Lego's 'Frozen Northern Lights' Trailer (Series Airs Dec 9)

The upcoming Lego four-part animated shorts, revolving around Disney's main Frozen characters, are set to air December 9th (a little later than originally anticipated) on the Disney Channel, and have just released their trailer for the series.

Frozen Northern Lights will be an original story spanning multimedia art forms including books and animated shorts.“It’s a new story that follows Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff and, of course, Sven on an epic adventure to restore the Northern Lights,” Josh Gad explains. (People)

With the original Frozen cast of Kristin Bell, Josh Gad and Idina Menzel, this is primed to be popular!

Take a look:

(Nice nod to Wicked there!)

The first book for this collection, Journey to the Lights was released in July 2016  and is likely the first of many more to come.

What's the fairy tale content? Likely more snow adventure that derives from snow fairy tales like the Snow Queen, the Snow Maiden. We might get some Polar bear King references, and some holiday-jolly ones too, considering the release season (though the plan was initially to stay away from it being particularly 'holiday'-seasonal). We can also look forward to lots of variations on ice magic and good doses of courage and friendship. If we're lucky we might get some legendary references to the folklore and stories surrounding the Northern Lights, which many cultures have, and possible more troll lore too, as a young troll is a new character joining them on the journey.

The Northern Lights Adventure Notebook (illustrated) is a great companion to the book and series and might inspire a little storytelling at home. Here are a couple of pages, with two more at the link. We wish they made more books for young kids like this that inspire fairy tale imagination and magical adventure!

What impact - if any - this will have on the 'mythology' of Frozen 2 remains to be seen, but in the meantime extra magic for the yule season is always welcome.

Boston Begins City-Wide Fairy Tale Reading & Discussion Of Kelly Link's "The Faery Handbag"

Charles Vess - The Faery Handbag (from The Faery Reel)

Yes. It's not a traditional fairy tale, but Kelly Link's Nebula and Hugo award wining novelette The Faery Handbag is one of those few "new fairy tales" that have stuck with us ever since we first read it, The Faery Reel: Tales From Within the Twilight Realm (Ellen Datlow & Terri Winding 2004). We have read a lot of "new fairy tales" and while the writing is usually lovely and, occasionally, a story will resonate with us, not many of those stories sink into our subconscious fairy tale soup and stay there, becoming part of the shared language. 

A very strange thing, to us, is that we remember reading it for the first time, and, while thinking it was kinda neat, though more modern, more magic realism than fairy tale, not what we would have thought as "fairy tale", so just went on to read the rest of the volume. But somehow the ideas and the story wouldn't go away and we found ourselves thinking about the story in the following days and well after that. We haven't looked closely at why this is. We agree the story feels more like a modernized Victorian fairy tale to us than a "classic" one - not our preferred tale types - but the ideas... they feel very like they fit, right in Faerie Land, and by Faerie Land we mean the land in which fairy tales take place, whether fairies appear there or not.

Magic bags that hold things larger than themselves aren't a new concept in tales. We admit we are quite enamored of the idea that you can pack an entire room - or house! - into a carpet bag (Mary Poppins, Merlin in the Sword and the Stone) and simply carry it with you to your new abode. Magic purses, sacks and knapsacks have been able to capture, tame and contain everything from the sea to Death (The Soldier and Death), not to mention come in useful for benevolent gift givers during the Yule and Christmas season. The classic rabbit in a hat magician's staple, is a variant of these as well. Modern fantasy films employ this idea regularly too, but Link brings a fresh take to this delightful idea.

But back to the news.

The annual One City One Story movement, launched as part of the Boston Book Festival, is a pretty neat idea. Here's what it is:

One City One Story is the Boston Book Festival’s version of an all-city read, but instead of a book, we print and distribute a short story. Our goal is to make a short story available to all, free of charge, to spread the joy of reading for pleasure among the teens and adults of our city, and to create a community around a shared reading experience.

As part of this initiative, in the past they have offered online translations and downloads, led citywide discussions, leading up to a town-hall style discussion with the author, library discussions, distributed the story throughout the city for free in multiple languages, held a writing contest, online reading groups and discussions with the author.

Shaun Tan's illustration for The Faery Handbag
is very different from Charles Vess'
but equally intriguing

This year they've chosen Kelly Link's The Faery Handbag, which means, people are having conversations and discussing fairies and fairy tales, especially in a modern context, in many different places in one city. Not entirely coincidentally, the story is also set in the greater Boston area, so locals are even more likely to imagine fairy tale magic just around the corner.

If you haven't heard of it, you will find many references to it. Here's a great way to introduce the central concept, by way of a discussion on fabulism:

Fabulism is a curious way to explore and understand the ordinary. In Link’s story, the speaker spends her time hunting for this handbag. It’s black, made from dog-skin, with a clasp of bone that can open three different ways:

 If you opened it one way, then it was just a purse big enough to hold […] a pair of reading glasses and a library book and pillbox. If you opened the clasp another way, then you found yourself in a little boat floating at the mouth of a river. […] If you opened the handbag the wrong way, though, you found yourself in a dark land that smelled like blood. That’s where the guardian of the purse (the dog whose skin had been sewn into a purse) lived.

Fabulism is a lot like this purse. It seems to belong to this world, but doesn’t follow all of the rules. It beckons you. It’s off. The more you explore it, the more mystery and power it has.

You can find the many, many different places they're giving out the story for free in a list HERE.

The Faery Handbag - Artist unknown

You can read the story online HERE or download an English, Spanish or Russian PDF, or a Kindle or Ebook version HERE (more languages coming apparently).

On September 28th there will be a discussion of The Faery Handbag, care of Boston's NPR, WBUR, and they promise other discussions throughout the community to be announced soon as well. There's also a writing prompt for a contest with prizes. (Gotta love that!)

Want more food for thought? Again from the highly recommended article on Diving into the Faery Handbag: On Fabulism:

The greatest part of the faery handbag is that there’s a wrong way to open it — meaning a dangerous way, a way that can eat you alive. And it’s that third compartment or “way of opening up” that separates the magical realism of childhood stories from the magical realism of stories for adults.

And because the proposed discussion questions are great to kick your brain into gear, even if you haven't read the story, we are putting the discussion prompts and questions below. Enjoy!

Chris Riddell - lady with carpet bag from sketchbook

Discussion Questions1. How did the jump between times/focuses affect your reading of the story?

2. Was Jake’s decision to go into the bag justified? Why or why not? Why do you think Zofia refused to let Genevieve go after him? 

3. After Zofia dies Genevieve becomes the official heir and guardian of the bag. What does this role mean if the bag is lost?  

4. Genevieve is a headstrong teenager entirely wrapped up in thoughts of her missing boyfriend and the fantastical world her grandmother taught her about. Does this make it difficult for you to sympathize with her or trust her as a narrator? Why? 

5. What lost item (like the Sesame Street shirt) would you like to find at The Garment District? What is the significance to you of finding something you thought was lost forever? 

6. How might this story have changed if Jake had not gotten expelled and MIT had not rescinded his acceptance? 

7. What is the importance of Scrabble tiles also acting as divination tiles in the story? Does it affect the way you read Zofia and Genevieve’s relationship to the game? 

8. What do you think will happen to Genevieve after this story ends? 

9. Does Zofia’s death (or absence, if you follow the thought that she didn’t actually die) force Genevieve to act differently than she would have before? If so, what is the difference?  

10. Do the characters in this story remind you of people you know? Is this affected by the familiar setting (greater Boston). Does this change the way you read the fantastical elements of the story? How? 

Writing Prompt 

In 500-700 words describe what you would expect or hope to see after disappearing into your own faery handbag for several decades. Email your story to info@bostonbookfest.org by Friday, September 30 for a chance to win a BBF prize package, including a signed copy of this year’s story!

The Boston Carpet Bag newspaper, 1851-1853

'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...

"Kin" - The 1st Gorgeous, Fairy Tale Must-See, Short Film of the "Kin Fables" Series

A request from me: please put aside 8-ish minutes and make it a priority to see this!

I just saw this short film, made this year, a few days ago and it's the first I've heard of this series of short fantasy fables. I don't know why it isn't everywhere.

It's like visual poetry and is, quite simply, stunning and mesmerizing.

Just look at these screen grabs:








There is no dialogue in this short, only a song and visuals that move like a dream brought to life. The cinematography is amazing. Every frame is beautiful.

Kin is apparently the first of four short films under the banner of "Kin Fables", with the remaining three titled Salvage, Her & the River and Requiem.

Here's a note from GeekTyrant, which is where I first saw it:

Here's an amazingly stunning fantasy film called Kin, which is the first in a series of short fables, called Kin Fables, to be released by Five Knights Productions. The series is described as a musical and visual journey into fable. This one in particular was directed by Seb and Ben McKinnon. 

I don't really know what else to say except if you don't see this and love fairy tales, you are missing out. Take a look. If you're not hooked after the first minute I'll be very surprised.

There is a beautiful website with more information about this film and a peek at the coming ones, as well as some development images, such as those below:

There are many more if you click the link HERE.

There's also an explanation - and a preview - of a graphic novel in the making, to support the short films. Here's an example:

Are you being drawn in? This world is so beautiful. I want more!

I'd love to work with these filmmakers. Their vision seems very solid and complete, while at the same time poetic and allowing a lot of room for people to find their own stories within.

I'm so impressed.

I dearly hope the rest of the films are as beautiful and that there will be a DVD available at some point.

In the meantime, I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for Salvage.

Vestal Review: Fairy Tales Redux

by Zoe Gilbert

I first read about this on the Twice Told Tales LJ but haven't seen mention of it anywhere so thought I would highlight it here.

Vestal Review is both an online and print magazine that is "the longest-running flash fiction magazine in the world".  The latest issue is free to read (though you can donate) and, happily for us, is all about fairy tales.

Vestal Review

Web Issue 41  Fairy Tales Redux

Winter 2012

Here's the editorial (reprinted with permission), describing what the issue is about, by Ania Vesenny:

According to Italo Calvino, fairy tales are a great example of quickness in literature. It is no surprise, then, that Vestal Review’s newest issue is devoted to fairy tales.  

When I was a child, I spent hours a day reading Charles Perrault and Hans Christian Andersen. Despite the often overwhelming sadness and tragedy that infused Andersen’s fairy tales, I re-read them, year after year, with the same delight.  

As I read fairy tales to my children, instead of the joy, I often experience annoyance. How cloying these old stories have become! Disney’s “Little Mermaid” is not the same tragic, but hauntingly beautiful and gentle story written by H. C. Andersen almost two hundred years ago. Though I cried when I read the original, I was enriched by those tears. Do centuries-old fairy tales have to be rewritten to have neatly-wrapped happy endings? I search for old editions and avoid anything abridged. 

I have to remind myself, though, that the storytellers of the past routinely altered the endings so that the tales remained relevant to their listeners. The modern versions, with their syrupy simplifications, do reflect significant themes in our society. When it comes to literature, we tend to guard young children from strong emotions.   

This issue of Vestal Review, however, returns to the tradition of fairy tales being told mostly for the benefit of adults. In addition to alternate endings, you will witness your favorite characters in modern context of obsession and celebrity adulation: characters previously silent are given voices, and details or experiences formerly obscured are brought to the forefront.  

It was a particular pleasure to read for this issue. I love fairy tales, after all. I hope that you, too, will enjoy these stories.

There's a chance you'll see a familiar name or two among the authors as well.

The contents are:

• Birds by Aimee Bender
• Cinderella's Two Minute Tell-All by Jason Nemec
• Mermaid by A. A> Balaskovits
• Growth Rings by Maia Harrison
• Surface Tension by Maia Harrison
• Talking to Srangers by Cynthia Larsen
• And the Rain Kept Falling by Steven Nordhauser
• All the Hansels and All the Gretels by Stephen Ornes

You can read the current Winter 2012 Fairy Tales Redux issue HERE.

"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.

Jorinde & Joringel Inspired Short Story

My apologies for the double-up for email subscribers. Computer thought I was finished...

Want a fun, sexy, fairy tale inspired short story to read this weekend? I recommend Dorlana Vann's "Quiet on the Nightingale" posted over at Supernatural Fairy Tales. See if you can figure out why I used this pic for the announcement. ;)

Note: You can learn how to make your own birdcage dress HERE.

"Torn" - A New Fairy Tale Inspired Short Story for Halloween (by me)

UPDATE 1/3/12:

Torn is no longer available to read at Supernatural Fairy Tales. Instead I have added it to Once Upon A Blog on it's own dedicated (and hopefully permanent) page. 

(See the tabs under the header of click HERE.)

Dorlana Vann of the wonderful Supernatural Fairy Tales site has posted my new short story "Torn", especially for your Halloween reading pleasure.

The genre for this one is dark fantasy and definitely verges on the creepy but isn't horror. (If you're in the mood for Halloween humor, Dorlana's story "Holiday" - also posted there - fits the bill beautifully.)

"Torn" is not a retelling like "Cages" is, but was instead inspired by a fairy tale I've loved since I was a girl. The fairy tale is "The Marsh King's Daughter" by Hans Christian Andersen. You can read the original HERE.

The only problem with "The Marsh King's Daughter" is I never liked the heavy religious stuff that it digresses into at one point before gaining back it's fairy tale form and resolving. It may be one of the reasons I rarely see it tackled. The topic of duality HCA's tale explores, however, I find fascinating - plus it has some awesome fairy tale characters and situations that are begging for more 'screen time'.

You can go read my short story
HERE.

My heartfelt thanks to my wonderful @mudsock for creating the awesome illustration at the head of this post for me. I love it and think it suits the story perfectly. (He's all kinds of awesome - go check him out on Twitter and/or Facebook - you'll soon see what I mean.)

Enjoy - and Happy Halloween!

"The Curse of Hamelin" - A Short Story by Lisa Kessler

The Pied Piper
Linoleum Block Cut by M.S. West
(M.S. West also has other fairy tale pieces available to see on her blog HERE)

What if the Pied Piper had no choice but to draw the rats to him? What if this curse was passed on to his descendants? And what if the creatures that followed you were not rats but the undead?

Lisa Kessler is one of those talented people who always seems to be writing new stories. While Urban Fantasy is her first love she's a very versatile writer and so I wasn't surprised to find she'd tackled a fairy tale or two. She regularly sets herself challenges to stretch her writing muscles and this story is the result of one of those exercises.

The Pied Piper is already very creepy but Lisa's given the story a very unusual - and extra creepy - twist...

Says Lisa about writing "The Curse of Hamelin":

This week's topic was Living the Lie and also mentioning diaphoretic sweating.... Hmmm.... From that, a nervous OCD accountant popped into my head. Why was he so nervous? Apparently he was cursed... After some research into German history, this story told itself.

She's generously allow me to post an excerpt and link to her very Halloween-appropriate version of the Pied Piper (please note: there's a mild gore warning for this story - but then if you read the 'undead' comment, you probably expected that):

Here's the beginning to put you in the mood:

"The Curse of Hamelin"
by Lisa Kessler

They were coming.

He couldn’t see them yet, but he could sense them. The scent of moist tilled earth teased his nostrils, and bile rose in response.

How could this have happened again so soon?

Harold made a frantic dash to the dresser, and yanked open the drawers. He had to get out fast. Snatching up his pressed and folded clothes, he placed them on the tidy bedspread and reached under the ruffled bed skirt for his suitcase.

Something grabbed his hand.

You can read her whole story HERE.

Lisa is very active with her writing, her BLOG (just a note: you'll need to scroll down past the MySpace ads and banners but she's worth it!) and on TWITTER (known there as LdyDisney . It's also where we met). She's a lot of fun and constantly amazes me with both the quantity and quality of her output. I expect her to get a three-book publishing deal any minute now...

Go read her work and support her journey into print. You'll find yourself very entertained and can rest assured this lovely, generous and talented lady is someone worthy of your time.

A sincere thank you to Lisa for allowing me to do this post. I wish you every success, my friend!

5th & Final Podcast Episode of "CAGES: A Steampunk Retelling of Grimm's Jorinde & Joringel" is up

The final episode, 'Part V with Epilogue', of my steampunk fairy tale retelling is up at Supernatural Fairy Tales!

You can read the text and/or listen to the podcast
(me reading with music by Abney Park and sound effects added)
HERE.

There is a small button labeled PLAY below the header for the audio.

Part I can be found HERE.
Part II can be found HERE.
Part III can be found HERE.
Part IV can be found HERE.

There will also be a PDF of the whole story available for FREE download and distribution coming in the next few days, so watch for that (I will announce that here too).

I got a very nice review by "Diamonds & Toads", which you can read HERE. (Thank you Kate!)

As this is the final episode I have a short, but important, list of people to thank for their role in this process:

• Steampunk band "Abney Park" and 'Captain Robert', for generously giving me permission to play their music throughout the podcast. You guys have the BEST music for this genre! Thank you for allowing me to use your music to help tell my story.
  
• Dorlana Vann of Supernatural Fairy Tales for hosting the story and audio and for being patient with me on the technical details as I figure out my first podcast. Thank you for your generosity with the different blog format and for helping put my story out there. You really are 'a good fairy'.
  
• My husband Tom, for being my cheerleader, my extra eyes (and ears) on the story and for making sure I had chunks of uninterrupted time to focus on the work needed to get it all done. I couldn't have done it without your support.
  
• My son 'Jackzilla', who inspires me daily and gives me the best reason to write: these stories are for you little guy!
  

Thank you!

I hope you've enjoyed this different version of Jorinde & Joringel. Discovering my Muse had decided on steampunk was quite a challenge but now I'm completely hooked! Maybe there will be more steampunk fairy tales coming your way in the future... ;)

Neil Gaiman's Retelling of 'Diamonds & Toads'

I admit it: I'd heard about the book but never ventured further in my investigations - I should have.

[A note: Initially this post had a lot of exclamation points - a condition I slip into when I get excited about something. I've tried to edit most of them out but I'm sure a few have slipped through. Instead of speaking in frogs or sapphires I've been spouting exclamation marks!]

"Who Killed Amanda Palmer" by Neil Gaiman, has a retelling of Diamonds and Toads as part of the text.

This is one of those fairy tales I came to know as a child and so didn't realize it wasn't well known till much later. It's one of those tales that has many (MANY!) variants in many countries and is begging to be explored. In the Western world it's also known by the titles: Mother Holle (or Frau Holle) and The Fairies. SurLaLune - the best fairy tale resource on the web for text, annotations and interpretations - has a page on the VARIANTS around the world and the list is very long. Clearly, this is one of those stories that resonates across time and culture very well.

One of the short stories that has stayed with me is a retelling of this very tale and can be found in "Twice Upon a Time", edited by Denise Little. The title is "How I Came To Marry A Herpetologist" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman and turns the usually perceived curse of speaking toads and snakes on its head. To this day, I'm on the fence about whether I'd choose to speak jewels or reptiles as a result.

So, back to Neil Gaiman's version: Amanda Palmer (yes, the same Amanda Palmer as the title) was recorded reading the Diamonds and Toads retelling at one of her concerts. She does a lovely job of telling it, as you can see below:

Thanks to the community at Told This Time for alerting me. I couldn't help but expand on this news and add a little extra information about the tale for those curious. You can see the original post HERE.

NOTE: The illustration is by Lealand Eve, who has other illustrations exploring 'discomfort in fairy tales'. This tale definitely qualifies. You can find out more about Lealand Eve and see more work HERE.

The Great 'Sleeping Beauty' Rewrite (IV of IV) - Winning Entry

Please note: there's both an interview AND an excerpt so this post is a little longer than usual for this blog. Don't worry - it's not the new standard!

In the past week we've been having a look at the short stories written and entered in the Diamonds & Toads "Great 'Sleeping Beauty' Rewrite" contest.

Today, I'm happy to present the winning author, Tahlia Merrill, in a brief interview and show you an excerpt from her winning story, "The Prince With Good Manners".

Here's what Kate at Diamonds & Toads said about why her entry won:

Her charming retelling, "The Prince With Good Manners," won for the following reasons: It had a completeness to it that showed a good management of the 1,000-word limit. It was very much a retelling, with a sense of newness to it. Tahlia's story also featured a non-passive princess. Most of all, her story found a very clever way to have the princess and prince get to know one anotherbefore she woke up.

Tahlia was kind enough to agree to a quick interview withe the fairy tale news hound for Once Upon A Blog, about her story and her love of fairy tales.

____________________________________

Fairy Tale News Hound: First of all, a well deserved congratulations on winning the contest! Tahlia: what an appropriate name to win a 'Sleeping Beauty' contest with!

Tahlia: Would you believe that I found out after the contest about that rather uncanny coincidence? I've read a lot of early versions of fairy tales, but somehow that one slipped through the cracks! I have a pretty uncommon name and I thought I knew all the cultural appearances of it in literature, but I definitely missed that one!

FTNH: What do you think of the first written version of 'Sleeping Beauty' in The Pentamerone (Sun, Moon & Talia)?

Tahlia: Well, it's not really a surprise that it's nothing like the Disney version, but it's amazing to see how drastically the entire spirit of the story has changed over time. When I read it for the first time, it actually reminded me a lot of a Greek myth, because it has the same crazy soap opera drama feel to it.

FTNH: Diamonds & Toads posted a small bio for you so instead of repeating that information I thought I'd ask you some questions about your story and your enjoyment of fairy tales in general. What is your favorite fairy tale and why?

Tahlia: Probably the original Hans Christian Anderson version of "The Little Mermaid". It was the version that I was brought up on--we had a beautiful picture book version of that used dolls in the photographs. I also listened to it on a record over and over again when I was little. It's like an Andrew Lloyd Webber song--it grabs your emotions and connects you to the story in a way that many fairy tales fail to do. The image that always sticks in my mind is the little mermaid's new legs allow her to walk and dance with grace, but every step feels like she's walking on knives. It's that push and pull of wanting the thing that will hurt you that fascinates me every time I read it.

FTNH: What are some of your favorite fairy tale retellings and why do they appeal to you?

Tahlia: I will admit to being a sucker for Cinderella retellings. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine was the first retelling that I read for the first time and just thought, "Whoah!". I've read that book half a dozen times because it doesn't just retell the story, but it takes it to a whole new level that I never knew fairy tales could reach. Her Princess Tales series is also delightful. Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a slightly grittier version of Cinderella that I appreciate because of the daring twist it takes at the end. Vivian Vande Velde's The Rumpelstiltskin Problem is what initially inspired me to write my own fairy tale retelling because she puts SIX radically different spins on the story into one book. That's the book that got me starting to think about all the practical problems that classic fairy tales seem to overlook.

FTNH: What made you decide to give Deidre a 'voice' prior to being woken up?

Tahlia: Well, I started thinking about how awkward it would be to wake up to some random guy you've never met kissing you! That was my initial thought, and then I started wondering if there could be any way for the sleeping princess and the prince to actually get to know each other before the kiss. So I came up with a way to let them communicate and fall in love so that when they kissed, it actually meant something to them. Many fairy tale retellings are all about trying to break the damsel in distress stereotype, but I wanted to focus more on the prince and his feelings about the whole situation because he's the one who ultimately has to break the spell! Once I started running dialogue in my head between the two characters, everything else just fell into place.

FTNH: What did you learn/receive from the experience of retelling a fairy tale, especially one that had to include certain elements (besides the lovely prize, of course)?

Tahlia: For me, I have spent most of my writing years working on manuscripts for novels that I hope to publish someday, so it was extremely hard to keep this story under 1000 words. It was originally 7000 words, with a much fuller plot arc and character development. I had to save that copy and then cut out the first 3/4 of the plot and start the story there. So I learned the invaluable lesson of how to mercilessly cut down a story while still preserving the spirit of it. Thinking about creative ways to twist Sleeping Beauty has also given me lots of new ideas for more fairy tale related stories.

One unexpected gift that this contest has given me is a large spike in visitors to my website (guardianghost.wordpress.com) that features the current writing project I'm creating with my friend. I've never been published or won any writing contests before, so it's really helped me feel more confident as a writer and gives my parents some hope that I might not have to be the starving artist type.

FTNH: If you had been in an enchanted sleep for one hundred years what sort of breakfast would you order on waking up?

Tahlia: All perfect food is made by my mom, so that would be my first of my criteria. I think I'd want a berry smoothie with bacon and cheese quiche, some raspberry tarts, and LOTS of homemade doughnuts. Oh, and pancakes! And poptarts! And just the marshmallows of Lucky Charms! Gosh, I hope my prince has a good appetite, because there's no way I'm going to be able to eat all of my first breakfast without some help!

Thank you so much for chatting with the Fairy Tale News Hound today! We wish you every success in your studies and your writing.
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You can find out more about Tahlia HERE at Diamonds & Toads on the August 6th entry.

Here's an excerpt from the beginning in which you can see this is no ordinary Sleeping Beauty:

“This is the last quest I am ever going on,” Patrick muttered to himself.

He struggled up the never-ending staircase, sweat weighing down his tunic. At the top, a door was finally in sight. Before he could reach it, his brother Prince Conrad burst out of it and rushed passed him, muttering to himself, “…didn’t work…bad omen…voices of ghouls…” Before Patrick could say a word, Conrad was gone.

“Well, I’m not giving up now that I’m here!” Patrick called to the sound of retreating footsteps. Plodding behind Conrad for hours chasing this legend had been bad enough. For Patrick, there was no turning back. Moving closer, he could read a stone plaque on the door.

“Here sleeps Princess Deirdre of Acrasia, until after a hundred years have passed from the twelfth day of Yune, 988. Whence that time arrives, she shall be awakened by a kiss, and the rule of the royal family shall continue.

“That silly ninny!” Patrick laughed out loud. “Con was a whole year too early!” It was the year 1087, not 1088. Stepping into the room, he saw an ornate canopy bed with the princess on it. “What?” A female voice said. “Back for more are you?”

Patrick spun in a full circle, frantically searching for the speaker. Confused, and a little frightened, Patrick crept over to the bed. The princess talking must not be asleep after all, maybe she was just pretending. There she was, lying on top of the covers. Her breathing was deep and relaxed. She certainly looked like she was sleeping.

Patrick swallowed hard and tried to remember his manners.

“Sorry to disturb you, err, Miss.”

“Oh! You’re a different one,”

You can read the rest of the story HERE.

Here are some more interesting interpretations of Sleeping Beauty. Click on the covers for more information on each. You can find even more HERE at SurLaLune.

NOTE: The illustration at the head is by Ivy Izzard. You can get a closer view and see more of her work by clicking on the image or HERE. The black and white illustration is by the legendary Gustave Doré. Click on the image or HERE to be taken to more information about him.