The Worlds of Ashley Stangl

Each of the five stories in the Five Magic Spindles collection starts with its own title page, and mine arrived today! When I wrote this story, I entertained no hope that my story about alien tomb robbers would make it into the collection of "Sleeping Beauty" retellings, but I still allowed myself to daydream about a title page. When I unexpectedly won, the title page was the prize I was most excited for. What sort of image would a publisher choose to represent my story?  Now I know, and it's surprisingly perfect. They've made Tanza, my main character, come to life. The alert, tough, no-nonsense stance, the practical clothes, the pockets bulging with supplies--that little silhouette is entirely recognizable to her author. And the plants around the border!  No spoilers, but a few key scenes involve areas with lots of plants, and I'm so delighted they made it to the cover. My biggest fear was that publishers would look at a sci-fi story and make a cover with...

I had planned to write a book-related post, but then I stumbled across this tumblr post about Remember WENN, a half-hour AMC dramedy from 1996 that takes place in a 1930s radio station.  I love radio drama.  I'm currently loving anything that takes place in the 1930s.  I dove straight in, and I've discovered another favorite show. The titular radio station, WENN, is a Pittsburgh radio station that runs on a shoestring budget.  In the first episode, Betsy arrives as an intern, and her experience introduces us to the characters that populate the station.  Victor Comstock is the enthusiastic station manager who produces shows with enthusiastic artistic vision and little concern for the limitations of reality.  All of the station's programs--news shows, westerns, soap operas, comedies, etc.--are performed by a troupe of three actors.  Hilary Booth's the aging diva with a big ego and a sharp tongue, Jeff Singer's the handsome womanizer and Hilary's ...

I love when books cater specifically to my tastes.  Lately, I've been wishing for more mysteries set in fantasy worlds.  Then, suddenly, I see this beautiful cover on Amazon, and find Masque by W.R. Gingell , an ebook (currently free) that's a fantasy, a murder mystery, and a fairy tale retelling .  Specifically, "Beauty and the Beast".  Watching Beauty and her Beast solve a mystery together?  I could not buy this book fast enough. Even so, I kept my expectations tempered.  Fairy tale retellings, though they're one of my favorite genres, are often not great literature.  Independently published fairy tale retellings are often especially amateurish, with thinly drawn settings and characters, as though simply throwing in the right symbols and plot points should be enough to satisfy the reader.  I expected, at best, for Masque to be a faintly drawn fantasy, with vaguely pleasant characters and just enough plot to keep me motivated to reach the la...