Elijah David

 About a month ago, Paper and Thorns  made its debut into the world. After some delays getting the Kindle edition up and running, I'm glad to say that this series is firmly established. Yes, you read right. Series . But more on that later. If you have missed my previous glimpses into Paper and Thorns , here's a little backstory. I have always loved the story of "Beauty and the Beast" (see also my recent post about the story over at SpeculativeFaith ). Back when Disney's live action remake of the animated film came out, my artist friend Mirriam sketched what she thought the Beast should  have looked like (I'll give you a hint: there were lots of horns and menace going on). The design sparked an idea and I started chipping away at the story of that Beast and what his happy ending might (or might not) look like. After a couple of false starts, Paper and Thorns  really took off. It's a short book (less than 100 pages), and that is purposeful. I tend to str...

Fairy Tale Central is doing some daily challenges on Instagram featuring OTPs (One True Pairings) as part of their celebration of all things fairy tale this month. For those of us who wind up doing these things in blog form, Arielle had kindly shared the full listing on her own blog here . Fairy Tale OTP Challenge: 1. The first fairy tale OTP you shipped      Probably Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin and Jasmine. These are the earliest fairy tales I can remember getting deeply involved in. 2. The cliché fairy tale OTP that everyone ships but you still love      I think I'll probably go with Snow and Charming from Once Upon a Time. Do I sometimes feel like they get too much of the spotlight in later seasons? Yes, but their relationship is wonderful in the first few seasons as we see them fight for each other. 3. Your favorite hate-to-love fairy tale OTP      I'm assuming this is an enemies to lovers trope rather than an ex...

Back in January I listed the books in my TBR pile/shelf that I was most looking forward to reading. This month, I'm going to update that list because a) I have read a few from that list and b) my reading desires change with the hour. Cold Days by Jim Butcher Now that I've read Changes and Ghost Story (and have given myself some time to recuperate), I'm ready to dive into the next Dresden Files book. I'm really interested to see where the series goes after the stunning duo that was books 12 and 13. A Report from Group 17 by Robert C. O'Brien This is the last book in the O'Brien read/watch series, and I've partly been holding off on it because after this, there will be no more new-to-me O'Brien books. Yes, there are the NIMH sequels written by his daughter, but still. I'm going to read it because I need to finish the series, but please don't be upset if it takes me a little longer. The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams I t...

For February's Top 10, I wanted to take a look at some fictional relationships in honor of Valentine's Day. But my favorite relationships in fiction aren't always romantic. As often as not, they're friendships and familial ties that exhibit a strength of love well beyond what romantic love offers. Also, this is less a Top 10 and more a top however-many-I-can-fit. I have lots of favorites in this category. So many in fact, I've got sub-categories. OTPs (or, the Romance Category) Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables) Belle and Beast (Beauty and the Beast) Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons (Marvel's Agent's of SHIELD) Simon Snowlock and Miriamelle (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn) Riza Hawkeye and Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist) BROTPs (or, the Sibling Category) Edward and Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) Dipper and Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls) Abe Sapien and Hellboy (Hellboy) Arthur and Kay (Arthurian Legend) Sokka and Katara (Avatar...

October is almost over, so it's time for more snippets. These come from There's No Place Like Home?  (my NaNo novel from 2015, newly finished) and from "Paper and (T)horns" (my modern Beauty and the Beast retelling). From  There's No Place Like Home?   The kalidahs who had been sent to the front gate had expected an angry mob. Not quite torches and pitchforks angry. More like billy clubs and Molotov cocktails. At the very least, they had been anticipating an unruly assortment of people led by a towering, charismatic man, perhaps wearing a mask, who would shout meaningless mantras over a megaphone. Instead, the leader appeared to be a small girl with a fire in her eyes most of the kalidahs had long since forgotten. Hope. Righteous anger. Determination. Love. While the crowd behind her—and the kalidahs in front of her—grew ever more restless as they waited for something to happen, the girl simply stared into the heart of the Westford mansion with that fiery-eyed...

My apologies for not getting a post up yesterday. It was a busier Monday than most, and with the holiday weekend I just didn't plan ahead as much as I needed to. On to this month's Top 10, inspired by our recent viewing (and rewatching) of Moana . Here, in no particular order, are my Top 10 Disney Animated Films (No Pixar because that's a whole 'nother list): Mulan This is here partly because it's my wife's favorite of the princess movies and partly because I just love it. The music is great, Pat Morita as the Emperor is brilliantly cast, and the strength of the central characters is phenomenal. (Here's hoping the live action adaptation doesn't ruin it.) Tangled One of the newest films on this list, Tangled is here for two reasons: "Mother Knows Best" and the beautiful way Rapunzel and Flynn's relationship goes from antagonistic to grudgingly cooperative to mutually respectful to sacrificial love. Also frying pans. (Okay, tha...

I recently tracked down a copy of the original Beauty and the Beast  by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. Previously, I'd only read Beaumont's abridged adaptation of this story, as it's much shorter and easier to anthologize. Since this was my first time encountering the original of my favorite fairy tale, I thought I'd talk about what this version has that I've not seen in other adaptations. Brothers: Beauty has brothers as well as sisters, and true to fairy tale form, her brothers are kind and understanding people while her sisters (in contrast to Beauty) are vain and materialistic. I had seen or read adaptations that included the sisters before (Robin McKinley's Beauty , the French film  La Belle et la Bete ) but I hadn't seen brothers before, and their presence reminded me of the relationship between the heroine and her brothers in "The Wild Swans" (or "The Seven Ravens" or "The Six Swans"). I wish more retellings...

Just like last month, I've got snippets from Albion Apparent  and "Paper and (T)horns". From Albion Apparent : Aaron Faust sat in his SUV outside the perimeter emergency services had erected around Buckley High School. He wasn’t the only parent who’d conducted an impromptu stakeout in the last few weeks, but he was the most persistent. The police and fire officials appointed to patrol the perimeter knew him on sight. Though they ought to have kept him under careful observation to prevent his sneaking into the cube of darkness, Aaron knew they would slip eventually. He tapped out a text message on his phone. A call would be faster—if she answered—but he couldn’t bring himself to hear her voice. Not even with Gabriel trapped behind a wall of darkness with a bunch of— *** “Are you ready?” I asked Corrine. She stared at the unbroken surface of the water. Her breaths were shallow, controlled. “What if it doesn’t work?” I shrugged. “Then at least we t...