So I wrote another book. The Shoemaker Prince is a
collection of thirteen short stories based on or inspired by folklore, and it’s
coming out on November 2. Digital preorders are open now through most major
retailers, and print preorders open through the Wax Heart website on October
12. And I’m super excited!
Some of these stories I wrote as recently as August—I think one
I actually finished in early September. It happened to me, very suddenly, as
stories sometimes do, and I knew it belonged in this collection.
Other stories I’ve been working on for a very long time. I
wrote the first draft of “Violet and Zorzal” when I was sixteen, and I consider
it my first real story—the first one I wrote down in its entirety that was for
myself and not a school assignment. Before that, my stories existed only in my
head.
I began “The Girl With No Heart in Her Body” when I was
somewhere in the eight to ten range. It’s a story about a girl born literally
heartless, and I think it was my small child attempt to make sense of my undiagnosed
mental illness—most of the stories I remember telling myself at this age were
about girls with something missing, and no one around them understanding what
was wrong with them or why they couldn’t just be like everyone else. The story
has obviously been updated significantly since my mental first draft twenty
years ago, but it’s still very important to me.
Other stories include:
The title story, about a boy with amnesia, red shoes, and a
pet cardinal.
“The Princess Who Refused to Marry a Merman,” a story about
a sailor princess with a missing, enchanted fiancé.
A retelling of “The Frog Prince.”
A retelling of “The Frog Princess.”
A retelling of “Puss in Boots” from the perspective of the
princess that the cat and his owner are attempting to hoodwink.
At this exact moment, my personal favorite stories are “The
Princess Who Refused to Marry a Merman” and “The Ogre Bride,” both largely
original stories, though obviously heavily inspired by folk traditions. So keep
an eye out for those, and the other eleven!
(Because people often ask: This book can be purchased in print
or digitally, from Wax Heart Press or from most major booksellers. All purchases
support me both financially and in terms of sort of passive promotion. I get
the same amount of money for print purchases no matter where you buy them, but
while I get a fraction of the profits from ebook sales elsewhere, I do get 100%
of the profit from ebook sales through waxheartpress.com. You’re also charged a
dollar less for buying it from there. I make about the same amount of money
from print sales and from ebook sales through Wax Heart Press, and a bit less from
ebook sales through other channels. But I am super grateful for any purchase
you make, and you should absolutely do what works best for you!)
