Fantasia Divinity Publishing has included “Swanspell” in its new anthology Chrysalis, an anthology built around transformations in fairy tales. Hags turn into enchantresses, frogs into princes, and swans into a multitude of brothers. Beyond the physical transformation however, is the emotional or mental transformation. Modern retellings of Beauty and the Beast rehash a beast’s journey from his existence as a harsh monster into a gentler man, and in Maleficent, the sorceress of the woods bent on revenge evolves into a more caring creature who loves her charge.
In the classic Russian ballet Swan Lake, Odette wasn’t the only maiden cursed to live as a bird. “Swanspell” takes a deeper look into curses that don’t dispel when the sorcerer who cast them is gone and how to live when the villain has been defeated. This latest published story also exists in the same universe as “Ashes to Ashes”, the first story of mine that was published while I was in my first year of college. “Ashes to Ashes” can be found in Nova Southeastern University’s third issue of Digressions Literary and Art Journal.
Chrysalis is currently up for preorder on Amazon and will be available on Kindle and hardcover on February 29th.
Jade Black 