Once Upon a Dyke

In this first installment of a planned annual series of New Exploits of... novellas, authors put a new twist on the classic fairy tales Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, and Beauty and the Beast. Fish Out of Water (Kallmaker); Nobody believed the curse that the evil warlock put on Ariel until it came true. On her twenty-first birthday she awoke in a strange bed, next to a mortal woman, in a land that bore no resemblance to her own. She must not speak for a year, no matter the need, or she will never be able to go home again. And home has much to offer: her crown, her magic, and the endless pleasures of the Sidhe Court. The memories of the glorious, wonderfully irresponsible, luxurious days and nights keep her silent...until the love, and lovemaking, of that very mortal woman, leaves her yearning to say just one word: Yes. A Butch in Fairytale Land (Szymanski); Need help? Cody is there. Friends call her misguided. Ex-friends say stalker. Chided on every side for acting before she thinks, Cody is delighted to awaken in a fairy tale world where damsel after damsel not only needs help, but Cody is the only butch around to save the day. Daring deeds and dashing rescues can be wearing, and at the end of her long day her thoughts turn to love. Sex. Whatever. Enter Bashful, Sleepy, Cleavage, Vixen, Wench, Lace and Lust. Why should that pushy butch Doc have all the fun? La Belle Rose (Watts); Rosie Bell is a lovely, lively twenty-year-old in a small, anonymous, and dull mountain town in the early 1900's. When her shy suitor finally gets up the nerve to propose one night on a date at a traveling carnival, Rosie runs away from the life everyone expects her to lead. The carnival offers a life of travel and excitement. But the excitement is even more than she expected. Charlotte of Hesse (Johnson); Inspired by the riches to rags to riches tale of Cinderella, Charlotte of Hesse is the story of a kind-hearted girl, a cross-dressing prince, and a supporting cast of wicked and not-so-wicked characters.