My contribution this week to the Rainbow Snippets meme is from the first gay fairy tale I’ve written since I was a kid. It comes from “The Tree of Wisdom,” a love story that appears in the new queer fairy tale anthology Forest Seclusion from Supposed Crimes Publishers. At the price of free, you can’t afford not to buy it. Here’s the teaser for my piece:
A curse cast on Prince Florian makes love a dangerous enterprise. But when he meets animal whisperer Olvir, he falls willingly.
This is a fairly sweet and chaste story as far as my usual writing style goes. But given that it’s a fairy tale, you can expect some violence and horrible behavior. Read it to yourself before you read it to your kids. It may or may not be suitable for them, depending on their ages and personalities.
Here are six sentences that introduce you to Florian, one of the protagonists:
The king bit the apple, and gave it to his wife to eat of it as well.
Upon their return home, they planted the apple’s seed in their garden. Up came a beautiful vine, and from one of its flowers blossomed a tiny baby boy with russet skin and cheeks that went wine-red when he blushed.
His parents named him Florian in honor of his strange birth, but never told him of his origins. He was a cheerful child and kind to everyone he met. He listened to his tutors and played with the children of the servants as equals.
Rainbow Snippets is a fun project for sharing excerpts from your own or others’ stories about queer/LGBTQIA characters. The goal is to share six sentences or lines—one for each stripe on the rainbow flag—and I actually managed to stick to it this week! Find more Rainbow Snippets on the Rainbow Snippets Facebook page or by looking for #rainbowsnippets and #rainbowsnippet on twitter. It’s a great way to discover new authors.
And feel to free to browse other story snippets I’ve posted on my blog.
Aww, what a sweet description of how Florian came into being 🙂
Thank you! He’s quite the sweetheart.
Oh wow. Amazing snippet. Love how Florian was born <3
He’s magical, both literally and figuratively. 😉 And thank you!
What a perfect fairy tale beginning!
Thank you!
Just like all fairytales it begins with sweetness and joy. I wonder just how fast this one goes downhill and how far it falls. Are we talking Grimm or Disney? Do the Ugly Sister squash their toes into the slipper or cut them off? (I know it’s a different fairytale) Ooh I want to find out
Well, it was inspired by various elements of Grimm tales — especially The White Snake and a bit of Rapunzel — so it’s probably more along those lines. But it never gets as gory as the Goose Girl. Or, well … not really.
I hope you get a chance to read it. (*It’s free, Dale whispers subliminally.*) I’ve been having fun reading the other stories in the collection.
This is spot on for a fairytale’s tone. I’m sure, like most fairytales it’ll slide into hardship fast enough. Florian sounds neat.
It will take a few years for the hardship to start, but then it will hit him full force 😉 Thanks for stopping by!
I love the imagination in this scene! 🙂
Thank you! It’s fun to make believe.
Lovely description.
Thank you!