"No Beast So Fierce" by Patrick Garson (Article on Telling & Re-telling Fairy Tales)

From "Beauty and the Beast: An Old Tale New-Told"
illustrated by Eleanor Vere Boyle

Here's an article I caught a few days ago at Tor.com on writing fairy tales by Patrick Garson, a regular poster at Tor. He also wrote his thesis on Disney's Beauty & the Beast and highly recommends Marina Warner's "From the Beast to the Blonde".

In his article, Mr. Garson uses the way we visualize the Beast (via illustrations old and new) as a great symbol of how we tell and re-tell fairy tales, among other points. Here are a couple of excerpts:

One of the things I adore about fairy tales is their malleability. The wonder and frisson you get from someone playing with and reinventing well-known tales is a truly unique, very special feeling (when it’s done well, that is…). And yet, we often assume that this reinvention is purely the prerogative of modern writers. Not so, I cry! We have been playing around with fairy tales, bending their archetypes to our will, for their entire written history (and there’s no reason to think the oral pre-history would be any different).

From "Beauty and the Beast: An Old Tale New-Told"
illustrated by Eleanor Vere Boyle

Later Patrick writes:

When you take a look at this visual history,(edit FTNH: of how illustrators over the years have portrayed fairy tale archetypes and classic story scenes) that malleability I mentioned—of themes, characters, atmosphere—becomes quickly and deliciously apparent. Especially in stories where what’s described is something ambiguous and variable, something that changes over time, something embedded into much of our communication and latter-day stories. Something like beauty, or beastliness.

The whole article (and all the links) are very interesting, whether you read, write or study fairy tales and worth your time to check out. You can read the whole article HERE. And don't forget to check out the illustrations he's chosen for his article. They're a variety of Beauty & the Beast illustrations - all of the story beat where Beauty's father meets the Beast.Apart from being integral to the discussion they're also quite a different collection from the usual. An extra treat!

'Murderati' Discusses The Fairy Tale Structure

Last weekend, popular mystery writing site 'Murderati' (think Literati with a twist) discussed the use of 'fairy tale structure' in stories and in putting together a novel. More specifically, the article discusses the fairy tale 'rule of three', which anyone who reads fairy tales regularly will be familiar with, and how incredibly useful it is to use as a template in writing.

Here's an excerpt from the Murderati post (written by Alexandra Sokoloff):

When I respond deeply to a movie or book, no matter how realistic and modern it seems on the surface, chances are it’s going to have a fairy tale structure.

SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, RED DRAGON, THE EXORCIST, THE GODFATHER, A WRINKLE IN TIME, STAR WARS, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, THE TREATMENT (Mo Hayder) – every single one of them is a fairy tale. And fairy tales have their own structural rules that just work for me.

I know JT and Cornelia have blatantly (my favorite approach) used fairy tales in at least a few of their books.

And yes - she talks about Pan's Labyrinth too.

I don't remember if I read this or heard this but I've always thought of the rule of three having specifically this effect: Once is chance, two might be coincidence whereas three is definitely not coincidence! (And therefore important.)

Click HERE to learn more about the 'rule of three' and to see multiple examples in fairy tales.

You can read the whole of this interesting article - which has something for both readers and writers of fairy tales - HERE.

"Red Hot Fairy Tales Anthology" - Open Call for Submissions

Interested in rewriting a fairy tale?

Samhain Publishing Ltd., has put out a submissions call for any interested author, in any genre, wanting to write a novella for a yet-to-be-titled fairy tale anthology.

Here's the announcement (reproduced in entirety by permission):

How did Belle tame the wild Beast? Did the carriage turn into a pumpkin….or did Cinderella? And just what was going on with Snow White and those Dwarves?

I’m very pleased to announce an open call for submissions for a new, yet-to-be titled Summer 2010 anthology. I’m open to any genre, M/F, M/M, or multiples thereof. I’m looking for your super-hot take on the fairy tales we grew up with and… there must be a Happily Ever After.

The anthology will include novellas from 20,000 to 25,000 words in length and will be released individually as ebooks in August 2010 and in print in Spring 2011.

Submissions are open to all authors, published with Samhain or aspiring to be published with Samhain. All submissions must be new material, previously published submissions will not be considered. Additionally, manuscripts previously submitted, whether individually or for past anthologies, will not be considered either. Please be aware that manuscripts submitted to this anthology cannot be resubmitted at a later date unless by invitation from an editor. Please note, we are not accepting multiple submissions for this anthology. If you already have a manuscript under consideration with Samhain and would also like to send in a submission to this anthology, please query editor@samhainpublishing.com first.

To submit a manuscript for consideration, please include:

The full manuscript (of 20,000 to 25,000 words) with a comprehensive 2-5 page synopsis. Please include a letter of introduction/query letter. Full manuscripts are required for this as it’s a special project. As well, when you send your manuscript, please be sure to use the naming convention FairyTales_Title_MS or FairyTales_Title_Synopsis. This will ensure that your submission doesn’t get missed in the many submissions we receive, and makes it easy for me to find in my ebook reader.

Submissions are open until February 1st, 2010 and final decision will be made by February 15th, 2010. Please send your submission to editor@samhainpublishing.com and include Red Hot Fairy Tales Anthology in the subject line. Questions and queries can be addressed to Laurie M. Rauch (laurie@samhainpublishing.com)

Other submission information as well as details on royalties and contracts can be found HERE. My take on 'hot' here is sexy as well as new and fresh but you may wish to check up on that definition. They're also currently looking for Steampunk Romance pieces too (information on that is on the same page). I wonder which anthology is more likely to publish a steampunk romance fairy tale? ;)

The poster shown is from the famous cartoon by Tex Avery "Red Hot Riding Hood", which you watch see below.

Once Upon A Week

Note: I apologize for posting this mid-week but I only found out about the event yesterday afternoon.

Fairy tale books are getting recommended and reviewed by blogs participating in a special cross-blog event called "Once Upon A Week". There are other fairy tale related activities happening too.

The event is being hosted by NotNessie at "Today's Adventure" and her blog has all the links you need to get you started in finding all the recommended reading, reviews, blogger interviews, give-aways, memes and more that are happening this week.

Here are the review links so far. Please contact NotNessie directly if you wish to post and participate:

1.	A Curse Dark As Gold	2.	Ice by Sarah Beth Durst
3.	Princess of the Midnight Ball	4.	Ash
5.	The Baldwin Project, A Website Review	6.	Forest Born
7.	Beastly	8.	Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan
9.	Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale	10.	The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, by A.S. Byatt
11.	Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale	12.	Ash Review and Author Interview
13.	Politically Correct Bedtime Stories	14.	Ice, by Sarah Beth Durst

For Thursday she even has a contest to win one of her recommended fairy tale retellings. To qualify people have to rewrite a fairy tale with themselves as one of the characters (which is chosen for you). Details are posted HERE so anyone interested can get writing.

You can find all the information, fun and participants at the Once upon A Week posts for "Today's Adventure" HERE. It's a great way to find fairy tale loving writers and readers and some great new blogs to boot.

Fairy Tales for Writers

Since I posted about writing fairy tale based fantasy this week, I thought I'd draw your attention to a fun little book of writing advice that uses fairy tales to impart writing anecdotes and insights: "Fairy Tales For Writers" by Lawrence Schimel.

It's actually a small book of thirteen, often funny, poems (don't worry - you don't need to love poetry to enjoy this one - it's very accessible for all types of readers). If you like metaphors, imagery and fairy tale archetypes you'll really enjoy it. The tales are used very cleverly to illustrate issues in writing.

One note: when I ordered this book a couple of years ago I was surprised to see how small it was when it arrived. The small size was deceptive. This is a very enjoyable (and useful) book and well worth its price.

Here's a review from amazon.com that says it all:

This small, slender, imaginative, hilarious, and all-to-true 30-page collection of poetry by Lawrence Schimel wonderfully and artfully reflects the almost archetypal hopes, ambitions, frustrations, passions, and processes of writing for publication. Here in a kind of poetic folklore format are 'the new writer who encounters a wolf along the path to publication'; the writing workshop member who must always be 'the fairest of them all'; the writer who for the sake of love gives up her own special voice; the shy, anonymous author who slips away before the end of the reading only to be remorselessly tracked down by the editor wanting to publisher her work. Everyone who has ever put pen to paper, and the tried to submit that paper to a publisher, will recognize the poetically expressed truths in Lawrence Schimel's superb little book, "Fairy Tales For Writers". As the last line on the last page of this marvelous little gem has it: "Sometimes there is a happy ending, even in publishing."

You can read a SF Site review HERE. Click HERE to see more details and order.

On Writing Fairy Tale Based Fantasy

Hans Christian Andersen's "The Flying Trunk"* by Dan Froejlund

Occasionally, the question comes up as to whether or not it's a good idea to write fairy tale-based fantasy works.

One writer recently shared an agents rejection of the idea with a writing website called "Writer Unboxed". (This website discusses the craft of genre writing and has a lot of well respected authors weighing in on their discussions.)

To answer this, they called on authors Sophie Masson and Juliet Marillier; two writers who've built their career on writing fairy tale based fiction. Apparently both are quite passionate about the subject so the post has a second part coming with Ms. Marillier's response.

In the meantime, go see what Sophie Masson, author of several retellings such as Carabas (published as Serafin in the US) and Cold Iron (published as Malkin in the US), as well as many other fairy tale based works, has to say on the subject. Here's an excerpt to whet your appetite:

What makes fairy tales particularly suitable in fact as a basis for modern fantasy is that in themselves they mix both enchantment and pragmatism, the world of the everyday and a realm of pure magic. And it’s all done in such a matter of fact yet also profound way. You can never get to the end of the meanings of fairytale; and the fairytales of a people reveal their essence, their soul, if you like, in a moving yet also funny and beautiful way. They reveal our similarities and our differences...

You can read the rest of the post, Ms. Masson's response and readers comments HERE."The Flying Trunk" by Erik Bagge

About his modern interpretation Erik says:

The idea behind this wonderful fairy-tale is fabulous, as H.C. Andersen anticipates the "flying age" that we live in today. When he wrote the fairy-tale in 1839 nobody would have imagined, that the "flying age" would become a reality some centuries later... I did not change the motif that much when I modernized it. I turned the trunk into a car turned upsite down. I didn't want to turn the trunk into an airplane, as I wanted to express the preposterous idea that things can have other functions than they were meant to have.

* I thought illustrations from The Flying Trunk to be appropriate as the main character in the tale, after losing his enchanted means of seeing a Sultan's Daughter (by way of the flying trunk of the title) ends up wandering the world telling stories. See more about the HCA tale (which draws from many older tales around the world) HERE.

New Fairy Tales - Online Magazine

There's a very special online magazine I'd like to bring to your attention:

New Fairy Tales is an online magazine dedicated to publishing new fairy tales that are suitable for all ages. We are passionate about fairy tales, about good writing and beautiful illustrations and about raising money for an important cause.

This magazine specializes in, not retellings of fairy tales but newly written fairy tales. Based in the UK the magazine nevertheless has contributors from all over the world. I highly recommend you take a look at the lovely presentation (and variety) of art and read the quality stories in each issue so far. You will not be disappointed!

From their first issue:

We don't believe the fairy tale canon is complete or that we should only retell old stories. We believe there are many new tales out there waiting to be written and read and loved.

...we aim to provide a home for original fairy tales and fairy tale art on the web.

From the 1st issue

Following the oral fairy tale tradition, this magazine also has an excellently produced AUDIO component to their offerings in which the original tales are read for your listening enjoyment.

While this magazine has a high standard of excellence for any writing and art to be included in the issues, submissions are open to anyone and Claire Massey encourages anyone interested to try. Submissions for the current issue close on October 20th (details are HERE).

From the 1st issue

Regarding accepted works please note the magazine is run on a voluntary basis and unfortunately can't pay contributors but they do ask readers and listeners to consider making a donation to support Derian House Children's Hospice*, "as a way of valuing the work of the writers and illustrators whose work we feature and of helping to raising money for a good cause."

This is a truly unique magazine and one I'm so excited to see available. Even better, their issues will now be available twice a year, which means more stories and art for us and more opportunities for fairy tale artists and writers to have their work published in a noteworthy collection.

NOTE from the website regarding the charity they support: We support Derian House Children's Hospice, which is based in North West England.They provide specialist care and support for children with a terminal or life threatening illness. There is suprisingly little help from central government for a children’s hospice such as Derian House. With less than 10% of their funding coming from official sources, the reality is that they are open 52 weeks a year and receive statutory funding for just nine of those.

Interview with Amy Morgan of The Fairy Tale Factory

Today we are talking to Amy Morgan, creator of the Fairy Tale Factory. You can find out more about the factory and the exciting workshops Amy has going in our previous post HERE.

This is a long interview post - but it's an interesting one, I promise!

Fairy Tale News Hound: Hi Amy! Welcome to Once Upon A Blog... and thank you agreeing to this interview.


Why do you love fairy tales? (You're in good company here on Once Upon A Blog!)

AMY: Oh, gosh. I love fairy tales because they speak equally powerfully to my conscious and my subconscious. They remind me that the world is far more fluid than I generally suppose, and that people are more powerful than we generally allow ourselves to be. Fairy tales remind me to trust myself. And they're beautiful. I love them for that, too.

FTNH: How have they influenced you personally?

AMY: On a personal level, fairy tales have kept me going through many a dark and dreary time. Something about reading fairy tales and stories inspired by fairy tales gives me a tremendous sense of hope and comfort.

On a professional level and as an artist, fairy tales have inspired some of my best work. That bit about trusting myself applies double-strength here - reading fairy tales has helped me trust my intuitions and inspirations.

FTNH: What was/were your favorite fairy tale/s when you were younger?

AMY: When I was a child I loved Rumplestiltskin. I had a collection illustrated by Tasha Tudor, and I was so fascinated by the fact that Rumplestiltskin [spoiler alert!] tore himself in two at the end. I would get my friends to act the story out with me - we'd use mustard-yellow yarn for the gold (this was the 70s - mustard-yellow yarn was plentiful) and we'd act out the whole thing.

FTNH: What is/are your favorite tale/s (or types of tales) now and where are they from?

AMY: My favorite tales now are the really long, weird ones from Italy and Germany. I've only recently started exploring the Russian tales, and then plan to move on to Chinese and Japanese.

There's a Grimm story The Two Brothers in which two brothers get separated, and one of them ends up traveling with a menagerie. At some point in the story, the brother with the animals gets his head cut off, and the animals have to put it back on again. Okay, here comes my favorite part: they accidentally put his head on backwards! He notices pretty quickly - as one might, so they rip his head off again and stick back on the right way.

Seriously. That is solid gold right there. The mishap with the head doesn't further the action of the plot in any discernible way. You don't learn anything about anyone's character from this little episode. It's just ... extra. A little gratuitous surrealism to help you on your way. Marie-Louise von Franz has actually written about this story and explains it in deep, meaningful, fascinating ways, but my enjoyment is more shallow than that. I just love how weird it is.

I also love The Juniper Tree - another violent, macabre Grimm tale.

FTNH: Why do you think this changed?

AMY: First reason: exposure. I only had that one collection of Tasha Tudor's Fairy Tales when I was a kid. I was so shocked and delighted when I discovered this whole other world of stories out there.

Second reason: I'm a grown-up now. The little Amy and the grown-up Amy need different stories - we're dealing with different life challenges.

FTNH: Why did you start the Fairy Tale Factory? What prompted the idea?

AMY: I was taking a sabbatical from work (aka - unemployed) and decided I was sick of the job market telling me what I could do for a living. I looked long and hard at the places where my passions intersected with my abilities, and decided that teaching a class about two of my favorite things (writing and fairy tales) could be a cool way to make money, meet interesting people, and justify my book allowance all at the same time.

I also hope, in my more optimistic moments, that this class will give people some new tools to cope with hard times. I hope to inspire people, to encourage them to trust their own voices, and to help them connect with beauty in the world and in themselves. I especially want to help people find beauty in the parts of themselves that seem dark and scary. Like that Rilke quote about all our dragons really being princesses just waiting for us to be brave.

FTNH: Who is the Fairy Tale Factory for? What sorts of people have expressed interest so far? What types of people do you think will benefit from attending the workshop/s?

AMY: The Fairy Tale Factory is for anyone who needs it. All ages, all experience levels, all cultural backgrounds. If someone feels inspired to come to my class, I will do my best to help them express whatever it is they came to say.

So far my students have been grown-ups with day jobs who still feel a connection to that playful, curious, magic part of themselves. They're intelligent, articulate, funny (so funny), clever, and stoked about the material. I really like my students.

I think anyone who likes this kind of thing will benefit from the workshops. Professional writers get a great workout - you wouldn't believe what this format does for your writing. Novice writers get to stretch their wings and explore in a safe, supportive environment. And the subject matter is great for working through creative blocks, regardless of your experience level or even your preferred medium. I keep the classes small so that it's easier for me to meet students on whatever level is right for them.

FTNH: So what was it about fairy tales that prompted you to use them as a teaching tool for writers?

AMY: My own experience. Some friends and I were playing with the format and I was shocked at what a great workout it was. Plot, language, tone, structure - it's all there. It's easy for modern writers to be soft when it comes to structure - modernism and post-modernism, while awesome, make it hard to resist the temptation to write 500-page novels in which nothing happens but a lot of Clever Words. Fairy tales don't mess around. You know almost immediately whether your story succeeds, and there's no bluffing. It's kind of like reading your work to kids: You find out real quick whether those jokes are as funny as you thought they were.

FTNH: I love the illustration for the Fairy Tale Factory homepage, complete with little iconic fairy tale symbols woven into the climbing rose border. Can you tell me about the illustration? How did it come about? Why did you choose two crows for the center?

AMY: The homepage showcases the work of everyone on my insanely talented design team. The crest is based on one that my designer (Angie Jernejcic) found in a book of heraldry. She designed the logo and it seemed like the best idea in the world to put it into that shield, flanked by those two crows. The crows chose themselves - all I did was say 'YES!' The climbing roses are from an illustration that Jeremy Eaton did for the site (he did all the illos). He drew each of the elements first (pumpkin coach, etc.), then wove them into the border of roses. My web designer (Kelly Davis) turned it into a recurring motif - she took one little section and turned it into those gorgeous climbing ribbons as a sort of wallpaper.

FTNH: There are quite a few retellings of fairy tales available and more being published all the time but not many original fairy tales. Putting aside the purist idea that true fairy tales are oral and collective in nature and can't be 'created' by one author, why is it that you're focused on creating new tales as opposed to retelling? Can you define the difference between retellings and creating new ones?

AMY: I am so much more interested in what's going on inside people now than what's already been written. I think fairy tales are kissing cousins with dreams. It's an interesting an exercise to say, "Write Snow White, but in modern times in a Chicago housing project." (FTNH: eg. Donald Barthelme's "Snow White") But it's so much more compelling and personal to ask, "What image has been tickling the edges of your consciousness lately? What story is waiting for you to tell it?"

Retelling is a good intellectual exercise. But it's easy to hide behind cleverness there. Ideally, writing your own personal tales will engage your emotions first, then your intellect. I think the stories have more juice that way.

FTNH: Would you mind explaining how that's different from writing normal fantasy?

AMY: What's different (and this is the technical workout part) is that you have to hold to the traditional fairy tale forms and conventions AND write a new story. This means that you are (a) groping around for the truest, most powerful and resonant images you can muster, and (b) coaxing those images into a form that is intensely limited. So you're engaging your subconscious and your conscious mind at the same time, like trying to stand on two boats at once.

Modern fantasy is quite different, technically, from the traditional fairy tale. In the traditional form, there is very little character development, dialogue, or description. It's little more than a fleshed-out outline. So bare-bones word choice, sentence structure, and plot become your essential tools - that's all you have.

Elmore Leonard has this great quote in his essay:

WRITERS ON WRITING; Easy on the Adverbs, Exclamation points and Especially Hooptedoodle:

There is a prologue in John Steinbeck's "Sweet Thursday", ... He says: "I like a lot of talk in a book and I don't like to have nobody tell me what the guy that's tlaking looks like. I want to figure out what he looks like from the way he talks... figure out what the guy's thinking from what he says. I like some description but not too much of that... Sometimes I want a book to break loose with a bunch of hooptedoodle... Spin up some pretty words maybe or sing a little song with language. That's nice. But I wish it was set aside so I don't have to read it. I don't want hooptedoodle to get mixed up with the story."

My students laugh at me because I am obsessed with this concept: hooptedoodle. In my classes, I feel I have a holy mission to wean them off of hooptedoodle. At the last reading party I overhead some of my students shouting, "Hooptedoodle!" then laughing their heads off. I couldn't have been more proud.

So that's the big difference between modern fiction and the fairy tale form that I teach: 85% less hooptedoodle!

FTNH: How do the skills differ for each type of writing? How are they the same?

AMY: For me as a writer, I'm doing something very different when I'm retelling a well-known story than I am when bringing out something new. In retelling, I'm in dialogue with my culture. For instance - Wicked uses our knowledge of the Wizard of Oz tale to explore cultural perspective. It's still a good story if you never read or saw Oz, but if you're saturated with Oz then you are a witness to the author riffing on all the ideas that Baum initially advanced and on all the things our culture has done with them between inception and present day.

As an author, you can't help but do that when you are riffing on a classic. You start playing with feminist perspectives, like Jane Yolen's Snow White. Or any other perspectives, depending on who and where you are. The point is that you are using the warp and woof of the story's cultural context to further your storytelling aims.

When you are writing an original, it's a much more internal, personal process. You're groping around and wrestling with images that are more slippery because they're unique to you. You can't build on the framework of what's already been done. You are making new characters and new plot devices, even if you're using the same old hero's journey structure that Homer and George Lucas and the ancient Sumerians did. You have to feel your way, asking at every juncture, "Is this it? Is this the best possible answer to the question, 'What happened next?' "

FTNH: Who are some of your favorite modern fairy tale writers? (either those who write retellings, originals or use fairy tales as a base for their stories) Any favorite fairy tale books you recommend (fiction or non-fiction)?

AMY: Hm. I feel woefully Behind the Times - there are so many authors out there in this genre whose works I haven't read yet. That said, some of my favorites are Diana Wynne Jones, Charles DeLint, Patricia McKillip, and Neil Gaiman. I love young adult novels for some reason. Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising series is amazing. Garth Nix does some cool stuff in his Abhorsen books.

Non-fiction: I encourage everyone who's interested in fairy tales to read everything by Marie-Louise von Franz, who was one of Carl Jung's primary disciples. She's written scads of books about fairy tales and they are all great. Women Who Run with the Wolves is a great read, too - more Jungian perspective. I love the psychoanalytical treatments of fairy tales - am a total sucker for them.

FTNH: You mention on the website that in the workshops you study fairy tales from around the world as well as the classic cannon.

AMY: I'm not as inclusive as I'd like to be. I need more Latin American and more African tales. I am starting to get into Hawaiian stories, but only just. The main bulk of the stories I read in class are obscure European tales. I try to dig out the truly bizarre and exciting ones so my students can broaden their understanding of what fairy tales are and do.

FTNH: You have a few original fairy tales available for us to read online. I personally love The Owl and the Maiden. Can we look forward to more? Do you have any plans for a collection/anthology and having them published?

AMY: Thank you, that's so nice! I'm working on a new one right now, and will hopefully have it up on the site in the next month or so.

I'm planning an anthology of all my students' stories from this past year and I might throw my own in there, too. I'm not hot and bothered to get published in any big way. If someone comes a-courting and wants to publish some of my stories, I'll definitely think about it. But I'm not chasing the dream of Making It Big Time as an author.

FTNH: I'm hearing rumors of a 'reading party' for the workshop you held in June - can you tell me more about that?

AMY: We do a reading after each class. It gives the students something real to write for. Nothing like the fear of reading your story out loud to a room full of strangers to sharpen your authorial edge! The readings are really fun. We drink a lot of wine and eat good food beforehand, so it ends up feeling more like a party than a reading. Students from different workshops show up to cheer each other on, friends and family come out. It's a nice way to wrap up the class.

FTNH: It sounds like many people would enjoy and benefit from the workshops. Has anything about starting the Factory surprised you? Do you have any stories/anecdotes you'd like to share from your experiences in running the workshops so far?

AMY: The thing that's surprised me the most is how fun it's been. (Knock on wood.) I love my students, I love the material, and I love teaching - surprise! My crazy idea worked! That's the big shocker, the thing I'm still digesting: This wacky idea I had while sitting around in my back yard one summer is actually HAPPENING. And it's cool! That just blows my mind. I'm so grateful.

The best stories, for me, are the actual stories that the students write. Those stories are way more interesting than any personal anecdotes.

FTNH: What other plans do you have for the future of the Fairy Tale Factory? Anything online for those of us who can't travel to Seattle?

AMY: If I could figure out a way to give online students the same depth of experience I can give them in person, I would do an online class. Sadly, I haven't worked it out yet. My classes are really interactive - I work hard to build strong group relationships, which seems to be an important part of the Factory's success. When I figure out how to do it online, I definitely will.

I might build another module in which people can play with retellings and other, more modern tropes. Students would have to go through the Intro and the Intensive before they could do it, just to make sure we're all on the same page. But that's just an idea. A twinkle in my eye, as it were.

I'm also scheming to get involved with the illustration community and have a heavy art component to the Factory. I'd love to have one illustrator assigned to each story in the annual anthology, then to have a group show to coincide with the book's release. My dream is to work with artists like Jay Ryan, Milk, Julie West, Ray Caesar - pop surrealists, people coming from the graffiti world and the poster art world.

FTNH: Thank you again for agreeing to this interview! The Fairy Tale Factory sounds like a wonderful combination of education and fun and we look forward to seeing what you and your students do in the future.You can find out more about Amy, her Fairy Tale Factory and the workshops HERE.

NEWSFLASH: Fairy Tale Magazine in the works - submissions open

And now for a

FAIRY TALE NEWSFLASH:

Kate Wolford of Diamonds & Toads and associates are working on creating an online fairy tale magazine! The magazine will be titled "Enchanted Conversation" with the first issue planned for early 2010.

Each issue will be themed and the first theme is - you guessed it - 'Sleeping Beauty'. The magazine will be aimed at people interested in fairy tales (from studies and analysis through to general enjoyment) but it won't have an academic 'tone', the aim being that it's accessible to, and enjoyable for, anyone.

Think fun - and enchanting - with substance!Submissions of fiction, poetry, articles and art are now open to anyone over 18 but, as with all professional publications, please be sure to read the guidelines before submitting any work. Please note that an editor will have final say of any accepted pieces and there is no guarantee of publication for submissions.

Submissions close November 15th, 2009 or whenever the Editors have enough quality content for the issue.You can find information on what the desired submissions are HERE on the right of the page and submission guidelines HERE, and don't forget to check out the submission tips!

While the magazine home site is still very much under construction, work has already begun on the first issue and submissions are encouraged.

Please visit www.enchantedconversation.net for more information.

The key to making this online magazine work is exposure (i.e., lots of readers!) along with excellent content that 'enchants' readers so they come back for more, so start spreading the word! I'll let you know of any updates through Once Upon A Blog.

I'm very much looking forward to the 1st issue!

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.

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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.

The Great 'Sleeping Beauty' Rewrite (III of IV)

If you missed Tuesday's post on Diamonds & Toads, I suggest you go read it so you'll know more about where these lovely short story retellings have come from.

As promised, here are the rest of the stories (and their authors) that entered the Diamonds & Toads contest. Their stories are published on a special page for all to read them. Please note, these are in no particular order, though I will be making another special mention today. The winner of the contest will have a special post all to herself in a couple of days (August 22nd). :)

A sincere thank you (again) to Kate Wolford of Diamonds & Toads for helping me put these posts together!

“Sleeping Beauty,” by Victoria Zhou, is notable for its extremely determined and mean villainess, Jade.

Diamonds & Toads comment: This story had an extremely compelling villainess, which made it stand out among the entries.

“Cinderella,” by Tom Mollica, turns the whole fairy tale theme on its head. “Cinderella” just happens to be the heroine’s name, and she falls into her sleep because of an aunt who is so anti-alcohol, she sets a spell on Cinderella to cause her to fall into her deep sleep based on one sip of champagne. A jolly story.

Diamonds & Toads comment: Kookie aunts, beer, a sleeping beauty named "Cinderella" -- I enjoyed this irreverent tale.

“Cupcake Princess,” by Jennifer Alberts, is a story set in a little French town, where the heroine is really just the daughter of the most talented bakers an author could dream up. This story is filled with references to confections, making it a foodie’s dream story.

Diamonds & Toads comment: How could I not love a story about cupcakes? A very yummy tale.

“Saving Beauty,” by Heather Spiva, clearly shows the reader how tough life would be for the parents of any “Sleeping Beauty,” character. Serious in tone, the story even has a Cain and Abel twist.

Diamonds & Toads comment: This was intriguing because it involved fostering the endangered heroine, and I liked the dedication.

“Sleeping Beauty 2009,” by Tyffany D. Neiheiser, has many of the conventional elements of the original tale, except dad is a doctor, and the “evil” force in the story, Aunt Destiny, in the end, is the one who brings our heroine happiness. For who can deny Destiny?

Diamonds & Toads comment: This story was such fun, because it was set in the suburbs, and the author did some smart work with "Destiny."

“A Gift Returned,” by Liz Chernov, features a schoolteacher hero and a villainess who keeps going even after the happy ending for hero and heroine. Dreaming is used as an intriguing way of letting the couple communicate.

Diamonds & Toads comment: I loved this entry because it had a charming hero and a well-drawn villainess.

Today's special mention is:

“The Sleeping Beauty Mystery,” by Carl Macek, which features a detective hero who brings Humphrey Bogart’s old movies to mind. Yet, it has a modern flavor to it as well, and is light and amusing.

Diamonds & Toads comment: I am a total sucker for a mystery. I can truly say that I thought this story was great fun!

And here's a brief excerpt from the beginning of "The Sleeping Beauty Mystery":

The package was delivered to my office, Charlie Prince Investigations, without a return address. I suppose somebody at the Post Office had finally decided to clean out a couple of their dead letter files and put some effort into delivering the previously undeliverable. But when I saw the ratty condition of the homemade cardboard envelope that was sitting outside my office door, I wasn’t all that eager to open it. I kept thinking about the people that I’d heard of who’d found out the hard way that what they thought was Aunt Agnes’ famous fruitcake turned out to be a letter bomb. The way I figured it, I had a fifty-fifty chance of coming out alive. I just closed my eyes and ripped the cardboard package apart.

What I found inside was an old VHS tape. I hadn’t seen one of those “antique” plastic cassettes for nearly 25 years. There was a piece of white tape along the spine with the words “Please Help” scrawled with a thick black marker pen. It took me almost two weeks to find someone who had an old video tape player that worked so that I could even watch the stupid thing. And by that time my curiosity was sufficiently piqued. But I wasn’t prepared for what I found recorded on that antiquated relic...

To keep reading, click HERE.

Stay tuned for the winning entry - coming in a couple of days on August 22nd.

NOTE: All images and close-ups are from Errol Le Cain's "Thorn Rose". Click on the sleeping dog at the head to find out more about this amazing animator and illustrator. He illustrated many fairy tales! The other pictures you can click on for a closer view - highly recommended.

The Great 'Sleeping Beauty' Rewrite (II of IV)

If you missed yesterday's post on Diamonds & Toads, I suggest you go check it out so you'll know more about where these short story retellings have come from.

As promised, here are a half of the stories (and their authors) that entered the Diamonds & Toads contest. They all have their stories published on a special page for all to read them. I'll profile the rest tomorrow. Please note, these are in no particular order, though I will be making a special mention of a story today and tomorrow. The winner of the contest will have a special post all to herself at the end of the week. :)

A sincere thank you to Kate Wolford of Diamonds & Toads for helping me put these next couple of posts together!

“Sleeping Beauty,” by Sandra Urias, is an intergalactic adventure featuring suspended animation, twists and turns in the plot, and an unusually kind and generous heroine.

Diamonds & Toads comment: Please make a special effort to read this extraordinary entry.

“Aurora Speaks,” by Lisa Fu features a first-person narrative by Sleeping Beauty (Aurora) herself and a non-perfect hero, which makes the story a bit more realistic, in a good way. Aurora’s plight also results from an interesting twist in family relations.

Diamonds & Toads comment: I love that we see some point of view from the princess. I also love that the hero is not perfect.

“Lonely Beauty,” by Elena Valeriote, is unusual because Oriana, our heroine, is “protected” from her fate by being raised in a dungeon. What makes this story fun is that she has seven brothers, and is the much-hoped-for girl. All ends happily, and Oriana ends up with lots of company.

Diamonds & Toads comment: A princess protected in a dungeon? Now that was some creative thinking! I also love the seven brothers angle.

“Sleeping Cutie,” by Hugh Neeld has a funny, Hollywood excess feel to it that makes the story just plain fun. After all, it is set in the land of “Gotitmade.”

Diamonds & Toads comment: What do I have to say about this story? Just this: It is very, very good! And fun!

“Sleeping Beauty and the God of Death,” By Emily Debenham, uses mythic characters and mythic story structures to give the story a grand sweep.

Diamonds & Toads comment: This writer took the story into the realm of gods and myth, making it stand out.

“Sleeping Beauty,” by Juliette Bowers features family jealousy, as many fairy tales do! What is intriguing about the tale is that Philip, our hero, is the son of the family’s housekeeper, and knows the heroine before she falls into her sleep, making the happy ending seem more probable.

Diamonds & Toads comment: This story had some intriguingly written sisters and an excellent hero, both qualities draw the reader in.

Today's special mention is:

“Keeping Beauty,” by Barbara Knight. It stands out because it highlights some of the troubling, complicated relationships we all have with beauty, as the story is set in the “Land of Vanity,” where homeliness of any kind is not permitted.

Diamonds & Toads comment: Note: Barbara Knight should keep on writing! This is highly entertaining and provides some very smart commentary on beauty standards.

And here's a brief excerpt from the beginning of "Keeping Beauty":

Once upon a time, King Handsome and Queen Charisma ruled in the lovely Land of Vanity. All those who lived in Vanity were pleasing to the eye. There was beauty everywhere. Rows of pastel colored houses were perfectly landscaped and immaculately maintained. Organic gardens grew only unblemished fruit and vegetables. Long necked swans graced the clear ponds as feathery finned angelfish swam below the surfaces. And melodic birds filled the flowering trees.

Each time there was a birth within the kingdom, the baby was presented to the King and Queen. If he or she was worthy, they would be allowed to stay. But if the child was not up to standards, he or she would be banished from the land forever, forced to live amongst the plain. This happened rarely, as beauty usually begets beauty...

To keep reading click HERE.

Stay tuned for the other stories - coming in a couple of days on August 19th.

NOTE: All images and close-ups are from Errol Le Cain's "Thorn Rose" (ie. Sleeping Beauty) picture book. click on the book cover at the head to find out more about this amazing animator and illustrator. He's illustrated many fairy tales! The other pictures you can click on for a closer view - highly recommended. The man was amazing! More of these gorgeous illustrations coming from "Thorn Rose" in a couple of days too.