Hello readers and Happy Fairy Tale Day!

I’m Rachel Ann Michael Harris and I’ll be taking over Jenelle’s blog for February is Fantasy Month. I’m a fantasy writer whose had several flash fiction and short stories published online and in anthologies and am the author of the fairy tale retelling The Beauty of Magic, a mash up of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Goldie Locks with Scottish vibes and bears. I’m a lifelong resident of Minnesota and love reading, dogs, and sunshine.

In honor of fairy tale day, I’ll be talking about five fairy tales that don’t have enough (or any that I know of) retellings.

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Enían and the Thunder Horse

By

A.M. Reynwood

Really, they only needed one. How dangerous could it be?

“It’s not worth the risk,” Kadesh had said. “You’ll get yourself killed before making it within a rope’s throw of those monsters.” 

Kadesh was good at being afraid. Though, Enían supposed it had something to do with watching four younger brothers die on the battlefield. 

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It has been so fun this month playing host to so many wonderful writers here at Safe Return Doubtful!

I can’t believe that February only has one more week to go!

Today, another one of my favorite authors is here to give us some tips when it comes to that staple of fantasy writing…. research!

Ahhhh research. That elusive thought or idea or question that can take you down a rabbit hole for hours upon hours just for a single line in your 100k-word story… but it’s often worth it for the feeling of knowing that what you wrote will stand up to being examined under the microscope of authenticity!

But research can also be distracting, and derail you completely from working on your actual story. So… what do you research? How do you pick? Where do you look? How do you decide what to include from your findings?

Here to answer all those questions is Sarah Pennington, author of the Bastian Dennel Files, Blood in the Snow, Through a Shattered Glass, Mechanical Heart, and the new Daughters of Atìrse series!

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World Building

It’s kind of a huge staple of the fantastical genre of fiction.

But it’s such a huge job, and how do you really make an imaginary world feel real? What are some tips and tricks when it comes to thinking about your world and creating a fantasy map?

Well, if you are asking those questions and seeking those answers, you are in luck, because today I have a world building master (and one of my favorite authors) here at the blog to give you some insights into how she goes about infusing realism and believability into her world building!

Please give a warm Safe Return Doubtful welcome to Emily Golus, author of the World of Vindor duology and Crack the Stone!

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And our week 2 giveaway drawing winner is….

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