Guest Author Joshua Allen Mercier
I know Joshua Mercier from his blog, The Bearded Scribe. Since then, Joshua has started his own publishing company (Bearded Scribe Press) and released his first publication: Twice Upon a Time, An Anthology. He was kind enough to do a short interview with me:
It is so exciting to have your first book out in print. Congratulations! Twice Upon a Time contains stories from multiple writers. How much fun was this project and working with the writers?
This anthology project was an absolute blast! From the moment I sent out the submission call to the heart-pounding moment when I submitted the final files for publication, it was a rollercoaster ride to say the least. Receiving each story was like opening a present. I was so pleased with the number of submissions and overwhelmed by the quality of the stories.
I can’t wait to get started on the next volume of Twice Upon A Time… soon.
You are both the editor and publisher of Twice Upon A Time, and you’re also one of the guest writers. Was it a challenge to retell your chosen story? What was your inspiration?
Doing all three was somewhat challenging, especially since my characters didn’t want to cooperate. I had to take breaks from writing my own story to edit the other submissions, too, so having to come back to the story frequently made the first draft seem really disconnected.
When I first chose Red Riding Hood to retell, my outline was a completely different story than what exists within the pages of the anthology. And after outlining the original story, a verse kept creeping into my mind—the verse that is at the very beginning of the tale—which became the entire inspiration for the final product….
There were two witches in a wood;
One was evil, one was good.
A cloak of red, a cloak of black;
Like the fire and the ash.
That verse alone haunted me and forced me to take the story in an entire different direction. Images of gallows and Salem and an apple orchard flooded my mind, and the opening scene poured out of me.
Why do you think fairy tales captivate us so much? Why do they have such lasting power?
I think any story that we hear over and over resonates within us, an echo returned, and we relate to that which we already know so much more easily. Stories from our childhood especially, when our minds, imaginations, and hearts are untainted by the burdens of life’s reality, seem rooted that much more deeply.
When I think of fairy tales, I think of the classics—Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty—but there are many tales that are not as widely known. Were you surprised by any of the stories your writers picked or did the classics rule the day?
I have to admit that those came first to my mind, too. It’s one of the reasons I opted to have prospective contributors query their intended retellings first before allowing any submissions. I didn’t want constant queries for the same tale, so I closed further queries on a tale once I approved one. Doing so forced everyone to think outside the box, and I ended up with a large amount of queries for tales even I had never heard of before. There are both classics and obscure tales—even some that combine multiple tales or worlds in one retelling.
What are your promotional plans for Twice Upon A Time?
Currently, I am running a blog tour to feature both the contributors and their stories individually—at least enough to entice readers. Also, my partner, Jeremiah, has helped me a lot by contacting reviewers about the title—with great success, I might add. It’s a large volume, and some reviewers who agreed to review it did so for a timeframe that fits their schedule… so now it’s just a sit-and-wait game with the reviews. I am still accepting reviewers, if any of your readers are interested, and they can sign up to review this and future titles by visiting http://www.beardedscribe.com/arc-list/
I am also plugging the book on all of my social media outlets, of course, especially within niche groups.
Thank you so much, Joshua. Best of luck with your novel and Bearded Scribe Press.
