About the Fae World and its Four Courts for the Fae World Anthologies

People have been asking me to write a blog post with more details about the four courts of the Fae for the Fae World series, so here it is. Basically "Fae" includes any mythical/magical creature, from trolls, kelpi and goblins to mermaids, sprites, succubi, vampires and anything else, but they each belong to different "courts" which are named after the different seasons. 

Winter is generally associated with cold, dark creatures, or dark Fae, while summer is generally warm and light. Of course, just because a creature belongs to one court or another does not necessarily make them "good" or "evil," but, as with all creatures, there are always those who don't fit in or who show signs of being both light and dark.

In this world, there are more Fae than just the ones from the Winter Court and Summer Court though. In this Fae world, there are also Fae of the Autumn Court and the Spring Court, and these Fae should also have traits that would be associated with those seasons. For example, Spring would be associated with new life, love, fertility, growth and more.

You can do some research of your own on how other authors have portrayed fairies and Fae creatures of the different courts (but, as always, the story must be your own). Laurel K. Hamilton has some books with fairies from both Seelie and Unseelie Courts in her Meredith Gentry series of novels. Jim Butcher's stories deal with fairies from the Winter and Summer courts in his Dresden Files series of novels. None of these are exactly what the Fae World stories are supposed to be about. I don't want you to take either author's ideas or characters, but I do want you to let the wide variety of stories from all of the many different fairy worlds created by a vast array of different authors to help inspire you to be creative. 

Research mythology from different cultures. There are numerous myths and legends to help you with ideas. But most of all, don't limit yourself.  While I still expect you to stick to the rules given out in the post about submitting to the Fae World anthologies, there is a whole spider web of ideas, one leading to another and to another, that you can use. Have an idea for a magical creature that there is no mythology about and no previous stories make mention of? By all means, write about it. Bring it into being within your story.

Together, we are creating a world, a magical, mythical world, and our stories are going to show this world to the readers and bring it to life within their minds in a way that ensures they won't want to leave.

"Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea" Book Blast & Giveaway!

“I'm no longer a child and I still want to be, to live with the pirates. Because I want to live forever in wonder. The difference between me as a child and me as an adult is this and only this: when I was a child, I longed to travel into, to live in wonder. Now, I know, as much as I can know anything, that to travel into wonder is to be wonder. So it matters little whether I travel by plane, by rowboat, or by book. Or, by dream. I do not see, for there is no I to see. That is what the pirates know. There is only seeing and, in order to go to see, one must be a pirate.” ~Kathy Acker

"Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea" is having its very own book blast and giveaway in honor of "Talk Like a Pirate Day" which falls on September 19th this year.

About the anthology:

In the spirit of “Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unique Fairy Tales” is this wonderful second volume of short stories to enjoy! With stories to enchant readers of all ages, this collection of pirate and mermaid stories will open your eyes to the magic that can be found under the sea. Let yourself be pulled into the magical worlds found within these stories. From pirates and sea monsters to kind-hearted mermaids and flesh-eating sirens, let these charming ocean tales sweep you away into the realm of fantasy. With twenty-six stories, including four poems, written by seventeen different authors from around the world, “Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea” is a wonderful collection of short stories, each story just long enough to enjoy with a cup of tea.

The proceeds from this anthology go exclusively towards providing for the Chapter Book Challenge, and the stories in this anthology were written and illustrated entirely by ChaBooCha members.

There are two separate versions of the book, both in kindle and paperback, a version with US spellings and a UK edition with UK spellings and language.

This is the second volume of the Teapot Tales anthologies. The first one was published in 2013, and it was called "Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unique Fairy Tales."

“Darwin may have been quite correct in his theory that man descended from the apes of the forest, but surely woman rose from the frothy sea, as resplendent as Aphrodite on her scalloped chariot.” ~Margot Datz, "A Survival Guide for Landlocked Mermaids"

Other Book Blast Participants:(Go check out their blogs!)

Julia Stilchen

Melissa Writes

Ashley Howland

Imagine! Create! Write!

Melissa Gijsbers
Chapter Book Challenge

Jo Hart

Now that you know all about this wonderful anthology, it's time to let you know what the you might win by filling in the Rafflecopter for this giveaway.

magnet

mini poster print

Teapot Tales Volume 1 and Volume 2

- a print copy of "Teapot Tales" (Volume 2)


- a kindle copy of "Teapot Tales" (Volume 2)


 - a mermaid-themed bookmark (with charms)

 
- a magnet with the "Teapot Tales" (Volume 2) cover on it


- a mini poster print of the "Teapot Tales" (Volume 2) book cover
  

- an e-book copy of "Swallow Me, Now" by Melissa Gijsbers

To enter for a chance to win one of the above prizes listed above, fill in the Rafflecopter. Come back and check in as new prizes will be added and new ways to earn points. The winners will be chosen and announced on September 25th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea" book trailer

Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea" has its own book trailer, thanks to the creative and talented efforts of Julia Stilchen! Watch it with your kids!

*****

In the spirit of “Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unique Fairy Tales” is this wonderful second volume of short stories to enjoy! With stories to enchant readers of all ages, this collection of pirate and mermaid stories will open your eyes to the magic that can be found under the sea. Let yourself be pulled into the magical worlds found within these stories. From pirates and sea monsters to kind-hearted mermaids and flesh-eating sirens, let these charming ocean tales sweep you away into the realm of fantasy. With twenty-six stories, including four poems, written by seventeen different authors from around the world, “Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea” is a wonderful collection of short stories, each story just long enough to enjoy with a cup of tea.

To buy in the US: 

Paperback 

Kindle

To buy in the UK: 

Paperback

Kindle


To buy in the AU:

Kindle

"Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea" is out now!

Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea

In the spirit of “Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unique Fairy Tales” is this wonderful second volume of short stories to enjoy! With stories to enchant readers of all ages, this collection of pirate and mermaid stories will open your eyes to the magic that can be found under the sea. Let yourself be pulled into the magical worlds found within these stories. From pirates and sea monsters to kind-hearted mermaids and flesh-eating sirens, let these charming ocean tales sweep you away into the realm of fantasy. With twenty-six stories, including four poems, written by seventeen different authors from around the world, “Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea” is a wonderful collection of short stories, each story just long enough to enjoy with a cup of tea.

To buy in the US: 

Paperback 

Kindle

To buy in the UK: 

Paperback

Kindle


To buy in the AU:

Kindle

Now taking submissions for "Walking with Daddy: A Collection of Letters from Fathers to Daughters"

If you were ripped from this Earth tomorrow, what would you want your daughter to know? What message would you want to leave behind for her? If you knew that you could write her a letter and she would take every word of the letter to heart, what would you write?

Melusine Muse Press is now taking submissions for the "Walking with Daddy" anthology. This anthology is a collection of letters from fathers to their daughters, written in letter format. The title and cover shown above are just a "working title" and a "working cover" and may not be the title and cover used on the finished anthology.

1. Your submissions must be written in a letter format addressed as "To my daughter," "To my daughters," or "Dear Daughter." Tell your daughter what is in your heart. What do you want her to know? What are the things you love about her? What hopes do you have for her?

2. In an anthology like this, I shouldn't have to even say it, but please keep it PG.

3. Letters cannot be less than 500 words and should not go over 2,000 words. 

4. Please follow the formatting guidelines as stated on Melusine Muse Press's page. Go here to read the formatting guidelines.

5. There will be a prize for the BEST letter, as determined by me, of three free print copies of the anthology. Second place will get two print copies of the anthology and third place will get one print copy of the anthology.

6. Author bios must be sent in - around a paragraph each, links may be included, and must be written in 3rd person. These will be included in the book. 

7. Short, one- or two-lines long, dedications may be included with your submission, and will make this book even more special to have on hand for your daughter as she grows.

8. The deadline for submissions is September 15th, 2014, but I would prefer to get submissions in earlier.

9. E-mail submissions as a file attachment to Rebecca (at) Fyfe (dot) net.

10. You may submit individual letters up to the number of daughters you have. You may write one letter that is inclusive for all of your daughters, or, if you have more than one daughter, you may write separate letters for each one and submit them.

11. your daughter doesn't have to be a little girl still. Even if she is all grown up, you can still write her a letter for the anthology.

Anthologies will be made available in both kindle and print formats.

The goal is to have the book out on World Daughter Day in 2015, which is on January 12th, but it might come out earlier to make Christmas purchases possible.

Only a limited number of letters will be included, so there is no guarantee that your letter will be selected if you send it in, but you will be notified of whether or not you letter has been accepted by November 1st.

Deadline: OPEN
Special note: If you have a touching "daddy and daughter" photo which you would like included with your dedication, send it in jpeg or png format to the same e-mail address as the letter submissions.

Authors retain all rights to submitted stories. If your story is accepted, you will be e-mailed a contract.

Now taking submissions for "Paw Prints: Cat Stories to Warm the Heart"

Paw Prints: Cat Stories to Warm the Heart

This is an anthology of cat stories. Each story must have a GOOD photo of the cat written about to go with it or, if the story if fiction and you do not have an accompanying photo, we will provide a photo. If you are providing a photo, you must have permission to use the photo.

This anthology is a great way to remember those cats who have left paw prints on your heart. Stories can be fiction or non-fiction.

Stories must be either moving, funny or cute. The word count should be between 300 words and 1,000 words. All stories should be kid-friendly, but do not have to be written specifically for children.

We will also accept a limited number of cat-themed comics.

This is a new anthology series.

Please follow the formatting guidelines as stated on Melusine Muse Press's page. Go here to read the formatting guidelines.

You may submit up to three stories.

Proceeds from this anthology will be going to the Cat's Protection League in Swindon, Wiltshire, UK.

About the Cat's Protection League: 

"At Cats Protection, we help more than 218,000 cats and kittens every year thanks in no small part to our network of over 250 volunteer-run branches, 29 adoption centres and two homing centres. Our rehoming and neutering programmes, together with our work in reuniting lost cats with their owners ensure that more than 218,000 cats are given the chance of a better life every year. This work would be impossible without the dedication and commitment of our volunteers."

Deadline: November 15th, 2014

Authors retain all rights to submitted stories. If your story is accepted, you will be e-mailed a contract.

Now taking submissions for "SuperHERo Tales (Volume 2)!

This is the cover for volume one, designed by Julia Lela Stilchen.

SuperHERo Tales (Volume 2)

This series of anthologies was created with the idea in mind that girls do not have enough female superhero stories to read and female superhero characters to look up to, at least not as avidly represented in the media as the male superheroes, so we, as writers, want to create and provide our own.

You need to create a character. She is female and a superhero, but what she looks like, what her powers are, what she wears and what kind of personality she has is all up to you. Start by outlining these specific things:

Name of female superhero:

Name of human alter ego, if different:

Superhero Appearance (hair, eyes, body type, etc.):

Human alter ego appearance (if she has an alter ego):

Costume:

Personality:

Brief description of how the superheroine gets her powers (i.e. born with them, radioactive accident, mad scientist experiments on her, etc.):

Powers:

Anything else important:

Once you have filled these details in, write a flash fiction or short story, no less than 300 words long and no longer than 1,000 words, that is a complete scene. This scene can be one that shows how your character develops her powers, how she becomes a superhero. It can be a fight scene, showing how she uses her powers. It can be a romance scene (PG, please) showing how she interacts with her love interest (if she has one). It can be anything you want it to be that shows some aspect of your character, something important to her life. It doesn't have to be a complete story, but it must be a complete scene. Think of it as if you have your own TV series dedicated to your superhero, and this short story is one episode of the series. (That suggests it should at least have an end to the scene, even though everyone watching/reading knows that the story continues.)

At the beginning of the page, before starting the list, type your name and the word count. Then type the word "anthology:" and add "yes."

E-mail your story to me using the "contact me" button in the top right corner.

You may submit up to three stories.

Because this is for charity, there will be no payment, but your name will be listed as a contributing author and you will have an author bio (which you will have to send in) near the end of the book. The book will be published in e-book and print formats.

Note: If you contributed a story/superhero to the first SuperHERo Tales, you may write about the same superhero, but must have a different piece of flash fiction about her - readers must learn something new about your superheroine that they did not learn in the first anthology.

Deadline: September 30th, 2014

Art submissions: This anthology is for a charity that benefits girls, and as we are creating female superheroes in the comic tradition, we are looking for some superhero drawings to represent the superheroes. E-mail me for a list of the descriptions of the superheroes that have been added to the anthology so far if you plan on submitting a drawing or more than one drawing. Because this is for charity, there will be no payment, but your name will be listed as the artist and you will have an artist bio (which you will have to send in) near the end of the book. We reserve the right not to use any illustrations in the anthology. We are looking for superheroines drawn in the comic book style only.

You may submit multiple illustrations.

Deadline: September 30th, 2014

Authors retain all rights to submitted stories. If your story is accepted, you will be e-mailed a contract.

Proceeds from the anthology will go to Because I Am a Girl. From the website:

"Because I am a Girl is a global initiative to end gender inequality, promote girls’ rights and lift millions of girls – and everyone around them – out of poverty.

Girls in the poorest regions of the world are among the most disadvantaged people on the planet. They are more likely to live in poverty, more likely to be denied access to education, more likely to be denied medical care, and more likely to be malnourished, simply because they’re girls. And yet, studies show that if you give a girl enough to eat, an education and a safe environment, she’ll work to raise the standard of living for herself, her family and her community.

 We operate a wide range of programs worldwide to improve the status of girls and give them equal access to health care, education, protection, independence, and an opportunity to participate in society.

Our State of the Worlds Girls report series is an ongoing investigation to shine the light on  specific barriers to young girls’ development and their access to basic human rights."

Now Taking Submissions for "Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea"#ChaBooCha

Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea

This is the second volume of the Teapot Tales anthologies. The first one was "Teapot Tales: A collection of Unique Fairy Tales," published in 2013.

The theme for the 2014 Teapot Tales anthology will be " Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea." In fact, the full title of the next Teapot Tales anthology will be: "Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea," or something very similar.

1. Your stories must be about pirates, mermaids or other creaturess of the sea. But "monsters of the sea" can be loosely interpreted and basically, your story should have the sea or the ocean somewhere in it. Think of it in terms of sea-related fairy tales.

2. Stories do not have to be FOR children, but they do need to be child-friendly in that there should be no bad language, no sex and, although kids love gore and violence, please keep it PG.

3. Stories cannot be less than 300 words and cannot be over 800 words. Last time, the limit was 700 words, but several went over. This time, I am hoping everyone can keep it concise enough to stay within the allotted word count. The point of the title "Teapot Tales" is that each story is a short piece of flash fiction - a story short enough that a person can sit and enjoy a cup of tea while enjoying a story or two. People should be confident that they can sit and read a story in a short span of time, easily fitting story-reading into those briefly-snatched, relaxing moments throughout the day.

4. You MUST be an officially signed-up member of the Chapter Book Challenge in order to submit a story to the Teapot Tales anthology. You can sign up here. (You can read more about the Chapter Book Challenge by browsing this site or clicking on the "about" section at the top of the blog.)

5. Please follow the formatting guidelines as stated on Melusine Muse Press's page. Go here to read the formatting guidelines.

6. Proceeds from sales of the anthology go towards supporting the Chapter Book Challenge. Right now, the proceeds help pay for the prizes (we do a lot of prizes during the challenge) and the posting of those prizes. In the future, if proceeds increase, they will also help towards advertising ChaBooCha to bring in more members, advertising of the Teapot Tales anthologies (and other ChaBooCha anthologies) to help get them to a wider audience, donating our anthologies to libraries, setting up a more professional website and more. The goal is to grow membership of the Chapter Book Challenge, so we can better help each other towards our publishing goals. The Chapter Book Challenge is FREE to join and will remain so.

7. Illustrations (line art - black on white) will also be accepted.

8. Author bios must be sent in - around a paragraph each, links may be included, and must be written in 3rd person. These will be included in the book.

9. The deadline for the Teapot Tales submissions is July 31st, 2014, but I would prefer to get submissions in earlier.

10. E-mail submissions as a file attachment to Rebecca (at) Fyfe (dot) net.

You may submit up to three stories.

Anthologies will be made available in both kindle and print formats.

Deadline: July 31st, 2014

Authors retain all rights to submitted stories. If your story is accepted, you will be e-mailed a contract.

Now taking submissions for "Ghostly Echoes: Spooky Tales from Around the World"

Ghostly Echoes: Spooky Tales from Around the World

Melusine Muse Press is now taking submissions for a new anthology of spooky stories and Halloween-themed stories.

There is a 1,200 word limit (with a 300-word minimum).

Stories should be kid-friendly, but do not necessarily have to be written FOR children. Your best bet is to aim for stories that would be okay for 10 to 14 year old children to read.

These stories need to be spooky. Ghosts, goblins, demons, ghouls and anything else that can be thought of to frighten is welcome.

Stories are preferred, but we will accept some (a few) poems.

Artwork will be accepted (black and white/line drawings) and is encouraged.

We will also take book cover submissions. (If no one can create a suitable cover, Melusine Muse Press' artists will provide one. If several possible covers are submitted, participants will vote on their favorite.

As with Teapot Tales and Jingle Bells, proceeds will go towards the Chapter Book Challenge. The book will be made available in Kindle and print format. For print format, we are going to need to have the edited stories in and ready no later than July 31st, 2014. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee that the print version will be available by Halloween.

If you are American, your story will keep its US spellings and colloquialisms. If you are Australian or English, your story will also retain the spellings and colloquialisms for your area.

The Kindle version will maintain the clickable linking format that it had in Teapot Tales, and unless your are new at writing for Melusine Muse Press and the Chapter Book Challenge, your bio from Teapot Tales or Jingle Bells will be used (unless you request a new one). If you are new, an author (or artist) bio will be needed.

We will need to reach a minimum of 25 stories for this to be published in print form though.

You may submit up to three stories.

It is not limited to only ChaBooCha members! Anyone who can write an enjoyable story can submit a story.

Deadline: July 31st, 2014

Authors retain all rights to submitted stories. If your story is accepted, you will be e-mailed a contract.

A few late submissions will be allowed, on a  case by case basis.

Now taking submissions for "Fae World" anthology

We are taking submissions for the Fae World series of anthologies.

Fae World  

 

This anthology will either be one large anthology or four smaller ones. 

The four themes are Autumn Court, Winter Court, Spring Court and Summer Court and may include both dark and light Fae (Seelie and Unseelie). 

The word count should be between 300 and 3,000 words. 

Not all submissions will be accepted. 

These are adult stories, but gratuitous sex, gratuitous foul language and gratuitous violence will earn a rejection. 

Depending on the quality of the stories sent in, there will either be a one volume, 50+-story anthology or four volumes with 25 to 35 stories in each (depending on average length of stories). 

At this moment, I cannot afford to pay for stories that are accepted, but there will be a $10 Amazon gift certificate awarded to the best story in each category ("court") and a $25 gift certificate for the best story overall. (The overall winner will be ineligible for the section winner prizes. That means that there will be four $10 winners and one $25 winner.)

For now, the closing date remains open. Submissions will remain open until the correct number of acceptable stories is reached. 

Once all stories have been chosen for the anthology, winners will be chosen. Winners will get winner badges for their blogs or websites. 

I am hoping to be able to begin work on the anthology during 2015, so the earlier submissions come in, the better.

You may submit multiple stories. Please follow the guidelines for submissions.

E-mail stories to Rebecca (at) Fyfe (dot) net

Authors retain all rights to submitted stories. If your story is accepted, you will be e-mailed a contract.