Del Toro's 'The Shape of Water' is an Other-Worldly Fairy Tale

Poster by James Jean

“If I told you about her — the princess without a voice — what would I say?”
(Opening narration from the trailer)

So begins a very different exploration of a princess, and of a mer (not maid but) man. Set in the Cold War era of 1963, we're taken to the world of a mute and lonely cleaning woman of a high-security government lab, who discovers a top-secret experiment: an “aquatic man”, destined to be experimented on. The discovery - and he - change her life forever.

It sounds sci-fi/ monster-movie-ish: where is the fairy tale aspect? (we hear you ask...) Take a look at the trailer and see. There's something undeniably fairy tale about the way this story is told, and it's not just the strong styling. Clearly Guillermo del Toro is exploring a number of fairy tale themes here:

The mythology teases are tantalizing: All we know is that the creature was revered in the Amazon as a god but somehow ended up under U.S. government control. (Collider)

It seems not a whole lot is known about the synopsis other than what is shown in the trailer. From the initial pitch by del Toro and footage here, we could be looking at plot, or dreams, or both. The use of art as a medium within the film for storytelling is intriguing as well. Recalling shades of The Creature From the Black Lagoon and Night of the Hunter, both of which do have a fairy tale slant to them. Whatever the case, the mousey little woman finds her 'voice' and a strength it's unlikely anyone, including she, knew she had. 

Abe? Is that you?

And that appears to be where this 'other-worldy fairy tale', as it is officially described, begins. 

You may consider our curiosity piqued.

Fox Searchlight has given “The Shape of Water” an awards season release date of Dec. 8.

Gaming: "The Little Mermaid" Meets A.I. in Upcoming Game "The Lost Pisces"

I'll be the first to admit this territory of advanced gaming is something I'm not very familiar with. I'm learning along with my kid (who's already much better than I am) and rarely play adult games so when it comes to what people are into, excited about and how this upcoming video game is so different, it takes me a couple of read-throughs to get it - why it's so "epic" and why people are looking forward to it, but once I got there, I knew I had to try and break it down, to bring you in on what's happening here (and with a fairy tale we know well) - because it's pretty.. well.. "epic".

Unlike you might expect, the new game "The Lost Pisces" does more than reference a fairy tale. It bases it's entire premise on Hans Christian Andersen's melancholy The Little Mermaid and then takes it a step further. I'll let them explain.

From OverclockersClub:

The Lost Pisces, or rather just PISCES, is "an experiment in connecting a gamer with an artificial intelligence," according to an interview with designer and artist Dan Rutkowski, just in a way that's different from past instances. PISCES draws its inspirations from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid," where the mermaid is taken away and replaced with a machine that is simply terrified of disappearing. Rutkowski says this machine, the woman seen in the screenshots, is in search for a soul, much like in the original version of "The Little Mermaid," and wants to find that her life will go on after death. 

Sirenum (Edit: the Indie company creating the game) wants players to feel emotionally connected with the protagonist, especially since she learns from the players actions and becomes unique to each player. The team wants to create believable AI in PISCES, one that starts off as a blank slate, but learns and adapts from the player. The AI takes what we do and changes based on that, and if you happen to use a Kinect while playing, the faces you make while playing will reflect on the character. Playing with a Kinect isn't required, but perhaps recommended to get an even better connection with the AI.

Interesting, right? I've never seen The Little Mermaid paralleled so obviously with Artificial Intelligence before, but I can see how they got there. In a high powered digital world where you don't even know if the people you're friends with on the internet, whom you've never met in person, are truly who they say they are - or, to take it a step further, are even real - loss of identity, the feeling of aloneness while surrounded by millions and the feeling of anonymity that can happen though you are in full public view on the internet, can make people feel lost... And not real.

The game takes this idea that is, unfortunately, very prevalent among social media users on platforms that encourage social interactions to be boiled down to "likes" and "dislikes" (that is, Facebook) and gives it another metaphor. Somewhere between a mermaid's hunt for a soul and a little wooden puppet's longing to be real is a story people identify strongly with and for that reason alone, this game has the potential to make some very loyal and intense fans.

In fact, the initial exclusive interview with the creator was titled:
THE LOST PISCES – NEW UE4 ADVENTURE PROMISING AN EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE THAT STICKS WITH YOU LONG AFTER COMPLETION

Creator) Rutkowski says. “This is the Hans Cristian Andersen version, it’s a little bit darker. The idea behind The Little Mermaid, when he wrote it he had a strictly Christian background, and there’s this notion that nothing except for human beings have souls. So in The Little Mermaid, she’s not really after the Prince necessarily, like in the Disney story, what’s she actually looking for is a soul. So I was naturally attracted to that idea, because it was so in line with artificial intelligence. 

He continues: “If you follow the story of The Little Mermaid, she’s looking for a soul because she knows at the end of her days, she’ll die and turn into sea foam. That’s why she goes to the undersea witch, which in this story is actually more of a witchdoctor, rather than having malevolent intentions. So she trades all these things to become human, but the spell has a timeframe and you have to fall in love. But the undertone of trying to attain a soul is a beautiful idea, especially for this coming era of artificial intelligence; this notion of what makes up consciousness and what makes up a soul. It was a natural thing to graft the story of The Little Mermaid into PISCES. The story goes, that PISCES is The Little Mermaid, this machine that’s suddenly found a tiny bit of consciousness and she, no matter what, wants to gain a soul. She becomes terrified that at the end of her days, she might live for 300 years being a machine, but there’s nothing for her to go on to, no possibility of an afterlife.” 

...“One of the things that we’re going to show... is how powerful the PISCES character actually is. She can manifest these black shards that float around her and she can cast them out. Those shards can pull across the ground and create massive boulders that you can use to bash against the larger robots. As she turns more and more human, the thing is that she loses that ability, so she becomes weaker and weaker. What will happen is you will see her as more and more human. She’s evolving beyond just being a machine, and you have to take up the slack, up to the gamer’s character to fulfill that role.”

For the setting:

PISCES takes place in a technological Atlantis, but the end of it when the water levels are rising and people are heading higher up into the mountains.

There are a ton more details in the original interview HERE, that take you through the gaming specifics, what they're trying to achieve and the challenges in doing that, especially since, as the creator says, if they can't get the gamer to care about this character it's a failure. They're employing an unbelievably huge and complex system to make this work - from developing the visuals to be even more beautiful and dynamic, to motion and micro-expression sensors aimed at the players so that the "girl" can learn and develop her "humanity" from the gamer. It's a daunting task but sounds amazing if they can pull it off.

If anyone ever asks you if fairy tales can be relevant today in a fast-paced digital gaming and social media world, just point to this example. It's clear that no matter how society and technology change, people essentially don't - and we still have the same fears, loves and longings we've always had.

The official website for Pisces can be found HERE and to get a better idea of how things will look and play, follow them on Twitter HERE for lots of development and art updates.

"Jupiter Ascending" New Trailer, New Posters, TONS of Action

This is possibly the most action-packed Snow White story to-date. The new trailer for Jupiter Ascending, released yesterday (at writing) makes it pretty clear: this is an action movie, sci-fi style, complete with big budget and beautiful people.

Take a look:

The new posters are... nothing like I expected. My main impression is an attack of the Photoshop for both of them but the Mila Kunis one is a bit unfortunate. The disconnect between her outfit, her "face-styling" (with all the Photoshop, I'm just going to call it a thing now) and the background and graphic elements just doesn't work for me. In addition the shirt is so clean and pressed-perfect... it's just weird. Her all-blue cleaning outfit, complete with rubber gloves and some daily grime would have worked much better IMHO. But we shall see what the masses think.

The new trailer is very... big. This should go down really well with sci-fi fans. I'm curious what people will think of the Snow White storyline - or if they'll even recognize it. We shall see...

Jupiter Ascending is scheduled for release on July 18, 2014.

'The Little Android' by Marissa Meyer (New Lunar Chronicles Short Prequel!)

Continuing her sci-fi fairy tale retellings, Marissa Meyer is ramping up to the release of the third book in the Lunar Chronicles series. The book (in case you missed the multiple posts here on this) is Cress, for which she is spinning her own unique retelling of Rapunzel. All signs point to "continuing the awesome" and the expanding fandom for the series among the YA crowd bodes well for a future movie, methinks.

And, as is tradition now, Marissa Meyer has just released, yesterday (Monday January 27th), a short companion story, also based on a fairy tale, from the same world as the rest of the Lunar Chronicles, making this the third story supplement for the series. The story is also a prequel, appearing to fall before the events of Cinder.

As you may have inferred from the title, The Little Android is based on Andersen's Little Mermaid and, heads-up, it's not-so-Disney, ie. you may want to have tissues handy...

Artist unknown

Although the previous two were released through Tor.com, this one is exclusively available to read via Wattpad HERE, which, although still awesome, unfortunately means we don't get a lovely new illustration for it... yet. No doubt there is some fan art in the making though. People are really starting to envision this world in depth, as well as Meyer's sci-fi fairy tale characters.

Here is an excerpt to get you going...

An excerpt from...The Little Android by Marissa Meyer

Little Android inspired collage by mocamittel

As Mech6.0 was removing her first panel, someone yelled. She turned in time to see one of the enormous cranes tilt beneath a too-heavy load, its outstretched arm swaying dangerously for a moment that stretched out for ages, before it found the tipping point. The enormous metal arm careened toward the suspended platforms, bolts snapping and cables whipping into the air.

Still on the hanging walkway, Miko screamed.

Dataran pushed her out of the way.

The arm of the crane cracked against his head, the sound reverberating right into Mech6.0’s hard plastic shell. He was unconscious before his body fell into the oil vat below.

Miko screamed again, clinging to the walkway railing. The crane landed hard and one of the cables flew loose from the ceiling. The platform careened to one side, but the remaining cables held.

by Aditya Ikranegara

Mech6.0 did not take the time to process the situation or calculate the best course of action—she was already rolling toward the containers. Around her, people yelled and machinery screeched and halted, footsteps thundered and the rickety walkway trembled overhead. Someone called for a ladder or a rope, but Mech6.0 already had her magnets activated to collect the panel screws. With single-minded precision, she found herself climbing the side of the enormous tank, her grippers spread out against its metal sides, heaving her body upward.  It was an awkward climb, one her body was not made for, as her treads banged against the tank and her arms flailed for the next purchase. Her joints strained under her weight. But then she was hauling herself up onto the ledge that was just barely wide enough for her to stand on.

The vat of oil was black as the night sky without stars. Black and terrifying.

Mech6.0 tipped herself over and went in.

She sank fast, and though she immediately turned her sensor light on to full brightness, it did little to help her. Extending her arms as far as they would go, she searched the bottom of the tank, knowing that he was here somewhere, he was here, he was—

Here.

Little Android inspired collage by mocamittel

She tightened her grippers and dragged her body toward him through the thick oil. It was seeping through her paneling now, blocking her input plugs, glugging into the charging inlet. But she had him.

She wrapped her arms around his torso and heaved him upward. He was heavier than she expected and it occurred to her that the bolts connecting her arms to their sockets may not hold, but she kept going. Finding the tank’s wall, she planted her prongs against the side again and started to climb. There was no light anymore, no senses at all but the sound of her grippers and the tread bumping into the wall and the pressure of his body pressing down onto her as she forced both of them up, up, up …

—-

You can read the whole story at Wattpad HERE. Enjoy! 

And there's just 6 days to go till Cress is released...

Breaking News: "Jupiter Ascending" (A Sci-Fi Snow White) Trailer Released

I've been waiting to show you this today and was beginning to think they wouldn't make the end-of-day release window they'd promised, but it here it is, Jupiter Ascending's first official trailer. (It looks like a pretty huge movie!)

To remind you, this is a sci-fi version of Snow White created and directed by the Wachowski siblings (creators of The Matrix). You can read a lot more about it in my earlier post HERE.

Although it's a little difficult to see Snow White's bones in this trailer, I assure you, they are most definitely there. There's also no doubt it's sci-fi, and a big (BIG!) action adventure.
Take a look:

Jupiter Ascending is the latest film from Andy and Lana Wachowski (Cloud Atlas, theMatrix trilogy) starring Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean,Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton, Tim Pigott-Smith and Doona Bae. 

The future-set sci-fi film is set to hit theaters on July 25, 2014 and centers on Jupiter Jones (Kunis), a character born with signs predicting she was destined for great things. Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning toilets and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine (Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along -- her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos.

If you like action films (like I do) this could be a very fun ride!
What are your first impressions?

Source: HERE

News From "The Lunar Chronicles"

Lots of news coming from Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles this Monday. So much, in fact, it even got dubbed #CYBORGMONDAY.

First, for those who are having trouble waiting for the third installment of Ms. Meyer's sci-fi fairy tale series, Cress, (based on Rapunzel) you'll be happy to know that the first FIVE chapters of Cress are now available for reading (or download in the US only) for free HERE.

There's also a new book trailer for Cress HERE.

Possibly the most exciting news, though, (for me at least) is news of a just released preview/teaser of a new companion short story for The Lunar Chronicles. It's based on yet another fairy tale and is, apparently, the most requested tale Ms. Meyer gets asked to consider retelling. The story is titled The Little Android and is based on.. you guessed it: The Little Mermaid. 

What does that mean? It means we're getting a legitimate sci-fi retelling of The Little Mermaid by an author who's proven she knows both her craft and her fairy tales. I can't wait to read the whole story. Hopefully it will be released via Tor.com like Ms. Meyer's other short stories, complete with some new and gorgeous artwork to boot (Ha! Punny. Cinderella, boot... sorry. Couldn't resist.) They'll be releasing the whole story when Cress reaches a pre-order goal set by the publisher but for now you can read a teaser HERE.

There is an extra  - and Cress exclusive - incentive to pre-order when you do it through HERE and you can keep abreast of more news, and lots of pics and fan art, care of the new Tumblr HERE.

Bring on those release dates!

Cress: Cover Reveal, Excerpt, Interview w Marissa Myer, a Contest & a Movie Option To Boot

Big news for Marissa Meyer's sci-fi fairy tale series, The Lunar Chronicles, yesterday afternoon: The third installment of The Lunar Chronicles, Cress, got a cover reveal, we got another excerpt, USA Today had an interview with Ms. Meyer and there's now another chance to win an ARC via a Pinterest competition!

More on the book first. :)

Cress, if you weren't tipped off by the lovely cover, or the title, is based on Rapunzel, although this sci-fi Rapunzel's tower is out of reach in a different way - she's trapped in a satellite in orbit.

Here's an excerpt from the interview (in which Ms. Meyer teases a lot more about the plot and characters than I'm posting here, so be sure to go read the whole interview):

Q: Will Cress be more sci-fi than Scarlet or Cinder?

A: We are moving into more sci-fi elements. There is more time spent on the spaceship that we were introduced to in Book 2, and of course the satellite and the computer hacking. It still stays pretty focused on the characters and the different human things that they're facing as opposed to the technology.

Q: How is Cress similar to the Rapunzel we all know and love?

A: In the fairy tale, the prince finds Rapunzel because he hears her singing. I've taken that and given Cress this very overactive imagination that's a result of being stuck in this satellite solitary for so long. When she is in danger or in an uncomfortable situation, she goes into this imaginary world where she pretends she's an opera singer or an actress or a dancer. She has this fantasy life going on in her head that played off the original tale and how Rapunzel liked to sing.

Q: Does Cress borrow from the original fairy tale more or less than Cinder andScarlet did?

A: I'd say it's pretty comparable. As with all of the books, I've taken the iconic moments of the fairy tale and then gone off on my own after that. You still have the tower symbolism and this witch who's keeping her there. Rapunzel still has long, flowing locks of hair. Those iconic moments are still there, but then it does take on a life of its own in the world as she meets up with Cinder and Scarlet and the other characters.

You can read the rest of the (much longer!) interview HERE.

There is also a nicely-sized excerpt HERE as well (scroll down the page to read). One warning: if you read it, there's a very good chance it will make you even more impatient for the book!

But there is also a new chance to win an advance copy now and The Lunar Chronicles Pinterest Contest is the way to do it: "Create a Lunar Chronicles-inspired Pinterest Board for your chance to win a signed advance copy of CRESS." Full details and rules are on Marissa Meyer's post HERE. It's super easy and fun and open internationally!

The two books so far, Cinder & Scarlet, & their short story prequels, Glitches & The Queen's Army
(short stories published online at tor.com)

Cress is due for release on February 4th, 2014 so we've got a while yet to wait for the rest of the story BUT there MAY be movie news on the horizon as well! The Lunar Chronicles (yes, that means the series, not just the first book) has been optioned. (Congrats Marissa!)

Though optioning a book does not mean a movie is going into production, it means a company is seriously assessing whether or not they can do one. I have to wonder if the buzz around Jupiter Ascending (the sci-fi movie based on Snow White with Mila Kunis) will have any affect (hopefully good!) on the company's decisions...

Meyer will wrap up the series in early 2015 with Winter — her take on the Snow White legend — and already, her Lunar Chronicles novels have been optioned for a movie series. While the studio involved is still a secret, "I believe they're looking for a director at this point," says the author, who's halfway through the second draft of her final novel.

"I know what elements of the early books are foreshadowing bigger things to come, so I would assume that for them, having all the material in front of them could help them make decisions for the movies as well." (USA Today)

I really love seeing how Ms. Meyer has played with the themes, motifs and familiar tale elements for each fairy tale character so far and was so tickled just over the title, since the association with the plant has been quite lost since the "Tangle angle" ("The character is named after watercress — like rapunzel, it's a type of lettuce - quote from USA Today article).

I also love the fact that Rapunzel is traditionally up high in a tower (so the satellite in orbit is like the most remote tower possible) and that she's a spy - what a perfect vantage point a Rapunzel character - traditional or modern - would have from her 'prison' to view the world/s! It never occurred to me to have her be a secret onlooker before and I like the connection (seems obvious now, right?).

Syfy Is Reimagining "Oz". (Again.) As a Fantasy-Action Miniseries. (Again?)

So... wasn't it not that long ago that we had Zooey Deschanel stomp her steampunky, un-red boots across Oz on Syfy's Tin Man?

My mistake.

That was SciFi and it was a looooong time ago in 2007. (!)

But this is different...

...

How different exactly?

The scoop from Deadline:

Bekmambetov directing
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter 

Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter director Timur Bekmambetov is venturing into television with Warriors Of Oz, a mini-series project which has landed at Syfy. Bekmambetov will create Warriors Of Oz based on his idea. 

It is a fantasy-action reimagining of the classic story in which a warrior from present day Earth is transported to a post-apocalyptic future Oz* where he must team up with three other warriors, Heartless, Brainless, and Coward, in order to defeat the evil Wizard who has enslaved the land. Bekmambetov is set to executive produce and possibly direct.  Search is under way for a writer to pen the mini, which will be produced by Universal Cable Prods. 

So it will be different.

In fact it could be quite different. It could be very funny. It will likely be very action-y. It might make critics just as happy as Tin Man did and it might... not.

You know what I'm most p-annoyed at? A little two letter word in there: "he". Dorothy is either in very heavy reverse-Tootsie disguise or one of the classic American girl heroines just got benched for a pec-man (assuming he'll be showing his muscles). :/

Whatever the case,  I can already envision a plethora of warrior designs for Heartless, Brainless and Coward.... (actually I think deviantArtists may have been secretly developing this idea themselves for years...)

Warriors by kerembeyit-d37ia4y

The Twisted World of Oz by ~ginoroberto

The Warriors of Oz by R-Tan

This is one of those things that will either be brilliant or... really won't (and then gets shoved under the Sharknado-ed carpet).

Oh, who am I kidding? IF THEY FIX the Dorothy thing, I will TOTALLY tune in to this! (At least for the first few minutes.)

*Post-apocalyptic future Oz. What the hay happened??! Did someone secrete away the remaining flying monkeys and genetically alter them into Planet of the Flying Monkey dudes that took over the Emerald City and used the Scarecrow for, uh, bedding, or what? (Can you tell it's really late and I'm both very tired and my filter is malfunctioning?)

Snow White Sci-Fi, "Jupiter Ascending", Gets Release Date

Snow White is getting a retelling sci-fi style!

Jupiter Ascending, starring Mila Kunis as Jupiter Jones (ie the Snow White character), is well into production and just got a release date: July 25, 2014.

Here's a little more about the film:

Jupiter Ascending is said to be the Snow White fairytale fused with Japanese pop culture in a sci-fi and futuristic mythological masterpiece. From the same minds that brought the sci-fi world The Matrix and Cloud Atlas the project will begin shooting this year. (Source)

In a twist to the classic fairy tale ‘Snow White’, Mila Kunis plays the only person who possesses the same perfect genetic makeup as the highly evolved Queen of the Universe. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign is a Russian immigrant cleaning lady on Earth. A bounty hunter is dispatched to take her down, but instead, falls in love with the earthling and decides to become her protector. The Wachowski siblings (The Matrix trilogy, Cloud Atlas) are directing the sci-fi action film with Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow co-financing. (Source)

Mila Kunis having the perfect DNA? I'm sure there are more than a few (male, especially) people who might agree with that. ;) 

The Huntsman, in this case a Bounty Hunter, hired to kill Jupiter/Kunis, is Channing Tatum.

Speaking of Channing Tatum and his involvement, while his character name in Jupiter Ascending is listed as "Caine", he's not exactly playing a regular human. 

"I'm a splice, splices are essentially built in a test tube. I'm a hybrid wolf and human. And half albino, so I'm a little defective." That is definitely going to throw everyone off, but these mutations are part of the world this is set in. It's set "in a universe where humans are near the bottom of the evolutionary ladder," and splices are higher up.

Here's a synopsis (or at least, what the Wachowski's are revealing for now):
✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ (click the "Read more" link below this line) ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ 

"Glitches" - A Prequel & Introduction to Marissa Meyer's Cyborg Cinderella

"Glitches" by Goni Montes*

 [Excerpt]

CINDER

by Marissa Meyer

Chapter 1

THE SCREW THROUGH CINDER'S ANKLE HAD RUSTED, THE engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle. Her knuckles ached from forcing the screwdriver into the joint as she struggled to loosen the screw one gritting twist after another. By the time it was extracted far enough for her to wrench free with her prosthetic steel hand, the hairline threads had been stripped clean.

Tossing the screwdriver onto the table, Cinder gripped her heel and yanked the foot from its socket. A spark singed her fingertips and she jerked away, leaving the foot to dangle from a tangle of red and yellow wires.

She slumped back with a relieved groan. A sense of release hovered at the end of those wires--freedom. Having loathed the too-small foot for four years, she swore to never put the piece of junk back on again. She just hoped Iko would be back soon with its replacement.

(keep reading...)

  And so begins the story of Cinder, debut author Marissa Meyer's Cyborg Cinderella. News and reviews about this book are sweeping the web with the much anticipated release happening on January 3rd, 2012.

But it turns out we now have the opportunity to find out just how Cinder got to where she was before Chapter one even starts.  

Tor.com is offering an exclusive prequel you can read online right now.

(Click HERE.)

Meet Cinder, gifted mechanic and cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. In "Glitches," we see the results of that illness play out, and the emotional toll that it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch....

Need more, now the prequel (and 1st chapter excerpt) has whet your appetite for this unusual Cinderella? You can read and/or download Chapters 1-5 HERE.

And of course, here's the book you should be putting on pre-order if you possibly can (click image):

 And since I adore seeing various versions of cover art for different countries as it gives you a different slant on the story, here is the one for Spain:

Ms Meyer has just posted her current (and still growing) tour schedule HERE, with this delightful little note: 

Note: Attending ladies, there's a grassroots movement to get as many girls wearing red shoes as possible, so break out those sexy red pumps!

Heidi over at the SurLaLune Fairy Tales Blog has had the opportunity to read an ARC and gives you more info there (hint: she REALLY liked it!) BUT she's also in the middle of a Favorite Fairy Tale Things Wish List competition with an ARC of Cinder as one of the prizes. Go enter! [Plus I want to see what you guys are craving in your fairy tale Christmas stockings this year. ;) ]

* For the art-process inclined (like me) you may enjoy seeing the artist's idea sketches and work in progress for the illustration above for the short story. Click HERE to see Goni Montes' blog posting with all the goodies.