Happily Ever After

So there’s this amazing book coming out in June that you need to know about.

Once Upon A Time…

…in the faraway land of Story, a Hugo-winning Editor realized that no one had collected together the fairy tales of the age, and that doorstop-thick anthologies of modern fairy tales were sorely lacking…

And so the Editor ventured forth, wandering the land of Story from shore to shore, climbing massive mountains of books and delving deep into lush, literary forests, gathering together thirty-three of the best re-tellings of fairy tales he could find. Not just any fairy tales, mind you, but tantalizing tales from some of the biggest names in today’s fantastic fiction, authors like Gregory Maguire, Susanna Clarke, Charles de Lint, Holly Black, Aletha Kontis, Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Patricia Briggs, Paul Di Filippo, Gregory Frost, and Nancy Kress. But these stories alone weren’t enough to satisfy the Editor, so the Editor ventured further, into the dangerous cave of the fearsome Bill Willingham, and emerged intact with a magnificent introduction, to tie the collection together.

And the inhabitants of Story, from the Kings and Queens relaxing in their castles to the peasants toiling in the fields; from to the fey folk flitting about the forests to the trolls lurking under bridges and the giants in the hills, read the anthology, and enjoyed it. And they all lived…

Happily Ever After.

Contents:
Bill Willingham – Introduction
Gregory Maguire – The Seven Stage a Comeback
Genevieve Valentine – And In Their Glad Rags
Howard Waldrop – The Sawing Boys
Michael Cadnum – Bear It Away
Susanna Clarke – Mr. Simonelli or the Fairy Widower
Karen Joy Fowler – The Black Fairy’s Curse
Charles de Lint – My Life As A Bird
Holly Black – The Night Market
Theodora Goss – The Rose in Twelve Petals
Jim C. Hines – The Red Path
Alethea Kontis – Blood and Water
Garth Nix – Hansel’s Eyes
Wil McCarthy – He Died That Day, In Thirty Years
Jane Yolen – Snow In Summer
Michelle West – The Rose Garden
Bruce Sterling – The Little Magic Shop
K. Tempest Bradford – Black Feather
Alan Rodgers – Fifi’s Tail
Kelly Link – The Faery Handbag
Peter Straub – Ashputtle
Leslie What – The Emperor’s New (And Improved) Clothes
Robert J. Howe – Pinocchio’s Diary
Wendy Wheeler – Little Red
Neil Gaiman – The Troll Bridge
Patricia Briggs – The Price
Paul Di Filippo – Ailoura
Jeff VanderMeer – The Farmer’s Cat
Gregory Frost – The Root of The Matter
Susan Wade – Like a Red, Red Rose
Josh Rountree – Chasing America
Nancy Kress – Stalking Beans
Esther Friesner – Big Hair
Robert Coover – The Return of the Dark Children

Trade Paperback
978-1-59780-220-8
496 Pages – $15.99

That’s right — I’m in a ToC with Birthday Boy Jim C. Hines (Happy birthday, Jim!) and, once again, that pesky Neil Gaiman fellow. I’m not complaining at all. I mean, have you seen that cover? It’s GORGEOUS!I am so honored that John asked me to be included.

And if you like, you can preorder it now straight from Nightshade books.