October, Princesses, and NEWS

If you hadn't already heard, October is Twelve Dancing Princesses month over at Fairy Tale Central. I've already posted a short story/opening scene snippet on a new 12DP retelling that I DARE NOT go back to with NaNo so close on the horizon. There's just so much about the original fairytale that people overlook sometimes; it's just cool to jump straight in and pull things out to twist in your own way.

Ahem. So, yeah, I'm definitely NOT thinking about that other story. Especially since I'm planning on working on my OTHER 12DP mammoth novel for NaNo. The Twelfth Kingdom is currently 118K words, and I'm really hoping to be able to finish a first draft by Christmas. Maybe. We'll see how November cooperates with me.

But I'm talking of 12DP-- and Fairy Tale Central. Because this month, guys, I had the honor of writing up two book reviews as well as participating in a film group review. It was so much fun! You would think by now that I'd be sick of 12DP, but I'm still feeling ready to jump into more retellings.

Review here on Fairy Tale Central.

First off, I soooo enjoyed getting to read Suzannah Rowntree's The City Beyond the Glass. Set in Venice (which was too cool with gondolas and the works!), this story follows the adventures of three sisters (instead of twelve), but the fairytale vibes are super strong and extremely well-worked. It gets a bit darker at times, but I would definitely recommend this for any fairytale enthusiast. It was absolutely lovely and perfection.

Review here on Fairy Tale Central.

I also reviewed The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn for FTC. That one... hmmm. To be honest, I wish that author hadn't written it. The whole premise is such a cool idea with a King Arthur and 12DP mashup. IT WAS GLORIOUS. But the execution of the plot, the characters, the legends... it all came across VERY WEAK and it was almost too disappointing to bother with. I struggled with putting this review on FTC only because I wanted so badly to LOVE this book, only to be able to say, "It was a meh retelling." Urgh. PEOPLE. Arthurian legends and 12DP were MADE for each other. Someone do this idea justice, PLEASE.

Review here on KiriBeth.

Besides those two books, I did an extra 12DP reading and reviewed The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine on my book blog, KiriBeth. THIS BOOK. I'm still kinda bitter over it. Again, a fantastic idea of setting 12DP in the Roaring Twenties and the speakeasies. I mean, where better historically for a group of sisters to dance the night away? HOWEVER, there was a lot of moral content that I had big issues with. I won't go into detail here, but you can read the full review on KiriBeth. I was super bummed. In all honesty, I don't think I could really recommend the book to anyone.

Group review here on Fairy Tale Central.

But let's end this list of reviews on a bright note, shall we? I mentioned above I'd participated in a film group review for FTC? Well, the lovely ladies and I had tons of fun writing up our thoughts on Barbie in the Twelve Dancing Princesses, one of my favorite Barbie movies/kid fairytale films to date. I'm still very much a kid at heart, and this movie shall always be a favorite.

Oh, yes, and I did promise you a bit of news, didn't I?

(My apologies for just an ultrasound pic, but I'm not extremely comfortable with sharing pics of my kiddos on a public blog at the moment.)

Many of you know that our son was due to be born here early in November. Well, he's no longer a November baby since he took it upon himself to arrive a full two weeks and two days early. Baby Joey is doing well, eating like the growing boy that he is, and his older sister absolutely adores him. If my writing at all seems garbled, that's probably because I'm not getting a full night's sleep every night. But he's totally worth it.

I'm still a little in shock that he's already here. It's difficult to look at him and not feel a sudden, overwhelming sense of blessedness. God truly has been gracious to our family -- first, with the birth of our daughter back in April of last year, and now the birth of our son. Every life is precious, and when it's your own kids, somehow, it's only that much more precious. I wouldn't trade them for the world.

Joey will be making NaNo VERY interesting, though. Kiddos come first, obviously, but I'm hoping to get some writing done.

How about you? Any plans for NaNo? Or shout-outs for other 12DP retellings I need to read? Let me know in the comments below!

God bless!

Bayou Curse - A Twelve Dancing Princesses Story

Even though I've been a part of Fairy Tale Central for a few months now, I've yet to participate in Arielle's fairy tale themed writing prompts. Since this month is all about the Twelve Dancing Princesses, I decided that I had to do something.

For some reason, 1920s New Orleans was stuck in my mind when I tried to think up a unique setting. The big steamboats floating along on the water, with lights shimmering everywhere... it just seemed like a perfect spot to stick a 12DP story. I don't know all that much about that particular part of history, so forgive me if the following scene is terribly inaccurate. 

And this is just a scene -- not a full story. You should know by now that I have terrible trouble keeping stories short, and so there'd be no way I could get a whole fairytale down in about 1,000 words. 

This month's prompt... (response image not included because I'm lazy...) 

Bayou Curse

            “Just one night. Can’t we sleep for just one night and forget all this?”

            I shook my head. Whining Bart was at it again. I ignored him, focusing instead on the lights at the end of the dock, throwing shimmering sparkles over the water. Any time now. Besides, I knew there were enough hotheads in our group to silence Bart’s complaints soon enough.

            And just as I suspected, Philip threw a response at him. “Sounds great. Except for the part where we’d all wake up as ghosts.”

            “Pshaw,” practical Simon said quickly. “You know the old man wouldn’t murder us.”

            “Of course not,” Philip replied. “At least, not until he gets what he wants. And then we’d be ghosts.”

            The bickering was something I was used to hearing. But what else could one expect from twelve odd-aged boys, thrown together since their infancy, and all stuck on the biggest, flashiest boat in New Orleans?

            Matthew sniffed. “I have no intention of becoming a ghost.”

            Judas spoke up, the youngest of us, but never one to relish having his opinion glossed over by the others. “Ghosts aren’t real.”

            Philip snorted. “And how would you know? You haven’t seen the haunted streets and harbors of this town enough to believe in one.”

            It was odd, the fact that we’d all been named after the twelve apostles from the Holy Scriptures. It was the only sign of anything religious our master had let slip into his endeavors. I’d never considered myself anything like Peter, especially after I’d heard a preacher on the Diamond Queen – the only preacher ever allowed on our master’s steamboat – say he had a temper and made quick decisions. As the oldest, I was more of a peacemaker and field captain. Typically, the other boys listened to me. I had the strongest fist – they had to listen to me. Everything would fall apart otherwise.

            James and John, the next in line after me, were twins – and very hard to tell apart. I suspected they switched spots every few nights just for fun, but so far no one had been able to call them out for doing so.

            Andrew loved food, especially when the chefs on the Diamond Queen served up a regular Creole banquet. He always got sick eating shrimp, but he ate it anyways.

            Philip, number five, argued every chance he got. He knew the best ways to get under everybody’s skin.

            Bartholomew was the largest in our group, and heard about the size of his stomach often. He complained enough that I didn’t mind letting the other boys rankle him about it.

Matthew, the seventh, didn’t talk much, but he liked to think everything he said was important. Thomas was overly bookish and tried to do everything Matthew did.

Since the name James had already been taken by a twin, boy number nine had gotten stuck with the disciple’s father’s name: Alphaeus. He was the girls’ favorite, skinned darkened from the sun and the best dancer among us.

Thaddaeus hated his name, the water, gumbo, and anything else that threatened to make him smile. Simon didn’t follow in his footsteps and chose to be optimistic and practical – which ultimately proved as annoying as Thaddaeus’s temper to the rest of us.

Judas was the last of us, the final number twelve. His curly hair and twinkling eyes should have catapulted him into the wiles and thrills of feminine favor, but his limp made him an awkward dancer. Unless a girl took pity on him, he was always the last picked.

I could hear James – or maybe John – trying to shush the argument behind me. If it’s one less fight I have to stop, the better. My eyes were too focused on the lump of land and road beyond the edge of the dock. Not one of us had ever stepped a foot past the wooden dock onto land, and if our master had his way, none of us ever would. Our whole lives were wrapped up completely in the Diamond Queen.

The sound of giggles fell on my ears over the sound of my brothers fighting, and I flung out my hand with a hoarse shout. “They’re coming!”

Immediately, a hush and a gentlemanly reverence fell over the boys. Ghosts or not, they knew what was expected of them.

The first feminine form to reach the light of the dock was one I knew well. Mildred Larue always wore a black and gold ensemble, alternating the two colors on her shoes as they wore out each night. She was typically my partner, as she always seemed to be the leader for the other girls.  

Behind her, the girl in pink caught the tiny heel of her dancing slipper between the boards of the dock. I tried not to snicker as she wildly careened, whacking two other girls with her arms as she tried to pull herself free. Doris had never been known for her gracefulness.

Mabel’s laugh preceded her, and I prayed she wouldn’t beat Mildred to the end of the dock. Typically, the girls didn’t care who they ended up with – even though a few of them fought over Alphaeus – but getting stuck with Mabel as a companion all evening was nothing short of a horror for me.

Helen, Mary, Jean, Lucille… the other girls’ names floated by me. Some of them I could pin to faces, but most of them I had to rely on my brothers’ talk of who was who.

Mildred tripped lightly to the end of the dock and smiled up at me. “Ready, Peter?”

I forced a smile. “Enchanted as always to have you at my side, ma cherie.”

The jazz music was already trickling its way down the dock from the Diamond Queen. The spice of New Orleans was thick on the breeze, and I knew Andrew was already thinking about the chefs’ work gracing the banquet tables.

Mildred squeezed my arm as she took it. “Isn’t this fun? I can’t believe how generous Mr. Jerome has been to allow us to come here every night.” She giggled. “The best part is, my father has no clue!”

Of course, she would say that. She had no idea who our master really was, what his plans were. To her and the other girls, it was all part of a game; dancing the night away on the upper deck of the Diamond Queen amid electric lights and soft jazz was the stuff of fairytales.

Only my brothers and I knew it was only part of our curse.

~*~

Let me know what you think below! Where would you set a 12DP story?

God bless!

Merchant of Menace Cover Reveal

The Bookania Quests are growing yet again! We saw the lovely release of Kendra's Rapunzel-inspired tale earlier in August (Hair We Go Again), and now we're getting close to the release of book #6 in this fun, fairytale series!

This is me, shamelessly stealing pics from Kendra's blog.

Believe me, if you're into any type of fun retellings that make you laugh out loud and squeal in delight with all the fairytale references, this is the series for you. Make no mistake about that.

Merchant of Menace is more than just a mere fairytale retelling, however. Do you like Cinderella? Well, that's in here. Do you like Shakespeare? Well, that's in here, too. And guess what? We've also got bits of the Odyssey AND pirates! I'm really excited to see how she combines all of that into one story. And that, really, is what I love so much about Kendra's books. You jump in, thinking you know everything there is to know, but she takes you on the adventure you never saw coming. I mean, throw pirates in with any fairytale and I'M TOTALLY THERE. We don't have enough of those stories.


Anyway, you're here for a cover reveal, aren't you? Well, I won't be one of those bloggers who makes you scroll for an eternity before showing you what you want. *winks*

Here we go.

About the book: Robin has promised Meg her aid in rescuing her lost father and sisters, but that's easier said than done...  

Eep!! Don't you love this cover? The blues, the SHIP, the mysterious tones.... AH! Can't wait. *grins* *and grins some more*

This book does not have an official release date as of yet, but you can still get prepped for it by adding it on Goodreads or checking it out on Kendra's blog!

And, as always, the first book in this series, Sew, It's a Quest, is available for free on Amazon Kindle and Smashwords!

About the author: Kendra E. Ardnek has been writing her own stories since she was a toddler. She fell in love with books, drama, and fairy tales at a very young age - and has been filling notebooks with her stories for years. Joining NaNoWriMo gave her an opportunity to be a published author at 16.

She writes her own blog (knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com), homeschools, cooks, knits, and crafts when she isn't writing stories and acting them out with her younger cousins and siblings.