Book Trailer for "White Cat" by Holly Black

Holly Black is well known for her fairy tale based writing and has been called one of this generations greatest writers. We're eagerly awaiting her new release "White Cat", based on the fairy tale "The White Cat" (you can catch up on the tale HERE), which is due out on May 4, 2010.

Author Holly Black

Here's the synopsis from Holly's website:

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

There's an excerpt available to read HERE while we're waiting and also a new book trailer to introduce the story and the series, called "Curse Workers".


You can find out more about Holly at her website HERE and her blog HERE.

Grimmer Tales: A Wicked Collection of Happily Never After Stories

There's a new book out (released December 9, 2009) of fairy tale retellings in which the stories are told in comics with a rather grim version of a funny bone.

The author/illustrator is Erik Bergstrom and the reviews are using phrases like "homicidal whimsy" and "joyfully morbid masterpiece" so this won't be everyone's cup of tea.
From Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing:

The book consists of a series of extremely nasty comic-strips telling the aftermath of the classic folkloric fairy tales. For example, one running gag has Pinnocchio telling polite social lies in panel 1, while panel 2 depicts his sprouted nose gouging out the eye of some innocent (i.e., "Cute baby! -- stab").

These running gags are pretty funny, but the really standout moments are the longer strips, especially the "What a Witch" strip, in which two witches standing over a cauldron extol the virtues of Kiddee Flakes, which are much more convenient for kidnapped-child-fattening than candy-houses. This is good, wicked humor at its finest -- if you loved Fractured Fairy Tales...

The link for more information is HERE.

"Beast" Preview - Graphic Novel by Marian Churchland

Newsarama has a free 25 page preview of a new graphic novel that (according to Newsarama) becomes available in bookstores today (Amazon shows it becoming available on November 25th). It's loosely based on Beauty and the Beast and is by Vancouver writer-artist Marian Churchland.

From an interview with Comic Book Resources:

“Beast” is the story of Colette, a struggling sculptor who’s trying to get on with her life following a break-up. Her father, who doubles as her “informal and somewhat unreliable” agent, finds her a job: Carving a portrait of a man out of a specific block of marble. But neither the man,who turns out to be a shadowy creature named Beast, or the block of marble are what they seem.

If that plot sounds familiar, it’s supposed to. “The initial idea for ‘Beast’ was that I would do a very, very loose retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale,” Churchland told us, “based more or less in the present day, with some mild magical elements.” But from that starting point, the story’s transformed into a more personal tale for the protagonist. “It evolved into something less about the standard fairytale romantic coupling, and more to do with the main character, Colette, having to figure out what she wants out of his life, and whether she’s going to stick with what she knows or break off into uncharted territory.”

Churchland describes “Beast” as a vignette rather than a traditional story, and she feels the piece is fairly unique in the medium of American comics. “I can’t really think what to compare it to,” Churchland said. “And hopefully that, if nothing else, is a good sign rather than a bad one.”

You can read the rest of the article HERE.

Here are a couple of sample pages (click to view larger images):If you like Beauty and the Beast (or are interested in graphic novels) I think you'll be more than intrigued by the end of the 25 page preview. Ms. Churchland herself calls it a "quiet story" and that alone is atypical of what comics usually are these days. "Beast" seems to have a combination of good pacing and expressive drawings that are so well laid out they are emotive without drawing attention to themselves, so you don't lose the story. I'm definitely curious to read more.

You can view 23 more pages HERE and purchase it HERE. Ms. Churchland's website is HERE and her blog is HERE. Both have lots more art and explanations about her process.

Baba Yaga -The Russian Witch (article) & Various Baba Yaga Illustrations

Baba Yaga by Leonid Bloommer

I love the character of Baba Yaga. While she certainly is terrifying in many ways, to me she's more enigmatic than anything else. To some extent, if you can figure out the rules you can not only survive and encounter with her, she may actually help you.

There's definitely more to this traditional Russian fairy tale villain than meets the eye. I've read stories where Baba Yaga has sisters, a lover or a child (and in the story I read, yes, she loves her kid - you don't want to come between this Mama and her baby!), all of which seem at odds with the character as she's normally portrayed.

Baba Yaga
by Ravenari

I found an article posted in the first week of October which discusses Baba Yaga as a 'force of nature' and how this would have had an impact on those listening to the story years ago. The focus was different from the usual a) she's mostly evil or b) she the crone in the maid-mother-crone triad.

Here's a couple of excerpts:

When visitors arrive, Baba Yaga asks them if they came of their own accord or were sent. Smart visitors say they were sent. Coming of their own accord puts them in the witch's power; they are consenting to their own doom, so nothing can save them. They must also actively seek entrance by telling the house to turn its door to them. This concept is similar to the idea that a vampire (also an Eastern European legend) can't come into a home unless invited. The danger is one you bring on yourself. Another way ofl ooking at it, though, is that if you want to get something from nature, you have to take chances...

Baba Yaga
by Himmapaan

...These stories may have roots in Indo-European tales that passed into both eastern and western folklore. A trinity of Hindu goddesses consists of the Virgin, the Mother, and the Hag, and Baba Yaga is sometimes considered a Slavic version of the Hag. (Sometimes Baba Yaga even has two sisters). The versions about Vasilisa and the boy and girl are similar to the western “Hansel and Gretel,” in that wicked stepmothers send children off to be eaten by witches. And when Baba Yaga detects a victim, she often says, “Foo! Foo! I smell a Russian spirit!” This sounds like “Fee fi fo fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman!” in “Jack and the Beanstalk."

Hunchback Fairy
by Endling
(additional website HERE)

But some aspects of Baba Yaga tales are uniquely Russian. Siberians placed log cabins on uprooted tree stumps to keep animals away from their food supplies. To remote and imaginative people, tree stumps can easily become chicken legs, and from there Baba Yaga’s horrible home. The doll in the tale of Vasilisa is similar to small household idols that Russians had in pre-Christian times. And a recurring theme is that virtue will protect one, no matter what the danger, whereas, in Western fairy tales, craft prevails. This trust in virtue must have been comforting to people scratching out a marginal existence in a forbidding climate.

The rest of the fascinating article is HERE. The author, Kathleen Murphy (a community college writing tutor) has a writing focused website HERE.

Baba Yaga
by Waldemar von Kazak

(additional website HERE)

You can find more information about each artist by clicking on the image or on their names. The deviantART artists have some interesting things to say about Baba Yaga too, so make sure you check their comments below the artwork.

And isn't that steampunk Baba Yaga fun? Methinks it won't be long before a steampunk Baba Yaga makes her way into a story... ;)

While we're on the subject, I should mention a book released at the beginning of September titled "Dreaming Anastasia" by Joy Preble. It features Baba Yaga quite prominently and I'm curious to read it (despite the cover which would normally make me ignore it).

Here's the part of the blurb that pertains to Baba Yaga:

In 1918, in a Russian cellar, Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov was murdered with the rest of her family. Or so history tells us. Thanks to old magics, Anastasia was rescued by the witch Baba Yaga and now spends her days confined in a tiny hut perched on chicken legs. With only the witch and a doll for company, Anastasia writes letters to her family, and waits.

HERE author Joy Preble discusses how she uses Baba Yaga alongside the prominent maternal themes in the book and has her character be much more than the dangerous child-eating witch she's often portrayed as. She also makes use of a matroyshka (Russian nesting doll or Babushka doll, also known as the 'little mother doll'*) as a 'special object' and as a model for the novel's structure, so I'm doubly curious about this one.

Available at amazon.com HERE.

*This doll was the key to Vasilissa (also spelled Vasilisa) surviving an encounter with Baba Yaga in one of my favorite fairy tales. It was, appropriately, given to Vasilissa by her mother before passing away and is symbolic of her mother's spirit remaining with her and giving her the strength (and the wits) to do the Baba Yaga's impossible tasks set for her. The real villains of this story, though, are Vasilissa's stepmother and stepsisters - not Baba Yaga. The witch keeps her agreement and gives Vasilissa the fire she needs.. Of course, that's only part of the story. You can read more about it HERE. Which reminds me I should do a post on Vasilisa in her role as the Russian Frog Princess... ;)

A Look Inside "The Art of the Disney Princess"

I mentioned in a previous post HERE about an unusual art book coming from Disney, titled "The Art of the Disney Princess". It features different artist's interpretations (in their medium of choice) of different Disney princesses. From illustration to photography the pictures range from playing with realism to metaphoric interpretations and more.

It's just been released in the last week (or so) and some artists have shared their artistic contributions on their blogs.

From the official blurb:

Every little girl has a favorite Disney Princess--and for that matter, every grown-up girl, too! In The Art of the Disney Princess, Disney artists, designers, illustrators, and animators from around the world have re-imagined their favorite princesses and portrayed them in a variety of mediums. Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Jasmine, Snow White, and Cinderella are newly incarnated in water color, pastel, oil paint, colored pencil, mixed media, and computer graphics pieces that range from the traditional to the unconventional. This artwork has been created especially for this museum-quality book, which is sure to delight art lovers, Disney collectors, and any prince or princess who ever believed that fairytales do come true.

Photographic interpretation of Disney Princesses Snow White & Jasmine
by Ryan Astamendi
(click for a larger view - recommended)

Pictured above (along with the front of the book) is a photographic interpretation by Ryan Astamendi (whose blog you can find HERE).

Jasmine & the Magic Lamp
(I love this one too)
by Stacey Aoyama

Belle
by Stacey Aoyama
(you can see Stacey's blog HERE)

Here's a number of signed prints I found for sale on EBay during the Disney Expo (close-ups are available to see HERE):
Nice to see Tiger Lily there! Here's a close-up, simply because I rarely see art with her as the subject, plus, it's lovely:

Princess of Never Land
by Cathy Clark

The Little Mermaid 'Movie Poster'
by Eric Tan.

I particularly like his Sleeping Beauty interpretation below.
Sleeping Beauty 'Movie Poster'
by Eric Tan

From Eric Tan's BLOG about the project:

Ever since I started designing posters, I've always had this goal of creating my very own versions for all the animated Disney films. Those classics have had such an impact on my art and my career, that I wanted to do it almost as a tribute to the importance they had on me as a kid. Disney Consumer Products had a cool idea going when they decided to ask a bunch of internal artists to put their artistic spin on the Princesses for a book that was just released, The Art of Disney Princess. You can almost guess immediately what I wanted to do with my pieces. Yup, MOVIE POSTERS!!!

There was an event held, also called "The Art of the Disney Princess", to support the book launch and NERDLIKE.COM had a representative there to report on the show and take some photos to post. From the blog:

The Art of the Disney Princess is exactly what it sounds like, a celebration of the animated empire’s fair ladies. Disney commissioned 10 artists from Disney Global Consumer Products to re-imagine the Disney princesses. The results were dope to say the least. The event, hosted at the Zune LA house/building, was set up like an art gallery. The front room housed a collection of art pieces accompanied by its Disney Couture clothing counterpart. Each piece represented a different princess in the artists own unique styling....

...The second room upstairs was more like an art museum with pieces on the wall. From the abstract to a little weird, each piece retained the essence of the original princess, but somehow set it apart in a way that they felt authentic and real. Gone were the traditional aesthetics of the Disney cookie cutter princess. These artists had introduced the princesses to a whole new world (no pun intended). In addition to the transformation of the princesses, you could see each artists individual style and inspiration. Several pieces even escaped the realm of Disney and looked like pieces anyone would hang on their wall.

You can read the rest of the news about the show and see many more pictures HERE.

It's a real shame the event was limited to a select group and isn't on display for the public. The Disney Couture princess collection from the show will be on display at Kitson LA in February 2010 but this doesn't include all the pieces, of course. Even those who aren't fans of Disney (or who cringe when they hear the word 'princess' like I do) could enjoy a gallery showing like this! At least some of it has been put into a book for us.

You can find the book on Amazon.com - currently at 34% off - and see a lot of page samples HERE.

Release Day: "Ice" (A Retelling of 'East Of the Sun, West Of the Moon') by Sarah Beth Durst

It's release day for "Ice" by Sarah Beth Durst (Happy release day Sarah!) and I can sincerely say I've been looking forward to this ever since I heard about it.

"Ice" is a retelling of the "East O' the Sun, West O' the Moon" fairy tale from Norway and if you're not familiar with it, many of the elements still will be, as some parts are very similar to Beauty and the Beast. (You can click on the tale title to be taken to SurLaLune for the text, annotations, illustrations and more.) Sarah's book, though, is set in the modern Arctic and promises to be a really unique and wonderful retelling that will stand out among the many other novels and novelettes out there. The two chapters available to read HERE only whet my appetite more.Here's a brief blurb from Amazon:

When Cassie was a little girl, her grandmother told her a fairy tale about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King and was swept away to the ends of the earth. Now that Cassie is older, she knows the story was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives with her father at an Arctic research station, is determined to become a scientist, and has no time for make-believe.

Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie comes face-to-face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned at the ends of the earth. And he can bring her back -- if Cassie will agree to be his bride.

That is the beginning of Cassie's own real-life fairy tale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey across the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knows will be swept away, and everything she holds dear will be taken from her -- until she discovers the true meaning of love and family in the magical realm of Ice.

As is fitting for a great romance, Sarah has called this book "a love letter to my husband. Beyond the ice and the bears and the everything, ICE is about true love, the kind of love where you face the world as a team... the kind where you'd go east of the sun and west of the moon for each other." (from today's post and her reflections about how the creating the book began and why this project is personal and special.)Sarah's fun and lively personality is evident in her books, her BLOG, when she's interviewed and in the fabulous commentary of what she calls "Obscure Fairy Tales". They're one of my favorite things I've ever read in a blog, anywhere. For these she posts the traditional text of a fairy tale she's come across in her wide ranging research and, almost line by line, writes her reaction and thoughts to the events happening in the story. (Genius! I wish I'd thought to do something like this but I doubt my commentary would be half so entertaining!) While waiting for the book release date to arrive Sarah kindly put up another obscure fairy tale on her blog to keep us entertained last week. Here's a short excerpt so you can see what I mean:

The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body (from Asbjornsen and Moe)

Catchy title. I would have gone with "The Heartless Giant." Reminds me of the original title for "War and Peace": "War and the Time That Was Less Full of Death and Destruction."

Once upon a time... six princes leave home to find brides, but they forget to bring home a bride for the seventh brother.

"My brothers went a-wooing and all I got was this lousy T-shirt."

On their way home, the brothers and their brides encounter a giant who turns them all to stone.

Bummer. So much for that road trip.

And so it goes on. If you love fairy tales and you've never heard of Sarah before, it should be clear by now you need to be reading her books and blog!

Her two previous books - "Into the Wild" and "Out of the Wild", both based on fairy tales with Rapunzel's daughter as the protagonist - are shown below:Regarding the "East O' the Sun, West O' the Moon" fairy tale, the subject of a girl traveling the snowy wilds on the back of a polar bear is a favorite among fairy tale illustrators (Sarah says P.J. Lynch's artwork had a helping hand in inspiring her to write the novel) but instead of showing you more illustrations I thought I'd just stick with Cliff Nielsen's gorgeous cover for today (Don't you think the girl looks very much like her?) and instead found this lovely snow sculpture you're seeing throughout this post, photographed in Wyoming.
NOTE: Unfortunately I can't find any information on the snow sculptor, just that it was created for the International Snow Sculpting Championships in 2005. If anyone has more information, please let me know. I'd love to give credit to the talented sculptor.

New Disney Story Books Using Concept Art for Illustrations

There are some new Disney storybooks out that are using illustrations done by concept artists during the development of the films. With three books so far and one more one the way, this is looking to turn into a series.

The most recent release (August 18th) is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with illustrations by Gustaf Tenggren.Others in the series so far have used artwork by Mary Blair and include:

Alice in Wonderland - text by Cynthia RylantCinderella - text by Cynthia RylantComing on October 13th (or possibly September 22nd according to a Disney Press report) is Peter Pan, also illustrated by Mary Blair, with text by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson.

My only gripe is that the printing could have been better and done more justice to the beautiful artwork. Because the reproductions aren't handled as well as they could have been and are somewhat muddied and cropped, these volumes are really more for interested adults than children. Nevertheless, I think these are worth grabbing a copy of before they disappear.

"Fairest of All" - A Snow White Novel from Disney & Serena Valentino

How on earth did I miss this?!

There's a new Snow White novel and this one is a treat for those of us who love both the tale and Disney's version.

"Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen" by Serena Valentino is a release from Disney Press and uses the Disney characters to tell the story - from the Queen's point of view. (If the author's name sounds familiar you're probably aware of the "Gloomcookie" comics and the "Nightmares & Fairy Tales" graphic novel series.)

If you're familiar with Disney's Snow White, you'll know that the Queen is one of the scariest Disney villains invented to date and yet this book is written from her point of view - as the protagonist.

Here's author Serena Valentino's description of what the book is about (from her BLOG):

Fairest of All is a story about grief and loss, it circles upon its self, revealing more with each revolution, much in the way we process grief each time it revisits. It is a story of a woman so overwrought by heartbreak and loss, so fearful of experiencing that sort of pain again that she closes her heart off for fear of perishing all together. It is also a tale of abuse, and the Queen's desire to break that cycle with her new family, but her own insecurities and loses send her reeling into the tempest she is most familiar and accustomed to. It is a bloody tale of a woman consumed by insecurity and the lure of a mysterious man in an enchanted mirror driving her to do things completely against her nature, and her struggle with how her grief and sorrow has transformed her into something completely alien even to herself. It is the story of the Wicked Queen, and who she was before, and who she longed to be before she was destroyed by her vanity.

And the official blurb from her WEBSITE:

Fairest of All is the story of the Wicked Queen, who she was before, and who she longed to be before she was destroyed by her vanity and the need to murder her daughter Snow White. It is a bloody tale of abuse, heartbreak, love and grief, and the lure of a mysterious man in an enchanted mirror. Beautifully written by Serena Valentino, author of Nightmares & Fairy Tales. Available in August 2009.

And here's a quote from 'Mouse House' reviewer Jim Hill:

This is half the charm of “Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen.” All of the Disney-inspired winks & nods that Ms. Valentino folds into this tale. By that I mean: The touchstones from the movie version of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (i.e. The Magic Mirror. The Heartbox. The Huntsmen. Even that boat in the dungeon that the old crone uses as she’s sneaking away from the castle) are still part of the narrative. But this time around, these touchstones are each introduced in an unusual manner and then take on different meanings over the course of Serena’s story.

You can read the rest of the review HERE.

Serena has apparently been posting chapters to entice us into pre-ordering (Sorry Serena - I only just discovered the book!) so, to do my part to help promote her book (and more Snow White stories), here are a couple of excerpts to help you make the decision to add this one to your collection (yes, I'm totally biased):

From Chapter 10 - The Shattering of A Soul

“Little bird . . .” the Queen’s voice broke and trailed off.

“Momma, what’s wrong?” The Queen shook her head, and closed her eyes tightly to dam the tears. Snow looked at her mother with sad, black eyes and said, “He’s not coming back yet, is he? Not now?” The Queen shook her head. “Not ever.” - “I think maybe you’re wrong, Momma, he promised he would come home soon, and Papa never breaks his promises.”

The Queen’s grief intensified at the child’s denial. She choked it down and felt it grip at her, slicing at her insides like broken pieces of glass. She felt broken, no longer able to contain her tears. “I know, my poppet, but I’m not mistaken. He couldn’t help it, my darling, he isn’t coming home this time.” The little girl’s lip quivered and she began to shake. The Queen held out her arms to her, and Snow White crumpled into her mother’s lap and howled an unearthly sob. The child was shaking so violently that the Queen felt she might crush the little girl for holding her too tightly. As she hugged Snow she wished to take the child’s grief and lock it away inside her with her own.

From Chapter 18 - Dream Sickness

“Show me Snow White!”

Snow White was running in the dark forest, full of fear and anguish.

She was panic-stricken, alone, and heading back to the castle. Back to her mother, who would surely have the Huntsman punished for attempting to hurt her, and weaving lies that she plotted her own daughter’s death. “Foolish girl.” The forest came alive; it was visceral and dangerous. It wanted Snow White’s life. The Queen’s rage penetrated the trees, bringing their leafless limbs to life. As if they were hands, the tree branches scratched and grabbed at Snow, entrapping her, pinning her to the ground. They wrapped themselves around her neck, choking her, and clawing at her chest for her heart.

The forest would do what the Huntsman could not.

You can read more excerpts HERE.

And you can order from Amazon.com HERE.

And if you'd like to read some behind-the-scenes details and keep up with what else Serena is doing, you can read her blog HERE.

Though this novel is being marketed at 9 to 12 crowd there's obviously a lot there for older readers to sink their teeth into. I can't wait till that 'thud!' on the front porch announces this books arrival! (Maybe I'll put up this bathroom decal in the meantime...)

Book Release: "Ash" by Malinda Lo

Today, September 1st, a new retelling of Cinderella hits the shelves. The YA book and the debut novel from anthropologist-turned-author Malinda Lo, has a different take on the well known (and oft-retold) tale.

Here's the blurb from Amazon.com:

In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

The first thing that got my attention? Fairies. This is a fairy tale with actual fairies (something far less common than most people realize).

The second thing is the romance. It's not at all surprising to see a Cinderella retelling have romance as a primary element but this one is a lesbian retelling.While this isn't a new thing, there's bound to be some controversy over this, especially being YA.

The vast majority of the reviews I've read (on many different sites) are incredibly favorable and from what I gather the storytelling style is lyrical and very, well, 'fairy tale'.

You can find the 1st chapter HERE.

Malinda's blog gives some fascinating insight into her writing process, including that, being trained in anthropology meant she took a great interest in reading as many variants of Cinderella she could find while preparing to write, along with some additional folklore studies. (A lot of other information about her process and approach is scattered throughout the posts, so I recommend just going to her BLOG and browsing.)

Malinda also discusses how the gorgeous cover was created in considering the themes of the book, by way of personally interviewing the artist/designer (you can read that entry HERE) and answers some frequently asked questions about "Ash" (FAQ available HERE).

This one is definitely on my wish list.

New Ebook from Heidi Anne Heiner of SurLaLune: "Frog Prince and Other Frog Tales From Around the World"

Heidi Anne Heiner, long-time fairy tale advocate/ambassador and the genius (and incredibly tireless worker) behind-the-scenes of one of the best fairy tale resources on the web - SurLaLune - has been busy working on a new series of books and just released her first one on August 19th.In perfect timing with the current buzz about princes masquerading as amphibians (thanks to Disney's upcoming animated feature "The Princess and the Frog" in December), this volume is titled: "The Frog Prince and Other Frog Tales From Around the World".

This is super exciting, as the tales in these collections can't be found - either put together or the complete texts of such - anywhere else on the web!

Heidi was kind enough to give me permission to re-publish her blog entry here at Once Upon A Blog:

Last week I announced a new series of "Women in Folklore" books I'm publishing in Kindle eformat and potentially in paper versions, too. The first volume in the series is The Fairy Tale Fiction of Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie. You can read all about the format choices and thinking behind this series at the original post here.

This week I've also launched the first book in the SurLaLune Fairy Tale Series, The Frog Prince and Other Frog Tales From Around the World. For now it is available in Kindle format only, but I am working on other formats. (If you have a preference, please post or email me so I know where the demand is focused.)

Here's the description:

From wise creatures to hapless victims, frogs appear in numerous stories around the world. Edited with an introduction by Heidi Anne Heiner of SurLaLune Fairy Tales, this volume contains over 100 fairy tales, fables, myths and ballads about frogs from around the world, including several variants of the well-known Frog Prince tales made famous by the Brothers Grimm and most recently adapted into a feature-length animated film by Disney. The book is divided into several sections, including “Frog Kings, Princes and Bridegrooms,” “Frog Brides,” “Frog Wooing and Courting,” “More Frog Tales,” and “Fables.” Also included is Mark Twain’s famous short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”

This book is much more involved on my part since I spent many weeks researching and then editing and formatting the texts. I searched hundreds of books and found roughly 100 tales about frogs to include in this volume, including tales that stand alone and others that are variants of each other. Most of these tales are not available on SurLaLune nor are they gathered in such a large collection anywhere else on the web or in print. I've also written short introductions to many of them in addition to the expanded article I've included as an introduction to the entire collection.

You can find the rest of the entry discussing publishing options, upcoming installments and the wonderful work her graphic artist husband did with the covers HERE.Please go support Heidi's amazing work, both with SurLaLune and these wonderful new series. Her blog (also focusing on fairy tales) is HERE, the website (very possibly my favorite on the web) is HERE and you can buy some wonderful products HERE (at CafePress) and HERE (at Zazzle), all of which help pay for the running costs of the site, which we sincerely need to stay active and available!

As for the ebook, Heidi has told me PDFs are on the way, so for all of us still without a Kindle, we'll be able to get our own copy very soon. In the meantime, here's a 'teaser' (from Amazon.com):

From the introduction:

A FROG with a crown on its head. A girl kissing a frog. If you pay attention, you’ll notice the images appear frequently in the world around you. These and other variations — many humorous — appear on t-shirts, in advertisements, on book covers and novelty items to name just a few. Their shorthand message: You have to kiss a lot of frogs to meet your prince. Just about anyone will tell you it’s from a fairy tale, some may be able to tell you the story. Not many people know that the familiar story isn’t really an old tale but a fairly new variation of several tales that have been circulating for centuries.

‘And so the princess kissed the frog, turning him into a prince before her very eyes.’ A frog transformed into a prince with a kiss. That’s how “The Frog Prince” fairy tale ends in modern popular culture, but it’s not the way our ancestors knew the tale. Most often, violence was the key to ending the enchantment in the earliest known versions traced back to Scotland and Germany.

The Scottish tale is most familiarly known as “The Well of the World’s End” and first appeared in print in The Complaynt of Scotland in 1549, predating Shakespeare. The title is romantic, but not nearly as easy to remember as our more familiar “The Frog Prince.” The tale is considerably different, but obviously related to the tale of today.

You can also find a whole set of pages at SurLaLune dedicated to the tale of The Frog King, or Iron Henry (also known as The Frog Prince) HERE.

From us all, Heidi, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your work with and for fairy tales. We're very lucky to have you on the fairy tale team!

"Ash and Ember" & "The Irrelevant Redemption" by Binary Winter Press

Writer/designer Sheatiel Sarao and illustrator Cody Vrosh combined forces to form Binary Winter Press and have just returned from ComiCon where they were spreading the word about their new illustrated book "Ash and Ember".From the website:

Futuristic fables and storybook dissent: Snow White leads a synesthestic revolution. A homicidal pyromaniac Goldilocks stalks the Three Bears. Rapunzel driven slowly mad by the isolation of space station life. Follow our tales out of the woods and into the fire.

They have another fairy tale based book too: "The Irrelevant Redemption: A Steampunk Fairytale". From their WEBSITE:

A cyborg, coming of age fable, a post-human Pinocchio meets Alice in an apocalyptic Wonderland story.

You can read an excerpts of their books on their WEBSITE and see more images in their galleries. There's a BLOG so you can keep up with their latest endeavors and you can check out their t-shirts in their ETSY shop too. There is a definite cyberpunk feel to this collection though you'll also see influences of art nouveau, steampunk and, very likely, robots.