Mundania Press and editors Danielle Ackley-McPhail, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Lee C. Hillman, and Jeffrey Lyman are proud to announce the release of the award-winning Bad-Ass Faeries anthologies on three major ebook venues: Amazon Kindle, MobiPocket and All Romance Books.

 Please do check out the series and recommend it to your friends with an interest in great urban fantasy, faerie fiction, and wicked-fun reading, all in a convenient electronic format.

 I have included the links here for those interested:

 Bad-Ass Faerie

MobiPocket – Bad-Ass Faeries

All Romance – Bad-Ass Faeries

Amazon Kindle – Bad-Ass Faeries

Bad-Ass Faeries 2: Just Plain Bad

Mobi Pocket – Just Plain Bad

All Romance – Just Plain Bad

Amazon Kindle – Just Plain Bad

Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Glory

Mobi Pocket – In All Their Glory

All Romance – In All Their Glory

Amazon Kindle – In All Their Glory

Thank you,

Danielle

lit_handyman

Danielle

Been on hiatus a bit due to pending book projects, but we are back with an Insight by Bram Stoker Award-Winning author John Passarella. John has not only written an award-winning novel series, but is also the author of various tie-in novels in the Buffy, Angel, and Supernatural franchises. Enjoy!

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A few years ago Danielle and I attended a group book signing (at a Borders Books in Delaware, around the holidays, as I recall) and we started talking in between signing books for store patrons. She mentioned the Bad-Ass Faeries book and said she was looking for submissions for the second volume in the series. I thought the book and the series sounded cool and I thought I would have fun writing within the anthology’s guidelines. I don’t write a lot of short stories. I tend to write novel-length tales (and my short stories tend to verge toward novelette length most of the time), but on those rare occasions when I do write for a themed anthology, it’s because I think the project would be enjoyable, something that appeals to me personally.

Since Danielle had already received a number of stories for the second anthology, I asked her if she had any particular area where she needed a story. She told me she needed a faerie bouncer. With that prompt, I began work on “Twilight Crossing” which appears in Bad-Ass Faeries 2: Just Plain Bad. I started with a faerie bouncer in a tough bar on the outskirts of town, but rather than have random troublemakers enter stage left and cause traditional problems for my bouncer, I decided to turn my bouncer’s life upside down.

When the story opens, he knows he is unnaturally competent at his job, but has no idea of his faerie heritage, until a stranger is drawn to his location. And hot on the heels of this stranger are three assassins who have already killed the stranger once – or so they believed. As they attempt to solve this mystery and complete their deadly assignment, the hidden backgrounds of the bouncer and the stranger are slowly revealed.

I told Danielle after I completed the story that the unfolding background of the two main characters had grown so prominent in my mind that I was tempted to write a follow-up story – or perhaps an entire novel. (My writer-brain naturally gravitating toward the novel form!) Someday, if it fits the theme of a future Bad-Ass Faeries volume, I may continue the story that began and blossomed in “Twilight Crossing.”

-John Passarella
Bram Stoker Award-Winning Author of Supernatural: Night Terror (SEPT 2011)

> Have you been interested in faeries and fairytales for a long time? Or did you investigate this field just for this project?

Now this is a very interesting question, because I actually have a

love of faerie stories that dates way back to Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm. I've always been fond of the macabre and I like stories with a twist, I also love the darker side of fiction compared to the bright shiny sparkle side that seems to be stalking the monster genre at the moment. So when I heard about this project through Neal Levin (who I work with a lot) it just seemed to be a perfect time to experiment with a story for it.

> If the first, how did you become interested in fairytales?

I have my parents to thank (or blame) for the various fictional likes. They introduced me to a fantastic world of stories and tales, such as the Brothers Grimm from a very early age. I presume a lot of that stuck with me and it trickles through into my writing now. My

favourite Fairy Tale has to be Little Red Ridinghood though. Though in many of the versions I like, the wolf eats everyone!

> The fairytale world is vast. How did you decide which of the myriad of entities you would write about?

One day I sat down and looked at a few winter scenes, I'd just been

watching a particular show on the various early explorers. They were

talking about chillblains and frost bite...suddenly I had this idea

for a winter based fae that could bring forth these little creatures

that bit off your fingers and toes. I knew it had to be bad ass and

fairy based, so I coupled that with my love for special operations. I had also been playing several of the Splinter Cell games at the time. So it just seemed to me that having a Fae...as in a non-winged

not-cute but very profesional Unseelie type of Fae for this, would be perfect.

> How did you become interest in writing?

I've always loved telling stories, even at a very early age. I would

read a lot, I would try and write even then. My folks got me the old

D&D box set (red box) at 10, so that snowballed all the creativity and I began to tell stories using that...then I would write them down (badly I think) into a novel style format (hey I was only 10 at the time though) and over time...I invested more time into the craft.

> How long have you been writing?

I've been writing professionally since around 2000 when I met Neal

Levin via his Dark Quest RPG company. A fantastic professional

relationship grew from that point on and Neal is basically my main guy when it comes to stories. We bounce ideas like rain and he takes my British English and does magical things with it. So magical that it formed part of Bad Ass Faeries 3 with the story Snow and Iron.

> How do you feel about bad-ass faeries? Are you bothered by the move away from cutesie? Or is it an idea whose time has come?

I love it, the further we move away from cute faeries and sparkling

vampires, muscle-werewolves, the better. Monsters are meant to be

monsters, not something you fawn over. Sure you can fawn some over

Dracula or Jareth the Goblin King though, that's allowed. What I'm

sort of driving at is that I like the shift away from the safe into

the realm of the dangerous. More books like Bad Ass Faeries 1,2 and 3 are needed. I'm going to try and get a story into 4...I have a few

ideas!

> Where can interested readers find out about you and your work?

I suppose the best place for people to look now is my Amazon Author

page, not fully up to date since it only has a smattering of the

things that I've worked on.

It has my bio though and here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004GHB750

A special treat, this week’s Insight is by Faith and the Muse’s own Monica Richards, this multi-talented woman shares a bit about how the process went for her. Check out her website for more of her achievements at www.monicarichards.com. (NEXT WEEK: INTERVIEW WITH A BAD-ASS - Darren W. Pearce.)

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I was sent an email about doing a story for Bad-Ass Faeries, and the idea was fascinating. I'm known mainly as a musician/artist - but my fans know I write as well. Given that I prevail in the goth/pagan/fantasy world, writing about bad-ass fairies sounded like a great idea! I write poetry mainly, but I do love writing tales.

In all honesty, my story writing is a bit… unusual. From what I have been told lately, I actually write what is known as 'micro-fiction'! I will tell a tale in about a paragraph or two, no dialogue except the barest minimum, often no character names. Just a set-up, a story and then… done!

My first attempt at a story for the first BAF book was about two paragraphs long. Danielle was very sweet, and asked that I add some dialogue, characters, you know - make it an actual story? Given that I was to do the cover story, which had been created by the amazing Amy Brown, I took a good hard look at her work and started over. The illustration gave me the idea of the warring factions of fairies, and driving by the slow destruction of my wild foothills as the virus of suburbia spread upon them more and more each day brought on the idea for my second try. The idea of characterization, dialogue - was quite a challenge to me. But as I dug in, it took a life of its own. In the end, I was so happy to contribute and honored that my story was published!

It has given me the courage to continue broaden my horizons!

• Have you been interested in faeries and fairytales for a long time? Or did you investigate this field just for this project?

 I've been interested in faeries and fairy creatures for as long as I can remember. I had some great influences; Jim Henson's creatures and movies like "The Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth", creatures in Nintendo games, and Steven Spielberg movies were huge sources of inspiration. I used to imagine whole worlds of fantasy creatures even out of ordinary household objects when I was a kid.

 • If the first, how did you become interested in fairytales?

 Mostly through books and movies, I got a copy of a book called "Fifty Famous Fairy Tales" when I was a kid and I read it so many times the book fell apart! And of course, through lots and lots of movies. Jim Henson Studios and Ray Harryhausen films were my favorite things to watch. When "The Storyteller", "Fraggle Rock", and "Amazing Stories" came out those also got me heavily into creature design and concepts.

 • How long have you been practicing your art?

 When I was a toddler, I remember a "activity board" toy that had a spinning color wheel that I was obsessed with and that led to using massive amounts of crayon on walls, my first "art project."  I've been doing art ever since. I've always loved drawing and creating creatures and as a kid I used to make "paper doll" toys of monsters, dragons, and other creatures and would write stories and role-playing around those creatures. I'm still a big kid at heart when it comes to artwork.

 • How do you feel about bad-ass faeries? Are you bothered by the move away from cutesy? Or is it an idea whose time has come?

 I remember a quote from Labyrinth, "Ow... it bit me! Well, what did you expect Faeries to do?" I've always seen faeries as mischievous and out of human control, and I think the idea of bad-ass faeries can be summed up in one word...PEFECT. The concept is perfect. Faeries are not "cute"... they are not something to play with, nor are they always friendly... they can even be deadly.

 • In your esteemed position, is something a faery if it does not have wings?

 Yes... faeries come in all shapes, sizes, colors... and types. They do not have to have wings. Some of them have appendages to drag you down into the murky water. Some of them have spikes, some disguise themselves as other creatures or even objects.

 • Where can interested readers find out about you and your work?

 They can go to my website, www.artdragon.net to see my artwork, or friend me on Facebook! I am constantly adding new pics of creations, artwork, even sculpture on Facebook.

AWARD-WINNING FAERIE SERIES TAKES HOME THE PRIZE

 CINCINNATI, OH Mundania Press (www.mundania.com) and editors Danielle Ackley-McPhail, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Lee C. Hillman, and Jeffrey Lyman are proud to announce that Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Glory, the third installment in the award-winning Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, has received the 2011 EPIC Award for Best Anthology.

 The volume includes twenty-one stories of military/conflict-themed faerie fiction by D.C. Wilson, Hildy Silverman, Chris Pisano & Brian Koscienski, Trisha Wooldridge & Christy Tohara, Lee C. Hillman, Robert E. Waters, Bernie Mojzes, C.J. Henderson, James Daniel Ross, Darren W. Pearce & Neal Levin, Jeffrey Lyman, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Kelly A. Harmon, Jason Franks, Patrick Thomas, David Lee Summers, David Sherman, Elaine Corvidae, James Chambers, John L. French, and Danielle Ackley-McPhail.

 The Bad-Ass Faeries series came out of a desire to take faerie mythology back to its darker roots, when all was not goodness and light, but more mischief and mayhem. These faeries more closely resemble those of the ancient legends still passed down today in many parts of the world that haven’t lost touch with magic. A big part of faerie legends were the fae as warriors, an aspect which is represented in this latest volume.

 “Book one, Bad-Ass Faeries, was a finalist for the 2007 Dream Realms Award, and book two, Just Plain Bad, won the 2009 EPPIE Award for Best Anthology,” says senior editor, Danielle Ackley-McPhail. “We are thrilled to have continued this trend with In All Their Glory.”

 The timing of the award is quite advantageous as the editors have just recently begun work on the fourth book in the series: It’s Elemental. For submission details visit www.badassfaeries.com/submissions.htm.

 Interested parties can find out more about the series at www.badassfaeries.com or http://badassfaeries.livejournal.com.