Tales of The Nun and Dragon: Casting Couch

To celebrate the release this past Monday of the fabulous Tales of the Nun and Dragon by Fox Spirit Press (which I have a story in) I bring you the official press release and competition and then a little bit of fun about my story:

Fox Spirit Books are delighted to announce that the long anticipated first volume in the ‘Bushy Tales’ anthology series ‘Tales of the Nun and Dragon’ will be available as an ebook via Amazon and Wizards Tower Press.

 

‘Tales of the Nun & Dragon’ features twenty three stories by a mixture of well-known and new authors who offer up a delightful blend of genres. There are zombie dragons, latex nuns, trips through time, nunsploitation and some unusual fantasy tales and fables. The book also features internal illustrations by artist Kieran Walsh.

 

The full line up of writers is available now at www.foxspirit.co.uk

There will be a very limited edition print run available later this year, prior to all the Fox Spirit books being made available as print on demand from Lulu.

An early review is available at ‘Tony’s Thoughts’ http://iuchiatesoro.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/tales-of-the-nun-and-dragon-edited-by-adele-wearing/

Also at The Eloquent Page from Pablocheesecake http://www.theeloquentpage.co.uk/2012/09/07/tales-of-the-nun-and-dragon-collected-by-adele-wearing/

And Harry Markov has taken a sneak peek at some of the art work over at ‘Through A Forest of Ideas’ http://throughaforestofideas.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/art-tales-of-nun-and-dragon.html

To celebrate the launch of ‘Tales of the Nun & Dragon’ and in honour of International Talk Like a Pirate Day we are running a small contest.

Between now and the 19^th September 2012 we will be taking open submissions of flash fiction (up to 1000 words) on any interpretation of the subject of pirates and piracy. The three best stories will be posted on the Fox Spirit website and their authors will receive a hard copy of Tales of the Nun & Dragon once it becomes available. They will also be invited to submit for a place in one of the two Bushy Tales anthologies planned for early 2013, ‘Tales of the Fox and Fae’ and ‘Tales of the Mouse and Minotaur’.

Competition entries must be sent as a pdf or word doc, to adele@foxspirit.co.uk and titled ‘Pirate Flash’. Any entries over the 1,000 word limit will not be considered.

The ‘Bushy Tales’ anthologies are invitation only and produced on a profit share basis.

For more information on ‘Tales of the Nun and Dragon’ or any of our other published and upcoming titles please visit the website at www.foxspirit.co.uk

There we have it.

All the fab info on this terrific anthology. Some reviews have had very kind words about my story and Alastair Stuart, who writes the introduction, was also kind enough to mention it. I present below a little insight into the story’s inspiration and some casting couch fun!

 

Nil Desperandum – from conception to casting couch

My story took the ‘stories that could be told in a pub called The Nun and Dragon’ fairly literally, in that it’s an anecdote told by a sleazy little ne’er do well by name of Malk. This whole thing was inspired by the inestimable Robert Rogriguez and his superb film ‘Desperado’, the follow up to ‘El Mariachi’. ‘Desperado’ happens to be one of my favourite films in the world, and Steve Buscemi, whose same-named character opens the movie in a peerless sequence, is one of my all time favourite actors. Let me show you the opening sequence to ‘Desperado’. If you read Nil Desperandum, you may recognise the essence of this opening in the weft of my tale:

In writing Nil Desperandum, I wanted both to channel Buscemi’s snide, wind-up-merchant sleaze, and out and out gall, mixed with elements of the story he tells, and twist it to fit the theme of the anthology. But I also wanted to channel every low life piece of sarky scum Steve Buscemi has ever played, because he is the master of sardonic, greasy wit.

Sister Bullseye was my Mariachi character, but she’s also nothing like him. She’s as brutal, as focused, but she gives way less of a fuck. She’s hardcore kick assery in a wimple.

The story itself borrows more from dark fairy tale as much as it does from Desperados. I wanted it to be like a fairy tale in a spaghetti western bandito b-movie. I think I managed to achieve that somewhat. Either way, this was the most fun I have EVER had from putting words on the screen and it just flew out of me.

 

Casting couch:

Malk can be none other than an amalgam of Buscemi’s:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sister Bullseye is a little harder to cast. I sort of imagine her as Klaus Kinski with breasts, in a wimple:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sister Bullseye

 

My story is a oily, snarky, crude, rude and dangerous to know romp with an edge you could cut granite on. It takes no prisoners, and I do hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you don’t there are 22 other stories and poems in this anthology by a breathtaking plethora of fabulous authors and I am more than certain that every reader can find something they love. Take a chance on it, you won’t regret it!

Ren