For me, Stu Turton’s The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was a revolution in detective stories. It combined science fiction with mystery in a fascinating way and earned its six stars out of five. His followup, The Devil and the Dark Water, was a disappointment. With a […]
Murder at Spindle Manor is a dark fantasy and gaslamp mystery. While mysterious elements aren’t new in gaslamp novels, this novel takes the step into true detective fiction. The setup is a classic whodunnit. A group of people have come to a “hotel” outside of a large city while taking […]
My flash fiction story “Purpose” in Havok (gohavok.com) depicts a grim reunion of four prep schoolers. I write mostly about heroes, but in 2024, I wrote a revenge tale where a male villain receives his comeuppance from a unique woman. This is “A Type of Woman” in Ye Olde Dragon’s […]
Olivia Gratehouse’s Rat King takes a familiar fantasy plot and puts the most unusual hero in the center of it—a goblin. Rat King (or RK) is a lowly guard for an elven vampiric lady. She is visited by an adventurer named Teagan who often interacts with the lady of the […]
Havok’s Remember When takes on a journey through the calendar, presenting stories set in specific times of the year. This anthology of flash fiction (1000 words or less) gives us bite-sized tales of time periods (in this case, months) and seasons. I always consider the theme when I rate a […]
The Goose Girl and the Artificial is a novella retelling of “The Goose Girl,” a fairy tale many haven’t read. The original Goose Girl tale is gruesome, but in this steampunk setting, author K. M. Robinson plays with the original elements in a more light-hearted manner. Goselyn is supplanted by […]
Swish by Tom Carter is a paranormal romance (PNR) for young adult readers. Adopted by her uncle, Abigail Lewis is bullied at high school. With only one friend, Abby suffers mean-spirited pranks at school and physical abuse at home. Her life seems bleak until she meets a new neighborhood boy, […]
Fairy tales are retold every year into success fantasy novels. Cinderella and her friends receive the most attention. I have an entire page devoted to Snow White retellings: The Snow White Read-Off. Alas, what about those princesses who aren’t well-known! Are they cheated out of retellings? Fear not. Below is […]
When I was researching my first fairytale novel, Kingdom Come, I wanted a mix of traditional and untraditional princesses. I chose five: two traditional (Cinderella, Snow White), one known but not known as a fairytale princess (The Little Match Girl), and two untraditional. The untraditional choices were Penta, the Handless […]
A post for Tell A Fairy Tale Day 2026. In this world of the “Big Three” Princesses of Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, we forget how many other fairytale princesses/heroines exist. Sure, most remember Beauty, the Little Mermaid, Rapunzel or Red Riding Hood, but what about the others? Most […]