Wolves and Witches

by Amanda C. Davis

  A Conversation with Amanda C. Davis

  How did you become interested in fairy tales and horror fiction?

  Typical childhood fascination with the macabre?

  What’s your favorite classic fairy tale and why? What is your favorite story in Wolves and Witches and why?

  I always go for Molly Whuppie as my favorite, since it’s one of those cleverness-wins-the-day types. In Wolves and Witches, “Untruths About the Desirability of Wolves” just delights me. My sister is awesome.

  Your two writing styles complement each other seamlessly. Do you think your sister has influenced your style over the years? In what ways do you think you are different?

  Unquestionably she’s influenced my style… I think our styles mesh so well because we both work toward being clever, occasionally lyrical, always easy on the tongue. Our biggest differences are probably viewpoint and preferred subject matter. We’re both writing the stories only we can write, and there’s no way we could be writing each other’s, if that makes sense.

  What is the biggest challenge in reworking fairy tales?

  For me, it’s finding an angle that interests me and hasn’t been done a dozen times. There are a lot of fairy-tale retellings out there.

  In “Bones in the Branches” and “A Letter Concerning Shoes,” you both chose to rework the tale of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” What influenced your retelling?

  I wanted to give the princesses more agency. Maybe they’re not enchanted at all, they’re doing all the enchanting themselves. They built themselves an underground kingdom, and they’re not interested in being spied on. I did a similar thing in my novelette “The Lair of the Twelve Princesses,” by the way.

  What other types of writing can we expect from you in the future? Will you collaborate with your sister?

  I have stories coming out in Cemetery Dance, Fantastic Stories of the Imagination, Year’s Best Weird Fiction Vol 2, and several others. I don’t see myself leaving the short fiction and poetry circuit; it’s just too fun. I’m constantly working on a novel or three. I wouldn’t be surprised if the two of us came up with another joint project one of these days. Not even necessarily a writing project. We’re hilarious if you put us in the same room together.

  In “The Gold in the Straw,” what gave you the idea to make the maiden the magical dwarf herself?

  I wish I could remember! I usually approach a fairy-tale retelling by breaking it down into the available elements and sifting through them, so if I had to guess, it came after noticing that the miller’s daughter was, two out of three times, giving up her jewelry: trading gold for gold. Once you’ve got transmutation magic available, the dwarf isn’t really necessary!

  I noticed in your stories you often use a comedic tone. How do you find comedy to be a useful tool for reimagining fairy tales? What fairy tale motifs are you poking fun at in “Questing for Princesses”?

  I’m not poking fun at any of them! I’m playing them straight! All the stories I reference (and I got a big kick out of cramming them in, let me tell you) are totally legitimate in the story’s universe. They’re going to come true for somebody, just not Harold. They whiz right over his head because they don’t suit him. He gets the kind of fairy tale that suits him. Which is similar to how it works in real life.

  Comedy amuses me, which is my primary writing goal, but it’s specifically useful for approaching fairy tales because you have these ridiculous elements coming out of the woodwork. You can play up how terrible they’d be in real life or you can step back and laugh. I like doing both.

  About the Authors

  Amanda C. Davis is a combustion engineer who loves baking, gardening, and low-budget horror films. Her short fiction has appeared in Shock Totem, Orson Scott Card’s InterGalactic Medicine Show, and others. You can follow her on Twitter @davisac1 or read more of her work at amandacdavis.com.

  Megan Engelhardt is a lapsed librarian who lives in a crooked little house in northeast Ohio. She loves shows about Bigfoot. Her work has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, The Drabblecast, and others. You can follow her on Twitter @MadMerryMeg or visit her website at megengelhardt.com.

  Other Fairy Tale Titles from World Weaver Press

  OPAL

  a novella by

  Kristina Wojtaszek

  “A fairy tale within a fairy tale within a fairy tale—the narratives fit together like interlocking pieces of a puzzle, beautifully told.” —Zachary Petit, Editor Writer’s Digest

  White as snow, stained with blood, her talons black as ebony… In this retwisting of the classic Snow White tale, the daughter of an owl is forced into human shape by a wizard who’s come to guide her from her wintry tundra home down to the colorful world of men and Fae, and the father she’s never known. She struggles with her human shape and grieves for her dead mother—a mother whose past she must unravel if men and Fae are to live peacefully together.

  “Twists and turns and surprises that kept me up well into the night. Fantasy and fairy tale lovers will eat this up and be left wanting more!” —Kate Wolford, Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine

  BEYOND THE GLASS SLIPPER

  Ten Neglected Fairy Tales to Fall in Love With

  Introduction and Annotations by

  Kate Wolford

  Some fairy tales everyone knows—these aren’t those tales. These are tales of kings who get deposed and pigs who get married. These are ten tales, much neglected. Editor of Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine, Kate Wolford, introduces and annotates each tale in a manner that won’t leave novices of fairy tale studies lost in the woods to grandmother’s house, yet with a depth of research and a delight in posing intriguing puzzles that will cause folklorists and savvy readers will find this collection a delicious new delicacy.

  Beyond the Glass Slipper is about more than just reading fairy tales—it’s about connecting to them. It’s about thinking of the fairy tale as a precursor to Saturday Night Live as much as it is to any princess-movie franchise: the tales within these pages abound with outrageous spectacle and absurdist vignettes, ripe with humor that pokes fun at ourselves and our society.

  Never stuffy or pedantic, Kate Wolford proves she’s the college professor you always wish you had: smart, nurturing, and plugged into pop culture. Wolford invites us into a discussion of how these tales fit into our modern cinematic lives and connect the larger body of fairy tales, then asks—no, insists—that we create our own theories and connections. A thinking man’s first step into an ocean of little known folklore.

  HEIR TO THE LAMP

  Book one of the YA series The Genie Chronicles

  Michelle Lowery Combs

  Ginn thought she knew all there is to know about how she became adopted by parents whose Number One priority was to embarrass her with public displays of affection, but that changes when a single wish starts a never-ending parade of weirdness marching through her door the day she turns thirteen.

  Gifted with a mysterious lamp and the missing pieces from her adoption story, Ginn tries to discover who…or what…she really is. That should be strange enough, but to top it off Ginn’s being hunted by the Order of the Grimoire, a secret society who’ll stop at nothing to harness the power of a real genie. Ginn struggles to stay one step ahead of the Grimms with the help of Rashmere, Guardian of the lamp and the most loyal friend a girl never knew she had. But the Grimms are being helped, too—but by whom? As much as she doesn’t want to, Ginn’s beginning to question the motives of her long-time crush Caleb Scott and his connection to her newest, most dangerous enemy.

  KRAMPUSNACHT: Twelve Nights of Krampus

  A Christmas Krampus anthology

  Edited by Kate Wolford

  For bad children, a lump of coal from Santa is positively light punishment when Krampus is ready and waiting to beat them with a stick, wrap them in chains, and drag them down to hell—all with St. Nick’s encouragement and approval.

  Krampusnacht holds within its pages twelve tales of Kram
pus triumphant, usurped, befriended, and much more. From evil children (and adults) who get their due, to those who pull one over on the ancient “Christmas Devil.” From historic Europe, to the North Pole, to present day American suburbia, these all new stories embark on a revitalization of the Krampus tradition.

  Whether you choose to read Krampusnacht over twelve dark and scary nights or devour it in one nacht of joy and terror, these stories are sure to add chills and magic to any winter’s reading.

  FAE

  Anthology of Fairies

  Rhonda Parrish’s Magical Menageries, Volume One

  Meet Robin Goodfellow as you’ve never seen him before, watch damsels in distress rescue themselves, get swept away with the selkies and enjoy tales of hobs, green men, pixies and phookas. One thing is for certain, these are not your grandmother’s fairy tales.

  Fairies have been both mischievous and malignant creatures throughout history. They’ve dwelt in forests, collected teeth or crafted shoes. Fae is full of stories that honor that rich history while exploring new and interesting takes on the fair folk from castles to computer technologies and modern midwifing, the Old World to Indianapolis.

  With an introduction by Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, and all new stories from Sidney Blaylock Jr., Amanda Block, Kari Castor, Beth Cato, Liz Colter, Rhonda Eikamp, Lor Graham, Alexis A. Hunter, L.S. Johnson, Jon Arthur Kitson, Adria Laycraft, Lauren Liebowitz, Christine Morgan, Shannon Phillips, Sara Puls, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, and Kristina Wojtaszek.

  FROZEN FAIRY TALES

  Retold Fairy Tales Touched by Winter

  Edited by Kate Wolford

  Winter is not coming. Winter is here.

  As unique and beautifully formed as a snowflake, each of these fifteen stories spins a brand new tale or offers a fresh take on an old favorite like Jack Frost, The Snow Queen, or The Frog King. From a drafty castle to a blustery Japanese village, from a snow-packed road to the cozy hearth of a farmhouse, from an empty coffee house in Buffalo, New York, to a cold night outside a university library, these stories fully explore the perils and possibilities of the snow, wind, ice, and bone-chilling cold that traditional fairy tale characters seldom encounter.

  In the bleak midwinter, heed the irresistible call of fairy tales. Just open these pages, snuggle down, and wait for an icy blast of fantasy to carry you away. With all new stories of love, adventure, sorrow, and triumph by Tina Anton, Amanda Bergloff, Gavin Bradley, L.A. Christensen, Steven Grimm, Christina Ruth Johnson, Rowan Lindstrom, Alison McBain, Aimee Ogden, J. Patrick Pazdziora, Lissa Marie Redmond, Anna Salonen, Lissa Sloan, Charity Tahmaseb, and David Turnbull to help you dream through the cold days and nights of this most dreaded season.

  THE FALLING OF THE MOON

  Moonfall Mayhem, Book One

  A.E. Decker

  In the gloomy mountains of Shadowvale, Ascot Abberdorf is expected to marry a lugubrious Count and settle down to a quiet life terrorizing the villagers. Instead, armed with a book of fairy tales, her faithful bat-winged cat, and whatever silverware she can pinch, Ascot heads east, to the mysterious Daylands, where her book promises she can find True Love and Happily Ever After, if she only follows her heart.

  Determined to win the hand of Prince Parvanel, Ascot storms the Kingdom of Albright. With the book’s guidance, she’s confident she’ll overcome any obstacles the imperious Queen Bettina Anna throws in her way, be they witches, evil stepmothers, or Big Bad Wolves.

  Unfortunately, the book doesn’t cover reluctant princes, wolves who read Dostoyevsky instead of blowing down houses, or a guild of Godmothers whose motivations may not be as pure as three drops of blood on a sweep of snow. Most annoying of all is the captain of the guard who swears he’ll see the moon fall before she weds Prince Parvanel.

  There are stories … and then there are stories, and if this parade of shifty shenanigans continues, Ascot might have to rewrite her own tale lest she end most Unhappily Ever After!

  For more on these and other titles

  visit WorldWeaverPress.com

  * * *

  World Weaver Press

  Publishing fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction.

  We believe in great storytelling.

  worldweaverpress.com

  Copyright Extension

  All works in this collection are works of fiction; characters and events are either fictitious or used fictitiously.

  “Flytrap” by Amanda C. Davis. Copyright © 2010 by Amanda C. Davis. First appeared in Illumen (2010). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Instructions” by Amanda C. Davis. Copyright © 2011 by Amanda C. Davis. First appeared in Daily Science Fiction (2011). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Gold in the Straw” by Amanda C. Davis. Copyright © 2011 by Amanda C. Davis. First appeared in Triangulation: Last Contact (2011). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Long Con” by Megan Engelhardt. Copyright © 2011 by Megan Engelhardt. First appeared in Daily Science Fiction (2011). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Peril of Stories” by Amanda C. Davis. Copyright © 2011 by Amanda C. Davis. First appeared in Enchanted Conversation (2011). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Witch of the Wolfwoods” by Amanda C. Davis. Copyright © 2011 by Amanda C. Davis. First appeared in Enchanted Conversation (2011). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Untruths About the Desirability of Wolves” by Megan Engelhardt. Copyright © 2011 by Megan Engelhardt. First appeared in Enchanted Conversation (2011). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Bones in the Branches” by Amanda C. Davis. Copyright © 2010 by Amanda C. Davis. First appeared in Frightening Fables and Freaky Fairy Tales (2010). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “A Letter Concerning Shoes” by Megan Engelhardt. Copyright © 2013 by Megan Engelhardt.

  “Her Dark Materials” by Amanda C. Davis. Copyright © 2011 by Amanda C. Davis. First appeared in Enchanted Conversation (2011). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “A Mouth to Speak the Coming Home” by Megan Engelhardt. Copyright © 2013 by Megan Engelhardt.

  “A Shining Spindle Can Still Be Poisoned” by Amanda C. Davis. Copyright © 2011 by Amanda C. Davis. First appeared in Goblin Fruit (2011). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Best Boy, the Brightest Boy” by Megan Engelhardt. Copyright © 2011 by Megan Engelhardt. First appeared in Space Squid (2011). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Lure” by Amanda C. Davis. Copyright © 2013 by Amanda C. Davis.

  “Diamond and Toad” by Megan Engelhardt. Copyright © 2013 by Megan Engelhardt.

  “For Taylor, On the Occasion of Her Fourteenth Birthday with Love” by Megan Engelhardt. Copyright © 2013 by Megan Engelhardt.

  “Questing for Princesses” by Amanda C. Davis. Copyright © 2013 by Amanda C. Davis.