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REVIEW:Witches, Princesses, and Women at Arms, edited by Sacchi Green

2/6/2018

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REVIEWED BY ANON

Genre: low fantasy / fantasy romance

Pairings: f/f

Queer Representation: cis lesbian, cis bisexual

Warnings: racism, heavy objectification

Rating: two stars

Review

Western European fairy tales reinvented to be f/f, but with the same problematic issues with racism and objectification as the originals.
I really wanted to like this book. There was no reason I shouldn't have liked this book, noting my deep love of both A) fairy tales and B) lesbian romance / sexy time. Books like these have a decent track record, too, from KISSING THE WITCHto all three volumes of INTO THE MYSTIC (which is paranormal, but that’s basically fairy tale). So while yes, retelling of fairy tales with a f/f bend is not novel in the slightest, it is still a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, WITCHES, PRINCESSES, AND WOMEN AT ARMS (hereafter WPWA), was not fun.

General
Almost all the stories felt rushed. In the desire to have a drawn out sex scene in each (it is erotica, after all), character development was often completely ignored. Personally, I have no real interest in a sex scene unless I care about the players involved (much like with a fight scene). If I don't care about their struggles, their passions, and their goals, why do I care what they do beneath the sheets?
In the vein of fairy tales, most of the descriptors in the book were overly purple and food-based. This was especially frequent when describing women of color, who were overwhelming described as exotic things, fruit-colored things, things to be worshipped and revered (sometimes reviled, if they were a witch), but were wholly other.

Seriously. It's 2018. This book was published in 2017. Stop it. People of color existed in western Europe during fairy tale times, and they interacted with white people outside of 'here is a visiting princess.' Perpetuating this narrative has got to stop.
In other irritations...

I was surprised by the homogeneity of the stories in this collection which were for the most part, basically forcing two women into a situation where sex was inevitable (some exclusions apply, see below for story-by-story breakdown). In KISSING THE WITCH, the authors altered the stories enough that some were not even recognizable as the original fairy tale, and others were twisted enough that I was pleasantly surprised by the ending (such as with the Beauty and the Beast retelling, which was amazing).
I was also surprised that a book published in 2017 would only include Western European fairy tales. In all of the INTO THE MYSTIC books, we are treated to a range of cultures' fairy tales, which makes for a much more exiting read. It also meant that women of color weren't perpetually treated as exotic beauties.

As a final general comment--the very cis nature of the stories was bothersome. Women come in lots of flavors, heck, even lesbianscome in lots of flavors, and the most creative the authors got in this book was a lesbian/dryad pair. Very disappointing.

Story by story breakdown

STEEL by Cara Patterson
A strong start to the book, and with a decent amount of character development. I never really felt the chemistry between Sianna and the witch, but I liked the backstory and the taming of the dragon. This story suffered from cramming a big story into a small space, and I think it would have been much better served with another twenty pages.

ROBBER GIRL by Madeleine Shade
Problematic from the start, this story lacked any real character development or plot. Noting this, it would have been better served as just a sex scene, without the attempt at plot. I was also done with it the moment our 'dusky skinned, plum-colored nippled' protagonist wished to look like the white love interest because she was so beautiful. There is literally a line that says "In that instant, I hated my inherited darkness..."I'll spare you the rest.

THE PRINCESS'S PRINCESS by Salome Wilde
While I enjoyed the power dynamic in this one, I could have lived without another 'exotic other' trope. "...whose looks made it plain she was from a distant land." Nope.

WOODWITCH by M. Birds
The strongest story in the book, and by far my favorite. A tomboy princess runs off to war to help her father, only to find her father is a terrible king and hey, witches are also pretty fun. Excellent atmosphere, good character development, and a lovely ending. This was also the only story that I really felt any sort of chemistry between the two main characters. I'd be very interested to read more from this author.

THE PRIZE OF THE WILLOW by H. N. Janzen
A sweet woman x dryad story. Not much of a narrative arc, but enjoyable and very comforting.

TOADS, DIAMONDS, AND THE OCCASIONAL PEARL by Emily L. Byrne
This one just seemed to wander a bit much for my liking. The premise of a princess questing to make her own destiny, and running into another princess doing the same (and breaking a curse), is solid enough ground, but the execution seemed lacking. I had a hard time finishing this one.

SWF SEEKS FGM by Allison Wonderland
A first date between Cinderella's wicked stepmother and her fairy godmother. Great premise, and very unique writing style and voice. It was denser than I'd thought, so a bit hard to get through, but I really appreciated the quick. This story stands out in the anthology as by far the most unique.

THE MARK AND THE CAUL by Annabeth Leong
This was another of my favorites. Excellent worldbuilding. The character development was a bit rushed, but I liked the destiny trope and Sam, the plodding, do-good protagonist. The princess was also a lot of fun, and I do like that her (very) risky scheme to save Sam works out well in the end.

PENTHOUSE 31 by Brey Willows
The modern-day retelling of Rapunzel had a lot of good bones, but it never really fleshed out. The homages to the Disney version kept pulling me from the narrative (our heroine is 'Bren Ryder'), and I didn't understand enough about the magic involved to feel like the Rapunzel character was ever truly trapped. The story also lacked any real chemistry between the characters.

THE MILLER'S DAUGHTER by Michael M. Jones
A Rumplestiltskin retelling without much changed except the gender of Rumplestiltskin. Nothing much of note with this one. It failed to capture my imagination, but neither did it make me angry, either.

WARRIOR'S CHOICE by A. D. R. Forte
I was confused for most of this story. Having now read it twice, I'm still not quite sure what the character arc is supposed to be. There's some character chemistry, but the world and character building seem flawed. I think this is another story that would have benefitted from another fifty or so pages.

TROLLWISE by Sacchi Green
I DNF this one. I just couldn't get into it and honestly, I was kind of tired at this point in the anthology.

THE SORCERESS OF SOLISTERRE by Lea Daley
An interesting romance between a bisexual queen and a white witch. I enjoyed this one, especially the turning of one of the suitors into a rat, and would have loved if this was about thirty pages longer, to really give it some meat.
 
Overall, while the quality of writing in WPWA was higher than the INTO THE MYSTIC books, and about the same as KISSING THE WITCH, it suffered from too much homogeneity and some outdated (and highly problematic) writing styles. Still some of the stories were well worth the read.

You can buy WITCHES, PRINCESSES, AND WOMEN AT ARMS in paperback here and ebook here.


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Author Q&A: K.S. Trenten

19/5/2018

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1. Welcome! First of all, let's have a chat about your fairy tales. You've contributed to multiple NSP anthologies with queer retellings of fairy tales, and you've also published 'Fairest'.

What inspired you to write these stories? Which of the fairy tale appropriations is your favourite.


Many sources of inspiration flowed together, becoming a gushing river which poured into Fairest. Another trickled off into At Her Service. There will be other trickles. I'm only just beginning to identify certain stories, songs, and imagery which fed the flow. They seeped into my imagination without me noticing how much they were effecting my own story process. One of the sources was Carmilla, that beautiful love story between a vampire and her mortal descendant which began with a dream. My imagination is still playing with the story potential of that dream. Another is Revolutionary Girl Utena, a stunningly beautiful anime, steeped in symbolism, ritual, and a powerful f/f relationship which ends up challenging the entire concept of the prince on a white horse. A line from that anime haunted me, "Princesses who aren't saved by princes become witches." It turns out I got the line wrong, but it already flowered and bloomed in my imagination. Songs and music are constantly inspiring me in various ways. I don't have a favorite appropriation, although I adore the song, Snow White Queen by Evanescence. I'm constantly seeking how to dig deeper in these myths and legends, how to figure out way to unearth their cores in ways that will inspire other readers in turn, allow them to think and express themselves, just as others once inspired me.

2. What's a fairy tale retelling/appropriation written by someone else that you'd recommend? What did you like about it?

I'd recommend Revolutionary Girl Utena if you like anime. It doesn't center on one particular fairy tale, but the myth of the prince himself in so many of them. The main character falls in love with the prince and tries to become a prince herself. She ends up truly exploring the very heart of what that means and how it's effected girls (and boys). At the same time, it's very symbolic and doesn't offer easy answers to events which are often surreal and dreamlike. I doubt anything has ever inspired me quite as much as this particular anime. The manga is gorgeous, too, although it doesn't delve quite as deep into the surreal world created around Otori Academy as the anime does.

3. Do you have any favourite snacks or beverages that you tend to have close-by when you're writing?

Coffee. Breakfast of novelists, at least this novelist.

4. Has there been a TV show you've been really interested in lately? Tell us about it.

Tokyo Ghoul, although I'm more interested in the manga than the anime. The first season was amazing. The second season cut a lot of Kaneki (the main character) and Tsukiyama (his stalker and former enemy) from the series. It's an urban fantasy world where ghouls live among humans, often preying upon their flesh. Kaneki, the main character almost becomes a ghoul's prey, but an accident leads to him being turned into a ghoul himself. He needs to eat flesh, but he's oddly human in certain ways, including smelling delicious to other ghouls. This attracts the attention of Tsukiyama, the Gourmet, whose fussy tastes in flesh often draw unwelcome attention. He decided he wants Kaneki. He does some fairly villainous things to get him in the beginning. Later, he tries to become Kaneki's ally in order to get close to Kaneki and eat him. Tsukiyama ends up coming to truly care about Kaneki, though. It's been fascinating to watch this character arc.

5. Do you listen to music when you're writing? Personally, I prefer as much quiet as my kids will let me have!

I prefer quiet, too, when I'm actually writing. Music is one of my favorite tools for getting inspired, though.

6. Favourite Star Wars movie? Or if you're not a fan, what major series would you rather discuss?

Return of the Jedi. I love how Luke sets out to try to redeem Darth Vader, the journey of trying to pull him from the dark side while the Emperor and Vader are trying to pull him in. It struck me as being very powerful, leaving me with a fascination for characters with sinister family members and/or loved ones, along with redemption arcs.

7. What ways have you gone about promoting your books? What do you think has been the most effective?

Twitter, Google+, tumblr, Facebook, Goodreads, wordpress, blogger, livejournal, dreamwidth, and handing out business cards when an opportunity presents itself. I'm not sure which has been the most effective. (wry grin)

You can connect with K.S. TRENTEN here.

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AUTHOR interview: Tash mcadam

12/5/2018

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​* According to your author bio, you identify as trans and utilise gender neutral pronouns (their/them). How has your own life experience and identity influenced your writing?

I've been an avid reader my whole life, but characters with whom I could connect fully have always been few and far between. One of the reasons I started writing is to create stories that have queer and trans characters at the center, but aren't focused on gender or sexuality. I want action adventure stories with characters that truly resonate, and creating those stories has given me so much joy. I've made so many connections with youth and adults who feel the same way I do, that queer and trans stories deserve more than they're often given- as side characters or tokens, or solely defined by their gender/sexuality. Going through many different iterations of understanding my own sexuality and gender identity has allowed me to flesh out different experiences more fully, and the people I've met along my own journey have also heavily influenced my own writing. We all deserve to see ourselves as heroes, and more importantly, to be seen as heroes by others.  

* If you could re-make any Disney movie to include more gender and sexual diversity, which one would it be? 


MULAN, I'm still bitter that she's not officially genderqueer with her delightful pan boyfriend. It's so clear to me that this story deserved more depth and care for queer identities, and it would have been so important to young trans, gq and fluid people to see such an iconic character openly identify as not cis. 

* You have a series coming out soon, the Psionics. Who is your favourite character in this series? Why?
My favorite character in any series I've written is in this series! His name is Leaf and he's a pansexual transguy who makes his living as a trickster conman. He avoids fights at all costs, which makes me laugh, because I'm a martial artist and usually warrior characters are my favorites, but Leaf trumps all my tough guys by miles. He's sweet, witty, super quick and with a cutting sense of humor. He's just the best! Right now I'm actually working on a companion short story where he's the protagonist, and I'm having so much fun! His mission is to break an unknown spy out of jail, but first he has to get in... by getting arrested. While he's a major character in books 1, 3 and 4 of the Psionics, he's not a POV character, so getting to explore him more deeply is really satisfying. It's definitely going to inform my edits!  He's loosely based on a dude I met while backpacking in Australia, but I like my fictional version much better. 

* Tell us about Warp Weavers. What inspired a story about teens with super powers?
​

I love superpowers, I always have done. I've always been fascinated by the with-great-power paradigm. Warp Weavers deals a lot with what it means to be chosen as a hero, what if you don't want that burden? My protagonist for the first story in that series just wants to get her missing parents back and move on with her life, but that's not the way magic works in this universe. Once you're chosen, there's no backing out. To be honest, I think the main inspiration behind this series was the closing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The idea of thousands of superpowered teens working together, making friends and fighting evil side by side, has always appealed to me. I'm a sucker for a found family. In the Warp Weavers universe, the magic comes in three strains- there are warriors, (you can probably guess what they can do), warlocks, who work magic to support their team, and finally, weavers. Weavers have the power to sense rifts between dimensions, as well as open and close those magical doorways. They're a key part in the fight against the encroaching demonic armies, as without them the doors would stay open forever, and we'd all be overrun and enslaved. 

​
* How do you choose your character names when writing fiction?

Ha, I'm not sure I should answer this question. Most of my characters are named after students! I'm a teacher, and that provides a lot of name inspiration. I try really hard to not base characters on my students though, just pinch their names. Working in Vancouver is especially good for this because we have such a vibrantly diverse community I'll never end up with five main characters with similar names. 

* If you could have dinner with two of your own characters in real life, who would you choose and why?

Leaf, my amazing conman as mentioned above, and Dent. Dent is actually Leaf's adopted father, but when he's not rescuing dozens of kids from poverty, he's actually the King of the Slums. He's a smuggler, land pirate and all around swashbuckler who loves playing tricks, having fun, and making sure everyone is well fed. I think having dinner with these two would be a barrel of laughs, although I'd probably leave without my wallet, cell phone and jewelry. I wouldn't put it past them to be able to get my lip rings out without me even noticing. I consider that to be a small price to pay, though, as I'm sure that the hilarity would be well worth it.
​
* Coffee or tea?

Why do people try to enforce false binaries?! :D I drink both. Usually tea on weekdays, both before and after work while coffee is more of a nice weekend treat. I have ADD and caffeine hits me pretty hard, so it's nice to have time to work off the extra buzz before having to function in public on the weekend. 

* Can you tell us about the BRAVE NEW GIRLS anthology? I understand you have a story featured in Volume 3.

It's an awesome project that is a collection of YA short stories all starring girls (trans inclusive!) who use science, tech, engineering or math skills to save the day. http://bravenewgirls.weebly.com/ you can find out more here if you like! My new story is about a trans lesbian mechanic who lives on Io (one of Jupiter's moons) and accidentally ends up embroiled with some outlaws because of a cute girl. 

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    ABOUT C.B.

    Book reviews, Author Q&As and more as shared by an Australian lesbian. My core interests lie in genre fiction: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror etc.
    ​
    My aim is to help provide more exposure to those books that  may not fit neatly into the usual "lesfic" boxes (EG: pansexual women who engage with different aspects of their sexuality, non-binary characters, books with very little romance etc.) or books that don't conform to the most popular tropes that tend to dominate the LGBTIQ+ publishing world.

    That said, I'll put up pretty much any review that I'd like to share. Most will have some sort of rainbow content, but not all. I am a reader who likes to talk about books -- that's really what this little corner of the web is for, to talk about books.

    ​Email: celestialbooks [AT] rebeccalangham.com.au

    Twitter: @ceLEStialsff

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