Fairy Tales for Unwanted Children

A young woman is saved by a rusty knight.

A musician writes the perfect song, but then finds that he cannot recreate it.

A woman makes a desperate journey with her newborn.

A man tries to find the words to say goodbye.

A newly married queen gets to know her fabled husband.

Death allows herself to be led away. Follow-up to Gravestone.

A sailor hears a song at sea.

Scott reads a story he wrote 20 years ago.

I'm joined by Kristen Zaza from the On A Dark, Cold Night podcast to come up with a collaborative swapping story starting from the word "headquarters." Audio edited and compiled by Michael Mongiardi and Marianna Miniotis from the Sonar Network.

The witch boy tries to defeat the queen.

The witch boy is imprisoned beneath the castle.

The witch boy sneaks into the throne room to meet the queen.

A witch boy tries to find his way into a castle.

The witch boy wakes up to an uncertain future.

A kingdom is struck by a sleeping curse.

A girl finds her walk takes an unusually long time.

A lampmaker gets a strange request.

A girl tries to find out when she will die.

A coinmaster finds a dangerous problem in his treasury.

A brewer searches for the secret of the perfect pint.

This year features five listener-submitted stories! Me, Irene and the Bear Make Three by Elliot Wolfgang Falkus Ogg M'Gogg by Christine Faught The Fairy Kettle by Deborah Markus Curiosities by Maddox Campbell The Hollows by Jeannette Cravens

A boy grows at a fantastic rate.

A ghostly raven visits a small chapel and its people.

A king seeks a magical solution to an invasion.

A tailor finds a door through time.

A farmer finds a magic seed.

A constable on his nightly rounds encounters a mermaid.

A couple who argue all the time lose their voices.

A pauper posters a small city asking for someone to marry him, and the populace responds in an unexpected way.

A woman arrives home finding herself already there.

A boy faces a difficult choice on a battlefield. This episode may be a bit dark for younger listeners.

A servant gets lost in endless hallways.

A fisherman finds a castle that rises out of a lake.

A merchant sells a story at a crowded market.

A king tries to get away from it all.

A princess's temper gets out of hand.

A man realizes he's not at all special.

A woman finds some wishes and tries to save them.

A stranded sailor meets a mermaid.

A talking cat shares its wisdom.

A bankrupt merchant makes a trade with a mysterious woman.

Happy holidays! To celebrate, I bring you five original stories by listeners to the show. The Fairy King by Emmarayn Redding Meliora and the Devil by Deborah Markus (16:30) The Dragon and the Runt by Lisa Dawn (33:20) Small Red Footprints by Marissa Peterson (39:25) Ice Captives by Lynden Wade (49:25) Emmarayn Redding can be found at www.writinginrivendell.blogspot.com or on her Facebook author page. Her books are The Quest for the Ivory Sword and The Madman of Elkriahl and Other Fairy Tales. Deborah Markus has published a young-adult novel called The Letting Go. Lisa Dawn's website is www.theprincessblog.org. She also has some Amazon novellas, which can be found at www.amazon.com/author/lisadawn. Lynden Wade can be found at quillsquotesqueensquests.wordpress.com.

A woman steps on a village on her way to her well.

A soldier chases a woman through a snowy forest, but he doesn't find what he expects.

Announcement about Woodcuts: A Fairy Tale for Unwanted Children, now on Amazon as an eBook and paperback.

In the final episode of the Cabinetmaker series, the cabinetmaker faces death in his quest to return to the living.

The cabinetmaker finds his father in the afterlife.

The cabinetmaker finds himself in the afterlife.

It's Hallowe'en/Halloween, and to celebrate, I've brought in a guest author -- one of my favourite writers.  This is his story about a man and his pet bird who don't get alone.  

The cabinetmaker meets a duchess hiding behind the back panel of a cupboard.