On the Broomstick: April 2013

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Beyond the Glass Slipper: The Tour

WORLD WEAVER PRESS

ANNOUNCES TRADE PAPERBACK AND DIGITAL RELEASE OF

“BEYOND THE GLASS SLIPPER:

TEN NEGLECTED FAIRY TALES TO FALL IN LOVE WITH”

WITH INTRODUCTION AND ANNOTATIONS

BY KATE WOLFORD

EDITOR OF “ENCHANTED CONVERSATION: A FAIRY TALE MAGAZINE”

AVAILABLE TODAY

TUESDAY, APRIL 16

Chicago, IL (April 16, 2013) – World Weaver Press (Eileen Wiedbrauk, Editor-in-Chief) has announced the trade paperback and digital release of Beyond the Glass Slipper: Ten Neglected Fairy Tales to Fall in Love With, an anthology with introduction and annotations by Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine Editor Kate Wolford, today, Tuesday, April 16, 2013.

Beyond the Glass Slipper: Ten Neglected Fairy Tales to Fall in Love With is available in trade paperback and ebook via Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Kobo.com, and other online retailers. You can also find Beyond the Glass Slipper on Goodreads.

Wiedbrauk commented, “I wish Kate Wolford had been my folklore studies professor! BTGS is intellectual without being boring, fun without being superficial.”

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 to find this collection a delicious new delicacy.

In celebration of the release of Beyond the Glass Slipper: Ten Neglected Fairy Tales to Fall in Love With, World Weaver Press is hosting a Fairy Tale Festival through May 6. From Brothers Grimm to Walt Disney, from films and illustrations to fictive retellings, the Fairy Tale Festival features Opal by Kristina Wojtaszek, Wolves and Witches by Amanda C. Davis and Megan Engelhardt, and Beyond the Glass Slipper, by Kate Wolford. For the ever growing schedule of the next three weeks, check out our Fairy Tale Festival main page (www.worldweaverpress.com/fairy-tale-festival/)and follow us on Facebook and Twitter (#FairyTaleFestival) where we’ll be posting bonus content not seen on the blog!

Kate Wolford is editor and publisher of Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine at fairytalemagazine.com. She teaches first-year college writing, incorporating fairy tales in her assignments whenever possible.

World Weaver Press is a publisher of fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction, dedicated to producing quality works. As a small press, World Weaver seeks to publish books that engage the mind and ensnare the story-loving soul.

ISBN-13: 978-0615797359
ISBN-10: 0615797350

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worldweaverpress.com

@worldweaver_wwp

This book looks great! Review will be forthcoming...

Now for a visit from our guest.

Which Tales Were Worth It?

Picking the "right" fairy tales for Beyond the Glass Slipper was by far one of the hardest parts of writing the book. The ten tales needed to make up an intriguing mix, be representative of a good variety of tale types, and be in public domain.

The third item may seem like the easiest part, as I was only looking at old, if fairly obscure, tales. Yet, many of the most interesting and engaging tales are in translations still under copyright by the translator. This makes perfect sense. After all, without the translator's efforts, there would be no tale to read in English.

Such was the case with "Little Broomstick." I discovered this story of true friendship between two young women on the indispensable DL Ashliman site. To my chagrin, because I had already begun the annotation process, the translation that had so captivated me was still Ashliman's. I could not include it in the book. But you can read it here:http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0425c.html#broomstick

Finding a mix wasn't so hard. I knew I wanted to show that fairy tales go way, way beyond "Snow White" and "The Little Mermaid," obviously. I wanted to demonstrate that fairy tales are not only about or for girls and women--you'd be surprised at how many well educated people believe this. I wanted to emphasize that the fairy tale is not always about happy ever after--even if it is implied. Also, fairy tales can be about friendship, even if that doesn't happen all that often.

As for tale type, I did not look too closely at the Aarne-Thompson fairy tale classification system when choosing the ten tales (although I didn't ignore it either). Instead, I focused on how each story would read as "different" for the others, yet compatible enough with them to give the book a sense of wholeness. The result yielded an animal bridegroom story, a ghost story, a vampire story, a mermaid-type story, plus six more.

I hope readers will find the collection enchanting. Go to World Weaver Press for more information.
http://worldweaverpress.com/books/beyond-the-glass-slipper/

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

A Witch Without Magic Virtual Book Tour

A Witch Without Magic

by Larisa Walk

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BLURB:

When her neighbors accuse Belladonna of Satanism and making them age years to days, she must find who is behind it or face a modern day witch hunt. Her mysterious enemy knows where to strike to cause the most damage: Belladonna's only friend is losing his life-force; the garden that feeds her is dying; and her house ghost goes poltergeist. To save her neighbors and friends and prove her innocence, she must travel to the Otherworld where butterflies have razor wings and where her worst fears will come to life.

Excerpt Three:

I tried to walk with an official swing in my step, clipboard under my right arm, the other arm at my side, desperately trying not to clutch at the fabric of my jumpsuit with a death grip. Mice and rats darted in and out of bushes. A large flock of crows cawed in the trees. In one spot ants covered the sidewalk like spilled black pepper. Dark magic was afoot and the vermin were drawn to it.

There were some kids with aged faces playing on the other side of the street. I tried not to stare at them. One kid, a boy of about seven, judging by his height, actually looked like he was in his eighties. He seemed to have trouble breathing and had to stop often to rest. My jaws ached and a sharp spike seemed to be embedded in my chest. Goddess help me, but I couldn't blame their parents for hating me. If I were in their place and thought I knew who was doing this to my kids, I'd go on a witch hunt, too. I was lucky the cops didn't believe my neighbors that I was doing this awful life-draining stuff to them or I wouldn't have any protection. I prayed hard that I'd find a way to stop the dark witch before anyone died from being too old at the age of seven.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Larisa Walk, a native Russian, lives in California with her husband and two formerly homeless cats. She writes paranormal fiction that is more often than not populated by characters from the Russian fairy world. Her short fiction appeared in several anthologies and magazines. She has published a historic fantasy novel, A Handful of Earth, and a modern paranormal novel, A Witch Without Magic. See her quirky blog posts here: http://www.larisawalk.com

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/A-Witch-Without-Magic-ebook/dp/B009JGYOQM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363219858&sr=8-1&keywords=a+witch+without+magic+larisa+walk

Larisa will be awarding a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate to five randomly drawn commenters during the tour, so make sure you leave a comment and your email address for a chance to win!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Seeing Things: Magical Wands For An Art Witch

Seeing Things: Magical Wands For An Art Witch: It's interesting how an idea that is simmering in the back of my mind will often come into being because I "happen" to co...

Check out this amazing craft project!