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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'This is an enchanting illustrated book of fairy tales – but not the kind you read to children at bedtime. They are strictly for the grown-ups. Often dark, the stories visit places where things don’t end happily ever after, where a single decision can haunt you forever. But there are also tales to make you laugh out loud, stories of sweet revenge and scenes of sheer delight in the world of magic and the fey.
'All the stories, lyrics and poems have something in common, a contemporary edge. Even those set in earlier times have a modern sensibility that reflects the 21st century and celebrates Australian landscapes, characters and voices.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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Book launched via a 'virtual launch party' on 2 July 2021.
Contents
- Yes, My Darling Daughter, short story (p. 4-7)
- GPS, short story (p. 8-15)
- The Wild Moon Call, short story (p. 16-19)
- Scribble Sands, short story (p. 20-23)
- The Red Dress, short story (p. 24-32)
- If Cinderella Lived in Melbournei"If Cinderella lived in Melbourne", poetry (p. 33)
- North Coburg to Flinders Street Station, short story (p. 34-40)
- The Deal, short story (p. 41-48)
- The Lyrebird, short story (p. 49-50)
- Jack, the Beanstalk and the NBN, short story (p. 51-54)
- The Origami Mother, short story (p. 55-62)
- The Young Prince, short story (p. 63-64)
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Refugee Wolf,
single work
novella
humour
science fiction
(p. 65-70)
'In this twisted allegory set in 2500 AD, Big Bad Ben, a knockabout, larrikin refugee wolf, is on the run from the humans. Why? Because he’s eaten too many pigs. Big Bad Ben works for the humans and he has to kill and eat mutant pigs from outta space. But the humans turn on him and set him up and throw him in jail.
'Then, there’s trouble and discrimination. When he escapes from Earth on a rusty space shuttle to the Planet of Sticks, the Planet of Straw and the Planet of … you guessed it — McSpaceMansions! — he encounters rejection at every turn by a money-hungry gang of pigs that holds all the power. WE THE PIGGERRY INC., design a pill called Excess and mix it into the drinking water. Every pig on these planets is a glut and is on a constant high of warm and fuzzy thoughts. The irony is that even if Big Bad Ben is granted refugee status, the last planet which he travels to is broke and disconnected. ' (Publication summary)
- The Timbers of a Chicken, short story (p. 71-77)
- Beforei"When the fire sang", short story (p. 78-79)
- Afteri"The fire wails,", poetry (p. 79)
- The Snow Gum Maiden, short story (p. 80-85)
- Pomelina the Pomegranate Fairy, short story (p. 86-93)
- As a Princessi"As a princess, I grew up in a palace", lyric/song (p. 94-95)
- The Silver Apples of the Moon, short story (p. 96-102)
