From 2009 to 2023: "Once Upon A Blog: Fairy Tale News" is Transforming into "The Wondering"!

I see you reading the headline and thinking: "Oh no. What is going to happen to Once Upon A Blog? It's barely been functioning the last few years and now it's going to change?!" 

Don't worry. Unlike most social media "rebranding", I'm doing this the fairy tale way, and transforming the blog to be more of what I intended when I began it. 

That means I'm staying "on mission" with the Once Upon A Blog content you've followed me for, for years, while allowing myself a little more flexibility to explore other avenues of Wonder. 

You might be wondering, isn't Gypsy Thornton all about fairy tales? That's still true, but it's always been more accurate to say I am Wonder-tale-focused. I see Wonder in many places and the influence of fairy tales everywhere. If I can then share that insight and connection, and bring that Wonder into peoples' lives, it feels like I'm making a positive difference in the world. And I've found a way to have both a fairy tale hub and a way to reach out beyond that hub from time to time to spread a little Wonder wherever I go. It's the reason I've renamed the blog The Wondering.

Here is the new description:

The Wondering

Gathering the curious uses and influence of fairy tales and folklore, from pop culture, current events, and the woods beyond to bring Wonder to your doorstep.

It's been 14 years since I created Once Upon A Blog: fairy tale news and it's high time it transforms into something I had always hoped to create, as well as be a little more reflective of this post-pandemic and AI-emergent era. 

It also needs to be in a form in which I, with all that I have been through the last few years, can manage and keep active. After a good year of researching options I think I have finally found a way to do this.

The biggest differences are:

Title:

Once Upon A Blog: Fairy Tale News is now called The Wondering

The header will include a reminder that this is an updated version of Once Upon A Blog: Fairy Tale News.

Online location for new posts: 

The main new content will be published at https://medium.com/the-wondering 

While this blog, here, will remain live and available as long as technology allows, the above is the new main address. There will be occasional posts published here too, but they will most likely be quick updates, letting you know what you might have missed on the main platform.

Blog to publication: 

The blog is now officially a publication and I will be welcoming submissions from writers to be published in The Wondering, free of charge.

This also means it will function in many ways as a magazine, with the main page for The Wondering laid out as such. Each article is kept very clean, ad-free, and easy to read by Medium's uniform standards, which should make for a better reading experience, both for desktop reading and on your mobile device.

Being a publication also means other folks, who join and write on Medium - which you can do for FREE - can submit articles, reviews, and even art, short fiction, or reflective pieces to The Wondering, if they are interested. Current fairy tale news, events, and influences will be remain the priority. I remain Editor and will review all submissions (there will be guidelines to follow under the header in the coming weeks). 

I would love to build a stable of fairy tale writers and voices, to have a diverse, and regularly publishing fairy tale newsroom!

Writers will also have the opportunity, should they sign up for the Medium Partner Program, keep any benefits ($) that they may earn as a result. 

Subscribe to be sent just the free fairy tale news, or more - your choice: 

Your choices are just fairy tale news, articles and stories from The Wondering, by me and other writers whose work I publish, or to be sent everything I personally publish in any publication on Medium, as I aim to spread a little Wonder and magic around in different places, by "following my little chicken-legged mug" and subscribing to me, or subscribe to both! 

Subscribing to either or both is completely free.

Some articles in The Wondering will have a paywall but not all: 

I am still working on seeing how many pieces I can publish each week across Medium, but there will be free content every couple of weeks on The Wondering. You are welcome to just read the free stuff, or upgrade to being a Medium member for everything. 

The $5 Medium membership gives readers 100% access to ALL STORIES ACROSS THE PLATFORM - not just what you're joining for and to read the workd of whomever you join through. Medium reader memberships support every writer you read. Put very simply, if you have a membership, every writer whose articles or stories you read, benefits by you just reading through their stories. Your membership fee is distributed between the people you read.

There is a LOT of free content across Medium by individual writers and via publications of all types. From science, to film, to history, to AI, education and more, the focus of different publications range widely, and include many professional journalists. The Wondering is the only publication I am aware of that has fairy tales and fairy tale news as its focus, but there are a lot of facsinating articles and publications. Like all other publications, The Wondering will have a mix of free and subscription-access content.

What's Available To Read Right Now?

The Wondering already has four "stories" available, with more added all the time:

 - Cravings - a short story based on Rapunzel

 - What If Your Dad Is the Animal "Bride".. and More Beastly Than The Beast?  - a spoiler-free book review of "The Crane Husband" by Kelly Barnhill

 - The Black Folklorist Who Accurately Predicted the Science in Voodoo & Unearthed Tales We All Need To Hear - an expanded and updated profile and tribute to Zora Neale Hurston

 - Fairy Tales vs fAIry Tales (I)  - the first installment of a multi-part article and experiment using AI and fairy tales. (I asked ChatGPT to write me an original fairy tale, analyze it, then adapt it per the Great Fairy Tale Tradition... oof!)

And that's the news!

I hope you follow my wandering, chicken-legged coffee mug to the new site.
We'd love to see you there. 

All fairy tale readers and writers are welcome.

Small disclaimer: I am getting this up and running as quickly as possible so expect some refining of the site over the first few months to make it clearer and easier to navigate, to subscribe to the newsletter, and for potential writers to submit to, but the publication is live and active! 

Of Cancer Giants & Recovery Beanstalks (A Health Update)

Yelena Bryksenkova

Our Fairy Tale Newsroom isn't in full swing yet but we are on the tail end of two back-to-back surgeries, two hospital stays and - so far - excellent recovery on both of those counts.

Both our Editor and her husband are now officially cancer-surgery-survivors.

Doctors appointments, ongoing tests, and recovery are still very much the flavor of the day but we are slowly finding our new normal this week. News and social media appearances are likely to remain sporadic for a while but we've conquered the fearsome giant that suddenly loomed large in our lives - twice now! - these past 14 months*, and are now working on the rest of that beanstalk climb... (sometimes climbing down is more challenging than climbing up!)

To all those lovely readers who have sent healing vibes and good wishes, thank you so much. We greatly appreciate your support in these challenging times.

Sincerely,
Gypsy Thornton & Family

*14 months from our Editor's double-mastectomy, 19 months if you count from our Junior Editor's emergency apendectomy and subsequent two hospital stays early last year! We will be very happy if we never have to live at the hospital ever again.

My Fairy Tale Survival Kit For Cancer (& Other Real Life Crises) - By Gypsy Thornton

"Silence will carry your voice like the nest that holds the sleeping birds"
Text by Rabindranath Tagore, illustration from the Stray Birds series by Kuri Huang
(Artist's social media & contact details at end of post)

2018 will forever be the year in which I was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer. Having now had a double mastectomy, and continuing ongoing treatment, I can now officially say I am a breast cancer survivor.

I wish I could say I am feeling strong and confident and I have a new zest for life. Maybe that will come, if I'm lucky, but I'm certainly not there yet. I am clear, however, on one thing: fairy tales remain integral to my life; and by "life" I mean living beyond "surviving". 

Everyone's experience with cancer (and other life-threatening issues) is different but there are commonalities too, so to that end, here's my home-spun, Fairy Tale Survival Kit. I hope you find it useful.

(Note: I've included books and resources that were touchstones for me for each point. I suggest substituting resources that speak personally to you.)

My Fairy Tale Survival Kit for Cancer

(& Other Real Life Crises)

1. Be the one who learns what Fear is
      (and face it)

Fairy tale resource: Outfoxing Fear: Folktales From Around the World by Kathleen Ragan

    This book, written in direct response to the 9/11 attack in the US, and its aftermath, was especially helpful in exploring different cultural attitudes to fear and death. The tales really did have the effect of making me feel less trapped in my too-many thoughts, and eventually became a great way to talk about those specific fears with my son in a less direct way. Reading these fairy tales, especially, "grim-with-humor" stories to - and with - my son, gave us a way to talk (and think) about our very real fears without directing addressing my cancer. Seeing the way different cultures deal with various fears made us feel less isolated and encouraged us to think differently about facing our own very specific ones. Reading these tales also encouraged the first real laughter I had after my diagnosis and surgery - something vitally important to "living life beyond surviving".

2. Ask Baba Yaga to tell you her stories

       (and listen to her advice)

Fairy tale resources: Baba Yaga - The Wild Witch of the East in Russian Fairy Tales - Introduction and translations by Sibelan Forrester, with contributions by Helena Goscilo and Martin Skoro and a foreword by Jack Zipes; Ask Baba Yaga: Otherworldy Advice For Everyday Troubles by Taisia Kitaiskaia

    As regular readers here know, Baba Yaga has been a favorite of mine for many, many years, largely in part because of her primal aspect as well as her dual nature. Discussing the beautifully illustrated yet harsh stories in The Wild Witch of the East, gave my son and I something of substance to talk about that didn't feel like like a waste of suddenly-very-precious time together. They gave us a much-needed break from talking about cancer, pain, illness, doctors, hospitals, fears, and death. It was also an avenue to feel other emotions without guilt; to be shocked, disgusted and delighted, to laugh and to be real together without creating more exhaustion or focusing on very real fears. The raw yet lyrical advice to mundane and heartfelt questions in Ask Baba Yaga was another source of relief for me. The Baba's mythic (and sometimes feral) replies can be applied to an array of human experience and I found I was able to think about things I needed to in a fresh way. That different lens helped me see beyond my self-focus and not get so overwhelmed. Fairy tales tell resonant truths and offer hope for the journey. Baba Yaga makes sure you pay attention to those truths and illuminates the path with flaming skulls. It's exactly what I, and my family, needed.

3. Learn to use sleep as a weapon

       (avoiding poison apples isn't as easy as you'd think)

Fairy tale resources: Snow White variations & articles (papers, books, movies, novels & some deep thinking - Link 1 - history & Jung, Link 2 - Zipes & Tatar on the tale, Link 3 - a writer/psychologist explores problem resolving as a married Snow White, Link 4 - Novel: 'White As Snow' by Tanith Lee, Link 5 - Movie: Blancanieves (released Blu-ray/DVD 2012) directed by Pablo Berger, Link 6 - Picture Book: by Benjamin Lacombe, Link 7 - The Other Sleeping Beauty by WillowWeb)

    I quickly found there is this incredible pressure to "be an inspiring role model" when having "brave and radical surgery" (apparently a common pressure for breast cancer patients). But though I might have looked brave going into it all, I didn't feel brave. It isn't thrilling to "avoid death", it's exhausting. I couldn't do basic physical things and my brain had trouble putting the most elementary sentences together. (For a writer-reader this is very distressing!) I couldn't manage calls or visits; reading was hard; emails, news and social media were best avoided. The last thing I felt able to do was support and cheer others on, let alone write posts or a book (yes, I was asked) to "chronicle my inspiring journey". My stress was massively increased - the exact opposite situation my long-term survival is dependent on. Having also had to move house just days before the surgery, I had purposely unpacked my Snow White book collection where I could see them when I came home from hospital, to have them comfort and inspire me, to remind me to believe in new beginnings, to aim for survival despite the odds, and to have grace through it all. But I found myself returning to the image Snow Drop's death-like sleep and her lack of choice about it until that apple piece was dislodged. I knew I wouldn't be fully recovered until the cancer - and its poisonous effects - were completely gone from my body. Prior to diagnosis I was very fit and ultra-healthy (according to doctors). I had even maintained an excellent "anti-cancer" diet for many years, yet I still fell victim to the disease. Given that my chronic sleep issues and long-term stress likely had a big influence on my getting cancer in the first place, I knew I needed to fix that as a priority. Right then I gave myself permission to side step all of the pressure, build a cocoon of social silence and let myself sleep instead. Being able to think of this process as my season of hibernation and healing, so I could eventually bloom again, has truly helped change my thinking, and made it easier to get something my life depends on right now: lots of good quality, healing sleep. It's going to take a good long while, so if I don't get back to you, assume I'm sleeping... zzzz...

Note: A quick shoutout to those beyond my close family who have continued to send encouragement in many forms without pressuring me to respond over the weeks and months, especially Lisa, Louisa, Tahlia, Jack and Gina - a sincere THANK YOU to you very special people! It means more than I can say to have you be steadfast in your support despite the silence from my end. ❦

4. Know that your tale matters

       (you don't need to be a 7th son of a 7th son)

Fairy tale resource: Folk by Zoe Gilbert

     This book is in my top three of 2018. Though I'm certain I would have loved this book at any time, reading it at this crisis point was extremely helpful, and resonated right when I needed it. It reminded me that hardship doesn't mean an absence of magic and wonder. While the cycle of stories in Folk that take a generation to unfold, have as many happy endings as not, wonder infuses every mundane life and, to me, that felt both accessible and oddly reassuring. Unlike many modern reworkings of fairy tales and folklore, Folk does not continuously focus on a single person; there is no 'hero' or 'destined one'. Any one  - every one - of the community is touched by wonder - be it horrific or fantastic, no matter how long or short the life, no matter how stupid or smart, no matter how well or unwell, no matter how gifted or talented - or not. Where many retellings and collections focus on 'the special' for fairy tale and folklore to make a difference, this book focuses on ordinary people. With so much of my life having been changed and taken away, this made it feel like fairy tales were still accessible to me and that wonder is always close by.

5. Be your own fairy godmother

       (don't wait for magic to come to you)

Fairy tale resources: The Old Magic of Christmas: Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest Days of the Year by Linda Raedisch; The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury; #FolkloreThursday

   Time becomes uber-precious when Death leaves a calling card; it shifts your perspective. Getting my kid clean every day is suddenly nowhere near as important as helping him mark occasions and nurturing a 'habit of Wonder'*. I realized that paying attention to our place in the world via seasonal traditions, lore, rituals and story, helps us feel part of it. It lifts our lives out of the mediocre and shows us how we can make a difference - something I really want my son to understand. Doing this gives our story more, well, magic. But it's tough to commit to. Making magic is hard. It takes a lot of time and effort, and feels twenty-times harder when you are sick. Despite the wisdom of 'give yourself a pass this year' (advice which has great merit) I did my best to make magic this Samhain/Halloween and Christmas/Yule season for my little boy. It made me realize that even the most mundane of us, in the most undesirable situation, can work magic, if we try. While we may not be up to creating coaches out of pumpkins, just a touch of homemade enchantment can transform the world around us. It just doesn't come free. Not even the gifted get off doing magic for no price. As with most things worth doing, magic is 90% (or more) hard work. But despite the limited strength and energy dealing with cancer dishes you, it truly is worth it. My mundane 'efforts-by-human' look and feel like REAL magic, to my son but also, surprisingly, to me. Turns out, those endorphins that flood my system when I see shiny eyes taking in wonder, have a magic of their own: they're one of the best cancer fighters on the planet.

6. Look for breadcrumbs when you're lost

       (they're everywhere!)

Fairy tale resources: Firebird by Mercedes Lackey; Elemental Masters series by Mercedes Lackey (an ongoing historical-fantasy, fairy tale-based series)

    When I got my diagnosis, I found I had to make a lot of life-altering decisions (for me and my family) very quickly. To my dismay, I learned that if I didn't ask the right questions, certain things were never explained and yet it was my responsibility to figure all this out. I have spent  weeks worth of hours studying medical papers and texts, trying to understand current cancer research and my options so I can make the best decisions, but there are no right answers - or guaranteed treatment. This weighty research is hard enough pre-surgery but afterward, when treatment can get very complicated, and you have to discuss and decide while in pain, with a brain that is in an awful fog, feeling like your survival depends upon your decisions, it can drown you. I needed a brain break. At first I tried my usual route - fairy tale study and research - something I have always greatly enjoyed but instead I felt suddenly stupid, unable to concentrate and it only resulted in exacerbating my stress - I couldn't even do what I loved anymore! Disillusioned, I picked up an old fairy tale novel I had never gotten around to reading, wondering if I should donate it to a thrift store. It was an Elemental Masters novel, a series I'd always considered a light read for a younger audience, but flipping through the first few pages, something caught my eye. I was able to read and enjoy it and - surprise! - there was enough fairy tale 'meat' for me to chew on when I needed it. Even on the 'good' days, when my neurons were firing more normally, I found myself inspired to pursue plenty of research crumbs. It actually brought tears of relief to my eyes and I proceeded to hunt down others in the series and carried a book with me to every doctor's appointment so I could escape the stressy-go-round my brain would spiral into there. I would go so far as to say these books helped me find my way back to myself and my 'tell-a-tale' heart... (Heh.) Once there was a girl who never went anywhere without a book of stories in her hand. Wherever she went, she always had with her somewhere she wanted to be...***

7. Know that a leftover wing doesn't have to be a curse

       (neither do scars)

Fairy tale resource: A Wild Swan And Other Tales by Michael Cunningham, Illustrated by Yuko Shimizu

     While a double mastectomy is about more than losing body parts, what I didn't know is that it can also make you feel like an "unwoman". I never expected this. I thought the physical challenge would be the hardest part. Despite feeling very different from most folks my whole life, this was the first time I truly felt less than human. Reconstruction (a ridiculously painful, debilitating and still!-onging process of many months), seems - to me - only to underscore the fact. I finally started to find my feet again (so to speak) when I considered the little mermaid and the prince left with the wild swan's wing (note: a wild swan's wing). In Michael Cunningham's tales the characters tend toward self-indulgent victims of curses or magic; they are sad, lonely and often unable (or unwilling) to change their circumstance. The more I read, the more I found myself annoyed that the aspect of wonder each character lived with, was unappreciated, even hated. It wasn't until I came to the line in the title story of the wing curling itself on the sad prince's form that I realized I was guilty of heading down the same path.** Different may mean "something wrong" to most people, but it doesn't have to. It's taken a while but I've finally realized, with a different (to "normal") silhouette and extensive scars (outside and in) comes new opportunities - if I do something about it. I can't be the "old me". There's no going back. But the "new me" doesn't have to be tragic and feel cursed. I find I now have more realistic expectations of myself and others, but also appreciate those moments of wonder and magic much more. Maybe I'm a little distorted in form - I'm not used to it yet - but I can more easily see the wild in me now.

~ ✾ ∘ ✾ ∘ ✾ ∘ ✾ ∘ ✾ ∘ ✾ ∘ ✾ ~

My journey through these particular woods has a long way to go but I'm grateful for every step forward. Clearly my tale isn't quite done yet...

Have fairy tales ever been helpful to you in a real life crisis?

 

Note: I must include a very heartfelt "thank you" to my fairy tale friend and OUABlog's partner Tahlia Merrill, Editor-in-Chief of Timeless Tales Magazine, for keeping the blog alive the past few months. She coordinated and posted book reviews, especially of books she knew I wished to have signal-boosted, and pointed readers toward fresh fairy tale goodness in Timeless Tales Magazine and on social media so I could ignore the online world and just pay attention to my immediate one. She will continue to do so as she can manage, as I cannot guarantee any consistency of posting from my end for the quite some time, so we thank you for your patience with the random timing of posts and reviews.

All artwork in this post by Kuri Huang's Andersen's Tales for Guomai & her Stray Birds series, based on verse by Indian poet Tagore. From top to bottom including the header: 1. Stray Birds series, 2. Steadfast Tin Soldier, 3. Stray Birds series, 4. Snow Queen (1), 5. The Iron Pig, 6. Snow Queen (2), 7. The Tinderbox, 8. The Wild Swans, 9. The Little Mermaid, 10. Thumbelina

Kuri Huang - Freelance Illustrator

Official website / Behance / Tumblr / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

Available for commissions - Contact her at kurihuang3344@gmail.com

~ ✾ ∘ ✾ ∘ ✾ ∘ ✾ ∘ ✾ ∘ ✾ ∘ ✾ ~

Covers of books (and movie) mentioned:

*A 'habit of Wonder' is the best term I could think of to describe having a constant awareness of the potential of Wonder in a situation and nurturing it.                                                        ** A comment on the New York Times' printing of the title story from A Wild Swan and Other Tales (Cunningham) caught my attention and gave me excellent food for thought on this subject. I have included the relevant section below. Story at this link for context:                                 I believe the story's ending is profound: the wing has developed an autonomous nature as any unintegrated archetypal complex is prone to do. This mysterious condition is often populated with (usually hidden) evolutionary vestiges that become symbolic at best, but more commonly just uncomfortable, when, in the modern era, their significance is rendered banal by confusion and ignorance. (Excerpt from comment by BC_ OR from Portland Oregon in Oct, 2015)                                                                                                                              *** This is a paraphrase of a JK Rowling quote. Also see these other great reasons for always carrying a book.

Happy New Year 2019!

Photo by the delightful creative team of photographer Per Breiehagen,
writer Lori Evert and their daughter (and model) Anja,
of the gorgeous and lovely fairy tale-ish Wish Books (purchase HERE)

Wishing all our readers a wonderful New Year, with many new opportunites, as well as lots of new (and old) tales to share. 

We are pleased to confirm that new posts and, of course, more fairy tale news, should be coming your way more regularly starting this month!

Happy New Year fairy tale folk!

(Here is the magical trailer for The Christmas Wish, though we also love The Tiny Wish and recommend the whole series.)

Closing In On 10 Years of 'Once Upon A Blog: Fairy Tale News' & Looking To The Future

Would you believe we're closing on TEN years of Once Upon A Blog reporting fairy tale news? (Spring 2018 will be the double digit anniversary!)

As Creator and Editor of this now-gigantic, ongoing project, I feel it's about time to reassess what it is I'm doing with the blog, and how, which is what the last couple of months of quiet have been all about - making a fresh plan.

Don't worry: I'm not about to abandon my lifelong obsession love of fairy tales!

Since social media has come to dominate the scene in the past decade, however, most people are getting their news through Twitter, Facebook etc and it's pretty much impossible for a single blog to compete with that. I have also finally acknowledged that the job I created Once Upon A Blog for - to keep track of fairy tale use, news and events in our modern world - isn't needed quite so much anymore.

With so many awesome resources all over social media (and the rest of the internet) for fairy tale folk, I need to acknowledge - and be thankful - that so many others are alerting us all to what's happening. So it's time to focus the blog more on the fairy tale news, issues, books and events that truly grab my interest, instead of trying to (primarily) report news I feel the fairy tale community should know. For day to day fairy tale news and events I will focus on using social media, amping my use of Twitter (which has been fairy tale focused even longer than I've been blogging here).

(And yes, I will still be happy to promote/review books and events, both on Twitter and here in long form, as I can manage.)

I also recommend other regular stops so you can get your daily fairy tale fill. [In no particular order.]

Linking you to fairy tale goodness daily:

• Fairy Tale News (InkGypsy) on Twitter - so it's in the linky-list, yes, that's the OUABlog Twitter. I've been on Twitter a long time and my account is largely fairy tale focused, though you will see folklore, storytelling, D&D and the occasional personal post on there too. I tweet and retweet fairy tale links I want to highlight almost every day, along with folklore things and mythic and/or beautiful art
• Timeless Tales Magazine's Facebook - our ongoing partner, Tahlia Merrill and her social media wrangler, Carina Bisset, have been linking folks to fairy tale, folklore and mythic news, links and art multiple times a day (they are on Twitter too but FB is their focus), balancing articles with lovely art
• Maria Tatar's Twitter - one of the most social-media-accessible fairy tale professors around is often one of the first to link to breaking fairy tale news
• #FolkloreThursday - the hashtag on Twitter is more active than ever and growing in users all the time. While not strictly fairy tales, there's a lot of overlap and it's great for research, writing, inspiration or just bringing a bit of magic to your day. From, facts and article linking to questions and answers, it's so big that there are new #FolkloreThursday posts most days, though Thursday's use of the hashtag (wonderfully) fills pages
• Dr. Grimm on Twitter - fairy tale tweets and retweets
• Fairy Tale Papers on Twitter - university related fairy tale links and tweets - your FT study starting point on Twitter!
• Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tale & Fantasy - daily fairy tale and folklore tweets, retweets & news - a wonderfully accessible academic social media source as well

Daily folklore & mythic news, conferences, updates and inspiration, with fairy tales included:

• Terri Windling/Myth & Moor on Twitter - everything Terri links to and writes daily is worth reading!
• Linda J. Lee on Twitter - a frequent tweeter and lay-friendly fairy tale/folklore academic (note: also personal Twitter so not just FT & FL)

Note: there are MANY other accounts worth following that tweet fairy tale, folklore, myth and all forms fo inspiration. These are just the most regular of the top folks.

There are many awesome sites publishing all the time and between them all, there's almost always something new to read every day. You can check the sidebar linked list to find them! 


Regular new fairy tale short stories (multiple times a year):

• Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine - Kate Wolford remains the best regular advocate and publisher for fairy tale writers on the internet. Her new assistant Amanda Bergloff is helping her do this better than ever.
• Timeless Tales Magazine - Tahlia publishes new fairy tales and retellings, carefully selected, every second issue (with myths being the focus in between).

I'm still active on Pinterest and the Enchanted Gallery on Tumblr gets some attention every so often as well, so there's still plenty of fairy tale goodness coming at you from this corner of the web! Looking forward to connecting with even more fairy tale friends and seeing us all take our tales into the future together.

Note: All the lovely art is by Sara Kipin. The header and footer are from her tarot series and the images in the center are from the book The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo - a gorgeous and very different collection of fairy tale and folklore-based tales. The book has readers smitten and the tales have captured imaginations. Definitely one to check out!

PSA: Our Fairy Tale Newsroom's 2017 Summer Operating Schedule

Just a brief notice to let our regulars know that our Fairy Tale Newsroom will be open but not running at full capacity for the next little while.

Never fear: we will still post regularly during the week -as we can manage- from various locations.

We will resume our mostly-daily-or-more postings as soon as we all return to the OUABlog Headquarters, and our Fairy Tale News Hound is back in the office fulltime, for the per diem routine of news sourcing, sorting, researching and reporting (which we expect to coincide with the new school year/next semester commencement in late August... -ish).

Please note: Answering mail, however, is likely to be more delayed than usual.

New FT Blog: 'Fairy Tale Footnotes'

It's no secret we can barely get to most of the fairy tale news that happens every day - not even posting daily, but we persist and keep trying because we believe it's important. Occasionally we get frustrated at how behind we've gotten in sharing things our fairy tale newsroom has gotten excited about, but not been able to share, so will post a "round-up", which isn't the same, but helps - a little.

There is an aspect of being Fairy Tale News Hounds (and having a very active 'fairy tale radar') that doesn't get shared on OUABlog much, if at all, though, and that's our Fairy Tale News Hound's personal observations and notes that happen in daily life, reading and research - in other words, OUABlog isn't a personal blog, and there's a lot that's being missed because we put our energy into focusing on news and researching and writing those instead.

So, in an effort to catch more of those fairy tale thoughts, anecdotes and other interesting bits and pieces that happen between news stories, InkGypsy has started a new fairy tale journal-like blog, called Fairy Tale Footnotes. The first post (of a few) is copied above for an introduction.

(Gypsy has notebooks full of these things, and floating post-its that get lost under couches and in between bookshelves, but she's going to make an effort to put all those scribbles in this blog instead.)

To keep the pressure of posting to a minimum, the posts will be random, with no specific schedule - from multiple mini-posts a day to many days in between. Most likely they'll be fast, loose (expect typos!) and be inconsistent in format - some will be more researched while others will, perhaps, be just a line... The purpose is to mark that moment that prickled her fairy tale senses. (And put that note somewhere where she can find it again!)

We're putting it in our blogroll on the right, but if there's enough interest, Gypsy will add a subscribe button.

One thing is certain - it will be all about fairy tales. And if you like that sort of thing, you're welcome to read along. 

Back To School With Knights & Trolls

“Lena och riddaren dansa” / “ Lena dances with the knight ” Signed John Bauer and dated 1915.
Watercolour, heightening white, indian ink and pencil on paper.

It's been a little busy in our barracks! Back to school (first day yesterday) has turned out to be a busy, busy time here (!) so I apologize for missing a couple of days of news but we're working on rescheduling things so I can have dedicated fairy tale news time every day again. For the moment, enjoy some lovely artwork by one of my favorite artists: John Bauer. (Click to view at the wonderfully large size!)

The above illustration was created for W.E. Björk’s fairy tale 'Guldnycklama' In "Blan tomtar och troll" ("Among gnomes and trolls"), in 1915.

Oh yes - and it turns out my little guy does go to school with some interesting creatures!

Just Keep Swimming, Er, Riding... (Housekeeping Note)

'The Prince and the Goose Girl' by Elinor Mordaunt, illustrated by Alice & Martin Provensen

See those rider's faces above? That's pretty much ours right now. (Mine might be closer to the completely freaked out horse's face...)

We are in the midst of one of those oh-so-stressful processes: a hard drive replacement. And it's kinda tricky. I've been struggling along between a limited tablet and an extremely slow-and-prone to crashing computer, desperately trying to make sure I've gotten copies of all my important files. (What is that line about "backing-up your back-up"? Insert that one here.)

It's been teetering on the edge of oblivion and doing a great job at keeping our blood pressure on the high side but, with some fortuitous help from some very kind people (aka magicians):

• we now have the replacement drive (aka: high score achieved!) 
• we now have it installed (aka: level up achieved!)
• and now we have to do some technical wizardry getting all our minions out of the old fortress intact, and into the new one, all while battling devious invisible system-gremlins... (aka: Boss Battle!)

:/ #dontfreakoutdontfreakout

I need to find my game face and put it ON.

It looks like all this will require me to 'go dark' for a short time, though I hope you won't notice. If I'm not back in time to post our regular Sunday advice from Baba Yaga, the above gremlin are to be blamed but once we have conquered, I will make sure I post it ASAP so you don't have to wait a whole other week.

Wish us luck and cross your fingers that we keep all our digit(al)s intact!

NOTICE TO READERS: Once Upon A Blog Is Secure & Clean

Dear Readers,

At the end of the week I had three people report they were getting notices of concern regarding malware when opening posts on Once Upon A Blog. I immediately began investigating.

Please be assured that after many, many hours with professional technicians in a very thorough check, Once Upon A Blog has been verified as clean and does not contain or host malware of any kind. 

I have also had my own system completely cleaned and updated professionally, and got our personal security boosted as well for an additional security measure, to make absolutely sure nothing coming from the blog, or from me personally, will be infected.

Both illustrations from David Wiesner's Three Little Pigs

The technicians I worked with did suggest, however, that anyone getting a warning is showing their system to be vulnerable and they strongly suggested people should install Adblock Plus immediately to protect their systems. It is FREE and simple to install and it protects you from annoying ads as well as malware. You can find it HERE. They also suggest you run a security check on your personal computer.

If you have installed Adblock Plus, checked your firewall is working and are still getting notices in connection with our site, please do not hesitate to let me know. We are doing our best to make sure our readers are not at risk in any way and will take any concerns you have seriously.

Sincerely,
Gypsy Thornton

And the Very Inspiring (Fairy Tale) Blogger Awards Go To...*drumroll*

Six Swans Triptych by Rovina Cai

It's awards season, and Once Upon A Blog just got handed a lovely Very Inspiring Blogger Award by lovely fantasy author, Katherine Harbour. Thank you Katherine!

Katherine Harbour is the author of the spellbinding novel Thorn Jack (a Tam Lin inspired tale) and, as a special bonus for OUABlog, has agreed to treating us to a guest chat in the near future, as we look forward to the paperback release of Thorn Jack and the upcoming sequel Briar Queen, (stay tuned!).

Today's award, however, is a way to spread love and appreciation for bloggers we are inspired by, as well as to give you a sneak peek behind the scenes of the people who write to make the blogosphere a good place to roam. To do this I get to share seven impossible things before breakfast.. wait, no seven things about me that maybe most of you don't know. Then I get to nominate up to fifteen bloggers to send you all to appreciate, who are then invited to do the same - pay it forward, pass the appreciation, and spread the awesome!

By the way, Katherine Harbour's intriguing list is HERE. (I am especially looking forward to our chat after reading it!)

So, seven things about me you might not know:

1) I love many, many of the aspects of the Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass stories and I love the merchandising (from Disney through to indie products), but the original books disturb me
2) Despite a bunch of good reasons to feel otherwise, I still love Disneyland
3) I wish I could read German fluently so I could read the original-text German editions of Household Tales, written by The Brothers Grimm
4) I rewrote The Six Swans for animated film, including storyboarding two sequences of it, long before I ever worked in animation (no has ever seen them, nor ever will!)
5) I was an actor and writer for a Children's Theater Company for about a year, touring schools and libraries
6) I love the rain and am creatively energized by thunderstorms
7) My dearest wish since I was small was to talk to animals (completely influenced by fairy tales). This eventually led me to getting an Advanced Certificate (2 yrs pre-veterinary) in Animal Care with an emphasis on Marsupials!



Inspiring Bloggers on my personal MUST-READ list for Fairy Tale News & Thoughtful FT Discussions:

• Kristin of Tales of Faerie (amazing armchair fairy tale scholar with awesome research skills who writes very readable informative posts, that are also very inspiring)
• Heidi Anne Heiner of SurLaLune site and blog (fairy tale study today wouldn't be the same without her and she remains as relevant and insightful as ever)
• Tahlia Merrill Kirk of Diamonds & Toads & editor of Timeless Tales Magazine (& OUABLog's new partner-to-be! Perhaps obviously, we think she's awesome.)
• Adam Hoffman of Fairy Tale Fandom (a very welcome male voice in the fairy tale blogosphere - regular news and wonderful articles)
• AFTS (Australian Fairy Tale Society) with Reilly McCarron currently leading the charge (very regular fairy tale news with an emphasis on activity in Australia)
• Megan Reichelt of The Dark Forest (she doesn't get to blog much these days  - she's busy performing stories! - but there are many wonderful past posts to delve into, if there isn't anything new. I love her witty writing style!)

Other Inspiring Bloggers I love to visit (in alpha order):

• Christie of Spinning Straw Into Gold (fairy tale blogger with a treasure trove of posts)
• Belinda Calderone of The Monash Fairy Tale Salon (fairy tale scholar who writes in a fresh accessible way, in touch with pop culture)
• Cate Fricke of Something to Read for the Train (writer, thoughts on folklore and fairy tale)
• Midori Snyder of Into the Labyrinth (author/artist of many a lovely myth-based and fairy tale work)
• Maria Tatar's Breezes From Wonderland (Harvard blog on children's literature, folklore and storytelling, fairy tale scholar extraordinaire)
• Terri Windling at Myth & Moor (author, folklore and fairy tale writing legend and advocate)
• Kate Wolford of Enchanted Conversation: Fairy Tale Magazine, teacher and author of Beyond the Glass Slipper. She also has a lovely stable of regular contributors to her blog.
• Kristina Wojtaszek of Twice Upon A Time (author with strong folklore and fairy tale leanings and great sense of humor)

If you have been awarded and wish to continue passing on the inspiration (there is no obligation to do this), here's what you need to do: 

- Link to the person who awarded you (me!) 

- List seven things about yourself your bloggers may not know (yet) 

- Grab the award pic and post it on your blog post for all to see 

- List - and link to - up to fifteen bloggers who inspire you and award them! (And let them know so they can get involved if they want to.)

Announcing...

Exciting news!

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We are pleased to announce our new partnership with Timeless Tales Magazine! 

*cheers, whistles and enthusiastic applause!*

Editor in Chief and Fairy Blogmother, Tahlia Merrill Kirk and I have been in discussion for many months and are so close to making this official, we couldn't wait any longer to tell you!

After more than five years (!) of bringing you daily fairy tale news, Once Upon A Blog, partnered with Timeless Tales, will finally be able to offer even more.

Once Upon A Blog will stay at this address and remain your daily fairy tale news source (never fear!), except you will have the added bonus of knowing exactly what's going on with Timeless Tales, among other extras and opportunities... to be revealed. ;)

Details and the official launch to be announced very soon.

Stay tuned!

Gypsy Thornton

Once Upon A Blog... daily fairy tale news

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* The lovely center photo is one in a series of enchanted self-portraits by talented fashion designer and photographer Esther Boller. No matter my surroundings, this photo represents, to me, my true state when I am writing and making art. You can see more photos from Ms. Boller's "Bedtime Lights" shoot HERE.