Heidi Anne Heiner's Blog, page 83

Fairy Tale & Folklore Ebook Bargains in Amazon's Big Deal Sale

There is a new ebook sale at Amazon: The Big Deal: Kindle Books Up to 85% Off: Now through August 24, 2014, save up to 85% on more than 400 Kindle books.. There are a few books that SurLaLune readers will be interested in on the list. And it's a budget buster list overall. So here I share!


Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George is $1.99. An East of the Sun and West of the Moon retelling.

Book description:

Blessed-or cursed-with an ability to understand animals, the Lass (as she's known to her family) has always been an oddball. And when an isbjorn (polar bear) seeks her out, and promises that her family will become rich if only the Lass will accompany him to his castle, she doesn't hesitate. But the bear is not what he seems, nor is his castle, which is made of ice and inhabited by a silent staff of servants. Only a grueling journey on the backs of the four winds will reveal the truth: the bear is really a prince who's been enchanted by a troll queen, and the Lass must come up with a way to free him before he's forced to marry a troll princess.

The Wisdom of the Myths: How Greek Mythology Can Change Your Life by Luc Ferry is $1.99.

Book description:

More than 100,000 copies sold in France

A fascinating new journey through Greek mythology that explains the myths' timeless lessons and meaning

Heroes, gods, and mortals. The Greek myths are the founding narratives of Western civilization: to understand them is to know the origins of philosophy, literature, art, science, law, and more. Indeed, as Luc Ferry shows in this masterful book, they remain a great store of wisdom, as relevant to our lives today as ever before. No mere legends or clichés ("Herculean task," "Pandora's box," "Achilles heel," etc.), these classic stories offer profound and manifold lessons, providing the first sustained attempt to answer fundamental human questions concerning "the good life," the burden of mortality, and how to find one's place in the world. Vividly retelling the great tales of mythology and illuminating fresh new ways of understanding them, The Wisdom of the Myths will enlighten readers of all ages.

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore is $1.99.

Book description:

Nimira is a foreign music-hall girl forced to dance for pennies. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to sing with a piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new and better life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets are beginning to stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumors swirl about ghosts, a madwoman roaming the halls, and Parry's involvement with a league of sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. Then Nimira discovers the spirit of a fairy gentleman named Erris is trapped inside the clockwork automaton, waiting for someone to break his curse. The two fall into a love that seems hopeless, and breaking the curse becomes a race against time, as not just their love, but the fate of the entire magical world may be in peril.Look out for the follow-up to this book, Magic Under Stone, out next year!

The Wild Girls (Outspoken Authors) by Ursula K. LeGuin is a novella for $.99.

Book description:

Newly revised and presented here in book form for the first time, this Nebula Award-winning story tells of two captive "dirt children" in a society of sword and silk, whose determination to find a glimpse of justice leads to a violent and loving end. Also included is the nonfiction essay "Staying Awake While We Read" which demolishes the pretensions of corporate publishing and the basic assumptions of capitalism, and "Outspoken Author Interview," which reveals the hidden dimensions of America's best-known sci-fi author.

Robin Hood: People's Outlaw and Forest Hero: A Graphic Guide by Paul Buhle (Author), Chris Hutchinson (Illustrator) is $.99.

Book description:

Using a unique blend of text, collage, and comic art, this social commentary written in graphic novel format analyzes the continuity between the myth of Robin Hood and the occurrence of social uprisings among peasants. In addition, the book explores the mysteries, factual evidence, and trajectory that led to centuries of village festivals, songs, films, and cult television shows about the mythical hero who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. Featuring a collage of various artistic renderings of Robin Hood over the past seven centuries, the comic portion presents a distinct perspective of the folk hero. Furthermore, the book reveals a largely unknown and unconsidered environmental side of Robin Hood, and touches on ecological wholeness that, for the most part, is absent in the mythos.

Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix is $1.99 and has been on my wishlist. No fairy tales here, just a fun Regency historical adventure fantasy novel for YA and adults.

Book description:

After the Newington Emerald is stolen at the height of a conjured storm, eighteen year-old Lady Truthful Newington goes to London to search for the magical heirloom of her house. But as no well-bred young lady can hunt the metropolis for a stolen jewel, she has to disguise herself as a man, and is soon caught up in a dangerous adventure where she must risk her life, her reputation . . . and her heart.

Balancing twin roles as a young lady coming out in her first season and as an intrepid young man up against an evil sorceress isn’t easy, but Truthful has to manage it. Her father’s life and even the fate of England may depend upon her recovering the Newington Emerald!

A Regency Romance with Magic from New York Times-bestselling writer Garth Nix, author of Sabriel.

New Book: The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Little Golden Book)

My post sharing The Wild Swans Little Golden Book has been a popular post this week. So I realized I should share The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Little Golden Book) by Jane Werner and illustrated by Sheilah Beckett, a reprint of a classic Little Golden Book, reprinted earlier this year. I didn't own this one as a child either but I wish I had. I didn't learn about this fairy tale until I was older than the typical Little Golden Book reader. I've always felt a little cheated by that because I know it would have been one of my instant favorites just with the dancing element alone--I wasn't princess oriented but I was VERY dance obsessed-- and it would have flavored my childhood.

What I like about this one is how each sister appears to have a unique personality in the illustrations. I would have spent hours imagining each of their personalities once upon a time.


Book description:

This beloved fairy tale about the princesses who secretly dance their slippers into pieces each night is brought to life in this dazzling Little Golden Book from 1954. Breathtaking illustrations by the inimitable Sheilah Beckett have been digitally restored to their original splendor.

New Book: The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen (Author), Gordon Laite (Illustrator)

The Wild Swans (Little Golden Books) by Hans Christian Andersen (Author), Gordon Laite (Illustrator) was released this month. Those of you of a certain age will look at this Golden Book and wonder if you owned this as a child and forgot it. And if you read the Amazon reviews, you will be even more confused. Because many of the effusively happy reviews are actually for other editions of the book--a common, frustrating problem with fairy tale publications on Amazon actually. But that's turning the focus away from this lovely.


Because when you read the book description:

From the Golden Book archives comes a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, gloriously illustrated by Gordon Laite in the late 1960s but never published until now!

Gordon Laite’s breathtaking artwork for a Little Golden Book edition of the Andersen fairy tale was found recently in the Golden Books archive. Planned for a 1970 release but never published, this Little Golden Book is finally making its debut for today’s fairy tale fans! And it couldn’t be a lovelier retelling of the story of a determined princess whose loyalty saves her brothers from being turned into swans by an evil queen.

You'll realize that this book has never been published before. So you didn't own it as a child. I didn't. I had my share of Little Golden Books and they still make my heart sing happily with memories. My ALL TIME FAVORITE: The Monster at the End of This Book can still make me want to happy dance. And reread for the gazillionth time.

But this one, no, I never knew. So I'll share some pictures from the book and rejoice that another version of this tale is available for readers of all ages. With deliciously retro illustrations. These actually scream 1950s to me, earlier than their originally intended publication date.

Budi Kwan Fairy Tale Art (Art.com Coupon Code 40% Off Today Only)

Wolf and Red Riding Hood by Budi KwanBuy From Art.com
Art.com has a 40% off today only coupon code ZRZ646. Which I know we all don't have funds or wall space to purchase wall art all the time--but when the rare 40% code comes around, I wish for that wall space. I've had Budi Kwan's work on my blog waiting list for a while now and mostly the code reminded me to share it with you finally. So here is some fun fairy tale inspired art--as well as a few other of my favorites--by Budi Kwan for your Monday viewing pleasure.


Never Leave Me by Budi KwanBuy From Art.com
This may not have any inspiration from East of the Sun and West of the Moon, but it screams it, doesn't it?

About the code:

USE CODE: ZRZ646 for 40% off sitewide*

Terms & Conditions
*Promotion applies to order total before shipping, taxes, and duties. This offer cannot be applied to previous or pending purchases. This offer cannot be combined with any other offers, discounts, coupons or promotions, except that free shipping offers may be combined with already marked-down items. One coupon per order. This offer cannot be applied to the purchase of gift certificates. No discounts may be applied to the purchase price of any Limited Editions and the "Museum Curated" collection. We reserve the right to cancel any order due to unauthorized, altered, or ineligible use of discount. We respect your privacy and will not share your email address with third parties for their marketing purposes. This offer expires August 4, 2014 at 11:59PM in your local time zone.

Crane Wife by Budi Kwan
Buy From Art.com
Nice switch to have a tale for a lesser known but beloved tale. Here's a variant of the tale here.

A Crimson Retaliation by Budi KwanBuy From Art.com

Alice in Wonderland by Budi KwanBuy From Art.com


Best Friend and Moon Honey by Budi KwanBuy From Art.com


Journey of a Thousand Miles by Budi KwanBuy From Art.com


Phoenix by Budi KwanBuy From Art.com


Sleeping on the Bed of Roses by Budi KwanBuy From Art.com


Storybook Adventure by Budi KwanBuy From Art.com


Starfield Purple by Budi KwanBuy From Art.com

Guest Post: Kari Castor, Contributing Author to Fae edited by Rhonda Parrish

I posted previously about Fae, a short story anthology edited by Rhonda Parrish. Today, I have a special guest post by one an author from the collection--Kari Castor, author of "The Price". I think you'll be delighted with her inspiration for her story.

Without any further ado, I'll turn today's space over to her:

It was late in the day, and I’d been procrastinating in the form of research for who knows how long.  I’d recently finished a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, which (despite changing the titular character’s gender and ethnicity) cleaved pretty closely to the original, and there I was, deep down a rabbit hole of fairytales and folklore, looking for new source material.  I knew I work with another fairy tale, but I wanted something less familiar this time, and I intended to take more liberties with it.
I was nearly ready to give up and turn my attention to something more fruitful when I found “The Rose.”  It was short.  Really short.  More like an outline than a fully-fledged story.  And I loved it.  There was a wonderful, sad, intriguing little story packed into the eight sentences the Brothers Grimm had recorded.
I don’t know if the same is true for other writers, but I have two different types of stories:  there’s the story that exists in my head as a more or less complete concept but getting it down on paper, and in a form I can be content with, is often a long and difficult process; then there’s the story that is really just a seed of an idea in my mind, but it leaps onto the paper with ease. “The Price” was very much the latter kind -- “The Rose” gave me a very basic framework, and I knew I wanted to keep a fairly traditional fairy tale feel with the story, but beyond that, I just let the story tell itself.
(I don’t mean to sound as though writing is some wonderful mystical process in which stories just flow through the Muse and into the writer.  It’s a lovely image, and I wish it were true -- it’d certainly make things much easier! -- but the vast majority of the time, it isn’t.  Those moments where the story tells itself are relatively rare, and they are a gift.)
While I took the seeds of my plot from “The Rose,” my fairy comes from the folkloric traditions of the British Isles.  I’ve always been drawn to the particular variety of the fae that appears frequently in Medieval literature (like early versions of Morgan le Fay in Arthurian tales, the Middle English poem “Sir Orfeo,” or the ballad of “Thomas the Rhymer”): these fairies are almost but not quite human; they’re not necessarily good or evil, but they always seem to have their own agendas; and they have a strong penchant for abducting humans and carrying them off to the realm of Faerie.  Notably, their reasons for wanting humans are rarely clear, nor is the fate of those humans who are unable to escape -- in some tales, death seems inevitable, but others hint at gentler outcomes.
I’ve always wondered about that.  What do the fairies want with us?
Honestly, though, I’m more interested in the question than the answer.Thanks for sharing, Kari!

Bargain Ebook: Charming (Pax Arcana Book 1) by Elliott James for $1.99

Charming (Pax Arcana Book 1) by Elliott James has been temporarily reduced to $1.99 in ebook format in anticipation of its sequel, Daring, coming out in September. It is usually in the $6-7 range. I posted about this new series in September last year, there were several short story and novella prequels before Charming's release. I haven't read this yet but I am still "charmed" at the idea of a series about Prince Charming. I'm not sure how much fairy tales appear in the novel but some of the short fiction definitely drew some inspiration from the tales.

Book description:

John Charming isn't your average Prince...

He comes from a line of Charmings -- an illustrious family of dragon slayers, witch-finders and killers dating back to before the fall of Rome. Trained by a modern day version of the Knights Templar, monster hunters who have updated their methods from chain mail and crossbows to Kevlar and shotguns, John Charming was one of the best--until a curse made him one of the abominations the Knights were sworn to hunt.

That was a lifetime ago. Now, John tends bar under an assumed name in rural Virginia and leads a peaceful, quiet life. That is, until a vampire and a blonde walked into his bar...


CHARMING is the first novel in a new urban fantasy series which gives a new twist to the Prince Charming tale.

Short Fiction in the Pax Arcana world:
Charmed I'm Sure
Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls
Pushing Luck
Surreal Estate
Dog-Gone

New Book: Cinderella's Dress by Shonna Slayton (Cindy in WWII Setting)

Cinderella's Dress by Shonna Slayton was released last month by Entangled Teen. You can read more about it on Slayton's website.

I haven't seen many Cinderella stories set during WWII, so that can be a fun change for the tale.

Book description:

Being seventeen during World War II is tough. Finding out you’re the next keeper of the real Cinderella’s dress is even tougher.

Kate simply wants to create window displays at the department store where she’s working, trying to help out with the war effort. But when long-lost relatives from Poland arrive with a steamer trunk they claim holds the Cinderella’s dress, life gets complicated.

Now, with a father missing in action, her new sweetheart shipped off to boot camp, and her great aunt losing her wits, Kate has to unravel the mystery before it’s too late.

After all, the descendants of the wicked stepsisters will stop at nothing to get what they think they deserve.

About the Author

Shonna Slayton finds inspiration in reading vintage diaries written by teens, who despite using different slang, sound a lot like teens today. While writing Cinderella’s Dress she reflected on her days as a high-school senior in British Columbia when she convinced her supervisors at a sportswear store to let her design a few windows—it was glorious fun while it lasted. When not writing, Shonna enjoys amaretto lattes and spending time with her husband and children in Arizona.

Also, on her site, Slayton has announced that a sequel will be forthcoming:

*UPDATE* At ALA14 in Las Vegas the last week of June I chatted with my editor and she told me they want to do the next book. WOOT! I have to write up the proposal and first few chapters so she can take it to acquisitions. Shout out to everyone who purchased Cinderella’s Dress and asked for more. There will be more :) Working title is “Cinderella’s Shoes.”

Gone Viral: Cinderella Marriage Proposal

This is going viral and I thought I would post here before several people send it to me--thoughtful SurLaLune people! Here is a Cinderella themed marriage proposal that will set a high bar for other fairy tale princesses--not letting my niece Kensie see this one!

The proposal has plenty of Disney in it, but was actually more inspired by the Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella in which the bride-to-be has starred. I have to be careful or I will not get Impossible out of my head for three days...

About Seth Conerly's Princess Proposal:

On July 18, 2014 I proposed to the love of my life. I had been planning this for months and was so pleased with how it all turned out! Thank you to all the people who helped make this day happen! I love you Taylor!

New Book: The Gothic Fairy Tale in Young Adult Literature: Essays on Stories from Grimm to Gaiman

The Gothic Fairy Tale in Young Adult Literature: Essays on Stories from Grimm to Gaiman by Joseph Abbruscato (Author, Editor), Tanya Jones (Author, Editor) was released a few days ago by McFarland. I haven't seen a copy yet, but I always appreciate a book that has an essay on Robin McKinley's Deerskin. And I don't think I've ever seen an essay on Merrie Haskell's The Princess Curse. Then there's Neil Gaiman, Holly Black and more, too. Score!


Book description:

Rooted in the oral traditions of cultures worldwide, fairy tales have long played an integral part in children’s upbringing. Filled with gothic and fantastical elements like monsters, dragons, evil step-parents and fairy godmothers, fairy tales remain important tools for teaching children about themselves, and the dangers and joys of the world around them.

In this collection of new essays, literary scholars examine gothic elements in more recent entries into the fairy tale genre—for instance, David Almond’s Skellig, Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book and Coraline and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events—exploring such themes as surviving incest, and the capture and consumption of children. Although children’s literature has seen an increase in reality-based stories that allow children no room for escape from their everyday lives, these essays demonstrate the continuing importance of fairy tales in helping them live well-rounded lives.

About the Authors

High school English teacher Joe Abbruscato specializes in the study of young adult literature, fairy tales and mythologies, within his research interests in comic books, pop culture, and science fiction. He lives in Gilbert, Arizona Tanya Jones, of Charlotte, North Carolina, has written for multiple academic collections in the areas of fantasy, Gothicism and pop culture.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The State of Modern Fairy Tales (Joseph Abbruscato) 1

"Something like you, something like a beast": Gothic Convention and Fairy Tale Elements in David Almond’s Skellig (Carys Crossen) 11

"Baby and I were baked in a pie": Cannibalism and the Consumption of Children in Young Adult Literature (Tanya Jones) 30

Orson Scott Card’s Ender's Game (The Ender Quintet): Authoring Home in Fairyland (Erin Wyble Newcomb) 47

Being Nobody: Identity in Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book (Joseph Abbruscato) 66

"She would not think of it": Surviving Incest in Robin McKinley’s Deerskin (Sarah R. Wakefield) 83

"Transform, and twist, and change": Deconstructing Coraline (Lisa K. Perdigao) 102

"Comparatively innocent": The Terrible Search for Nobility in A Series of Unfortunate Events (Tim Sadenwasser) 123

Earning the Right to Wear Midnight: Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching (Eileen Donaldson) 145

"Monstrosity will be called for": Holly Black’s and Melissa Marr’s Urban Gothic Fairy Tale Heroines (Rhonda Nicol) 165

Reading in the Dark: Narrative Reframing in the Unheimlich Underworld of Merrie Haskell’s The Princess Curse (Carissa Turner Smith) 181

About the Contributors 201

Index 203

New Book: Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Dan Santat

 
Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz (Author), Dan Santat (Illustrator) was released earlier this month. This is one of my most anticipated fairy tale picture books for 2014. Why? Because NINJAS! Ninjas impress many people in my life so a ninja picture book is always a bonus.

This same team brought us The Three Ninja Pigs. Which was also fun! Because NINJAS! Pigs! Wolves! Did I mention NINJAS?

Here are some illustrations and a description for the new book. This would be very fun to read during a storytime. What do you think? Should this become a trilogy--which fairy tale should be ninja-fractured next?


Book description Ninja Red Riding Hood:

Companion to the hit The Three Ninja Pigs, this fractured fairy tale is a sure-fire storytime hit.

Wolf just can’t catch a break! Ever since the three little pigs started teaching everyone Ninja skills, huffing and puffing just hasn’t been enough to scare up a good meal.

His craving for meat sends Wolf to classes at the dojo, and soon he’s ready to try out his new moves. A little girl and her tiny granny should be easy targets—right?

Not if Little Red has anything to say about it! Kiya!

What happens next? I don't know! Guess I'll have to read the book to find out! There it goes onto my personal wishlist.