Everything Else

The Witches of Deliver Us

Another outstanding illustration by Daniel Johnson, this depiction of the witches of Deliver Us delivers all the salient details of our three main villains. Pictured left to right is Picana, Mya, and Tomana. Picana uses lightning to torture her victims. Insane Mya’s go to method is poison. Tomana is the least vicious, more of the knife-in-your-back type.

Deliver Us is a fantasy novel available at Amazon that includes three evil witches, royal fairytale queens, curses, powerful artifacts, and animated tattoos.

Three witches behind a cauldron
Illustration by Daniel Johnson
Everything Else

Review of Tales from the Forest

Cover Tales from the Forest

Full disclosure that I have a story in this anthology. I will only be reviewing the rest of the stories. All remarks below exclude my own story, including the count—twelve stories exist in this anthology.

The fairy tale of Red Riding Hood is a cautionary tale in the category of “kids in trouble.” The other two main types are “true love” (e.g. Cinderella) and “plucky hero” (e.g. Puss in Boots). Ye Olde Dragon Press has released three anthologies before Tales from the Forest all falling into the “true love” category. With its focus away from romance, this Riding-Hood-themed book was a welcome addition to the series.

The editors asked the authors to think creatively when writing about Red Riding Hood and the result is a wide range of ideas. Four of eleven short stories are contemporary or thrillers. At least three of the stories would best be enjoyed by eighteen and older. The character of Red Riding Hood is everything from a villain, to a soldier, to a spy. Very few of the stories would be classified as humorous, though humor is sprinkled throughout many of the stories.

Everything here is executed with style, and the stories elevate the anthologies to one of the better selections on the market. Tastes vary, but a few stood out to me. First, I evaluated the story itself, independent of its fairytale origins. Then, I rated the story based on how creatively it took its theme and presented a new story.

Ignoring the Red Riding Hood theme, the three tales I enjoyed the best were A Cactus Among Wolves by Yvonne McArthur, The Ways of a Wolf by Lindsi McIntyre, and Kelli and Kirmizi by Michelle Houston. These three brought a first-rate story to the pages and built fascinating characters and settings.

For the other rating (i.e. the twist on Red Riding Hood theme), kudos to Crimson Spy by Jessica Noelle, Woodland Cravings by Rachel A. Greco, and Red Wolf by Michelle Levigne.

A third category is the stories that balanced the two the best. Face the Wolf by Kathleen Bird and The Night of the Mindbender by Stoney M. Setzer received honors here.

Overall, something exists for everyone in this anthology. Whether you cheer on Red Riding Hood, enjoy a good wolf story, or think Grandma is the winner, you’ll find something here for you.

Ye Olde Dragon Site: https://yeoldedragonbooks.com/anthologies/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CW1BYDSY

Everything Else

Seeing Red: A Reflection

Cover of Seeing Red

Looking at my last name and the last name of the author of Seeing Red, you’ll understand why this isn’t a review. My brother is author T. M. Doran. As such, this posting is not a proper review of this novel, it won’t receive a rating, and it won’t be posted to popular reading sites. This is a post to introduce the characters and plot of Seeing Red and reflect on why it’s an important novel for our times.

The world of this novel is an alternate Earth that bears many resemblances to our own. Seeing Red starts with a screenplay writer and Oscar winner named Castro Hume who is in a slump. He seeks inspiration from the still-standing set of the movie—the movie that garnered him his cinematic trophy. The movie set borders a protected forest in the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. Castro is escorted around the facade by a caretaker who becomes less and less friendly the more the screenwriter pushes. When Castro’s car breaks down, he hikes back to the set to discover a secret that will change his life.

Later, Castro finds out about a suppressed segment of society named Red Cards. Whether for physical deformities, mental limitations, terminal illnesses, or resistance to authority, people who are issued red cards are served a doomsday sentence. Urged to euthanize, certain Red Cards instead elect to go on the run. Castro spends most of the novel interacting with a group of Red Cards.

Suspense, mystery, action/adventure, and a dash of science fiction are the novel’s primary inspirations. The underlying theme explains our species’ continued blindness to the value of human life. The chilling fates of the Red Cards and the vicious pursuit by the ironically named Social Services Bureau (the SSB) reflects our own times. We often fear to speak up when our government or popular opinion bullies others. The novel, though dark, has its uplifting moments as well. Hope may be found within a dystopian world.

Seeing Red is available from Ignatius Press and on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1621646394

Everything Else

Review Dead of Winter

I read Dead Leaves by Kealan Patrick Burke and added Dead of Winter immediately to the list. Dead Leaves is a great novel to read at Halloween and during autumn. Dead of Winter, which targets Christmas and wintertime, is not quite at the level as its cousin collection.

A sample of the stories include mysterious snowmen who appear out of nowhere, a man trapped with his failing-memory father, and a snowstorm that empties a small town. The creep factor of the stories increases at how Burke expresses the isolation winter naturally brings. This sense of loneliness pervades most of the stories and works to their advantage. And the writing is quite good. I have no doubt Kealan Patrick Burke is a master storyteller. All the stories kept me glued to the page.

Yet.

Snowmen, Father Christmas, and winter storms are all present, yet the predominant feeling I left this collection with was depression rather than fear. Some stories succeed better than others, Visitation Rights and They Know, but others left me (pardon the pun) cold. None of the offerings are not good, but do they belong in a collection that promises horror stories about winter? A few of these could have been set at any time of the year.

Overall, if you want your horror stories introspective, dourful, and more Poe than Lovecraft then this is a collection for you. Uncanny, speculative stories do exist here, but you’ll have to make your way through many of the offerings here to get to them.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GHN5YG

Everything Else, Writing

It’s the Writing

If I asked “what are the elements that make up a story,” how would you respond? Characters, plot, theme, mood. All correct answers—full points. But most people forget the one element of writing that distinguishes some writers from others. It’s the writing itself.

Many, if not all, writers are readers. Stories inspire readers, sometimes to the extent where they, the readers, want to become writers. Wonderful. For others, the writing itself also inspires readers to become writers. Oftentimes, these readers read more than prose, many are poetry and drama readers. For the ones that are inspired by the writing, a line such as “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” rings true in their head. This line tells you nothing about the book you’re about to read (and if you don’t know what book that is, shame on you), but it’s a grand sentence that draws the reader in. These are your “writer-writers” who are different from your “reader-writers.”

Writer-writers are often people who get published because their writing sparkles when compared to others. It’s certainly not a measure of success, but their writing usually stands the test of time. Even when it’s stuck in the past as Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities is above, the novel remains a fascinating read.

Both reader-writers and writer-writers may be stuck in a rut when writing. Yes, they have a great new idea for a short story or novel, but the mechanics of setting it up is awfully similar as the last ten times they embarked on the same effort. The writing becomes vanilla, much like a Nancy Drew book. So how do you avoid such a trap? I’ve come up with a few ways. Full disclosure that I may not be good at what I set my mind to, but it never fails to add a tool to my writer’s toolbox when I return to my more straight-forward novels.

First, try writing a story where the characters, setting, and plot is nothing special. De-emphasize the characters and plot and emphasize the writing. I wrote a story about a boy following a girl on a train from carriage to carriage. This is ninety-percent of the story. He is attempting to reach her, and he encounters passengers on the train and talks to them. Since the character wasn’t anything special and the plot was bland, it forced me to make the writing compelling. Put an average character on a park bench and see how long you can make a compelling story out of it.

Next, write something for an audience you don’t normally target. If you only write adult stories, write a children’s book and vice-versa. This is a great way to learn vocabulary. Also, if you usually target middle grade, write something firmly adult even if it makes you uncomfortable. This means writing sex, violence, and profanity – remember this is only for you. And if you’re an erotic writer, write a sweet romance where the final sentence is a kiss. Again, get out of your comfort zone.

Speaking of getting out of one’s comfort zone, write outside of your genre. You normally write contemporary, try science-fiction. You write mystery? Try a romance. Do a little research—perhaps read a story in that genre first—then give it a shot. Again, it will require you to build a vocabulary and voice/tone you don’t normally use.

Ah…voice. Why not try a unique voice? So if you write for a particular gender, try a different one. If your characters are strong and confident, try a reserved, less confident person. Give your character an accent. Have them come from a place in the world with certain sayings. Research a culture and try to infuse the elements of that culture in your character.

And if you want to go for the gold, take the “dialog” test. Most writers enjoy dialog as they can hear the characters in their head speaking. That’s great, but try writing a story with only dialog or no dialog. See what it produces.

I’m not advising you to publish anything you write above. What this list suggests is writing exercises, something that gets you, the writer, to examine that third important element of your story. The writing!

Everything Else

Review of Sweet Remembrance

Sweet Remembrance by Emily Anne Putzke is a hidden treasure and one of the best retellings or interpretations I’ve read of any fairytale. This is a tall claim, but I’ll stick by it. “The Little Match Girl” by Hans Christian Andersen is a short story meant to both challenge and comfort at the same time. Given its tragic plot line, any retelling would find it hard to replicate such an emotion. But Sweet Remembrance takes Andersen’s skeletal story and builds on it in the best of ways.

In this version, the match girl is Kasia, a young Jewish girl in the ghetto of Poland during the second World War. The Nazis have invaded, and the neighborhood she used to love has turned into a desolate place. She runs out of her house and spies five scenes, and in her pocket are a similar number of matches. As she gives a match to each encounter, she recalls her past. The memories center on a young man, Romek, with whom Kasia is falling in love.

Each match changes the lives of the person she encounters, and each match is given in Romek’s memory, something he instructed or did for Kasia. The parallel between the past and present is inspired, and the idea elevates Andersen’s original tale to another level. If anything, the act of lending the match builds meaning into what seems to be an insignificant act of suffering.

The text is not only haunting, but beautifully written. This is quite short but more effective in its terseness than most 300+ page novels. In this way, the conciseness reminds me of the original tale. I was drawn into this world and had to stop reading at intervals to savor the experience.

This bittersweet, lovely tale is perfect for fans of the original fairytale, historical readers, or people who love a great tragedy. Though sad, I enjoyed it thoroughly, and plan to read it again in the future.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06VTMYLM5

Everything Else

Queen Little Match Girl

In my Kingdom series, I’ve taken the main character of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Match Girl” and put her into a fantasy epic as a queen. If you’ve read “The Little Match Girl,” this may seem like an odd choice. Yet, Andersen’s short story is a fairy tale, and fairy tales have princesses. So it’s not a big leap after all. But why The Little Match Girl? Cinderella and Snow White are also queens in the novel, and this choice makes sense. But the Little Match Girl? Seriously?

Yes, very seriously.

I had to make some adjustments. First, I had to age the girl up from eight-ish to teenager inline with the rest of the fairytale princesses. Her age in the novel is fifteen, near the age most of the heroines of fairy tales are in Grimm. Second, and most importantly, she doesn’t die as she does in the original. And third, she’s a sister to the other fairytale princesses, ensuring she rules equally over the land.

In Kingdom Come, the first novel, each queen is symbolic of a certain type of good-hearted monarch. All suffer hardships and adversity, but their suffering has meaning when they ascend. They don’t forget who they are. As an example, Cinderella is raised in an arrogant family, and refuses (as queen) to become arrogant herself. When I outlined my idea, I needed a queen who champions the poor—a social justice queen. The character that leapt to mind was The Little Match Girl.

She doesn’t have a name, so I bequeathed her the moniker Valencia, which means “beautiful city.” The name is an irony since the city in the original tale is anything but “beautiful” being cold, harsh, and dirty. Valencia is a victim of social injustice as people leave her to die in the wintry streets. Never forgetting her roots, Valencia becomes the relatable queen, the “one of us” queen, the true rags-to-riches queen. But, you may say, isn’t that all the fairytale queens? If you think about it, Snow White, Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella are mistreated, but the abuse is domestic-focused. Valencia suffers from a social ill, and therein makes all the difference. The illustration to the left is by Dan Johnson and depicts Valencia before she ascends.

In book two, On Earth as it Is, I had fun “flipping” the characters of the fairytale queens to show what they may have become. Women are disguised to look like the missing fairytale queens, and they have characteristics that the monarchs may have had if they had given into certain temptations. Valencia’s mirror image is a woman named Virginia. Virginia, a merchant, only cares about money, and will use any means, including theft, to acquire it. Valencia understands Virginia’s desires, and sees in her what may she (the Match Girl quee n) may have turned into. The illustration below is by Lauren Nalepa of Virginia (and guard).

In book three, Deliver Us, I start to move past her Little Match Girl origins. She’s twenty-one in this novel and is an acknowledged queen and adventurer. The scars of her childhood, being hemmed into one place, makes her travel to distant lands. Her setting again tempts her innocence, but this time there’s no evil twin. And in the end, her commoner roots comes up with a creative way she can stay with her lover. The illustration to below is by Dan Johnson and shows what Valencia has chosen as her throne—a common chair for the common folk.

Finally, book four (Will Be Done) brings Valencia back to her childhood and poses the question “what if she had surived her wintry night but hadn’t become queen.” I use her background to explore how childhood abuse affects adults. In the novel, a villain erases her memories of her queen years, and new memories are placed in her mind. In her faux past, Valencia runs away and finds a place to stay in a toy shop as a worker. When she is rescued, she has trouble adjusting to a life without abuse, a life of comfort and friendship. I think those of us who dream of having money have thought what it would be like to “rescue” a poor person from a dangerous or hopeless situation. But it’s never easy.

If you enjoyed these posts and want to read more about Valencia, here are the links to the books.

Kingdom Come: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KYKH538

On Earth As It Is: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L2G7ZS9

Deliver Us: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Y73XD6W

Will Be Done: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C99KD4JF

And two collections of short stories, each with a story where Valencia is the main character.

Kingdom’s Advent: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085WSSW1C

Kingdom’s Ascension: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0960101748

Everything Else

The Little Match Girl Selection

I created this page for “Tell a Fairy Tale Day” in 2024 (February 26, 2024, to be exact). In 2022, I did something similar for Snow White, see The Snow White Read-Off. This page will be a little different in that it will be a collection of all things “The Little Match Girl.” From reviews, to reflections, to promoting my own version, all “Little Match Girl” fans should find something here worthy to peruse.

The Basics. Let’s start with the basics. “The Little Match Girl” is a fairy tale written by Hans Christen Andersen in 1845. Read The Little Match Girl because it’s in the public domain (if the link doesn’t work, just search it). This is one of my favorite tale by Andersen. Poignant, terse, offbeat for a fairy tale, and deeply moving, this should be required reading in all schools.

My Adaption. I’ve included my version of The Little Match Girl in my novels and short stories of a fairytale mashup world of Kingdom. My version, named Valencia, is rescued before she dies and becomes a queen. But she never forgets her roots, and has a fondness for the poor, championing them at every turn. She’s a large part of every novel, but comes front and center in Deliver Us & Will Be Done. See Queen Little Match Girl for the reasons why The Little Match Girl makes an excellent queen.

Review #1. Sweet Remembrance by Emily Ann Putzke. This is just a spot-on retelling and one I think Andersen would’ve approved of. Here’s the review. I recommend this to everyone 5+ stars.

Review #2. The Little Match Girl (A Steampunk Graphic Novel) by Rod Espinosa is set in a steampunk world is a delight and a joy. Full of color, it imagines a sweeter, more upbeat, ending than Andersen’s. The expression on the Little Match Girl’s face near the end is precious. And not a word of dialog until the end—extremely difficult unless the art is masterful. If you just can’t stomach the original, this one is the one for you.

(Not) Free Short Story. On February 26, 2024 only, I posted a story about Valencia, The Little Match Girl, in her later years. This story is published in my novel, Kingdom Ascension . The story appeared on this page Ticklish, but I have removed it. For now, enjoy the beautiful illustration above by Daniel Johnson.

Review #3. Matchless (The Little Match Girl Retelling) by Gregory Maguire. Matchless by Gregory Maguire is a retelling of the Little Match Girl worthy of the original. The author of “Wicked” wrote this after being asked to tell a Christmas tale on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” So please note, it’s very, very short. Nonetheless, Maguire has taken a refreshingly original approach than most retellings. He has written an new story and enfolded it around the Little Match Girl story. Yes, the woeful tale of the Little Match Girl is still here, but Maguire offers new insight into what happens before and after the events of Andersen’s story. It comes together beautifully, and really highlights the theme and mood of the original. I’m not a Maguire fan, but I did love this retelling.

Everything Else

Review of Might of the Divided City

Might of the Divided City by Jeremy Gordon Grinnell accomplished a rare feat while I was reading it. I planned to review it, I planned to take notes on it, but suddenly, I was so wrapped up in the plot and characters, I was just reading it with the abandon of a youngster. This novel is that sort of a book.

Might is the third in the Relics of Errus series. I had reviewed both the earlier novels some time ago, recalling that I had enjoyed them, and marveling at their unique spin on the tired portal fantasy genre. Three girls discover a magic compass on Earth that opens a doorway to the world of Errus. Errus has all manner of fantasy creatures, a war between two nations, and mystical items that empowers the bearer with special abilities. Yes, you’ve heard all this before. But, this narrative introduces two sides in a never-ending war, both of which are heroic and villainous. The relics are attached to elementals, and those fantasy creatures? They are born from major weather events and consider the elemental gods their parents.

Now that’s interesting.

The first book was told from the point-of-view of the adventurous middle child, an odd choice. The second from a character that was born in Errus and crosses paths with the girls, an odder choice. Might of the Divided City is told from the oldest girl’s perspective. Eloise, or Eli, is the traditional heroine in that she’s smart and studies a lot, but at times, her mind gets away from her and she’s not sure what to say. She’s also not the bravest of the three; in fact, she may be the most fearful. She and her sisters plot an escape to Errus over their spring break while their father is traveling as their mother has long since died. They didn’t anticipate landing in one of the remotest parts of this world.

When Eli is separated from her sisters, it appears as if she’ll never see them again, and perhaps never get back home. Her adventure on her own has her character grow, advance the series, and give the reader all the action and adventure an author can pack into a middle grade book.

As with any series that is put aside for a period of time while awaiting the next book, it’s a challenge to remember certain characters and events that transpired. This novel was no different. I’m happy to report, though, that this novel, similar to the two books that preceded it, providing a self-contained adventure. So, though this ends with a major revelation, it doesn’t feel unfinished.

Might of the Divided City fits well into the Relics of Errus chronicles. Third books are the crux of any series. They either promise bigger or better events in the future, or they show a never-ending pattern that will eventually peter out. Might is the former type, and I’m excited to see where Grinnell will take us readers next.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJCSLLK1

Everything Else

Review Winters’ Resonance

Jenifer Lynn’s Winters’ Resonance (A Series of Echoes Book 1) is a horror novel that scares us with the most frightening monster of all—teenagers. Seriously, it’s a chilling story of killer humanoids that appear as teens from out of the night to wreak destruction. In the prologue, a family on their way to Disney World encounters these creatures and the results scar the youngest member, Julia Winters.

The plot advances to the year 2000 as mysterious events start happening around an adult Julia. Julia is now a photographer for the local newspaper, and she meets a detective covering an unusual assault case on a young man. The detective should keep Julia away, but something about her makes him want to collaborate with the photographer. At the same time, another man, named Bash, exits a train into the same town, though the railway hasn’t seen an active train on it in years. The three worlds collide when Julia is kidnapped.

The author knows how to write tense scenes, and the teenagers are truly frightening. The novel excels at hiding information so that the powerful monsters remain a mystery, keeping the reader in the dark. Also, this horror novel expands into a larger backstory far more expansive than what a reader might expect from the dust jacket. Without revealing too much, the novel walks a tightrope between enticing the reader with fascinating details without explaining away the threat, and thus the horror, of the monsters.

However, while this is great for tension, Winters’ Resonance could have inserted more explanation of the origins of the murderous kids in the prologue. Unfortunately, the reader doesn’t find out much about them and where they came from until the second half of the book. The unknown is a great vehicle to create suspense and it works here, but at some point, the curtain has to pull back. That said, the book’s ending is satisfying as it wraps up its own plot points. The reader shouldn’t feel disappointed.

Winters’ Resonance has a great premise and appropriately spooky vibe running the entire length of the narrative. Its creepy scenes and interesting characters make this first entry in the A Series of Echoes worth reading.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MCM7TQ8