(Edit 4/24/15: updated links to point to current reissue of this anthology by Ragnarok Publications)
“Once upon a scream…
“Think you know the real story behind those fables and fairy tales you read as a child? Stories are written from the viewpoint of the heroes, but the lines between hero and villain, good and evil, are often blurred.
“We’ve gathered twenty three tales that turn those stories you think you know on their heads by letting the villains have their say. What if Snow White wasn’t as pure as the newly driven snow? What if Red Riding Hood was far more dangerous than the Big Bad Wolf? What if Rapunzel was hell bent on revenge? Forget Disney, forget the Brothers Grimm, say hello to Fairly Wicked Tales—re-imaginings of both fairy tales and fables.
“Fairly Wicked Tales, a book for adults who harbor the wicked child within.”
(Click on the cover art by Rebecca Treadway to see it in full-sized wicked beauty!)
Fairly Wicked Tales, edited by Stacey Turner, is an anthology of dark fantasy and horror published August 6th, 2014, by Angelic Knight Press, and includes my horror short story Sweetheart, the Dream is Not Ended (a reimagining of the lesser-known Grimm fairly tale “The Robber Bridegroom”). I’ve got a blog post in the works regarding how utterly strange “The Robber Bridegroom” is and why I had to make it the basis for my tale, but for now, I wanted to get the word out that the anthology’s been released.
So far just as e-books, but fear not, dead tree lovers, physical book form is on its way. Fairly Wicked Tales is now available from Amazon.com for Kindle and in Print.
Here’s the table of contents, in the format of: “Story Title” by Author: Fairy tale it gives a good hard twisting to.
Table of Contents
“Song of Bones” by Vekah McKeown: A retelling of “The Singing Bone”.
“Red” by Katie Young: A retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood”.
“Sweetheart, the Dream is Not Ended” by Gary W. Olson: A reimagining of “The Robber Bridegroom”.
“Crumbs” by Adam Millard: A retelling of “The Crumbs on the Table”.
“A Thrice Spun Tale” by Suzi M: A retelling of “The Three Spinners”.
“His Heart’s Desire” by Fay Lee: A retelling of “Sleeping Beauty”.
“Little Beauty” by Matthew Hughes: A retelling of “Beauty and the Beast”.
“Hare’s Tale” by Jay Wilburn: A retelling of “The Tortoise and the Hare”.
“The Golden Goose” by Robert Holt: A retelling.
“A Prick of the Quill” by Lizz-Ayn Shaarawi: A retelling of “Hans My Hedgehog”.
“Sacrificed” by Laura Snapp: A reimagining of “Snow White”.
“The Glass Coffin” by D R Cartwright: A retelling of “The Glass Coffin”.
“The Price of the Sea” by David R. Matteri: A retelling of “The Little Mermaid”.
“A Blue Light Turned Black” by Wilson Geiger: A retelling of “The Blue Light”.
“Let Down Your Hair” by Eugenia Rose: A retelling of “Rapunzel”.
“The Wolf Who Cried Boy” by Armand Rosamilia: A retelling of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”.
“It Comes At Night” by JP Behrens: A reimagining of “The Billy Goats Gruff”.
“Bloodily Ever After” by Reece A.A. Barnard: A retelling of several fairy tales.
“Al-Adrian and the Magic Lamp” by Tais Teng: A retelling of “The Arabian Nights”.
“The Fisherman and His Wife” by Bennie L. Newsome: A retelling of the story “The Fisherman and His Wife.”
“Rum’s Daughter” by T. Eric Bakutis: A retelling of “Rumplestiltskin”.
“The Ash Maid’s Revenge” by Konstantine Paradias: A retelling of “Cinderella”.
“Gingerbread” by Hal Bodner: What happened afer “Hansel and Gretel”.
***
Gary W. Olson is the author of the dark fantasy novel Brutal Light and a contributor to the dark fiction anthologies Fading Light and Fairly Wicked Tales. His blog originates here. Cover art: Rebecca Treadway.
Fairly Wicked Tales, the anthology of twisted fairy tales (including my contribution, “Sweetheart, the Dream is Not Ended”) which was published by Angelic Knight Press last summer, only to go out of print at the end of the year when Ragnarok Publications bought AKP, has now been reissued by Ragnarok (under its AKP imprint). To your left is the hella-awesome new cover art by Shawn T. King.
