Teapot Tales: A Collection of Extraordinary Fairy Tales (Volume 4) #TeapotTales

Teapot Tales: A Collection of Extraordinary Fairy Tales (Teapot Tales: Volume 4)

Do you like to write fairy tales?

Every year we bring out a new volume of our Teapot Tales anthologies with proceeds to benefit the Chapter Book Challenge. This will be the fourth volume and the theme is returning to fairy tales.

The stories are flash fiction (minimum word count 300 words/maximum word count 1,000 words) and are to either be a new take on an old fairy tale (sometimes called twisted fairy tales or fractured fairy tales) or completely new fairy tales.

Submissions are only open to Chapter Book Challenge members (it's free to join and the sign-up sheet is on the ChaBooCha blog). Previous Teapot Tales anthologies are "Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unique Fairy Tales" (Teapot Tales: Volume 1), "Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea" (Teapot Tales: Volume 2) and Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unusual Fairy Tales (Teapot Tales: Volume 3). The anthologies are sold through Amazon, but will be expanding to other retail outlets. All authors retain the copyrights to their stories to publish in their own collections or on their own websites. Up to four stories may be submitted. Artwork (line drawings) is also accepted.

We also run a competition each year for the book cover creation. If you'd like to create a cover for consideration in the competition, the title needs to say "Teapot Tales" in large print and "A Collection of Extraordinary Fairy Tales" in smaller print. Keep in mind that the title needs to be able to be read even when the book cover is seen in thumbnail size. ChaBooCha members vote on the cover. Covers need to be in by August 31st, to be voted on within a week of that date. The winner of the competition will have their cover used for the anthology and, within the anthology, will get credit for creating the cover.

All work must be your own.

Deadline for story submissions (and artwork): August 31st, 2016

Teapot Tales: Volume 3 cover reveal! #TeapotTales #TT3

Here's the promised cover reveal for "Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unusual Fairy Tales (Volume 3)."

I took all of the votes off of Facebook, through e-mail and here in the comments and totalled them together.

The final vote was:

#1 – 1 votes

#2 – 4 votes

#3 – 0 votes

#4 – 6 votes

#5 – 6 votes

That left me with the tie-breaking vote. This was hard for me, because I actually believe very strongly that the first 3 covers were closer in style to the original two Teapot Tales anthologies, so I am kind of sad that none of them won the vote. So, as the vote was between the last two covers, #4 and #5, I decided to take many things into consideration, including aesthetics, fitting in with previous anthologies styles, and how the colour of the background will look when printed. #5 has the trees which are more like previous anthology covers, BUT the colour was much brighter and glaring than previous covers, which had more muted colours. (Yes, I printed the two covers up to see how they'd look on glossy paper.) In the end, after much consideration, I voted for:

#4

So that means that the new cover for Teapot Tales volume 3 is:

I'm still a little bit torn because we had an equal number of votes between each. (I really thought one would win out over the other.)

I was thinking that I could make an extra anthology as an extended version with a couple of extra stories in it and some extra pictures, using one of the covers, while using the other for the non-extended version. (That would mean more work for me though, as we have very few pictures at the moment!)

I'd love everyone's thoughts on this. If you voted for the #5, did you have your heart set on it? Would you like an extended version to be available, so that both covers could be used?

"Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea" Book Blast and Giveaway!

“I'm no longer a child and I still want to be, to live with the pirates. Because I want to live forever in wonder. The difference between me as a child and me as an adult is this and only this: when I was a child, I longed to travel into, to live in wonder. Now, I know, as much as I can know anything, that to travel into wonder is to be wonder. So it matters little whether I travel by plane, by rowboat, or by book. Or, by dream. I do not see, for there is no I to see. That is what the pirates know. There is only seeing and, in order to go to see, one must be a pirate.” ~Kathy Acker

"Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea" is having its very own book blast and giveaway in honor of "Talk Like a Pirate Day" which falls on September 19th this year.

About the anthology:

In the spirit of “Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unique Fairy Tales” is this wonderful second volume of short stories to enjoy! With stories to enchant readers of all ages, this collection of pirate and mermaid stories will open your eyes to the magic that can be found under the sea. Let yourself be pulled into the magical worlds found within these stories. From pirates and sea monsters to kind-hearted mermaids and flesh-eating sirens, let these charming ocean tales sweep you away into the realm of fantasy. With twenty-six stories, including four poems, written by seventeen different authors from around the world, “Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea” is a wonderful collection of short stories, each story just long enough to enjoy with a cup of tea.

The proceeds from this anthology go exclusively towards providing for the Chapter Book Challenge, and the stories in this anthology were written and illustrated entirely by ChaBooCha members.

There are two separate versions of the book, both in kindle and paperback, a version with US spellings and a UK edition with UK spellings and language.

This is the second volume of the Teapot Tales anthologies. The first one was published in 2013, and it was called "Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unique Fairy Tales."

“Darwin may have been quite correct in his theory that man descended from the apes of the forest, but surely woman rose from the frothy sea, as resplendent as Aphrodite on her scalloped chariot.” ~Margot Datz, "A Survival Guide for Landlocked Mermaids"

Other Book Blast Participants:(Go check out their blogs!)

Julia Stilchen

Melissa Gijsbers

Ashley Howland

Imagine! Create! Write!

Melissa Writes

Melusine Muse Press

Jo Hart

Now that you know all about this wonderful anthology, it's time to let you know what the you might win by filling in the Rafflecopter for this giveaway.

magnet

mini poster print

Teapot Tales Volume 1 and Volume 2

- a print copy of "Teapot Tales" (Volume 2)


- a kindle copy of "Teapot Tales" (Volume 2)


 - a mermaid-themed bookmark (with charms)

 
- a magnet with the "Teapot Tales" (Volume 2) cover on it


- a mini poster print of the "Teapot Tales" (Volume 2) book cover
  

- an e-book copy of "Swallow Me, Now" by Melissa Gijsbers

To enter for a chance to win one of the above prizes listed above, fill in the Rafflecopter. Come back and check in as new prizes will be added and new ways to earn points. The winners will be chosen and announced on September 25th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jingle Bells Anthology Project #JBAP

This is an idea brought up by members of the Chapter Book Challenge and I like the idea, so I'm making it official.

The idea was to create an anthology of Christmas stories for children. Now, I realize that not everyone celebrates Christmas, and I can't call it Winter Tales because Christmas doesn't fall in Winter in other parts of the world. So we're calling it "Jingle Bells." Not sure what the subtitle will be - "Stories for the holiday spirit," maybe?

This time, as many of us struggled with the 700-word limit on Teapot Tales, there will be a 1,200 word limit (with a 300-word minimum).

Stories should be kid-friendly, but do not necessarily have to be written FOR children. We will be writing these as stories that would be acceptable for 8 to 13 year old children to read.

These stories can be magical, heart-warming and anything in-between. We want people who read these tales to feel that warm, tingly, heart-touching effect from our words. You know, show them your holiday spirit! Make sure they FEEL it!

Stories are preferred, but we will accept some poems.

Artwork will be accepted (black and white/line drawings), but remember, there may be stories that are for Hanukkuh, the Winter Solstice, Yule and Kwanzaa too.

And we will need a cover. (If no one can manage a cover, I'm sure my husband has some artwork that will work.)

As with Teapot Tales, proceeds will go towards the Chapter Book Challenge. The book will be made available in Kindle and print format. For print format, we are going to need to have the edited stories in and ready no later than September 30th October 8th. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee that the print version will be available by Christmas, and I know many of us will want copies to give as gifts.

If you are American, your story will keep its US spellings and colloquialisms. If you are Australian or English, your story will also retain the spellings and colloquialisms for your area. This way, there will be only one version to publish, rather than one for each form.

The Kindle version will maintain the clickable linking format that it had in Teapot Tales, and unless you send me a new bio (or did not contribute to Teapot Tales so I don't already have your bio), your bio from Teapot Tales will be used.

We will need to reach a minimum of 25 stories for this to be a viable idea though.

And there is one big change to this one:

It is not limited to only ChaBooCha members! Anyone who can write an enjoyable story can submit a story.

Get your Kindle copy of "Teapot Tales" now! #ChaBooCha #ChaBooChaAnth

"Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unique Fairy Tales" is available to buy for your Kindle now. I now know how much work is involved in preparing an anthology of stories written by different people. It's a ton of work, but I am looking forward to doing it again next year. (I'll be doing it again later this month when I put together the anthology for the Creating a Female Superhero Challenge.)

This beautiful cover is created by Kelly McDonald who also has a story in the anthology.

This anthology holds an entertaining collection of fairy tales, from twists on the classics to completely new stories to enchant readers of any age.

All the proceeds from sales of the Teapot Tales anthology will be going towards the Chapter Book Challenge, helping keep it free for everyone to join.

Look for the print version to become available sometime in September. I'll be sure to let you know here when it happens.

Now, go get your Kindle copy of Teapot Tales now!

US version                                  

UK version

Teapot Tales - Vote for our book cover! #ChaBooChaAnth

I am posting all of the submissions I received for the book cover for the fairy tale anthology. It's up to you all to vote on which one you like best. I will not include names with the submissions, so no one can claim "friend voting." (Not that any of you would actually do that!) Also, I am not voting unless we need a tie breaker.

We have until midnight GMT tomorrow night to vote. Vote by stating which one you want as the cover in the comments. Each one will be given a number and you vote for the number you like best. Please ignore any titles in the pieces up for voting as some of these were sent in before we had chosen a title, so people left it as "title" or put a sample title in. Whichever one you choose will have the correct title in the finished product.

#1:

*****

#2: 

*****

#3:

*****

#4:

 

*****

#5:  

*****

#6: (This one is a concept cover, not the finished piece.)

*****

#7:

So there you have it. You have seven covers to vote on and a limited amount of time to do the voting. So get voting! I can't wait to see what the final cover is going to be!

Latest news on the Chapter Book Challenge Anthology #ChaBooChaAnth

The Chapter Book Challenge anthology is coming along nicely. There are 21 people signed up to write a story for the anthology and another two who are in the maybe category and might still join us. The deadline for the first drafts is May 1st.  Some of the stories are already being turned in for editing.

I have been playing with ideas for the title and have a few selected for everyone to vote on, but I will get to it in another post. Once we have the title decided, we will begin working on the cover, and I am thinking we might make a competition out of it.

Although this is my first foray into self-publishing an anthology, it is not my first foray into self-publishing. And it is also not my first experience in contributing to a fairytale anthology. I have a flash fiction story in the anthology "Once Upon a Time: A Collection of Unexpected Fairytales."

Just for fun, I thought it would be good to have a prize awarded within the ranks of those of us writing for the ChaBooCha anthology. I've decided on two prizes, one for before the anthology is completed and one for after its completion.

Everyone who signed up to write a story for the challenge, once I get a draft of your story turned in, you'll be added into a drawing. The drawing will be done on May 7th, and the winner will get a print copy of "Once Upon a Time: A Collection of Unexpected Fairytales" sent to them.  There will be a second drawing done once the anthology we are creating is complete, and the winner of it will win a free copy of the Chapter Book Challenge anthology.

I am having fun reading the stories that are already turned in and am looking forward to reading the rest. Happy writing, everyone!

The Chapter Book Challenge Anthology Project #ChaBooCha

A new plan has been forming and has been discussed in the Chapter Book Challenge Facebook group. This plan is to create an anthology which will be available in print and e-book formats and available through Amazon. This anthology will be full of flash fiction pieces, ranging in length from 300 words to 700 words. These flash fiction pieces will be fairytales, but not just any fairytales; these fairytales will either be twists on the classics or completely new fairytales. All proceeds from this anthology will help to fund the Chapter Book Challenge with things like buying (and mailing) prizes, paying for Chapter Book Challenge domains, creating a website and marketing the challenge.

Everyone in the challenge is welcome to submit a flash fiction story. Not every story will be accepted immediately though; some will need revision. This anthology will be professional in quality, both in the quality of the stories and in its presentation. This means everyone must be willing to make revisions upon request. There will be three or more of us in charge of the edits.

One member has suggested that some of the writers in this challenge who are also illustrators could submit some line drawings to add to the book. While not required for the anthology, it would give it extra appeal. These stories can be the kind of stories that older children can read but that might also appeal to adults.

The title of the anthology and the cover are still to be decided upon. Once most of this is in place, we will have some titles to vote on and some covers to vote on for contributing members. This will happen later on in the process though.

We are still listening to ideas and brainstorming for the anthology. It would be wonderful if some of you would be willing to come to the Facebook group or join the event and chime in with your ideas. Let us know whether or not you think you would be willing to contribute a story to the anthology.

Everyone who contributes a story that gets into the anthology will get the option to have their website included in the book, along with a listing of all of the authors.

Take some time re-reading some of the classic fairytales, both for ideas and for a reminder of the type of stories we are looking for to include in the anthology. Check out some of Hans Christian Anderson's fairytales, Grimm's fairytales along with some of the more obscure fairytales.

We need everyone's input on this because we want this anthology to be something we can all be proud to be a part of, and also, we need to make sure that, if several people decide to write twists on classic fairytales, we don't get seventeen people writing a twist on the same fairytale.

If you want to be a part of this, please go and join the discussion with the Facebook group or in the Facebook event and also sign up here so that you will get further e-mails about this project.