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Once Upon A Twisted Time
An
Anthology of Dark Adult Fairytales
By: Tara Stogner Wood, Trish Marie Dawson, Lindsay Avalon, and Miranda Stork
By: Tara Stogner Wood, Trish Marie Dawson, Lindsay Avalon, and Miranda Stork
Genre: Fairytales/Paranormal
Publisher: Moon
Rose Publishing
Date of
Publication: 31st October 2012
Number of pages:
250
Word Count:
76,000
Cover
Artist: Miranda Stork
Book
Trailer: http://youtu.be/6IAdJ6ihdmw
Book
Description:
Think you know your fairytales? Think again. These
aren’t your normal happily-ever-after. Within these pages, a murderous Little
Mermaid gets her revenge, the Cinderella doesn’t really want to wear the
slipper, Snow White is up to her eyes in industrial experiments, and the Beauty
is in fact the Beast.
This collection of four novellas will surprise
you, make you gasp in horror, sigh with relief, and sit on the edge of your
seat. And most of all…they will make you rethink everything you think you know
about dark fairytales…
Song of the
Abyss-Lindsay Avalon
Princess Nerissa had envisioned a perfect wedding
to a handsome prince. Instead, she fell into a nightmare. When her new husband
tries to murder her just hours after pledging his life to her, she must flee
towards the sea. Caught in transition from woman to selkie, she is trapped by
the dark waters she hoped would be her salvation. Now her destiny becomes that
of luring young men to their death…until one comes along that reignites the
spark of love inside her. However to ensure her future, she must first face her
past. Revenge must be taken…for both her life, and the life of the young man
she now loves.
Miss
Cavendish and the Spark of Salvation-Tara Stogner Wood
In a city toiling under the iron fist of the
Spiegel Syndicate and its monopoly on coal, Miss Georgina "George"
Cavendish is on the brink of a breakthrough that could change the world
forever. There's just one thing standing in her way, her aunt - Xenobia
Cavendish. Threatened by her efforts, the Syndicate procures the services of a
notorious assassin with a past tied to her own, known as The Huntsman, to
dispatch the brilliant scientist. But once he gets a glimpse of the headstrong
beauty, will he be able to do the job, or will Georgina sway him to The Cause?
And will George find the breakthrough she needs in time, or is New London Town
doomed to forever lie under the dark shadow of her aunt's factories?
Hawke and
the Beast-Trish Marie Dawson
Some curses last forever, and some can be broken
with the whisper of three little words. Isabella Rose Woodward fell in love
with a witch's son over a century ago. Her punishment for breaking the young
man's heart was a beastly one. Every month she turns into a different creature,
aging on the full moon when her curse allows for a brief return to her human
form. Her only salvation is to find a man that will love her as she is…be it
adorned in feathers, fur or scales. Has she found this love with the handsome
Jasper Hawke? Or will a mysteriously determined Hunter find her first, and
snuff out the life she so desperately seeks? A life of normalcy, where she
loves and is loved in return… just as she is.
Reborn
City-Miranda Stork
Nyx has one mission in life; bring down the
brainwashing of New Omsk’s citizens, and release them from their mundane lives
of toil. The year is 2355, and the world is a new place. A Governor is in
charge of every city in the world, and humanity is attempting to rebuild itself
after recovering from a war that nearly killed it. But this Governor has set
his eyes on the intrepid little hacker, Nyx, and he will stop at nothing to get
her. But perhaps he needs her more than he ever dreamed he would…as do his
citizens.
Interview:
Song
of the Abyss
Would
you call Princess Nerissa a selkie black widow of her time in Song of the Abyss
or a victim of circumstance?
I would call Nerissa a victim of
circumstance. In the story, Nerissa is attacked on her wedding day and comes
very close to losing her life. During the attack, she's trapped mid
transformation so her lower body is that of a seal while her upper body is
still human. She's left unable to transform back into a woman so she's trapped
in the seas. The betrayal she feels at the horrific attack by the man who was
supposed to love her drives her a bit mad in her quest for revenge. She can't
leave the sea so she does her best to lure men to her using her voice.
Although she can't lure only her attacker
to her, she does target only those men who weren't in love with a woman. After
all, someone who tries to murder his new bride isn't likely to have fallen in
love with another right? She doesn't enjoy having to kill the men who answer her
beckon; it's more of a necessity because she's afraid if they are left alive,
they could spread the word that Nerissa hadn't been killed. You may be
wondering what's wrong with this as surely this would bring about her
assailant. Well, she can't take the risk that he'll come prepared to fight her
or with soldiers to overpower her.
Nerissa has her flaws, no doubt about it,
but she is driven by feelings of betrayal, despair at being trapped between
forms, and the magnitude of all she has lost. In her mind she can't go home,
can never leave the sea, so revenge is all she has. When she must kill the men
she lures, she gives them a quick, merciful death. If she'd been a black widow,
she would have enjoyed the killing and likely would never have stopped. When
Nerissa finally finds her happily ever after, she has no need to kill ever
again.
Miss
Cavendish
Did
you have someone in mind when you created the character of The Huntsman in Miss
Cavendish and the Spark of Salvation?
Did I have someone in mind? *snicker*
It’s so funny that this is question is put to me, simply because without this
person *coughdropdeadsexymancough*, there would be no Huntsman. And no, I’m not
talking about Hemsworth. He’s tasty enough in his own right, but he is in no
way responsible for the fine figure I cut for my favorite steampunk assassin,
Asher Cole.
The Huntsman (or my twisted take on Snow
White, for that matter), didn’t even exist in my fevered little brain until I
came across this picture:
UNF. Here, have a tissue. You’re
drooling. Now, this pic was given to me by one of my anthology partners in
crime, the fabulous Trish M. Dawson. And when I saw it, I was reconciled to a
series of garbled and ugly grunting noises. And then, BOOM! HUNTSMAN. ASHER
COLE.
It usually takes me forever to create and
name a character, but this time it was done almost instantaneously. He was, for
lack of a better adjective, perfect. PER. FECT. Just look at him…he’s broody, a
little dark, and with that thing in his hand, definitely dangerous. Everything
a good assassin should be. It was my job to now take that and mold him into
something hero-worthy. So, I gave him a healthy dose of true emotion that he
certainly wasn’t expecting*coughlovecough*, a woman who could turn his hardened
heart around (along with turning chemicals and salt water into a sustainable
clean fuel), and a plan for revenge. It may not have worked out as completely
as he thought, but, hey, do things ever really go as we plan them to?
In the end, it couldn’t have gone better
for all parties involved, myself included. So, I suppose, in answer to the
question, yes. I did have someone in mind, just not the way I usually do. It
required some thinking outside the box, which was surprisingly easy enough to
do with the right inspiration. I’m happy with where this picture took me, and
happier still with the direction it forced me to take the story. And I hope
it’s something that readers can recognize and relate to. Only time will tell if
I get that sort of happy ending. George and Asher did. And for now, that’s
enough for me.
Hawke
and the Beast
What
made you decide to twist the story of the Beast into a female character, love
this idea and can’t think of another story with this angle to it?
Turning Beauty into the Beast was my
intention from the very beginning! There were a few ideas bouncing around in my
head about what kind of beast she should be and the idea of having her turn
human only on the full moon, but I knew I wanted her to be the creature from
the start because I thought it was something I also had not seen yet. J I loved the idea of a curse being behind the reasoning as well.
Seeing the 'Beauty' be the 'Beast' was a different perspective that made me, as
the writer, have to create new rules behind the popular fairy tale. When the ladies
of the Anthology and I were discussing which fairy tales to pick, Beauty and
the Beast stood out to me right away. It was my favorite growing up but the
rules have always been the same - Beast is a man! Why not shake things up a bit
and let the woman take the lead for a change? Perhaps it is the feminist in me
that spoke up so loudly that I had to listen…but I'm glad the story went in
this direction!
I hope that readers will find the story
unique and fun. It was a blast to write, and something that was very much out
of my comfort zone. But it opened up a new paranormal interest for me and I can
see taking a stab at more stories like this in the future. I fell in love with
Isabella's wolf form…and I can see taking that idea into a future project. I do
hope everyone enjoys this new twist to the tradition Beauty and the Beast story.
J
Reborn
City
I
have always thought you would have to be a visionary to be able to write a
story that takes place in the future, where did you come up with the idea for
this government ruled future?
Okay,
this is where I label myself as a bit of a game geek. I love the Fallout games...the storyline of them always really
captured my imagination; that humanity would survive in some form, even with
the worst war imaginable. I loved the ingenuity that people might have to
rebuild a shattered civilization. On top of that, there are always rumours
about Governments planning events that otherwise look random. So it’s something
that’s played on my mind for a while, the idea of setting a story in a future
where perhaps the Government would try to start again. Plan out a whole war,
but saving a few citizens they could control. I don’t think this would really
ever happen, but it’s a fascinating idea for a story. Or maybe I just love the
idea of cheap food. Not to mention, I had never
tried my hand at Sci-Fi before, so this was going to be a totally new genre
for me.
In
Reborn City, people are prevented from being ingenious and rebuilding by
themselves, as there are already ways to control them. I guess this idea comes
from the ever encroaching suggestions about I.D. cards and stronger security…a
little like ‘Big Brother’ closing in. And yes, 1984 is one of my favourite
books. Am I that transparent? *grin* A future where this exists is frightening
and strange, which is always a good tone to set for Science Fiction. But
humanity has its heroes and good guys, so this is where Nyx comes into play.
Not everyone would allow themselves to be controlled in such a future, and
humanity would ultimately decide its own fate once more…Governments can attempt
control, but I feel they would never achieve it.
So
I guess (after I’ve rambled on…hey! Wake up!) that the idea came from a lot of
sources. It came from popular rumours, present day life, and books from the
past. Although the story is set in the future, the idea overall of humanity
adapting from horrific events and the attempt to control it is not a new one.
And in all of my stories, there is one common theme-hope. I think whatever
civilizations fall, however humanity is pushed about…hope always comes through.
Some things will never die, and my story is not one of desperation and control…it
is one of freedom. J
About the Authors:
Tara
Stogner Wood-
Tara Wood divides her time between creating
domestic bliss and creating hot paranormal romance with the occasional side of
kink. When not playing June Cleaver for her hubby and daughter, she can be
found at the local Starbucks slamming back Frappuccinos and plotting out her
next idea. Or she’s watching the BBC. Tara resides with her wonderful and
tolerant family in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. She is currently at work on
several projects, one of them being the next book in her In Blood series.
Trish Marie Dawson-
I was born and mostly raised in San Diego,
California where I live now with my
family and pets. I’ve been writing short stories and poetry since high
school after an obsession with Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’. After over fifteen
years of crazy dreams and an overactive imagination, I began my first book ‘I
Hope You Find Me’ in December of 2011. When I’m not writing, I am homeschooling
my amazing daughter and mildly autistic son, reading whatever I can get my
hands on, or enjoying the Southern California sun. As a strict Vegetarian, I hold
a special place in my heart for animal rights and dash into the backyard weekly
to rescue lizards and mice from our mini-lab/aussie shepherd/cocker spaniel
mixed dog, Zoey…who is always getting into some sort of trouble.
Miranda
Stork-
I was born in Guisborough, North Yorkshire in 1987
and have lived in various places around Britain, including Newcastle and
Glasgow.
My writing is inspired by various writers,
including the vivid characters of Charles Dickens, the imagination of Stephen
King, and the gothic imagery of Anne Rice.
My love of horror began at an early age, when I
was only three or four. I could read proficiently at the age of three, and
devoured fairy-stories, but I always had a bent towards the darker stories,
such as the Brother's Grimm's tales...Red Riding Hood was always a firm
favourite, although I always felt sorry for the wolf, despite him having tried
to eat everyone!
Lindsay Avalon-
I am a wife, a mother to an adorable mini
schnauzer, a programmer, and now an author. I love reading romance because no
matter what may be happening in my life, I can always count on my books to end
happily ever after. My sister drilled into me an appreciation for fantasy and
mythology, something I try to bring to my books. After hearing me complain a few
too many times that I had “nothing” to read despite the hundreds of paperbacks
scattered around the house, my husband began suggesting I write my own stories.
When I finally took his advice I discovered that although I enjoy my day job as
a software engineer, my true calling is to be an author.
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