Twisted Fairy Tales

I’m delighted to announce that my first collection, Twisted Fairy Tales, will be published by Barron’s in the USA in the Spring.

The book includes lavish illustrations by the wonderful Jane Laurie, and all the pages are highly designed thanks to the talents of the marvellous Martin Stiff.

I was commissioned to write this collection by Quantum Publishing in London, and my thanks go to my editor Samantha Warrington for her insight and notes, and to our publisher Sarah Bloxham for her faith in the project. Finally, a big shout-out to Jennifer Eiss, who jump-started this project.

This is a selection of twenty classic fairy tales, re-told with a dark slant for a modern audience. There are many favourites, as well as lesser-known variations. In all of them I have hewed to the spirit of the story while adding elements or flourishes to enhance the central premise.

Fairy Tales were hugely influential on me when I was growing up, and fixed my tastes for macabre fiction at an early age. This was a dream project to work on, and I loved writing every single story.

I’ve been extremely fortunate to work with such a talented and supportive team. I’m used to having input and feedback with artists on comic books, but it was an unexpected pleasure to be able to work so closely with Jane, who was open to suggestions as well as bringing her own vision to the project. Martin’s design is top-rate (he also created the cover), and we communicated often about the progress of the book.

Here’s a taste of some of the images in the collection:

I’m very much looking forward to Spring 2013 when I can hold a copy of it in my hands.