Ever notice how prevalent the number three is in fairy tales? Three brothers. Three wishes. Three trials.
And in recognition of that, I’m giving away THREE copies of Shattered: Broken Fairy Tales.
Right now, Shattered is only available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, which limits your options, especially if you live outside the US. Now you have a chance to win a copy! To enter, tell me your favorite (or least favorite) fairy tale in the comments–or just throw your name in the hat. Giveaway is open to anyone with an email address and ends Tuesday, May 8th, at 10pm EST. I can get it to you in one of the following formats: EPUB, MOBI or PDF.
To those of you who have already bought a copy: thank you thank you thank you! If you liked the stories, I would appreciate you leaving a review on the site you bought it from. If you are a book blogger and want to review Shattered, send me a message at rabia [at] rabiagale [dot] com. I am also available for guest posts.
Once upon a time, stories ended happily ever after. Or did they? What if the magic mirror couldn’t decide on the fairest of them all? What if Beauty’s kiss didn’t break the curse? What if choosing a bride based on her shoe size was a bad idea?
Shattered: Broken Fairy Tales is a collection of three short stories that take a turn into the dark forest instead of out of it.
Maybe I’m just plain odd, but I liked all the fairy tales I read. Starting from the time I was very little I read a lot of fairy tales, Grimm’s Fairy Tales being some of the earliest I remember. They may have scared the s**t out of me, but I absorbed their lessons and kept on reading. If I had to pick one I didn’t like, I suppose it would be “Hansel and Gretel” – that witch was just plain nasty.
I didn’t like Hansel & Gretel because the father went ahead with his wife’s plan and ABANDONED his kids in the woods! Talk about scary and betrayal of trust!
Yay for Shattered: Broken Fairy Tales being out! Love the cover!
I’d say my favorite was Rapunzel. A lot of that is due to the fact that the version I had (this slender but over-sized book) had the most exquisite drawings in it. I’d read it and look at those pictures and their details for hours! I still own the book, and sadly, it doesn’t list who the artist is! What’s up with that? Just says it was published in Italy. Doesn’t even say who wrote the words for the version. Hmph!
I wonder what you will think of my post-apocalyptic dystopian Rapunzel. I’m revising it right now. Plan is to have it up on the blog in a week or two. 😀
A post-apocalyptic dystopian Rapunzel sounds very intriguing!
I’m quite intrigued by just the thought of a post-apocalyptic dystopian Rapunzel! I can’t wait!!
It’s almost ready! Going up next week, I hope. 🙂
Rumpelstilskin was probably my least favourite fairy tale. I didn’t like the young woman’s father who made the boast about her being able to spin wheat into gold (it was wheat, wasn’t it?) and I didn’t like the prince/king who said if she didn’t do as her father had said she could, she’d be executed the following day. And I definitely didn’t like Rumpelstilskin! Poor girl. She was completely at the mercy of others.
Although I recently read a modern take on the fairytale and the Rumpelstilksin character in it and his backstory was excellent. It was “Curse Dark as Gold” by Elizabeth C. Bunce.
Yes, it was unfair for the poor girl all around. And I always wondered what she would say if the king ever came to her with, “Oh, darling, the gold in the treasury is running a teensy weensy bit low. How ’bout I get you some straw and you whip us up some more?” How’s she going to get out of THAT?
I’ve heard of “Curse Dark as Gold”. Would you recommend it?
Yes, definitely, even if it’s only to see how Bunce re-imagined the Rumpelstilskin story. The heroine of the novel is far more proactive than her fairytale counterpart, for one thing, but what has stayed with me the most is the backstory for the trouble that has plagued the heroine’s family.
I guess my least favourite fairy tale would have to be Sleeping Beauty only because it was never memorable to me. I repeated so many of my childhood fairy tales to my kids, but the only thing I remember about sleeping beauty is that the prince wakes her up with a kiss. Shattered looks like a fun read!
Thanks, Sharon. Yes, Sleeping Beauty was not one of my favorites, either. I prefer some of the lesser known ones, like The Twelve Dancing Princesses or Snow White and Rose Red.
I remember being enchanted by Snow White and Rose Red although I can barely remember the story now, and Rapunzel. Another one was the Sleeping Beauty – probably because it had a spinning wheel in it and I’ve always been fascinated by them. So much so that I learned to spin but it was so boring I used to nod off 😀
LOL. Maybe that’s how the Sleeping Beauty story got started. Beautiful princess nods off because spinning is too boring. 😉
After much deliberation, I would have to say that Beauty and the Beast is my favorite of them all. The triumph of true love over an evil spell gets me every time. Besides, if I remember correctly, nobody died a horrible death!
I love Beauty and the Beast as well.
I seem to be one of few people who didn’t grow up reading fairy tales. I saw the Disney movies, of course, and knew some of the other tales as verbal stories, but that’s about it. When I really got interested in fairy tales was my freshman year of college when, on a whim, I took a Brittish folklore class. I can’t tell you how many versions of Cinderella I read! And let me tell you, the original folk tales have no cutesy talking mice. They have ‘fairy godmothers’ that are actually talking magical cows that get their heads chopped off by the stepmother! Fascinating. So perhaps that talking cow version of Cinderella is my favorite, just because it was so very strange, lol. I also love the folk tales in Kate Seredy’s The Good Master, but I don’t know if those are ‘fairy’ enough to count.
I read a great picture book called Cinderella Around the World, which spliced together a Cinderella story from all the various versions found in different cultures. It was neat to see the common threads as well as the differences in the tiny details.
I haven’t heard of Kate Seredy or The Good Master. I will check it out.
Hmm. Cinderella Around the World sounds interesting. I might have to look that up.
As for The Good Master, it’s not fairy tale-ish at all, but there are a few folk tales told within the story. 🙂 I enjoyed it, and it’s sequel, The Singing Tree, very much. Still do, actually! Two of my favorite childrens’ books, and have been for about fifteen years.
Oh! I just checked them out. They would be fantastic to read when we’re studying the time period in the history. Thanks for bringing them to my attention. 🙂
I like the original Brothers Grimm fairy stories – they were much darker and more cruel than the sanitized versions we were fed as tiny tots.
I read a fascinating book called “The Women Who Run With Wolves” which explored how many traditional tales were actually mother-to-daughter lore about how to survive a world run by and for men.
My least favourite, although you never asked for it, is the Red Shoes – dammit if I like my sparkly sandals why shouldn’t I admire them?
I don’t recall the Red Shoes. But sure, admire your sparkly shoes all you want. Does someone die a horrible death for being vain about her shoes? 😀
Rumplestiltskin!