Happily Ever After...

by Michael Seese

More from the "Never Give Up" files...

Way back in 2012, I wrote a story called "TinkerHell" in response to a submission call. I can't remember what the exact theme was, but as you can guess from the title, the story was a riff on the Peter Pan / Tinkerbell saga. They said "no."

Fast forward to February of this year. Transmundane Press issued a call for fractured fairy tales for the anthology After The Happily Ever After. 

The happily ever after is never the end. The curtain doesn't fall once love is recognized or evil is vanquished.  Credits don't roll once the giant is slain or the big bad wolf is boiled alive.  Wicked stepsisters, malevolent rulers, and hideous creatures still have lives after their sinister roles play out; heroes, lovers, and dreamers often find their victories lead to more troubles.

I submitted, and five month later they said "yes."

And today, I can share with you the cover reveal, along with other relevant information, should you be dying to buy. Or even sorta interested.

Below are a few excerpts, a.k.a teasers, from my fellow contributors:

“The Spider’s Kiss” by David Turnball:
 
Her complexion had assumed the tainted gray of the corpse, the white of her eyes inebriated red with the wine of ruptured veins, the flesh on her fingers as black as spider legs.
 
“How perfectly contrary I’ve become.”
 
 For entertainment, she plucked wings from flies and hung their panicking bodies from the gossamer mesh of a spider web draping the dusty corner of her mother’s garret, watching lustfully as the long-legged spider came slowly dancing around his prey. When the mood took, she’d pop the panicky little insect torsos into her mouth. Their sour juices oozing down her throat afforded her an invigorating but fleeting sensation.

“Trader” by Robert Dawson

The ocean holds many kinds of islands. There are the ordinary sort of islands that stay in the same place all the time, solid reliable islands where men and women raise their children and cabbages. Beyond them lie the barren rocks, swallowed and released as the moon draws the tides, where only the selchie folk live, and the shifting sandbars where the cold mermaidens wait to marry drowned sailors. 

So, are you ready to order? 

You can get your copy on Amazon here. 

Or if you wish to be a Patron Of The Arts, this is a link to the Kickstarter campaign. 

And for the "price" of a Twitter follow, or a visit to Facebook or the Kickstarter campaign, you can be entered into a drawing for a $10 Amazon card. Here is the link: After the Happily Ever After Cover Reveal Giveaway. The giveaway only has a few days left, so you might want to do that sooner rather than later.

On behalf of the authors and the folks at Transmundane, thanks for your support.