Books like twice upon a time

James Michael Riley (born May 9, 1977) is an American novelist, most famous for the fantasy series Story Thieves. His other works include the Half Upon a Time trilogy and the Revenge of Magic series. All nine of his novels have been published by Aladdin, an imprint owned by Simon & Schuster.

James Riley was born in Connecticut on May 9, 1977. He majored in English at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Before becoming a writer, he considered a career as an attorney, worked as a travel editor, and worked at Disney. In 2014, he moved from Los Angeles, California to Virginia.

James Riley's first published novel, Half Upon a Time, was released on September 7, 2010. It is a fantasy novel centered around a boy named Jack, the fictional son of the main character from the children's story Jack and the Beanstalk, and a girl named May who is from our nonfictional world. The novel incorporates plot points from various Brothers Grimm fairy tales, including Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. This is Riley's first story centered around the idea that the fictional and nonfictional worlds are connected, a common theme in his first eight novels.