in reality,  the CoCo‘s practice of rehabilitating escaped Gingerbread Men, and the growing March ‘monopoly’.  In addition, this issue includes a voucher for the reader to claim a FREE (+ postage) sachet of Fast-As-You-Can CoCo Cocoa! A homicidal gingerbread reading list is also provided.

Whatever conclusions you draw after reading this issue, please remember to always approach any baked goods with extreme caution, for your own safety.

See the Etsy listing for additional pictures and further information.

• the long-awaited announcement of the Prince’s engagement
• the first public appearance of the bruised Princess
• an emerging trend amongst fashionable youngsters
• a warning from the Enchantments Protection Agency regarding a proliferation of blemish agents on the Black Marketplace
• a few words with the Queen’s Gardener about varieties of Pea

See the Etsy listing for additional pictures and further information.

The first initiative is a mere broadening of scope, as for the first time, ER postage stamps are made available to the wider provinces and across borders into the ‘real world’. Generously priced at only half a Wish per stamp, a single stamp guarantees delivery from any land within the Enchanted Realms to any other land within the Enchanted Realms. EEMS advises that due to time in the Real World being measured by methods incompatible to those within the Enchanted Realms, Real World customers should make a full Wish (2 stamps) to ensure timely delivery of their correspondence, in addition to any legal postage requirements within country of origin.

The first EEMS issue will not be available to Real World customers as single stamps, but only as mini-sheet sets. This is due to cross-border export/import duties, the cost of which is off-set slightly by imposing a minimum purchase quantity requirement. However, the mini-sheets offer a degree of flexibility for both the casual correspondent and the collector. The first issue comprises four different designs which will be available as single-design mini-sheets, or as a mixed set (artist’s mock-up shown above; final released design may vary slightly). Each mini sheet also includes a sample Inspection label, to ensure correspondence meets the stringent requirements of the Correspondence Assured Delivery Treaty, and a sample EEMS postmark.

The second new initiative introduces an issue of potentially greater controversy: EEMS have developed 2 of the new postage stamp designs in conjunction with sponsors (who may be familiar to readers of the Enchanted Times – Truth-Be-Told Mirrors and the Fast-As-You-Can Weight Loss Co.). EEMS claims this move, though essential, is a ‘one-off’ gambit, in order to finance their enhanced distribution model (see above) – which in turn they hope will negate the need for additional ad revenue with regard to future issues.  Respectfully, the Enchanted Times feels that this is possibly a naive view from such a major player in Inter-Realm commerce, and feels that carefully chosen sponsorship deals may make or break the continued existence of Enchanted Express Mail Services, given the current economic climate of the Enchanted Realms. As strong supporters of EEMS, the Enchanted Times urges those in management to make whatever decisions are necessary to allow continuation of those services provided.  As the only courier service offering complete protection under the Correspondence Assured Delivery Treaty, the Enchanted Times also urges all consumers to remain loyal to the long-established EEMS institution rather than be swayed by the ever-swelling ranks and false promises of numerous non-regulated fly-by-night messengers.

EEMS do not currently have their own website, but information regarding Enchanted Express Mail Services, new postage stamp issues and other related news items will shortly be available through a portal page within the Enchanted Times journal (online). Further details to follow.

The postcard was delivered with words deleted using marker pen, in a packet inspected and labelled in accordance with the Correspondence Assured Delivery Treaty. An additional leaflet was enclosed, outlining the specific laws (by Royal Decree) that the postcard message was allegedly in breach of.

The Enchanted Times considers it has a duty to the public of our Enchanted Realms to make the actions of these corrupt City bureaucrats as widely known as possible, therefore a limited number of facsimile postcard/leaflet sets has been curated by the E.T. to illustrate the problem.

Please visit the TangleCrafts Etsy Store for further details & to claim your own facsimile postcard packet!

This mini notebook is available as part of a set, also including the RatCatcher of Hamelin mini-zine previously issued as a preview of the story which appeared in Enchanted Times #3. Visit the TangleCrafts Etsy Store for your own Pied Piper Packet!

A follow-up to this story will be featured in the next full-size edition of ET, publication date to be confirmed.  A print edition of ET #3.5 is now available for purchase in the TangleCrafts Etsy Store, featuring advertisements from our sponsors (including the Midas Touch Boutique & Rumpelstiltskin Registry of Re-Identification) as well as a special offer DIY weaving loom from Nettled-No-More weavers.  Print editions of ET #3.5 are printed on recycled paper embedded with flecks of golden straw.