Myth & Magic

Myth, magic, and monsters—the stuff of childhood dreams (or nightmares) and adult fantasies.

Delve into these classic fairy tales retold with a queer twist and surrender to a world of seductive spells and dark temptations.

The Ivy and The Rose by Juliann Rich is included in this anthology.

Praise for Myth & Magic:

“What a great collection of stories! I’m a sucker for retellings. I love the creativity that they always bring, and Myth and Magic was no exception. The stories are all quick and full of love, lust, and steam! The LGBTQIA spin on the stories made them even better. I’ve yet to read any LGBTQIA retellings and these stories got me excited to find more!

As with most anthologies, some stories are hit and miss. But there are so many gems in this! You cannot miss them. There are an array of stories that deal with a lot of different emotions, settings, and relationships. Myth and Magic has something for every LGBTQIA loving reader!”

~ Kristin, Pretty Little Pages

“Most of the stories had a fantasy setting, befitting the original versions of the stories they were retelling, but others were more modern. Some, like Riding Red, seemed to blend the two in strange ways, and I wasn’t quite sure of the setting even though the story itself was otherwise clear. I was surprised that I enjoyed the ones with modern settings as much as I did, given my preference for fantasy. I think that’s a testament to the authors and their skill, really, since any author that can make you enjoy stepping outside of your comfort zone clearly has some talent to speak of.”

~ Bibliotropic.net

Excerpt:

The Ivy and The Rose

By Juliann Rich

Ivy backed out of Lord Ainsworth’s bedchamber, a chipped porcelain pot clutched in her small hands. She turned to find her master standing in the hallway beside a stranger dressed in a shimmering charcoal robe, a bulging money purse hanging from the belt that circled his fiercely thin waist. Ivy stood and waited for her master to speak as the scent of his urine, hours cold, seeped from the chamber pot in her hands and filled the hallway.

“She might be the one you seek.” Lord Ainsworth bobbed his fat head. “She stumbled onto my grounds, spewing some nonsense about standing inside the castle with the cursed Princess Ambrosia one second and outside my gate the next. Claimed she’d been transported here by magic. The nonsense! But never you fear, I showed her what happens to chambermaids who hold with thoughts of magic. She’s tame now.” Lord Ainsworth frowned at the strands of long red curls that always escaped Ivy’s bonnet no matter what she did. “Well, tamer.”

“M’Lords.” Ivy curtsied. In a flash she imagined it, the pot tipping and spilling its stench onto the master’s shoes in front of the stranger he was so keen to impress. She hid her smile under the wide ruffle of her bonnet. Read more…

Published by Bold Strokes Books

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