fairy skeletons.: Publication News: Rose Red Review

I've got another publication credit releasing today—on the summer solstice, no less, and in the realm of fiction rather than poetry! 

[credit | melyssa anishnabie / via | rose red review website]

Those of you familiar with my writing will no doubt know that my fiction and poetry are wildly different beasts. My prose is almost always steeped in the speculative, with lots of retelling elements and magic to be had, while my poetry is much more amorphous. I love them both equally, and I feel that they both highlight different aspects of my personality as a writer. But I did start on fiction long before I ever thought about pursuing poetry seriously. So while there have been several exciting developments in the poetry department lately, I do still adore writing fantasy and its cousins.

Rose Red Review was kind enough to accept a short story of mine, "Dark-Side Dreaming", for publication in its thirteenth issue. The review's name is a reference to the fairy-tale character Rose Red (a favorite heroine of many, I'm sure). Check out a bit of what the publication is all about, Rose-Red-wise:

Rose Red is the outdoorsy, curious sister of Snow White, a shy, delicate wallflower. Rose Red represents warmth, passion, and the thirst for knowledge; it is she who invites the cursed bear-prince into the home she shares with her sister. Rose Red is enamored with life, and she possesses a sense of adventure. If she were a real girl, Rose Red would seek out the magic in the everyday: a sandy riverbank, a new song, strange happenings in an airport. In difficult times, she would recognize the nature of hardship: a hurdle to overcome.

Fun anecdote time: I first stumbled upon Rose Red Review when, a long time ago (like two years?) I was browsing through my dear friend (and newly minted YA author!) Kimberly Karalius's publication credits in search of reading material. Rose Red Review published her exquisite spin on the Sleeping Beauty fairytale, "Scissors and Thorns", in 2012. So I've been wanting to submit here for a while!

A few of you have already read "Dark-Side Dreaming"—don't worry, that's only about three people. It's essentially a middle-grade retelling of Rapunzel, except 'Rapunzel' isn't locked in a tower.

She's on the moon. Because logic.

This was originally inspired by this art. I basically went, "Hey! Moon-tower! You know what else has to do with towers? RAPUNZEL."

[credit | christian schloe / via]

The story also spawned a Pinterest board, if you like that sort of thing:

Follow Christina's board dark-side dreaming - short story on Pinterest.

Anyway, enough of me rambling. You can read the story here.

What do you think of this story? Any happy writing news of your own to share? Sound off in the comments!