I’ve barely had moments to myself, so blogging has been a bit of a luxury, lately. But I do have two belated bits of news that’s related to the authors who contributed to the first issue of DS and one bit of information pertaining to future contributing authors.

(1) Mari Ness, who is an all-around exquisite writer in her own right, wrote a delightful and poignant Watermaidens Day post — we definitely have sightings of Watermaidens in Florida now. Mari sez:

Not that water maidens are exactly official. Indeed, few of them have even been inclined to do their duty in faerie courts, and their few attempts to establish legal identities in mortal realms (for a few of them are enthralled with the magics of mortals, but find that credit cards are not usually issued for watery springs lacking legal identities, and yet they do not quite have the cash on hand to purchase iPads and the music and art that can flow from them) have only ended in a few trembling water droplets at the edge of the buildings that house bureaucratic nightmares. For water maidens, you understand, cannot survive long on land. Eventually, their water calls to them, or the earth and the air sink into them.

Go and read the rest of the post here.

(2) Lavanya and Deepika is now up at Podcastle as a podcast. If you loved Shveta Thakrar’s lush story set in India, check out the Podcast!

(3) As mentioned on The Outer Alliance, yes, DS /is/ QUILTBAG-friendly, and definitely intersectional. We want stories from the viewpoints of those who have been Othered. This does not mean we want stories about those who are Othered minus agency. We want strength and positivity. We want strong voices and stories that resonate with warmth. I think you’ll get a good idea of the kinds of stories I accept by reading the first and second Issues of DS.

The tale-type we’ve offered for Issue Three is not only fun, it is open to all sorts of thematic (and snarky political takes on themes, if that’s how you swing) interpretations so I’m looking forward to seeing how creative writers can be for this round. Remember, the reading period opens in April!

Yaay! What do you get when you pair revisions of Cinderella with rhymes to the rhythm of jump ropes and make it reaaaaally dark?

Awesomeness of course! Erzebet Yellowboy-Carr, Erik Admundsen, Francesca Forrest, Sonya Taafe et. al, have brought out this toothsome little chapbook as a brand new Cabinet des Fees production. This also serves as a sponsorship drive for CdF and selected charitable organisations. As our fearless leader, Erze, sez:

Cinderella Jump Rope Rhymes shows you what a childhood pastime looks like when you dial macabre up to eleven. If playground fun got married to the genetically engineered child of Joss Whedon and Neil Gaiman, their offspring would be Cinderella Jump Rope Rhymes. Curated by Francesca Forrest, these are not the rhymes you jumped rope to as a child.

And how could anyone resist that gorgeous art by Adam Oehlers?

Do check it out, not only will you be getting something truly unique, you’ll be helping more than one good cause, and helping new voices turn old fairytales into something fresh and exciting.

Hullo all!

Submissions Guidelines for Issue Three of Cabinet des Fees‘s Demeter’s Spicebox are now up!

We have chosen the Aarne-​​Thompson type 2031C, The Mouse Who Was To Marry The Sun for Issue Three, do refer to the guidelines for the additional prompts!

Reading Period: 5 APRIL 2012 onwards (until we get the perfect two stories for the next issue).

Do bear in mind that you will need to read the stories from Issue One and Issue Two, as this is a storytelling project and the prompts reflect this. DS runs in Volumes of four issues each, and each Volume will start with a fresh set of prompts.

Best,

Nin Harris

(crossposted from the CdF community @ LJ)

The Third Official Watermaidens Day wasn’t very eventful. I was sick for most of it, juggling thesis edits with necessary tasks and errands at work. However, some basic components were fulfilled:

(1) Wearing green or something watermaidenish.
(2) Doing something creative.
(3) Quoting something Shakespearean
(4) Letting go of an(y) unhealthy attachment
(5) Doing one thing to take charge/control of one’s destiny

I keep meaning to write a Watermaidens Manifesto, but I haven’t, for more than one reason. Primarily, the novel is not done yet. I do not want to be premature in these things, because I plan to go the traditional, conservative route for this novel. But Official Watermaidens Day is, for now, a semi-private ritual. As I have stated on tumblr, however, Official Watermaidens Day and Valentine’s Day is not mutually exclusive.

To wit, this is my stance, and I’m sticking to it:

Love should never go out of style, and if it wants to have a Birthday, who am I to dispute?

Iris Murdoch, who was writer, literary critic and philosopher once observed that writing should be Love manifest (I paraphrase), and I think that is a fundamental truth about most — if not all — creative processes. Everything we do should be imbued with love or consideration.

I am not anti-love, I am not down with declaiming sentiment. My self-declaration of an Official Watermaidens Day, is therefore, not a denouncement of Valentine’s Day, nor is it a publicity stunt for an unpublished book. Mostly, it is something with classical leanings, born of my obsession for all water-based myths and its link with femininity. It is a meditation on how we sometimes illogically suffer attachments or destroy ourselves for them. We see water as flowing, and its association with the feminine can sometimes be seen as both passive, malleable or irrational. But no one who has seen the ocean can deny it is ANYTHING but passive and malleable. And no one who studies ripples and patterns of the waves at the beach can fail to be awestruck at the geometry of water, the mathematics and physics of it.

I am totally down with the re-defining of love and of taking control of our own destiny. Oh, and with leaving that cherub with the arrow some tasty snacks.

Demeter’s Spicebox #2, “Love Like Salt” is now live, with outstanding stories by both Joshua Gage and Mae Empson, who have done surprising and wonderful things to ATT 510&923 (you’ll recognize it from King Lear) , doing justice to Shveta Thakrar’s and Mari Ness’s respective stories and objects. I hope you enjoy these stories and the richness of the language used by both writers. Salt, is indeed sexy.

I hope you also like the cover, especially since it caused me no end of angst and sleepless nights before my Photoshop skillz came back to me