Enter a world of dark beauty…
This collection of enchanting and disturbing stories ranging from fantasy to speculative fiction will leave you spellbound! (Includes retellings of Beauty and the Beast)
Transfigured - The Beast has changed back to a handsome prince, yet Beauty finds out that although some curses may be broken, they are never completely destroyed.
No Loyal Knight and True – In this modern-day retelling of Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott, a boyhood encounter with an odd girl who lives in a tower alters the course of Ryan’s destiny.
Belle Noir – Young Jane flees from her abusive father into a seemingly perfect marriage only to find that the darkest hearts are never revealed until it is too late.
Grotesque - A woman hardened by a difficult past witnesses a horrifying tragedy and undergoes a magical transformation.
Mirabilis (A Novelette) - Rosaria's life changes the day the veiled and mysterious Lord Devlin hires her to cure him of a terrible curse.
***Some stories contain mature subject matter. 18+***
Don't forget to continue reading!
As anyone who has read my first novel, Rosethorn
, knows, I am an unabashed devotee of Stevie Nicks's music. Not only has she written the soundtrack to my life, her songs are involved in one way or another in everything I write. With Belle Noir, which includes three, very different retellings of Beauty and the Beast, I did listen to Stevie's (yes, I'm on a first name basis) same titled song from her Wild Heart album. The haunting chord and Stevie's voice perfectly convey the wistful longing and tragic elements of this old story.I've attended quite a few Stevie Nicks concerts over the years but I've only seen her perform this song live once and it was absolutely magical. Her flawless performance was enhanced by images of the old French film, La Belle et La Bete playing on the screen behind her.
My other thematic obsession in Belle Noir is Tennyson's Lady of Shalott. I came upon this poem when I was a young girl and I was so moved by the tragic story that years later I just had to write about it. I wanted desperately to give the Lady of Shalott her happily ever after; however, I found out to my dismay that "what has already been woven cannot be undone." I only listened to one song over and over again while writing "No Loyal Knight and True" and that is Loreena McKennit's eerily beautiful "Lady of Shalott." No lovelier marriage of lyrics to music exists. I cannot read Tennyson's poem now without hearing McKennit's song.
I am not the only one obsessed with "The Lady of Shalott." Below are Emilie Autumn's tribute, as well as The Band Perry's "If I Die Young." You can see in the video of the latter, the lead singer is holding a volume of Tennyson's poetry as she lies on the boat bearing her down the river.
Ava Zavora is the author of Belle Noir: Tales of Love and Magic
, now available in Amazon stores everywhere.Website
Goodreads
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