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A ‘Beyond the Glass Slipper’ Enchanted Conversation Writing Contest
Over at Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine, Editor and Publisher Kate Wolford is holding a very special writing contest: the submissions must be inspired by one of the ten fairy tales found within her recent nonfiction collection Beyond the Glass Slipper: Ten Neglected Fairy Tales To Fall In Love With.
Kate Wolford writes: “Since Beyond the Glass Slipper was conceived, nearly a year ago, I’ve been hoping that the stories in the book would eventually inspire writers and poets. I thought long and hard about how to achieve that, and holding a contest seemed like the best way to accomplish the goal.” More…
While all the fairy tales themselves are available online from Project Gutenberg and the like, Beyond the Glass Slipper provides context for the tales, as well as research and questions posed by Wolford herself — not to mention suggested story prompts for “The Nixy,” “The Soldier and the Vampire,” “The Three Pennies,” “Fairy Gifts,” “The Loving Pair,” “The Dirty Shepherdess,” “Gifts of the Little People,” “The Blue Light,” “King Pig,” and “Kisa the Cat.”
Find out more about the contest and pick up your copy of Beyond the Glass Slipper in ebook or paperback:
Read the digital edition for $5.99 from these ebook retailers:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Read the trade paperback for $9.95 from these and other retailers:
Amazon
Announcing: Tempting Fate (novella in the Fate of the Gods series)
Chicago, IL (May 14, 2013) – World Weaver Press (Eileen Wiedbrauk, Editor-in-Chief) has announced Tempting Fate by Amalia Dillin, a new novella in the “Fate of the Gods” series will be released in ebook on Tuesday, August 13, 2013.
Mia’s lived in her sister’s shadow long enough. Now that Abby is getting married to a Frenchman, Mia scents freedom. In fact, Jean DeLeon, the groom’s too-charming cousin, seems like the perfect place to start. But the House of Lions is full of secrets, and what started out as an exciting fling is quickly becoming more frustration than fun. Mia wants answers, or she wants out, and it isn’t like she doesn’t have other options. Ethan Hastings, for example. Tall, handsome, and gray eyes like nothing she’s ever seen before. The fact that Jean seems to hate him is just a bonus.
(This novella takes place during the events of Forged by Fate.)
Tempting Fate will be available in ebook via amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, kobo.com, and other online retailers. You can also add Tempting Fate to your Goodreads‘ lists right now!
Praise for Forged by Fate, first in the Fate of the Gods series:
“You won’t be able to deny that Miss Dillin is a genius … This story was absolutely amazing. It’s like nothing I’ve read before … a complete game changer.”
— Parajunkee
“A beautiful, sweeping story…I couldn’t put it out of my mind for days.”
— Trisha Leigh, author of The Last Year series
“Amalia Dillin is a fresh, exciting voice and Forged by Fate is not to be missed!”
— Saranna DeWylde, author of the 10 Days series
Dark and Bookish Launches Phase One Fundrasing
The Dark and Bookish Tour promises to be one hell of a ride. Several months ago we were approached by the tour — they were looking for small presses who were doing interesting stuff with speculative fiction to be part of a documentary about the current era of publishing. Oh yeah, we wanted to help wrangle and ride that pony. Today Dark and Bookish crowdfunding starts. We hope you’ll take a look and become a part of this bookish documentary.
From the campaign site:
Dark and Bookish – Authors’ Tour and Documentary – Summer 2014
Struggling writers, small presses, independent bookstores, conventions, and the modern era of publishing.
There is a very interesting story to be told here. This tour and an accompanying documentary will attempt to open up this world of horror writing and speculative fiction publishing in the current age of writing and reading.
The Idea:
5 authors are featured on a summer 2014 tour across the United States followed by a documentary crew. The tour promotes for the authors and publishers while serving as a stage for exploring the worlds of small authors, small publishers, and small bookstores.
The tour would cover approximately 30 days from the beginning of June through possibly mid July of 2014. The tour would cover 8-10 cities including 4-5 horror, sci fi, and general fandom conventions. The tour would include events at local, independent bookstores in the convention cities and in cities in between conventions. There would be 5 featured authors traveling for the entire tour with guest authors included for short stints or single events. The documentary, Dark and Bookish, will focus on struggling/ rising authors in the horror and speculative fiction genre, the work and struggles of small presses within these genre, and the experiences and struggles of independent bookstores within the current age of publishing.
This campaign will be phase one of multiple phases to fund the tour and the documentary.
What You Get:
You are onboard for the ride. In addition to the perks you select, you will be a part of the experience including updates before, during, and after the actual filming. The Dark and Bookish channel on YouTube will provide a picture into the lives of many authors in this world of publishing.
The Dark and Bookish Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/DarkAndBookish
You will also be connected to the authors and publishers involved in this project. You will see the lives and stories unfold through the process along with the finished product of the documentary.
There is an interesting story to be told about the people and publishers producing dark fiction for readers today.
The funding for this phase will be focused on Convention costs, travel expenses, and lodging for the authors on the tour. Future phases will address costs of the documentary crew, filming, post production, distribution, and travel costs to conduct interviews with other authors and publishers. Read the rest of this entry
Announcing: Heir to the Lamp
Chicago, IL (May 8, 2013) – World Weaver Press (Eileen Wiedbrauk, Editor-in-Chief) has announced Heir to the Lamp by Michelle Lowery Combs, a new YA novel and first in the “Genie Chronicles” will be released in trade paperback and ebook on Tuesday, July 16, 2013.
Wiedbrauk commented, “Heir to the Lamp is smart and fun. At the younger end of YA fiction, it’s great to watch the main character, Ginn, explore her powers as a djinn as she struggles to find herself as a young woman.”
A family secret, a mysterious lamp, a dangerous Order with the mad desire to possess both. Ginn used to think she knew all there was to know about how she became adopted by parents whose #1 priority is to embarrass her with public displays of affection, but that changes when a single wish starts a never-ending parade of weirdness marching through her door the day she turns thirteen. Gifted with a mysterious lamp and the missing pieces from her adoption story, Ginn tries to discover who … or what … she really is. That should be strange enough, but to top it off Ginn’s being hunted by the Order of the Grimoire, a secret society who’ll stop at nothing to harness the power of a real genie. Ginn struggles to stay one step ahead of the Grimms with the help of Rashmere, Guardian of the lamp and the most loyal friend a girl never knew she had. The Grimms are being helped, too–but by whom? As much as she doesn’t want to, Ginn’s beginning to question the motives of her long-time crush Caleb Scott and his connection to her newest, most dangerous enemy.
Heir to the Lamp will be available in ebook and trade paperback. You can add Heir to the Lamp to your Goodreads ”to-read” list right now.
Michelle Lowery Combs is an award-winning writer and book blogger living in rural Alabama with her husband, one cat and too many children to count. She spends her spare time commanding armies of basketball and soccer munchkins for the Parks & Recreation departments of two cities. When not in the presence of throngs of toddlers, tweens and teens, Michelle can be found neglecting her roots and dreaming up the next best seller. She is a member of the Alabama Writers’ Conclave, Jacksonville State University’s Writers’ Club and her local Aspiring Authors group. You can find her online at MichelleLoweryCombs.com, Facebook, Twitter @miclowery77, Google+, and on her blog Through the Wormhole: Confessions of a Bookworm.
Praise for Wolves and Witches
Witches have stories too. So do mermaids, millers’ daughters, princes (charming or otherwise), even big bad wolves.
“Once I began to read this collection, I couldn’t stop. Just as with those secretive princesses with their silken slippers gone to shreds, I danced among these pages until dawn!”
—Terrie Leigh Relf, Illumen
“Wolves and Witches is a fabulous collection of re-imagined fairy tales. I made the mistake of starting it late one evening and couldn’t go to sleep until I had read it all. With their dark prose and evocative poetry these sisters have done the Brothers Grimm proud.”
—Rhonda Parrish, Niteblade Fantasy and Horror Magazine
“Dark and delicious revenge-filled tales! I Highly Recommend this fun and small collection of short stories.”
—Fangs, Wands & Fairy Dust.
“Davis and Engelhardt’s Wolves and Witches: A Fairy Tale Collection is a joy, start to finish. At times eloquent, at times written in a bare-bones style, this collection of verse and prose takes familiar fairy tales and turns them into something darker, deeper, and delicious. My very heart was stolen by a cobbler with a bad leg. That’s good storytelling.”
—Mercedes M. Yardley, Author of Beautiful Sorrows
“Sisters Amanda C. Davis and Megan Engelhardt are the female Brothers Grimm.”
—K. Allen Wood, Shock Totem
“In their collection of re-envisioned fairy tales, Wolves and Witches, Amanda C. Davis and Megan Engelhardt deliver an assortment of poetry and short fiction that entertains the ear and tickles the mind. The prose is assured, clever, and insightful, and the stories, which often experiment with perspective, dance from the page.”
—Stephen Ramey, author of Glass Animals, and editor for the Triangulation anthology series from Parsec Ink
“It’s in the details that Davis and Engelhardt get you. I don’t know if it’s love or obsession or maybe just succumbing to the spell, but what stays with me is the tenor and texture of these tales retold — whether the fabric of a dancing shoe, the hollowness of bones in the wind, or the sharp critique of stereotyped social norms. Let yourself be enchanted and enjoy.”
—Dan Campbell, Bull Spec
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Read the digital edition for only $4.49 from these ebook retailers:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | OmniLit
Read the trade paperback edition for $7.95 from these and other online retailers:
Amazon
Open to Submissions
Happy May Day! Today marks the opening of our 2013 summer reading period for unsolicited queries of novels, novellas, and other long projects. Summer reading period will end July 31. Details.
In addition to all the details and info on the Fiction Submissions page, the editor pointed out some items that she has particular interest in seeing more of.
Today we’ll also start reading submissions for Specter Spectacular II — got that psychopomp tale ready to send? Read the rest of this entry
Broomsticks and Wolves
A review of Wolves and Witches at Twice Upon A Time. In her review, Kristina Wojtaszek writes:
“The tales are twisted– and knotted and French braided. But even more entertaining than the unexpected is the voice that carries through this book. And that is another enchantment; that two voices, those of the Sisters Grimm, can come across as one. And what a wonderful one!” Read more…
Kate Wolford discusses how she chose her Ten Neglected Tales for Beyond the Glass Slipper at On the Broomstick. Read her reasoning and see which tale almost made the cut.
“Picking the ‘right’ fairy tales for Beyond the Glass Slipper was by far one of the hardest parts of writing the book. The ten tales needed to make up an intriguing mix, be representative of a good variety of tale types, and be in public domain.” Read more…
Both Wolves and Witches and Beyond the Glass Slipper are available in ebook and paperback.
Taking the Fairy Tale Out on a Date
Mixing fairy tales and the modern woes of being a newly minted adult, Fairy Tales for Twenty-Somethings, subtitled “Because at some point Peter Pan was forced to grow up. Or at least start paying rent,” is a great humorous tumblr of illustration and vignettes. Our favorite might be Rumpelstiltskin’s social media plight.
Myth vs. Legend vs. Folklore vs. Fairy Tale. In this cage match of epic literature, we have Amalia Dillin in the corner of Mythology and taking up the mantle of Fairy Tales, Kristina Wojatszek in the other corner. A vicious battle to the dea — okay, so it’s not really a battle. Or a cage match. it’s really all quite an amicable, fascinating discussion of the intersections and diversions of the myths and fairy tales that are so embedded in our culture they might as well be in our blood. (Oh! See there will be blood!) Amalia Dillin’s Forged by Fate is a marvelous novel of mixed-mythologies, and Kristina Wojtaszek’s Opal retwists Snow White and several other fairy tales into a lyrical and beautiful fantasy.
See the Muppets reenact classic stories and fairy tales in these gorgeous illustrations by David Petersen. They actually make me quite sad that the Muppets never did a Robin Hood film. But our favorite might be the Lady of the Lake lifting Excalibur aloft to Kermit. Speaking of which — remember Shelly Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theater? Produced in the mid-80s, each meant-for-TV tale features a high profile guest actor. They weren’t actually The Muppets, but that’s okay because somehow we’ve come to associate one with the other. But what we do seem to remember quite clearly is Robin Williams giving a rather unforgettable performance as a frog.
From the Sugar House to the Magic Castle
Check out Kristina Wojtaszek’s charming interview of Elizabeth Dearnley, author of the short and stunning retelling of Hansel and Gretel, The Sugar House. Kristina Wojtaszek writes:
“The Sugar House can be found, along with a plethora of other beautifully retold fairy tales, in the new Scotland-based magazine, Far Off Places. I found Elizabeth particularly intriguing and felt, throughout our email conversations, that I could easily have been sitting down to a cup of tea, completely enthralled in Elizabeth’s tales of her own life, and the stories in her head. How could you not be charmed by a woman who wanted to grow up to be Sir Lancelot, works in the field of medieval research, and lives in London on a boat? Interested? Read on…“
Read the interview in full at Twice Upon A Time.
Eileen Wiedbrauk adores fairy tales turned into films, although they rarely seem to make her happy. On her blog Speak Coffee to Me, she shares “Thoughts on Snow White and the Huntsman or How Peter Jackson’s LOTRs has spoiled me for all other films.” Asking to add to her assessment: Read the rest of this entry
