Once & Ever After is a story that's taken a looooooong time to be born. I wrote the introduction way back when I was a student, but for years after never made any further progress with it. I was probably too immature, too unskilled a writer to do so.Then, maybe about five years ago I finished a version of it I liked. I was still uncertain about it though, both because of its uncommercial length (around 10k) and the fact it was something I felt quite different to my normal work: it's set in the modern day but is based around tropes from old classic fairy tales. It also uses an omniscient narrator for some scenes (including the decades old intro), a far cry from my usual tight third or first person POV.
But, the first beta-reader I sent it to was very enthusiastic about it, not just praising it but wanting to publish it themselves. For various, non-sinister reasons, this fell through, and the story was in limbo for a fear years while I focussed on getting my more horror/weird focussed work submitted. But I'm pleased to say Once & Ever After has now found a home, as part of a new anthology from Black Shuck Books, KnightWatch Gallery. The book comprises of four stories previously published as limited edition chapbooks, from Gary McMahon, Sean T. Page, Jasper Bark and Lily Childs, with mine an additional, unpublished bonus story. Many thanks to Black Shuck head honcho Steve Shaw for his hard work on this book, and allowing Once & Ever After to finally be released into the world...
Blurb & links below:
Once upon a time we lived happily ever after. Or so we are told…
Real life isn’t a fairy tale, not even for Tabatha who lives in a house like a palace, with a father who buys her anything she wants… and certainly not for the other Tabatha, who lives in a house like a hovel with a father who’s an ogre. Two girls who look almost identical…
Real life isn’t a fairy tale; but sometimes maybe people do get what they deserve, in the end.
