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Silvatiicus Riddle, Rhysling shortlisted poet Today's interviewee for our Enchanted Creators series is the exceptional poet and writer Silvatiicus Riddle (He/They). He is a Rhysling-Nominated Dark Fantasy & Speculative Fiction Writer who lives on the borderlands of New York City. Riddle's work has appeared in Abyss & Apex, Dreams & Nightmares, Enchanted Living, Eternal Haunted Summer, Spectral Realms, and, of course, The Fairy Tale Magazine . In fact, his poem, “Medicine for the Ailing Mortal, as Told in Seven Stories” published by us May 1, 2024, has been nominated and shortlisted for a Rhysling Award. First of all, Silvatiicus, thank you for agreeing to chat with The Fairy Tale Magazine. We are excited to learn more about you and your incredible work! In your Rhysling nominated, shortlisted poem, “Medicine for the Ailing Mortal, as Told in Seven Stories” you chose iconic fairy tales, shaping each section with advice specific to each tale and its particular challenge. Tell us about how you were able to delve into each tale and create such specific yet profound statements for each?    With this particular poem, which examines seven popular and familiar fairy tales, I wanted to explore, through the lens of poetry, what it would look like to distill the essence of each story in a way that the reader, whom may come to the poem with a certain heaviness upon them, as many of us have in these turbulent times, would carry something away to consider or meditate upon. It was my hope that my words may be a balm that they did not know that they needed or were looking for.   When discussing fairy tales, these stories are often intricately woven with the memories we have of our childhoods. We might see these tales on film as children, or read the stories, and be captivated by the adventure, the wonder, the possibility. Often times, they were foundations for our understanding of morality, or the ability to overcome the varied and difficult trials we might yet face in our lives. Too often, many people leave these stories behind in their formative years, moving away toward adulthood with a sense that they’ve been set adrift in a place that looks nothing like the enchanted or dark forests of the stories they were raised upon, and as such, it can feel like there is no guidance. I certainly know that I have felt that way, as have many of the people that I have spoken to. Countless turn to religion or spirituality for the answers, for some light to illuminate the path forward. Historically, ancestrally, we were led from birth to grave by the bard, or the storyteller by the fire. Their stories were not just for the entertainment of children, however, but to steward those that needed guidance on their passage through the world, for the understanding of their inner and outer landscapes. Every story is ensouled with the purpose of holding dialogue with the parts of us that cannot speak. With this poem, I sought to pay reverence to this ancestral practice, a means of calling home the child within each of us, whom may feel a bit lost or misguided, and to remind each grown person that, through some of their favorite stories, which are universal, cross-cultural, and borderless, that they’ve been given the very tools that they need to take on the challenging and varied story that we all have found ourselves in.   Tell us about the Rhysling, and about what being shortlisted means to you.    So, the how the Rhysling Award works is that during a specific window of time, any active member of the SFPA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association) may nominate any speculative fiction poem published the year before, to be considered for the Rhysling Award. All of those initial nominations become the Rhysling “Long List”. Then, from there, the Rhysling Jury considers each poem, and whittles down the list to 50 short poems and 25 long poems. That final list is the Short List, and that goes on to be published in the Rhysling Anthology for the year, and the members then read each poem and vote for their favorite pieces. The pieces that have the most votes win the award.   Being nominated at all is wonderful, and to be shortlisted is incredibly exciting, and not at all an easy feat. This is my fourth nomination, and my second time being shortlisted. I am always grateful for my writing to be seen; and to be acknowledged by a community of brilliant poets that recognize my work is a deep honor.   Within the poem, your repetition of key words such as “should,” “let,” and “remember” serve perhaps as invocations while also serving as prescriptions. Were those ideas present right from the first draft, or did they emerge over time as you crafted the poem? Can you pull back the curtain on your creative process?    Invocations, as well as prescriptions, yes. With each poem or story that I write, it is my hope that the tales that I spin may function as spellwork to the witch, meditations to the student, and medicine for the wounded heart – another common thread, for to live is to be wounded -- and we all have wounded hearts. My work is as much a balm to myself, as it is for anyone that seeks it out or stumbles upon it by chance. But, wounds are fertile soil, aren’t they? What forests can the right words grow, then, planted where there are cracks, where the pained parts of us hunger for greening, for light?   While I try not to be too intentional with my words (as I believe having too many intentions can actually impede the flow of creativity with too much thought), I knew the bones of the poem for sure: that I wanted the reader to feel an immediate sense that the seven stories are not about other  people, from some dusty century, long-dead, but that each of the stories are their story—it is their life written out upon the page; a private message of hope and resilience, penned just for them. The use of certain words, then, brings in that sense of familiarity and ease, saying: there is comfort to be found here, this is your poem . Please come in . My only other intention that I wanted for each story’s distilled “medicine”, was that I wanted it to be a potent, but gentle reminder that each reader, regardless of circumstance, still very much has their own agency and power.   Is there a specific tale that you return to time and again? What do you think it is that draws you back to it?   One tale that I return to time and again, that I also did not mention here, and perhaps it is a bit more modern than the others, is that of Peter Pan. Some people don’t consider that to be a fairy tale due to its length and the intended age of its readers, but still others do. I certainly believe it to be, as fairy tale is not simply the story that is told, it is also a spirit , which is why literary fiction can be fairy tale, song lyrics and musical orchestrations, epic tales, as well as poetry. With Peter Pan, I was never so seen as when I encountered that story for the first time, and have revisited Neverland many times since. A boy whom could speak to the fairies, and could fly, living inside the solid and very-much-real land of make believe? It was like J.M. Barrie knew me personally. Growing up as a queer boy/person with undiagnosed neurodivergence can certainly feel a lot like being something other-than-human, with all of the intended connotations that such a word might invoke. It’s a magical, horrible, treacherous, adventure between worlds that often, desired or not, leads you toward a life of solitude, wonder, high-strangeness, and a certain loneliness. Such a thing might, if ever, only be remedied by aligning yourself with other “lost boys” that, perchance, may understand the peculiarities of the world in a similar way as you do. As I’ve gotten older, time has only solidified this for me. The world has a way of changing grown-ups into pirates. Well, long ago, I’d made up my mind that I never want to be a pirate. I always want to fly, I always want to hear the fairies speak. Even if it means being disinvited from a society that wasn’t designed for someone like me. So, that story, for me, is my personal, designated fairy tale. It is comfort, it is resilience, it is hope and reassurance. For me, it is home.   Are there particular poets, artists, or stories that influence your work?   Yeats has my heart. Patricia McKillip speaks to my soul. Angela Carter, the madness and beauty in her words, carries me onward, even when I feel that I can go no further. I’m forever indebted to Jim Henson. Brian and Wendy Froud’s work on Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal set me on a path of understanding the breadth of magic, its limitless world of possibilities, and that there were people out there, in this very strange land that I find myself, that could help birth such things into being. Ray Bradbury rewired my brain when first I found “The Halloween Tree”, when I was seven, and the illustrations that accompanied his many works, most often drawn by his long-time friend and artistic collaborator, Joseph Mugnaini. I’m also deeply influenced by writings on witchcraft, occultism, esoteric practice, folklore, and the modern and historical documentation of real-life faerie encounters. Writers like Tolkien, Charles de Lint, Terri Windling, Alan Moore, Octavia Butler have all encouraged me to carve the magic from the marble of my own work. Of course, I can’t fail to mention my contemporaries in Speculative and Fantasy poetry today, and I honor each of them that work tirelessly creating magic, mystery, and beauty within the industry. Some of the modern poets that, for me, are really keeping the art form alive and interesting: Angel Leal, Pedro Iniguez, Angela Acosta, Lauren Scharhag, Theodora Goss, Dr. Sara Cleto, and Dr. Brittany Warman, to name a few. Artists whose work lives inside me, stoking the fires of my imagination: Jana Heidersdorf, Charles Vess, Andy Kehoe, Omar Rayyan, Seb McKinnon, Cory Godbey. Good art means everything to me. Good writing means everything to me. When you see a painting that transports you, when you read a sentence that takes your breath away? It’s a feeling like no other. You are, undoubtedly, encountering the sacred, and what it means to be alive.   What draws you to speculative or fairy tale-inspired poetry?    I am a punk boy that envisions a better world. Creativity is resistance. I am deeply interested in the re-enchantment of the world, and exploring, through writing, the continuation of awe, wonder, and magic that is intrinsic to humanity from childhood, or for some, may be sought and acquired later on. Speculative poetry and fiction are founded on the premise of possibility –– what is possible if only the laws, rules, and sociological elements of our world were the same or similar, but somehow bridged with the Other . Fairy Tales are a tradition stretching far back into human consciousness, a golden thread that runs through the heart and deep into pre-recorded history. But, what is it anchored to? Why are we so enamored of the fairy tale? It follows us through the centuries in the same way that spiritual traditions do. While the speculative gives us possibility, fairy tales give us the numinous. At any given moment, we are surrounded by a thousand forgotten gods ready to bless our step, or perhaps to curse us for our arrogance; they lean outward from the world that we, egotistically, built atop their own, rebuffing them of their needs of things like prayer and offering, whilst we go about worshipping ephemeral things like money and time. Their mythologies once lived inside of the oral traditions, which, crafted and hewn by the years, have become what we know as fairy tales. Fairy Tales connect us to that sacred place beneath our feet, to our very roots, to our healing, and to alchemy. We can begin to find self-alchemy in the study and understanding of fairy tales. Then, if we allow ourselves that transmutation that only fairy stories can provide, well, I think that begins to appease the gods and spirits that have been waiting so terribly long for the respect of acknowledgment. Who we are, where we come from, what we are capable of, is very much alive inside of fairy tales. They give us the understanding of our world, and the speculative expands upon it. As someone that seeks to live his life in awe, magic, wonder, and possibility, it’s a natural draw toward these genres and traditions, and through them, I am holding a vision of the world in renaissance.   There is a quality of warmth in so much of your writing that exudes a soothing embrace, a feeling of being held and comforted even in the darkest dark. Can you speak to that as a focus of your creativity? Is it a conscious choice you make, or does it flow naturally from your mind/pen?    It’s interesting, because often times when I set out to write a poem or story, I don’t begin with the intention of crafting something warm, inviting, or comforting. There are many pieces of mine, still, where such things are not explicitly found in the end, but, perhaps, they offer the glimmer that there might be something to hold on to, something left to be told, to hope for, or settling into a new paradigm to be found yet. I can think of a few poems or stories of mine where the protagonist goes through a terrible transformation, where such a thing might be the apex of a horror or suspense story to the avid reader, where one might find themselves in an abusive or desperate situation, but ultimately find comfort in their transformation or transportation to another realm; whether they’ve sacrificed their humanness to become a spirit of Halloween, for example, exploited their lycanthropy to take on tyrannical kings, or have run away from a broken home to join the faeries in their Bealtaine revelries.   I’ve been through a lion’s share of my own troubles, finding myself in abusive situations more than once, battling chronic illnesses, facing internal struggles with mental health, and outer struggles that are often worsened by living inside of a socio-political landscape that sees people like me as second class, or burdensome, and that is all putting it delicately. It is worth noting, always, that I am still in a place of privilege because of where I live, the color of my skin, and my presenting gender. To have such a privilege has given me certain advantages in life that are not afforded to everyone equally or equitably, regardless of my struggles. We also live in a time when there is unprecedented access to information, where the stories of people an ocean away, or even from the cities we live in, can be imbibed and understood while waiting for the coffee to brew ––  stories of people that we are encouraged to view as enemies can be instantly humanized and heard, when they are given a platform to speak without censure ––  people in need of help, and understanding, reassurance, hope, and love. Being raised on the likes of great individuals such as Mr. Rogers, Bob Ross, Paul Reubens, Steve Irwin is not something I would soon forget. It lives in my marrow. In this lifetime, it is my calling to write. When I sit at my desk, when the words come, even if they are terrifically dark, the question is a voiceless one that is always on my heart: how can I help?   That is why I started my Substack newsletter, The Goblin’s Reliquary . Social media is a fickle thing, at the whim and detriment of its billionaire owners and shareholders. I figured that if I can reach people directly, sans algorithms, I can share my writings with the people that have decided that they need my words or my presence, and through the lens of my own life and perspective, with the aid of folklore, poetry, fairy tale, the mythopoeic, the great writers and thinkers that have come before, I can potentially help someone by sharing my own cultivated fire, and perhaps, they may even help me. That’s the legacy that I want, that is something we should all strive for –– if some of us can learn to thrive in the land of dragons, we must lift someone else up onto the backs of the great beasts, so that, beyond the oppressive smoke and ash, they may know that we still live in the land of the sun. And, through our stories, we can show others that they, too, might learn to fly, and that every darkness, even that which we hold inside, is a doorway into hidden beauty. Be sure to find Silvatiicus Riddle's Substack newsletter , and don't forget to read the nominated poem. You may find Silvatiicus at Facebook.com/SilvatiicusRiddleAuthor  or Instagram @Silvatiicus Kristen Baum is Editor in Chief of The Fairy Tale Magazine . She is also a writer and composer blending fairy tales, film music, and fantasy into poems and songs and film scores.

In this captivating new fantasy story from professor and scholar Dr. Jack Zipes, two young witches named Anja and Zack set out to save the world from the technological power of an evil dictator named Nexus. Zack and Anja are sixteen-year-old twins with the power to shapeshift into the form of birds and bees as they descend upon an island restoring joy with their dancing. Separated from their parents after the rise of Nexus and guided by a benevolent witch, the twins must locate the Wellikans, the indigenous beings who dwell under the ground and resist Nexus’ tyrannical control. Young readers will be delighted by the engaging characters of Anja and Zack who maintain positive mindsets as they meet adversity, and they will also be sensitized to the dangers of spreading false news and the importance of maintaining resistance against unlawful power. Zipes’ background as a scholar of fairy tale and a political activist permeate the story, but the rich plot and well-rounded characters will keep children reading. Although the adventure narrative is exciting and the moral is poignant, my favorite part of the book is its deep understanding of story itself. The narrator speaks directly to readers, claiming what follows is true and penetrating the action to explain details and assure readers that he does not lie. The book contains brilliant layers of narration, and even as it reaches its conclusion, it tells readers that “this ending is only the beginning.” Young readers looking for a compelling adventure and adult readers interested in contemplating how stories interact with perceptions of power will find much to love in Zipes’ excellent prose. The Wrath of Peace or How the Wellikans Saved the World is a hopeful tale that will inspire readers to stand up to oppression while they recognize the beauty still to be found in nature and humanity. I truly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of Anja and Zack’s adventures! You can find it here , and you can see The Fairy Tale Magazine's interview with Dr. Jack Zipes on our YouTube Channel here . Like and follow to watch Fairy Tale Voices , a series of conversations with writers, scholars, poets, and artists who use fairy tale and folklore in their work. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine . Her work has also appeared in A Moon of One’s Own,   Baseball Bard , Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen , Eternal Haunted Summer,   Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers, The Chamber Magazine,  and The Magic of Us . Her debut novella, Selkie Moon , publishes in June, 2025. You can find her at Kellyjarviswriter.com .

It would have been sensible and coherent if I had done a sleep series during the many months FTM’s focus was on “Sleeping Beauty,” this year. Sadly, I’m occasionally neither sensible nor coherent, so I’m doing it now. Note: It’s not too late to enjoy our fantastic “Sleeping Beauty” issue, “Briar and Thorn.” To be fair, the fact that I’m focusing on sleep in June is relevant to me personally: My sleep is much worse during the summer, and I’m not alone. Research  supports the theory that the extensive light we receive on these long, sunny days really does make us more wakeful in bed. In my case, the light I receive in my extremely sunny house during these months means that I have a lot of trouble sleeping when it finally does grow dark. That may be happening to you as well, so this week I’m focusing on how to control sunniness during your waking hours to help you sleep when it’s dark. More importantly, I’m giving you one of my best sleep tips, period. Here it is: You have to purchase room darkening shades if you are having trouble sleeping. I’ve tried many different types over the years, so I know that the shades have to completely cover the window, all over, to prevent light leaking in. Alas, most shades and curtains, at every price point, are ineffective at controlling light leaks, and believe it or not, the light leaks can be more destructive to sleep than full-on sunny windows because those leaks are so piercing and concentrated. My life-saving answer has been these blackout curtains that I wrote about  in March during a righteous rant about the evils of Daylight Savings Time. They are really a shade rather than a curtain have a metal frame that you insert inside your window’s frame. The actual UBlockout roller shades go inside the frame you’ve inserted. Absolutely no sunlight leaks through. Your bedroom will be totally midnight-dark all day and night. I’m revisiting these shades to help you maximize your experience with them, should you decide to buy them. Here’s what you need to know: First, UBlockout shades are not cheap, although the price varies according to your number of windows as well as their size. To be transparent, we have three large windows in our master bedroom, and they cost us about $1,500 all together. Fortunately, UBlockout frequently has sales—plus most people with chronic insomnia are not foolish enough to build a house with three massive windows in their master bedroom, like I did. If you have smaller and fewer windows, you’ll pay much less. Nonetheless, I would have paid triple to have shades that work this well. Second, careful measuring with all blackout shades is essential to success. UBlockout shades will not do their job if the measurements are off, and they need to be within a 1/16th of an inch to work well. Fortunately, UBlockout has excellent instructions and videos to help you measure properly, but it’s likely to take two people to do the job. I promise it wasn’t hard for Todd and me to do the measuring, so you can do it too. Third, installation is not difficult, but it is time consuming as there are many screws to put in. Once again, if you read the instructions and watch the videos, you’ll be in good shape. Being very, very careful in measuring and installing will change your sleepless life! I am not being paid in any way by UBlockout, but I’m telling you that if you buy these shades, you’ll sleep better and longer. They’ve added an average of 45 minutes additional sleep time for me in the last six months, bringing my nightly average up to 7.25 hours per night. I haven’t slept this well in 35 years. They make the room totally dark at night, and prevent waking too early due to morning sunlight, a real problem when the sun wants to creep in at 5:30 AM. Before I leave you, let me cycle back to how to reduce your overall sun intake during the summer. I’ve found that if I go into my bedroom in the afternoon and read or meditate (or even work) for an hour, with the blinds completely closed, my body clock resets well for the evening, so when I go to bed later, it’s easier to fall asleep. The “dose of darkness” in the afternoon really helps. If an hour is too much time for you, even 15 minutes or so in a thoroughly darkened room will help you reset and decrease the sleep-deficit effects of all this sunlight. Any darkness will help . I promise. Next time, I’m going to discuss sheets and why they are so very important to successful sleep. People take them for granted, but sheets absolutely affect sleep quality. As for Cinderella, I suspect that if you work as hard physically as she did before moving to the castle, sleep is probably easy. In 2025, most of us aren’t doing that much physical labor, so we need some help. Until next time, hope you have long, sweet dreams! Kate Wolford was the publisher and editor of The Fairy Tale Magazine  for many years. She’s now enjoying being Resident Fairy Godmother. Unsplash image by Jp Valery.

“This is a story about a man who thought he was a bird and the woman who helped him find his humanity again.” With this stunning opening, Jane Rosenberg Laforge plunges readers into a heartwarming and heartbreaking story that weaves fairy tale with historical romance. The Hawkman: A Fairy Tale of the Great War  explores the relationship of two people who have faced illness, bloodshed, and poverty. Eva Williams, an American schoolteacher and writer working at a small college in Bridgetonne, England, initiates contact with Michael Sheehan, an Irish veteran of World War I who is suffering from the memory of his harrowing experiences in the trenches. Michael is disheveled in his appearance. His long, matted hair and coat that billows like feathers have led the townspeople to paint him as The Hawkman, a hybrid creature who scavenges like an animal and preys upon unsuspecting children. When Eva offers Michael her hand, taking him back to her cottage to feed and bathe him, the two begin a relationship steeped in wonder and truth. Rosenberg’s prose is lyrical and her narrative is layered. Readers are given flashbacks into Eva’s childhood experience and Michael’s war days, and at several points throughout the novel, the characters engage in storytelling which adds meaning and poignancy to their growing relationship. Although Rosenberg is primarily reworking “The Bearskin” by The Brothers Grimm, a fairy tale which explores animal-human hybridity and metamorphosis, the text is filled with other fairy tale and folkloric references as well. Readers who enjoy magical realism tales like David Almond’s Skellig  or Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings  are sure to enjoy Rosenberg’s exquisite prose and exploration of humanity. The Hawkman  is a fairy tale set in a real world environment, and its beautiful ending will leave readers dreaming about the power of compassion and love. This is a book I will remember always. You can find it here . Kelly Jarvis is the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has also been featured in A Moon of One’s Own,   Baseball Bard , Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer,   Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and the World Weaver Press Anthology Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her first novella, Selkie Moon , comes out in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

I don’t know about where you are, but as usual, summer has arrived far too early in Northern Indiana, and the ever-hotter weather has made me a summer Grinch. From this point on, I’m hunkering down until October, when I come alive again. I always think of Cinderella living somewhere in Western or Central Europe in the 17th century, with summers far cooler than what we now experience in the Midwest. But of course, Cinderella is a point of view as much as anything, and her story can be told in subtropical or Arctic conditions and still ring true. In any case, here in real life, I get through the summer by pretending it’s not happening as much as possible. I tend the garden early in the morning, and then spend every minute I can indoors. The AC is kept at 67 degrees during the day and 66 at night. The shades are closed. I’m like a heat avoidant, senior citizen version of Sleeping Beauty. I “sleep” in the AC until my senior citizen Prince Charming comes home from work each day. Then we huddle with the dog in the fake cool air until we repeat I all again the next morning. Does this seem grim to you? It is. Summer is a burden to many people in the USA because of the brutal heat, and I have no way of sugar coating that. To those of you who still love summer, I have to ask, why? I’d really like to know. Do you rub ice cubes on your wrists? Do you wear elaborate sun hats? Do you binge Lifetime holiday movies full of fake smiles and even faker snow? Is there a place you visit in your head where it’s always 65 degrees during the day and 40 degrees at night (my dream temperatures)? I’d love some answers! Let me know. In the meantime, I’ll be melting and reading here in Indiana. Kate Wolford was the publisher and editor of The Fairy Tale Magazine  for many years. She’s now enjoying being Resident Fairy Godmother. Image from Pixabay.

Spells for Success: 40 Spells to Set Intentions and Manifest Everyday Wins  is a box filled with beautifully illustrated and laminated spell cards that will enrich your life and well-being. Created by Lauren Parker, a longtime folk witch and magical practitioner, this deck is perfect for those who practice the craft or for those simply looking to infuse magic into their lives. The author of the collection believes that spells come from a place of need and want, and she has divided her spells into four categories: Money and Career , Health , Love and Romance , and Personal Growth . Some spells are designed to produce immediate results while others may take years to manifest results, but all of the spells are designed to foster personal growth and community peace. In addition to receiving spells, those who purchase Spells for Success  receive an overview on how to set an intention, tips on meditation, information on the Law of Attraction, and instructions for building a magical toolbox, making oils, and using sigils. Best of all is the author’s reassurance that spell work is a craft meant to help us bring about desirable outcomes. Parker teaches us that we are our own magic; our voices, bodies, and creativity are the tools that bring about positive change. She equates spells to the wishes we make on birthday candles and the pinky swears we vow to our childhood friends. Parker’s spells are everyday magic that will fill your life with enchantment. The deck of cards is pleasing to flip through, and the spells ask you to use dance, light, mirrors, oils, herbs, and candles to set the tone for manifesting your desires. You will find a Spell for Hope and a Healthy Family Spell , a Spell to Quit a Bad Habit  and a Better Communication Love Spell . My favorites spells include the Emotional Portal Spell , the Love Yourself Moon Spell , and the Choose Your Own Adventure Spell . Parker has inspired me to embrace the magic of the everyday, and I will keep these spells close to me as I learn to enchant my life. If you are interested in rituals which can stimulate your creativity and move you toward your own vision of success, Lauren Parker’s Spells for Success  is a must. The beautiful box makes a perfect gift for yourself or for someone you love. You can find it here . Kelly Jarvis is the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has also been featured in A Moon of One’s Own,   Baseball Bard , Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer,   Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and the World Weaver Press Anthology Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her first novella, Selkie Moon , comes out in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

With Mother’s Day coming this week, I thought sharing this brunch casserole recipe might help some readers find the perfect dish for next Sunday.  This is the point in my posts where I try to connect the topic with Cinderella, but I must admit I’m struggling. After all, she wouldn’t have wanted to celebrate it with her stepfamily. And I don’t remain hopeful that her mother-in-law was much better, but I hope her kids gave her a good one! Now, on to the recipe. We are a brunch family. In fact, it’s what we usually enjoy when we all get together. This means that we have a breakfast casserole when we celebrate Mother’s Day, and this year will be no different. We plan to have the hammiest egg casserole ever. It’s simple to make, but remember, the quality of the ham is very important, because the dish takes on the flavor of the meat. I do think you could probably make this with cooked sausage or bacon—make a pound if you substitute one or the other of them for ham.       We will use very high-quality ham, and it will be worth it, because the ham taste will be so predominant. We also will use high-quality dinner rolls for the bread, and (this is very important), we will pull the bread the night before and put the pieces on paper towels to get stale before making the casserole Sunday morning. The casserole would be too mushy had we not dried out the bread.       With those tips in mind, here’s the recipe, adapted from the website, The Happy Brown House . The Hammiest Casserole 2 cups of best diced ham (a little more is      fine) 6-7 good quality dinner rolls, pulled      small pieces 6 large eggs, beaten 2 cups of milk 2 cups of shredded cheese, your choice Salt and pepper to taste 1 teaspoon ground mustard (powder      form) Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 13-by-9-inch casserole dish (contents will be shallow in the pan after baking). By the way, I haven’t tried it yet, but I think this could be quite good in a smaller dish.  Mix the meat, dried bread and cheese together thoroughly. Put mixture in the bottom of the greased casserole dish, and spread it around evenly.        Mix all of the other ingredients together thoroughly. Pour the wet mixture over the dry, and tip the dish around so the egg mixture is spread evenly. This mixture will not look super wet before you cook it, but it comes out just fine. Bake for 40 minutes, but you may need to do more, depending on your oven.       Let rest for 10-15 minutes, then serve. This is great with fruit salad and three bean salad.   I hope you enjoy this as much as we do. And to those who will be celebrating, Happy Mother’s Day! (This post was adapted from one I wrote years ago for a weekly newspaper. Kate Wolford was the publisher and editor of The Fairy Tale Magazine  for many years. She’s now enjoying being Resident Fairy Godmother

The Thorn Key: Fairy Tales in Verse , is a stunning collection of poetic fairy tale retellings and examinations. Jeana Jorgensen invites her readers through a series of doors ( Door of Red and White Roses , Door of Swan and Raven Feathers , Door of Gold and Silver Crowns , Door of Bone and Ice Needles ), admonishing them to be careful with the key because “it bites.” The journey is well worth the risk of danger, however, because behind each door is a collection of poems which deftly weave folklore into contemporary life, leaving readers breathless. Jorgensen, who has written academic books including Fairy Tale 101  and Folklore 101 , brings her insightful and scholarly background to each poem while using accessible and alluring language. The fairy tale imagery in this book seeps into the modern world as the poet equates selkies with ghosting and sets classic narratives like The Twelve Dancing Princesses in a post-World War II society. The collection contains an illuminating afterward and an appendix of tale types which provide valuable background information on the tales and the history of retellings, but it is the poetry itself which continues to sing long after the book has been closed. Readers will contemplate how folklore and fairy tale can be used to reflect and inform human experiences, but they will also relish the pure emotion embedded in the joyful and heartbreaking words that dance across the page. Jorgensen forces readers to interrogate the interpretations of old tales in poems like Snow White Goes Gray  and Bluebeard , and she juxtaposes folkloric monsters and maidens with real life trauma and human experience in poems like The Ogre’s Heart  and Snow White and Rose Red in Orlando . She provides several treatments of ATU 510B ( The Dress of Gold, of Silver, and of Stars ) and ATU 451 ( The Maiden Who Seeks Her Brothers ), highlighting the fluidity of meaning embedded in each tale. My favorite poems include Walking on Knives , a Little Mermaid retelling that sees the protagonist strike a deal with a sea witch to earn a tenure track position at a university, and Selkies which speaks of “Sleek swimmers who carved through water, / Carved a place inside a heart and home, / Then re-skinned themselves, glinting away from shore.”Jorgensen’s poetry combines thoughtful ideas with gorgeous language, and I found myself equally compelled to linger in the verses and hurry to turn the pages so I could discover what literary magic awaited me behind the next door. The Thorn Key: Fairy Tales in Verse  is a collection that belongs on every fairy tale lover’s shelf, and its combination of pain, trauma, transformation, and beauty will beckon readers to swim in its poignant metaphor and imagery. It is a volume I will return to often. I love it! You can find it here , and you can watch The Fairy Tale Magazine's interview with Dr. Jeana Jorgensen on Author Talks here . Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine . Her work has also appeared in A Moon of One’s Own,   Baseball Bard , Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen , Eternal Haunted Summer,   Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers, The Chamber Magazine,  and The Magic of Us . Her debut novella, Selkie Moon , publishes in June, 2025. You can find her at Kellyjarviswriter.com .

Poor Cinderella. You know those filthy ashes and all the kitchen scraps she had to deal with made her miserable. She probably had to slop hogs and feed chickens too.  And think of the health issues she must have dealt with. If anyone in the awful stepfamily of hers got sick, you know she had to do the nursing. She may have even dealt with plague, which had a way of recurring over five centuries, until medical experts began to get control of it about 100 years ago or so. This Cinderella introduction brings me to the real focus of this post: DIY Four Thieves cleaning solution, which I’ve been making and cleaning with for at least 15 years. I’ve written about it in the past as well. In fact, this post is partly an old column I wrote for a little newspaper during the pandemic. Some of you may be aware of an essential oil blend that shares a similar name to the formula I’m posting today. I’m not promoting it because it’s part of an MLM company, but I promise that my formula is relatively inexpensive and very effective.  Here’s the legend and my favorite formula. In the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries, in Marseille, four thieves (or bandits) robbed the sick and the dead very successfully during an outbreak of plague. Eventually, they were caught, and, as the story goes, they were offered lighter sentences if they shared their secret for staying alive so long among the plague victims.       It was a combination of herbs, including rosemary, lavender, sage and camphor, steeped in vinegar, that they applied to the exposed areas of their bodies, like their hands and faces. Considering that those aromatic herbs have insect repellent qualities, and fleas carried plague, it’s no wonder the thieves survived their misdeeds.  Great story, right? There are many versions of it, as there are many versions of the actual thieves recipe. Heck, all of it may be completely made up. But there are good cleaning qualities to many essential oils, and those that I use for my own thieves recipe are great for everyday cleaning. Clove oil is an antimicrobial and will kill bacteria, as well as some fungus. It’s also dandy for a toothache.       Thyme oil is extremely potent as room freshener. I mean, it will eradicate any form of stink. As for cleaning, it’s thought to have antifungal and  antibacterial qualities and may possibly kill salmonella and E. coli. Rosemary oil is also thought to have antimicrobial properties, as does lovely sweet orange oil. In fact, the latter is thought to have antifungal and antiseptic effects. (Always add more orange oil than the others, because they have really pungent, medicinal odors and the orange can cut them. However, orange oil can stain fabric, so keep that in mind. ) Do you notice that I hedged a bit in my descriptions, as in “thought to”? That’s because a lot isn’t known about the health benefits or cleaning possibilities of essential oils, and essential oil companies oversell what the oils can do. I’m a serious lover of essential oils, and I think they can be really useful for cleaning when you don’t have serious sickness in the house or when you haven’t been dealing with raw chicken or beef. But if you add rubbing alcohol to thieves or other cleaning oils, you’ll have a cleaner that will kill coronavirus and other bad stuff, provided that the solution you use is at least 70 percent rubbing alcohol and you leave it on the surface you are cleaning for 30 seconds, then wipe off. So here’s my Four Thieves recipe, to be used with alcohol and water if you are trying to murder any potential killers. The recipe is based on eight ounces of cleaner.       Kate’s Four Thieves Blend       5 drops of clove essential oil      5 drops of rosemary essential oil      5 drops thyme essential oil      10 drops orange essential oil First, put all of the oils into the spray bottle you want to use. Then add the rubbing alcohol—about a quarter cup. Not only will the alcohol kill lots of bad stuff, it’ll help emulsify the oils so they are less oily. Then add the water until full. Shake before each use, and wipe off after 30 seconds. Do check to see if the oils stain on an inconspicuous spot before using. There you go, a Four Thieves formula that won’t quite steal away with the worst of the yuck in the house on its own, but does give you a good story. I bet Cinderella would like it. Kate Wolford was the publisher and editor of The Fairy Tale Magazine  for many years. She’s now enjoying being Resident Fairy Godmother. Image from Pixabay

We are delighted to present The Sleeping Beauty Issue! Scroll down for a list of featured authors, and first lines for each piece in Briar and Thorn, The Sleeping Beauty Issue. Click on the PDF to download and read the issue for free. Click on the box to download and read our Spring/Summer 2025 issue! What's inside: TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM: THE ENDURING APPEAL OF  SLEEPING BEAUTY   (nonfiction) – 5 By contemporary standards, Sleeping Beauty is the most old-fashioned of princesses. She is a wished-for child who falls into a death-like slumber as soon as she comes of age. Kelly Jarvis  works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine . Her work has also appeared in Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen , Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly, Mothers of Enchantment , and The Magic of Us . Her debut novella, Selkie Moon , publishes in 2025. You can find her at Kellyjarviswriter.com .   BRIAR-ROSE REFLECTS ON HER LIFE (poetry) – 9 Who is to say that I did not live during those Hundred years of slumber? Deborah Sage  is a native of Kentucky, USA. She has been most recently published in  Eternal Haunted Summer, Fairy Tale Magazine, the 2022 Dwarf Stars Anthology ,  Amethyst Press  All Shall Be Well  anthology for Julian of Norwich,  Eye to the Telescope and Lothlorien Poetry Journal.    ASH IN YOUR EYES (prose) – 10 Once upon a time, a fearful king ordered that all the spinning wheels in his kingdom be destroyed. Jo Niederhoff  has loved storytelling since she asked her kindergarten teacher to move out of her forest. Learning to write just helped her put down her stories on paper instead of having to act them out, which she still does on stage. She can be found at @ eliza-writing.bsky.social .   ENCHANTED CREATOR: THE WRITING MAGIC OF JANE YOLEN (interview) – 13 . . . in the real world, if you fall asleep for a week or a month or a year, you’re likely dead. Kelly Jarvis  (bio above) interviews prolific writer Jane Yolen   IN LISBETH ZWERGER’S ‘BRIAR ROSE’  (poetry) – 17 I was in that picture once. It feels like a hundred years ago. Rachel Ferriman  was born and raised in Johannesburg and has a Fine Arts degree from Wits University (2001). Like many people, she has experienced significant loss over her lifetime but believes that even the slightest sliver of light cuts through the deepest darkness, and creativity is light.   LET ME SLEEP   (poetry) – 18 ‘Picturesque’ is the word they use for my home, and ‘beautiful’ the word for me – R. Haven  has been mentored by Yvonne Blomer, poet-in-residence with Arc Poetry. He hails from Toronto, Canada. His debut horror novel, The Other Face of Sympathy, comes out September 2025, and he is represented by Kaitlyn Katsoupis of Belcastro Literary Agency. His website is  theirritablequeer.com .   UPON A DREAM (prose) – 19 They found her by the  ceiba  tree, in a slant of afternoon light. Rosa had been missing for twenty years, and yet there she was, asleep in the grove like she’d never left.  Jon Negroni  is a Puerto Rican author of fantasy and Caribbean folkore based in the San Francisco Bay Area.   GIFTS FOR GIRLS   (poetry) – 23 They were never Practical, My sisters, Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman  are award-winning folklorists, teachers, and writers. Together, they founded The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic, where they teach creative souls how to re-enchant their lives through folklore and fairy tales. Their fiction and poetry can be found in  Enchanted Living, Uncanny Magazine, Star*Line , and others.   HEIRLOOM ALCHEMY   (prose) – 24 A knock woke the old man from his comfortable doze. Amy Trent  is a storyteller, mother, cookie-lover, and award-winning novelist. She delights in writing novels and short stories that explore identity, whimsy, and love through the lens of fairy tales and folklore. To learn more about Amy, or to find the recipe that inspired this story, please visit  amytrent.com .   FAIRY TALE DREAMS   (poetry) – 29 The Valiant One slept restlessly on a hard bed Sword kept near, for his dreams were haunted Emily Kramer  is a romantic in pursuit of wonder. She is the creator and host of The Modern Romantic Podcast, a photographer, glass artist, and occasional poet. With a background in fashion and costume design and a love for romanticism, Emily explores themes of beauty, stillness, and storytelling through art.   AWAKEN (prose) – 30 Brambles and blackberries. Thistle and thorn.    Angela Rega  is a writer and teacher based in Canberra. Her short stories have been published in Australia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom and Norway. Her publications include  The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror ,  PS Publishing  and  South of the Sun: Australian Fairy Tales for the 21st Century.   THE TRUTH THAT SLEEPS   (poetry) – 33 They never told you this never mentioned the real story.  Kim Whysall-Hammond  is a Londoner who now lives elsewhere. Her poetry has appeared in  Fantasy Magazine, Eternal Haunted Summer, Dreams and Nightmares  and others. She won Third prize in the 2023 Dwarf Star Speculative Poetry Award. Her debut chapbook,  Messages from the Road , is published by Palewell Press.   HOBO QUEEN   (prose) – 34 Once upon a time, below towering cedars deep in a town park, a royal couple ruled a sprawling encampment. KT Wagner  writes speculative fiction, loves to knit and collects strange plants, weird trivia and obscure tomes. Her work is published and podcast with  Pulp Literature, On Spec, Flash Fiction Online, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Toasted Cake  and more. KT organizes writer events and works to create literary community.  www.ktwagner.com    https://bsky.app/profile/ktwagner.bsky.social   OUR MOTHER AS SLEEPING BEAUTY   (poetry) – 37 In the morning, we gathered around her bed and marveled at her beauty. Robin Michel’s  poetry and prose appears in many journals. She is the author of the prize-winning chapbook  Things Will Be Better in Bountiful  (Comstock Review 2024) and one full-length poetry collection,  Beneath a Strawberry Night Sky  (Raven & Wren Press, 2023). Born in Utah, she now lives in San Francisco.   THE TAPESTRY   (prose) – 38 She had started weaving to pass the time. Hours spread around her, each one as potent and as terrifying as a winter’s night, and she had needed something to occupy her mind while the rest of the kingdom slept.   Kelly Jarvis  (bio above)   SLEEPING BEAUTY RETURNS THE GODDESS TO THE WORLD   (poetry) – 42 sleeping, I was magnificent Caitlin Gemmell  is a poet who dreams of becoming a fairy godmother and relocating to the seaside. Her poems have been widely published, including by  Bella Grace ,  Green Ink Poetry Press,  and in  Elizabeth Royal Patton Poetry Prize Anthology.   STEADFASTLY WAITING (prose) – 43 The prince slept at Maricia’s house. Sergej Pavlovi ć is a young writer from Montenegro, Balkans. Though he is twenty four years old, he remains in love with fairy tales and considers them an endless source of inspiration and captivating material for study.   CENTURY’S REST   (poetry) – 46 A hundred years gives ample scope for dreams. Ice floes drift from end Thomas R. Keith  currently resides in his hometown of Austin, TX. His poetry and short fiction have appeared in various journals and anthologies.   SLEEPING GIRL (prose) – 47 The Queen’s daughter drifted to sleep. She gripped her mother’s hands in hers. . . Laura Matney  is a fiction writer, ghostwriter, and Author Accelerator certified book coach. She writes fantasy that uses folklore and mythology to shine a light on modern day issues. She is a captain of chaos, managing one small child, two giant dogs, and, occasionally, her husband.    I WOKE UP ONE DAY AND FOUND ME   (poetry) – 50 Like a fazed deer, I found myself—little by little, in a bed; Yukti Narang  (she/her/hers) is an emerging Indian creative writer, screenwriter, and dramatist. Her work has been featured in renowned literary magazines and anthologies, and forthcoming with several others. Her debut poetry collection is 'There Is A Home In All Of Us' (2023). Yukti is currently working on her literary and film titles.   A WAY THROUGH THE BRIARS   (prose) – 51 My anger’s fresh; theirs is old and weary, barely alive now a winter’s passed since the spell was cast. Lynden Wade  neglects her family to spend time in the worlds of folklore and magic. She’s had stories published in a range of publications, including  BFS Horizons , the journal of the British Fantasy Society. She is still hoping for a house elf. Find her on Instagram @lwadewrites. Poetry for Briar and Thorn was curated by our Guest Poetry Editor, Sally Rosen Kindred. The Fairy Tale Magazine is made possible by the generosity of our Fairy Godparents Club members and many of our authors. Our staff members volunteer their time. If you enjoy this issue and giving feels good, we welcome your donation, small or large. You may give via PayPal to The Fairy Tale Magazine ( thefairytalemagazine@gmail.com ).

Cinderella lends herself to so many situations, it’s no wonder that her story shows up all over the world and is much older than you may realize. Today, as I idly glanced over a horoscope, I asked myself, would Cinderella have consulted astrologers? Obviously, she would have been too broke to pay for a service like that before marrying the prince, but maybe her fairy godmother had a natal chart drawn up for our heroine and saw the whole story coming. Almost certainly Cinderella would have had a court astrologer after marrying the prince. Anyway, these stray thoughts got me thinking about my own belief/ambivalence about astrology. The thing is, I’ve never been able to truly get an accurate horoscope cast, because the time of my birth is unknown. I’ve tried every avenue, including trying to buy a long-form birth certificate with no luck. (I never tried to find answers until my parents were gone, so no one knows!) As you probably know, if you follow astrology, the only way to get a really accurate reading is by knowing the day and time of your birth. I do know that there are people who will do a chart rectification for you, but I don’t fancy giving a stranger the information needed to do that. So that brings me to belief. I suppose part of my skepticism lies in the fact that I can never know if my horoscope could really be useful to me, because of the birth time conundrum. Also, I must admit that over my 63 years, I’ve seen an awful the lot of predictions based on astrology be dead wrong. And yet … I love the stars, the Milky Way, the universe. I’m a sucker for the moon and understanding its pull on our planet. (I even make moon water !) So I’ve often asked myself, Why wouldn’t skies have an effect on events on Earth? We know so little about the universe and our place in it, that people who subscribe to astrology may be on to something. I also think that if our fairy tale protagonists had had someone telling them “Today is not a propitious day to walk in the forest in a red cloak,” or “Today is a great day to catch a magic fish that grants you wishes you’re going to regret,” they might have avoided a lot of trouble. But then, of course, we wouldn’t have these fantastic stories. I wonder what you think about astrology. Are you a hardened skeptic? Unsure, like me? A true believer? What’s your sign? I’m an Aquarian, which may account for the unrelenting flow of ideas I have every day not to mention my many eccentricities. Let me know what you think @ fairytalecrone.bsky.social , and keep watching the heavens. They may not influence events, but they still seem as magical as any fairy godmother. Kate Wolford was the publisher and editor of The Fairy Tale Magazine  for many years. She’s now enjoying being Resident Fairy Godmother. Image from Pixabay

If you love books, plants, folklore, and magic, Enchanted Plants , by Varla A. Ventura, is for you! I fell in love with the book’s gorgeous cover and gilded pages the moment I laid eyes on it, and what awaited me when I opened the cover was anything but a disappointment. Varla A. Ventura begins by revealing that she has always been able to hear the voices of plants. She describes her conversations with foliage as “suspended somewhere between audible and inaudible,” situating them in the same liminal spaces where we find fairy tales and folklore. She then begins her exploration of botanicals, beginning with the much loved apple and progressing all the way through to the melancholy willow. Each entry in the book features a stunning portrait of the fruit or flower, a quotation drawn from literary study, an encyclopedia reference of medicinal and magical properties, and a collection of lore combining the author’s personal experiences with her knowledge about myth, legend, and fairy tale. Enchanted Plants  is divided into enticing chapters including The Apple Doesn’t Fall Too Far  (A Queen’s Garden of Cultivars and Edible Delights), The Cottage Garden of Earthly Delights  (Humble Foods in Story and Legend), The Witch’s Garden  (What Doesn’t Kill You Makes Your Heart Grow Stronger), Among the Fields and Valleys (Wildflowers, Meadowlands, and Other Things to Gather), The Woods Are Lovely, Dark, and Deep  (Trees, Shrubs, and Woodland Dwellers), and The Marsh King’s Daughter  (Plants that Grow Near Streams, Bogs, Lakes, and the Sea). Following the chapters is an Index of Botanicals  and a list of Recommended Resources  for those hoping to learn more. This beautiful book makes a wonderful reference text, but I found myself falling into its pages and reading for hours. Although I have never had a green thumb, I was delighted by the illustrations of plants, fruits, and flowers, and thoroughly enjoyed learning about their folklore. Ventura’s riveting prose walked me through familiar tales and introduced me to stories I had never known. I especially loved her thoughtful selection and presentation of quotations taken from literature, poetry, and nursery rhyme. Each lyric perfectly complimented the plant it accompanied, using its linguistic magic to evoke the beauty of the botanical being explored. “This is a book you need to see in person,” I was told by the publicity director of Red Wheel/Weiser, and nothing could be further from the truth . Enchanted Plants  is a jewel that will grace any home library, and I plan to revisit the book often for my own writing, teaching, and research. If you are interested in learning more about the botanical world and the lore it has inspired, purchase a copy of this book today! It would be a wonderful gift for yourself or for someone you love.  You can find it here . Thank you to Eryn Carter Eaton for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis is the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has also been featured in A Moon of One’s Own,   Baseball Bard , Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer,   Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and the World Weaver Press Anthology Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her first novella, Selkie Moon , comes out in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/