Due to some technical issues, I took down my regular author website, and have redirected to my earlier blog until they are resolved. But since that might leave you disappointed, I'll post a status update here as well as a poem and a short story. Because poems and stories make everything better, even technical difficulties.
Querying my pro-feminist middle grade Into the Woods
My latest novel is another middle grade fantasy, but very different than Danger Tastes Dreadful. While that is more straightforward and usually termed "lower middle grade", this novel is longer, more sophisticated, and uses an unusual narrative structure. With seven embedded original fairy tales (one is a classic fairy tale retold from the villain's POV), a three part structure that echoes how classic fairy tales unfold, and a slew of literary and pop culture fairy tale references, this novel is funny, sweet, and ardently pro-consent. Told in first person present from the point of view of a quiet boy surrounded by strong girls and women, this turns many fairy tale tropes on their heads without ever sacrificing the compelling narrative that drives him forward.
After feedback from critique partners and beta readers, this has been polished and strengthened to the point where I am ready to send it out to agents and see how it goes. Will I stop tweaking and rewriting? Probably not, especially as a couple of straggler beta readers may come up with new suggestions. But as self-critical as I can be, I am comfortable releasing my baby to the publishing world. It is always a leap of faith, but eventually you have to either leap or stay glued to the cliff.
Because there are several important witches in this novel, I include here a witchy poem, this one published in Feathertale in 2010. Below that, I have included a riff on the classic Little Mermaid story which was published several years ago by Enchanted Conversation. Enjoy, and I hope next time you visit, my author website will be back again. Thanks for your patience.
Wicked Witch's Lament
Sitting in my castle gloomy,
Feeling old and rather rheumy,
Thinking of the peasants beaten,
Scrumptious children I have eaten,
Nothing evil left to do or see.
Getting old (two hundred eighty),
Every sagging bit more weighty,
Worst of all, I'm oh so smelly
Covered in bat guts, newt jelly,
A shame a bath would spell catastrophe.
Centuries of grime so sickly,
Crawling bugs make me feel tickly,
Thoughts of bathing drive me crazy,
Air around me dank and hazy,
Could a bit of water dangerous be?
Tempting thoughts of one good washing,
Dreaming of the soapy sloshing.
Dive into a bath all bubbly,
Never more to feel so troubly;
Cloak and broomstick all that's left of me.
The Sea Witch's Daughter
Once upon a time, an evil witch lived in
the depths of the ocean in a castle built of the spars and timbers from
shipwrecks. She had one daughter, a lovely mermaid named Tempterra.
Tempterra was lonely. No mermen dared approach the witch's castle, and
Tempterra was not allowed to attend the royal balls and merriments of
the Sea King. Her only companions were stingrays and sharks that waited
upon her mother.
One day, as Tempterra floated alongside a basking shark, she spied a
regal ship. Curious, she watched it sail closer. At the prow stood a
man so handsome, he took her breath away. Tempterra watched as he
strode the decks, giving orders to the seamen in a voice that was firm
but kind.
Returning to the castle, Tempterra told the witch, "Mother, I have found the man I want to marry."
"Where did you meet this merman?" asked the witch, eyes narrowing.
"He is not a merman, but a human. I saw him on his ship," confessed
Tempterra. "I must make him mine. Please, Mother, won't you help me?"
The witch stormed and raged, but at last relented. "I will give you
three chances to walk the land as a human. Each time, you may rise from
the sea on human legs in the morning, but you must return to the sea
before sunset, unless you have married your love."
"And if I do, may I stay with him as a human?" asked Tempterra.
The witch sighed, but said, "If you marry him and spend one whole night in his bed, you will remain human forever."
"And if I do not wed the prince in three chances?"
The witch smiled. "Then you will return, and never again venture to the surface."
Tempterra didn't hesitate. "I will do it."
The witch frowned, but gave Tempterra three pearls of translucent
beauty. "Swallow one pearl each time you would walk the land. However,
beware. As the sun sets, you will return to your natural state unless
you have married."
Tempterra kept the three pearls in a locket around her neck. Each day, she scanned the horizon and held the locket close.
One beautiful morning, Tempterra saw the ship again. She followed as it
sailed ashore, and saw the mysterious man on deck. A crewman called
out, "Brace yourself for landing, Prince Henrik."
A prince. Tempterra thought her mother would be pleased with such a
catch. Then she frowned, as she realized how difficult it might be to
meet the prince. When she looked up, the ship had docked.
Tempterra swam quickly to the beach and pulled herself ashore. Gasping
on the sand, she reached into her locket, took out the first pearl, and
swallowed it. She felt a searing pain as her tail split into two legs.
As the pain subsided, she raised her head. The prince had disembarked
and was almost out of sight.
Awkward on her new legs, Tempterra could not reach the prince before he
entered the palace. The gates swung closed with Tempterra, dismayed.
She hobbled to the gate and knocked.
At first, nothing happened. Then a window opened, too small to see through. "Who goes there?" the guard asked.
Thinking quickly, Tempterra said, "I am a poor maiden from a faraway
land. I have an important message for His Highness Prince Henrik."
The voice growled, "His Royal Highness does not take messages from
commoners," and the window slammed shut. It would not open again, no
matter how piteously Tempterra begged.
The day passed, but Tempterra could find no way into the palace. As the
sun sank, she trudged back to the beach and slipped into the waiting
waves. She had wasted one pearl.
For weeks, Tempterra watched to see the ship. Her heart grew heavy as
she imagined a lifetime beneath the waves, alone. Then one day,
Tempterra saw the ship leaving port. Determined, she swam close to the
ship, risking discovery.
The ship sailed further out, and Tempterra followed, fearful she would
miss her chance to meet the Prince if the ship did not return to shore
by nightfall.
As dusk approached, Tempterra's heart grew dark as well. She thought
she would never meet the prince, and might as well return to her
mother. That gave her an idea. She raced back to the castle.
"Mother, I need a mighty storm."
The witch was surprised by this request. She liked nothing better than
stirring up a tempest, but Tempterra was not usually interested.
The witch closed her eyes and uttered dark incantations that roiled the
water. However, when she looked to see if Tempterra was pleased, her
daughter was gone.
Streaking toward the ship, Tempterra planned her approach. After the
storm capsized the ship, she would find the prince and help him to
shore. In gratitude, he would be sure to marry her.
Through the crashing waves, she saw the ship in mortal peril. She
waited until the ship went down, and then swam into the wreckage. She
encountered many struggling sailors, but not the prince.
Desperately afraid that the prince had drowned, Tempterra dove again and again, but could not find him.
Filled with remorse, Tempterra realized what she must do. She swam
against the storm toward shore. She swore that when she arrived, she
would swallow another pearl and go to the King and Queen to apologize
for her reckless deed.
Tempterra had no doubt of her fate after such a confession, but she saw no purpose in living without her prince.
It was morning before she reached shore and swallowed the second pearl.
As Tempterra stood on the beach, she saw a most amazing sight. Lying
on the shore was her prince. Tempterra stood speechless, but realized
her plan might still work. She ran to the prince and knelt beside him.
As she touched his face, the prince's eyes opened.
The prince looked up at Tempterra, and she could see the love grow in
his deep blue eyes. She caressed his cheek, and he murmured, "Thank
you! Thank you for saving my life," before fainting again.
Tempterra found two men mending nets. They hurried to the beach and
lifted the prince in their arms, while Tempterra followed. At the
palace, the gates flew open when the men shouted their news.
Tempterra tried to enter as well, but the guards prevented her. She
pleaded, saying that it was she who rescued the prince, but they would
not believe her.
Desolate, Tempterra returned to the beach. Weeping where the prince had
lain, she did not wait for night, but returned to her home under the
sea. For weeks, she stayed in her room, crying and eating almost
nothing.
In time, the Sea King's youngest daughter, Sirenetta, came to the witch
to plead for a chance to meet the man she had helped to shore. The
witch knew he must be Prince Henrik. She saw a chance to hurt the Sea
King, while proving to Tempterra that human men are fickle and
unreliable.
The witch granted Sirenetta's wish, and watched in her magic glass as
the prince found the transformed maiden. She showed Tempterra images in
her glass of the prince with Sirenetta, but Tempterra turned away,
sobbing, and swam from the room.
Weeks passed. The prince attended to Sirenetta, but seemed uninterested
in marrying her. Tempterra kept to her room, crying herself to sleep.
The witch grew angry.
"Tempterra, no more of this tiresome weeping. Use your third pearl tomorrow, or lose the chance forever!"
Tempterra was distraught. What chance had she to win the prince's
heart? He spent his days with the lovely maiden, while Tempterra could
not pass the gates.
In the morning, Tempterra swam to shore, hoping for a miracle. As she swam, she saw a foreign ship sailing toward land.
Conceiving a plan, Tempterra slipped up to the ship and found a stray
rope. She swallowed her last pearl, climbed the rope and hid behind the
large anchor.
When the foreign ladies and gentlemen disembarked, the prince was in the
royal greeting party. Tempterra's heart pounded as she slipped to the
end of the procession. Would she be caught? How could she make the
prince notice her?
But when the prince caught sight of Tempterra, his eyes lit up
instantly, and he rushed to her side. "You are the fair lady who
rescued me. I have longed for your return." The prince asked Tempterra
to marry him that very day, and she agreed.
The wedding was held that afternoon onboard the prince’s new ship. After
a glorious celebration, the prince escorted Tempterra to the royal
cabin.
In the middle of the night, a sound startled Tempterra awake. To her
surprise, she saw the young maiden her mother had shown her, leaning
over the prince as if in embrace. Before Tempterra could speak, the
maiden stood, blew a kiss to the prince, and slipped out of the cabin.
Tempterra's heart broke. Pride prevented her from demanding an
explanation, but tears trickled down her cheeks as she gazed at the
prince. At last, she crept from the cabin and dove into the chilly
waters. As she grew back her tail, she vowed never to return to the
surface.
Back in the castle, the sea witch watched in her magic glass and cackled
with glee. She knew she must hide the glass from Tempterra. It was
only a matter of time before the prince found a new wife, and Tempterra
didn't need to see how quickly the prince forgot her.
As the sea witch swam toward the lowest reaches of the castle, she
looked again at the glass and gasped. The prince stood on the railing
of the ship, staring down at the churning water. As she watched, he
dove off after Tempterra.
The witch laughed, sure the prince would give up after a few minutes of
futile searching, but he swam down with steady strokes. Even when he
must have been fighting for breath, the prince continued his relentless
quest.
"Fool, what are you doing?" screeched the sea witch, but the prince swam
deeper and deeper. The sea witch watched Tempterra swim away, unaware
of the struggling prince following her. Before long, the prince slowed
and stopped, unable to continue but unwilling to go back.
The sea witch stared at the drowning prince, realizing at last the depth
of the love between him and Tempterra. She knew Tempterra's
transformation could no longer be undone, but thought she might save the
prince if she moved quickly. She uttered a hasty incantation, and the
vision in the glass whirled with clouds. When it cleared, the prince
still floated silently, but his legs had combined to make a merman's
tail.
For a moment, the sea witch thought she had waited too long, but then
the prince opened his eyes. Even with the shock of his transformation,
he continued after Tempterra. The sea witch put down the glass and swam
to reunite Tempterra with her husband.
