Anna's Wolves #DFQWBS

My lovely friend Anna Meade is getting married and, in honor of her upcoming nuptials, the Dark Fairy Queen Writerly Bridal Shower was started. This is my contribution.

picture found on Pinterest here

Anna's Wolves
by Rebecca Fyfe
e-book: yes

Anna’s red cloak spilled like blood around her shoulders and against the white lace of her wedding dress. Who would have guessed, even just mere months ago, that she would now be married to the one she had once been so afraid of?

She brushed out her long coppery hair, taking one last look in the mirror to make sure she was ready. He would be coming for her tonight. She stepped outside, closing the front door to her grandmother’s cabin behind her.  Grandmother would have approved of the wedding.

The eerie cry of a wolf sounded in the night, and before she could discern the direction it had come from, another howl answered. Within moments, the night was filled with the sounds of wolves howling. The moonlight cast just enough light for her to see movement in the bushes and trees surrounding her. Still, she waited.

The wolves moved in, stepping into the clearing before her, surrounding her on all sides. Their gazes remained unblinkingly on her.  She looked back at them, straightening her shoulders and showing them she was not afraid. They weren’t a danger to her.

Anna held her hand out and the wolf nearest to her came over and licked her hand, then rubbed his head against it. She ran her hands through his thick, course fur and felt nothing but safe. These were her wolves now.

She felt it when he arrived. He moved silently, but some part of her that would always be attuned to him knew when he moved into the clearing. A deep, inky black, this wolf towered over the others. His muscular form maintained twice the weight and height of the other wolves. Black eyes gazed at her patiently, and, as she gazed back, his form started to twist and blur, contorting into odd angles, parts of him shrinking and other parts elongating, bones breaking and reforming at different angles, until her husband stood before her in place of the wolf.

When she’d first met him, in the forest all of those days ago, she’d been afraid.  He had been in human form, but something inside her sensed the wolf behind his eyes. She had run, and he’d shifted and chased her. She thought she had beaten him to her grandmother’s house, but he had been waiting for her, sitting in the kitchen with her grandmother, sipping tea.

Her grandmother had introduced him to her, had explained all about his shape-shifting. Her grandmother had known the pack for many years, well before Anna’s mother had been born. They brought her meat and she sometimes cooked or mended garments for them.  Her cherry pies were a particular favorite with the pack.

Anna had been startled at first, but as his warm eyes regarded her, she felt something move within her. Later, he had gone outside to chop some wood for her grandmother, and Anna had snuck glances at him while he worked, admiring the grace of his body as his muscles contracted and expanded with each swing.

That had been the beginning for them.

And now, he was hers. And his pack was her pack. And on a night like tonight, with the moon full and the stars out, they would run together for the first time. Anna felt something move inside her again, the way it had when she had first gazed into his warm brown eyes while standing in her grandmother’s kitchen.

This time, she felt other things move within her. He reached out to her and held her in his arms as her body shifted and changed reforming into a copper-colored wolf with fierceness in her eyes. Next, he shifted back into his wolf and they led the pack back into the night, running wild and reveling in their freedom.

Grandmother had known the wolves for a very long time.

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Wedding Toast: May you both have many years together, full of love, blessings, magic, joy, and miracles.

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The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

My friend Jo Michaels has invited me to  The Next Big Thing blog hop. she was tagged by Bridgette O'Hare and the blog hop was started by Robert Chute.


Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:

(This is just a temporary book cover, made for fun using an image of one of my daughter's that my husband created. He creates beautiful fairy photo manipulations on for his business Fairy Magic Photos.)

What is the working title of your book?

"Come Dance With Us" or "The Faeries' Dance" - I haven't decided yet. Feel free to let me know which you prefer or to give alternate suggestions.


Where did the idea come from for the book?


I entered a challenge to write a flash fiction piece with a fairy theme to it called the Fairy Ring Writing Contest. I liked my story enough to expand upon it. It's still a work-in-progress and I have not written any sort of guiding outline for this one, so the story is leading me rather than the other way around.


What genre does your book fall under?

fantasy/paranormal

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?


I do not have a clue who I would have play the parts. I don't have any favorites when it comes to actors or actresses. I would just like whomever played the part the best to be chosen for it. I think it would be fun to find someone completely new and unknown to play the main role.


What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

I have no clue yet where this story is heading, and it is still in the early stages. This makes writing a one sentence synopsis difficult. I'll give it a try though.

Kara loses time when the fairies steal her away for a night of dancing and revelry, but when she finds her way back, the fairies don't want to let her go.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?


I haven't decided yet.


How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?


As it isn't done, I can't answer that. I can say that I write the first 500 words in less than an hour and went on to write the next scene in another hour. I am just finding time to write a scene here and there, in between my other writing projects. I hope I will find enough time to finish the first draft by December.


What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?


Honestly, any book that deals with other worlds within our own, with magical creatures and with fairies in particular. I read so many novels in this genre that I often forget the titles of the stories I have read. I'll have to come back to this question at a later time. I'd love some suggestions of books with this kind of theme to them. I write the stories I enjoy reading, so any books with a similar theme will appeal to me.


Who or What inspired you to write this book?

As I mentioned in the above question of where the idea for this book came from, I entered a writing contest. The theme was fairies, and I sat down to write a story having no idea what to write. After staring at the blank page for a few minutes I started to write. This story is what came from my mind at the time.


What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I plan on weaving actual myths and legends within the main storyline but with my own twists on them. There will be some completely new magical creatures too, complete with their own mythos.



I am told that I am the end of the blog hop as it ends tomorrow and I only got invited to it today. I will assume this means I am not supposed to invite 5 more people to the blog hop. However, if anyone else wants to join in and can get their post up by tomorrow, let me know and I'll add your name below. you just need to link to the above linked people and, of course, to me.


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Once Upon A Time: A Collection of Unexpected Fairytales

Once Upon A time: A Collection of Unexpected Fairytales, collected by S. J. I. Holliday and edited by Anna Meade, is finally available for purchase! My husband Robert's story and my story are both included in this collection of flash fiction fairytales.  It includes 89 fairytales that are each 350 words or less, and I can't wait to get my copy!


I am told that the proceeds will be going to a charity. I will update here as soon as I find out which one.


Doesn't this cover look great?




These flash fiction fairytales are a great way to add some magic to your day in small increments of time. Each one is a quick and easy read, great for reading while waiting for an appointment or while sitting on a bus. Actually, they are great to read whenever you have small snippets of time. As a busy mom to small children, I like flash fiction stories because I actually have time to read one or two before being interrupted by one of the children.

And I must admit, I love having my story published!


Here's where you can buy your copy of it in paperback:



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Once Upon a Time Anthology

My flash fiction story "The Guardian" and Robert's flash fiction story "What Daddy Doesn't Know Won't Hurt Him" will be available in an anthology of Unexpected Fairytales along with 88 other stories! It will be available as a print book or ebook! It will hopefully be ready in time to coincide with National Flash Fiction Day on 16th May (when the WINNERS of the contest these stories were entered into will also be announced).

These stories were all contest entries for the Once Upon a Time flash fiction contest of Unexpected Fairytales, hosted by Anna Meade from Yearning for Wonderland and Susi Holliday from SJI Holliday. They had 88 entries into the contest, and, with the inclusion of their own stories, that will make 90 stories for the anthology.

I have had a read through all of the stories in the competition, and I thought all of them were fantastic works of fiction that used fabulous wordplay and wonderfully creative imagination. Some of the stories were remakes of old fairytales with a twist, one was written as a poem, and some were completely new fairytales.

I will be sure to announce when the book is available for purchase, and I hope that you will go out and buy one!

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