Dill Werner

Today, I’ll be playing host to guest poster and fellow speculative fiction author, Eben Mishkin. Eben is the author of The Hidden and the Maiden, which is available from Amazon, and will also be featured in the upcoming science fiction fairy tale anthology Circuits and Slippers, out September 29, 2016.

As many people know, I double majored in Creative Writing and German Language/Literature, which allowed me to take a special interest in fairy tales and Disney adaptations. Dismembered feet, bald princesses, gouged out eyes, children burned alive–my people don’t hold back! In celebration of some of my favorite fairy tales and my top five favorite Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast, I’ve asked Eben to speak more about the topic of the Animal Bridegroom.

A recurring feature in fairy tales, and these days in books and movies, is the Animal Bridegroom. In tales such as Beauty and the Beast, which is probably the most famous but far from the only example, a young protagonist is given to an a…

Seas by Colleen Oakes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I never thought I’d find myself cheering so hard for Captain Hook. Wendy Darling: Seas takes us aboard the Sudden Night where Wendy and Michael are held captive amongst Hook’s crew. Captive is a strong word because, once they get into the plot, Wendy and Michael become part of the crew. The mission is simple, both Wendy and Hook want to stop Peter Pan’s reign of terror over Neverland. They can only do this by combining their efforts and knowledge of Pan to exploit his weaknesses.

I applaud Oakes’ realistic portrayal of the pirates. It’s not a watered-down version of sea-faring men. Even on the first night, Hook tells Wendy not to get herself violated and takes special precautions to make sure she’s kept safe. These men a rough, savage killers who listen only to their captain (some don’t even do that) and obey the old wives’ tales of the sea. You can tell how much research went into writing this novel, and it’s appreciated. She also didn’t s…