Usually around this time of year the team at REUTS would be hard at work promoting the 3rd annual Project REUTSway short story competition. So why have we been tight-lipped and silent about it, especially with November just around the corner? While we are hard at work, we have been intentionally keeping things under-wraps. When PRW started back in 2013, it began as a collaborative effort to beat NaNoWriMo and, as a team, write enough short stories to hit the 50k word goal. Well, in that first year, we well fabulously surpassed our goal, nearly doubling what it took to win Nano. The same happened year two, and at that point Project REUTSway took on a life of it’s own.

Becoming it’s own entity, we realized the runway couldn’t handle two competitions, and hosting PRW at the same time as NaNoWriMo put a strain it put on authors who wanted to participate both. Thus, we have decided to officially change the season of PRW, and you can expect to hear more about it in 2016. We’re planning on an early Spring month, and we can’t wait to unveil what other changes we have up our sleeves. Everyone loves a good make-over, right? 

As always, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask, either in the comments below, on Facebook, or our @ProjectREUTSway Twitter account.

Stay tuned! It’s going to be an exciting new line for the PRW fashion show.

The post Where in the World is Project REUTSway? appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

First, we fed your blood thirst with “Bloody Ever After.” Then, we showed you the ugly side of death with “The Ugly Dead.” Then, we brought you to hell and back with “Fairy Tales from Hell.” And finally, we changed your perspective on happily ever after with “Shifty Stories to Read in the Dark.”

Now, it’s time to give you what you’ve waited all month for: the finalists for this year’s chilling, thrilling season of Project REUTSway. In alphabetical order. Without revealing the names of the stories that have been chosen.

What this means for you, if your name is on this list, is that you’re STILL in the running to win it all. You just have to wait until January 31st to find out if you’re a multiple story winner, a single story winner, or a runner up whose story will be featured in full as part of our Grimm and Chilling Tales blog series (Coming to the REUTS blog in February, 2014)!

Are you ready? Here we go:

The FINALISTS of Project REUTSway 2013 are: (in alphabetical order by first name/author name)

If you’re not on this list, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you again for being a part of Project REUTSway. When we embarked on this journey, we had no idea what was going to happen. The outpouring of talent and enthusiasm we experienced was both exciting and humbling, and we’d be lying if we didn’t admit that choosing only a few finalists was probably the most difficult thing we’ve had to do all year.

Thank you for sharing your time, your energy, and your gloriously twisted imaginations. We wish you all the happiest endings imaginable.

Sincerely,

The Project REUTSway Team

The post Introducing…The Project REUTSway 2013 FINALISTS!!! appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

Thank you to all who participated in the fourth and FINAL challenge of Project REUTSway 2013!

With your help, we smashed…destroyed…completely decimated the 50k word count for NaNoWriMo, clocking in at just under 700,000 words. Ooh-da-lally! (Not bad for a mere 30 days of work, right? Even less, when you cut out the time in between submission windows.)

But wait, SHHHHHHHH. There, there. Don’t cry, little REUTSWriMos. Because this twisted little journey is FAR from over. Within the next month, the Project REUTSway team will be hard at work, reading and re-reading all several hundred of your creepiest, most deliciously evil fairy tale retellings. All with the goal of finding out who will be IN for the final anthology.

Make sure you subscribe to the REUTS Notebok for all kinds of VIP REUTlet goodies over the coming holiday season, including giveaways and thrilling announcements…like the official title and cover reveal for the 2013 Project REUTSway anthology! It’s going to be a MAGICAL month, kiddies.

***

In the meantime, cool your jets with this week’s TOP LOOKS:

Project REUTSway Challenge #4: Shifty Stories to Read in the Dark – Top Looks

(In no particular order, in their original, unedited submission form)

***

His mind slowly blanked, fading to darkness, as the other took hold. This master plan to wrest control from his unwanted roommate would have to wait.

Where the Captain had once stood, there now sat a creature, covered in hair from snout to tail, shivering in fear.

It did not know why it had once again been brought back into this world, to exist amongst the warlike companions of his other half, during an onslaught of an innocent city.

He knew not why they fought, but he knew all too well of the crimes of the Captain, the man he would once again become at the rise of the sun. He hated his other half, that cruel and wicked man.

To flee from the field of battle, to distance this killer of women and children from those soldiers under his command, that was this beast’s new mission.

It was the same task he had always tried to fulfill every time he had been dragged back into this dreadful world: distance this murderous human from the killing floor, by whatever means necessary.

Maybe this time, he’d find himself far enough away to end his tyrannical reign of chaos. To go as far away from this bedlam, to perhaps flee from the care of his comrades, maybe that would be enough to stop the bloodshed.

Adorned in the tattered clothing of his human counterpart, the Wolfman fled from the Captain’s Quarters, and fled from the town in a panic.

The streets were choked with bodies and fire, ash and rubble. Off he went, barreling into the field and prairie alike, on all fours, as quickly as his legs could take him.

None of the Captain’s men noticed the beast’s grand escape. They were too inebriated on stolen spirits, too caught up in causing the sweet release of human spirits from their earthly forms as well, to notice their leader had become an animal.

Project REUTSway “Shifty Stories to Read in the Dark” Top Looks – Excerpt from “The Angel and the Wolfman” by Michael A. Signorile

***

It left me with horrible scars, still jagged and red, but at least I still have my life. Unlike the girl.

Knowing where my thoughts have gone, you smile at me sympathetically and come to sit in front of me. “Oh, Harry. It’ll go away soon, I promise. It’ll be nothing more than a distant memory.”

I want to believe you; it would make my life so much easier. But for that to happen, the nightmares have to stop, too. And that does not seem likely; they only get worse, more bloody, more frightening. Sometimes the wolf comes after me in my dreams. Sometimes it goes after wildlife, tearing them to shreds. Last night, it came after you. It cut you into ribbons with its sharp, razor-like claws while you begged it to stop, screamed my name, and then it bit into your throat with its teeth and you finally stopped, finally succumbed to death.

When I woke, I was so happy to see you standing over me that I sobbed.

I often wondered if I was sleepwalking after a month or so of nightmares. They seem so vivid, so real. How else can you explain the blood stains on my chin or that I find myself outside and nude when I know for a fact that I go to bed in my nightclothes?

I asked you to watch over me last night; to follow me if anything happened. You did, and apart from the sleepwalking, nothing happened, you said. You sounded so sure.

So, why can’t I believe you?

Project REUTSway “Shifty Stories to Read in the Dark” Top Looks – Excerpt from “When You Go Into the Woods Tonight” by Sam Hardy

***

Hansel tells me not to be afraid.  He will save us.  I believe him.

I squeeze my eyes shut as my body begins to shake.  My bones begin to grow.  Popping.

Cracking.  It hurts when my skin stretches over them.  The pain only lasts for a second because skin turns into thick, coarse fur.  Ears lengthen.  Sharp fangs emerge in the powerful muzzle that replaces her thin, dainty lips.

My sense of smell is better than hers.  Blasted ham.  I could smell it a mile away.  It’s my fault for bringing us to the old woman’s cottage.  Anger fills me when I think of everything my dear sister has seen. But that doesn’t matter now.  I will take us home.

Metal rattles as the woman unlocks the cage door.  She must be blind, for she doesn’t notice I fill the cage.  She calls to us.  “Come out, come out.”

In a powerful lunge, I pounce on her.  Surprised, weak, she falls to the floor like a rag doll.  I sink my teeth into her flesh, tearing it from her body—my massive jaws a bear trap around her puny, brittle bones.  Gretel yells at me to stop.  I ignore her.  I can’t restrain the beast.  The old woman will never bother anyone again.

We waste no time leaving the blood-soaked candy prison.  Gretel says she’ll never eat gingerbread again.  I am sorry for her, but she will forget.

Project REUTSway “Shifty Stories to Read in the Dark” Top Looks – Excerpt from “One” by Summer Wier

***

“Earlobe,” the boy said.

She squinted at him, and then Marcela, as the bodies began packing in more tightly.

“What the hell does that mean?” she asked Marcela.

Marcela, who held a small silver case to her as the elevator continued to fill up shrugged and said, “I haven’t the slightest clue.”

The last one in was the bot. The door whispered closed. The light turned green. Marcela felt her stomach lurch as the elevator began to rise. It was made of glass, including the ceiling, so they could watch it dock with the shuttle that would take them to the space station. Everyone in the elevator—except the bot of course—had their heads tilted up to watch the approach to the shuttle.

“Earlobe, earlobe, earlobe, earlobe . . .” the boys began to chant. Some of them raised their fists in the air and waved them in time to the chanting.

Sara mouthed “What?” at Marcela, who shrugged again. She clutched the case even more tightly.

The chanting became louder and louder as it drew closer to the dock.

“Earlobe! Earlobe! Earlobe!”

The elevator slowed and stopped. The doors slid opened. They were greeted by the rest of their class, who were also chanting “Earlobe! Earlobe! Earlobe!”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake!” asked Sara, once the chanting had finally died down. They departed the elevator, trying to avoid the careening bodies of boys and girls excited at the reunion with their friends. “What’s wrong with these guys?”

“Immaturity,” said Marcela.

Project REUTSway “Shifty Stories to Read in the Dark” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Earlobe” by Debra Vega

***

In these days of darkness, I knew better than to expect a gift. Papa was a huntsman, and Mama was a weaver, so there wasn’t much in between for frivolities. The only other family we had was my grandmother, who lived deep in the woods, even farther away from the village than we were. But Mama was determined. When she wasn’t sewing fine gowns to trade with the rich for food, or knitting scarves and mittens for the coming winter, she tucked away scraps of cloth and began cobbling them together with her artist’s eye and mother’s heart.

That day is ingrained in my memory, every detail clear and crisp and unforgettable. Papa had left at dawn with a hunting party, leaving the celebrating to Mama. She woke me with a kiss, her lips brushing my forehead in her gentle, tender way.

“Marie,” she whispered into my hair. “Happy birthday.”

As my eyes fluttered open, she told me she had a gift for me, if I would be a good little girl and wait just a moment. I sat stock-still in bed, the covers flung away in anticipation.

Mama brought me the gift in a crude wooden box, clearly Papa’s contribution.

“It’s for you,” she said with a smile that lit up her face. “A little red riding hood.”

I took the box, my eyes wide and lips parted.

Then I opened the lid and promptly turned into a monstrous wolf. That’s what Mama told me after I came back into consciousness hours later. I didn’t remember a thing, and thought that it was all a dream, but the blood crusting on my fingernails and the bruises on my back verified Mama’s story.

I was a six-year-old monster.

Happy birthday to me.

Project REUTSway “Shifty Stories to Read in the Dark” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Red” by Ryanne Kap

***

Project REUTSway PSA: If you weren’t chosen for this week’s Top Looks, don’t worry! You’re still in the running for the final anthology, provided your story met all of the posted submission guidelines. Likewise, if you were chosen for the TL this week, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be a finalist overall.

Keep sacrificing to those pagan gods (or whatever it is you do when you’re waiting for good news)!

As they say, it’s still anyone’s game!

The post Project REUTSway Challenge #4: Shifty Stories to Read in the Dark – Introducing…This Week’s Top Looks! appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

Challenge #4: Shifty Stories to Read in the Dark

Dates: 11/24 – 12/2

Submission Deadline: 11/29 at 11:59pm EST – *due to the US Thanksgiving holiday, the usual submission window has been extended!*

Category: YA / NA

Story Basis: Any “classic” fairy tale (Grimm Brothers, Hans Christen Andersen, Disney, etc.) – you can play with setting, characters, etc. but please make sure there are a few recognizable elements of the original left over.

Genre(s): Paranormal / Contemporary / Historical/ Open

Theme of the Week: Werewolves and other Were-Animals–Therianthropy of all kinds, really–Skin-Walkers, Shape Shifters, Selkies, etc.

Optional “Bonus” Challenge (on top of the regular challenge): Take two characters and combine them into a single Jekyll and Hyde-style persona.

Submission Guidelines: Please email your submission (2,000 – 5,000 word short story format ONLY, as an attached Word file) to  by 11/29 at 11:59pm EST.  Make SURE to include the title of your submission and the term “Project REUTSway Challenge #4 in the subject line of your email. VIP: Please put your NAME, STORY TITLE and FINAL WORD COUNT as the file name of your attached word document. Your submission MUST include a recognizable element from this week’s theme, otherwise you will be disqualified from being chosen as a finalist.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask us on Twitter @ProjectREUTSway or email us at .

The post Project REUTSway Challenge #4: Shifty Stories to Read in the Dark appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

Thank you to all who participated in the third challenge of Project REUTSway 2013!

With your help, we’ve gotten to the point where we don’t even want to TELL people what our collective word count is, because we’re making the other NaNoWrimo groups look bad. (Psst, it’s well over 700,000 by now.)

Courtesy of KnowYourMemes.com. All rights reserved.

BUT WAIT. We’re not going to stop there, oh no. We’re going to keep RIGHT ON running with all of this fabulous creativity, until we’ve got ALL the twisted fairy tales we can handle…and more! (Not to mention lifetime rights to brag about how we slayed NaNoWriMo, like the bosses we are.)

Please stay tuned for the FINAL Project REUTSway challenge, which will be so CRAZY and TRANSFORMATIVE that it will make all the previous challenges look like child’s play! Project REUTSway Challenge #4 will be announced Sunday 11/24 at 9:00am EST.

In the meantime, we’ll be damned if you don’t seriously love this week’s TOP LOOKS:

Project REUTSway Challenge #3: Fairy Tales From Hell – TOP LOOKS

(In no particular order, posted in their raw & unedited form)

***

Her face was radiant and shone brightly, but that wasn’t the only change. As she set back on her feet I realized that I was slumped to the floor and she was kneeling before me, covered in the black ichor that was demon blood. Her short dark hair now tumbled to her waist in golden waves, and her big brown eyes, shown brighter than the clearest topaz in our treasury. Her face and everything else was the same, or at least I thought so. Rubbing my gritty eyes, I looked again for the trace outline of wings undulating and shimmering behind her back. Blinking my eyes again, they were gone and her street rat glamour was restored.

“Oh good!” she threw her arms around my neck, peppering my cheek with kisses, “I thought for certain she had eaten you!”

Rubbing my aching temples, I looked at her through squinted up eyes, “What? Why would she eat me? My badassed-ness is too bitter for her!”

Project REUTSway “Fairy Tales From Hell” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Agrabah” by Carly Drake

***

On the day after Corbin’s sixteenth birthday, Father gave him a new apple and a crust of hard bread, handed him his dead mother’s sword, and sent him north to Beastly Manor.

“You knew this day would come,” Father said, kissing Corbin on one cheek, and then the other, while Corbin’s golden-haired sisters hung in the doorway and cried. “It’s a pact I cannot break. For the sake of your sister, you must go.”

Corbin nodded. He was too old to cry, and the sword had been his best companion for the last decade.

“I’m ready, Father,” he said. He hesitated, then gave his father one last, hard hug. “I’m more than ready. I’ll bring you his head, and free Belle from your bargain.”

Father was too old to cry, also. But he wiped tears from his face as he nodded.

“Good lad,” he sad, turning and ushering Corbin’s sisters back into the family cottage. “God go with you.”

Project REUTSway “Fairy Tales From Hell” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Corbin and the Beast” by Sarah Remy

***

He holds me tight, his breath tickling my skin and his teeth on my neck. I’m trapped beneath him, one hand in his hair and the other grasping at his shirt because there is nowhere else I can put them, and there is no place I would rather be. His body is hard and warm against mine, his lips rough; he moves up my neck, to my mouth, and bites, sucking on my bottom lip before kissing me properly. Finally.

I pin him closer, wanting all of this, and I feel him smile against my mouth. It only spurs me on; our actions become heated, our wants driving us over the edge and bringing us so close… so close…

Then he moves, and leans back to hover over me. He keeps his face just a couple of inches above me, teasing me. “What?” I murmur.

“Wake up, Snow,” he whispers, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. It scares me. “And run.”

Project REUTSway “Fairy Tales From Hell” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Unnatural” by Sam Hardy

***

Her soul nearly stripped of brilliance, she sinks to the ground. I hover over her, life-giving energy coursing through my body. I can live forever. The fear of fading away, of being lost to the universe is wiped away. Despair of reaching the end vanishes. The drunks, the blackened spirits, can sustain me, but pure souls can make me immortal. The woman’s eyes fill with life. Her soul flickers, regaining a bit of its light. My eyes lock on her as I step away. Her soul can regain what I’ve taken. Good deeds will add to its brightness — I’ve seen our kind save people from darkness. She may replace enough light to save herself from the burning, it’s possible. But now her soul is tainted.

My gaze sweeps the landscape. Small shops. Restaurants. A bicyclist whizzes along the sidewalk. Waving new leaves, trees line a street that minute by minute holds more cars.

My hunger growls. My body trembles with newfound excitement.

The hunt beckons.

I can survive. The easy targets will always be there, always giving up whatever light they have left. After tasting the pure light, I want more. I turn my back on the streets of addiction, of darkness and face the light. A challenge. Someone to feed me, to keep me whole for a long time, allowing the hunt to continue. That individual will be hard to push into the dark, for the truly good, the ones with power enough to help me along the path to eternal life will have no blackness.

From the shadows, I stalk the humans, gazing into their souls. The sun takes its final leap up into the sky. A group of trees throw long shadows across the grass. Moving silently through the trunks, I creep through the beams of light. My face remains in shadow. My tattered clothes hang loosely from my weak, pathetic frame, but I am strong. I was banished, left here to turn to dust and have found a way to survive.

How many others discovered the secret? How many others roam the world searching, hunting for the light? Those among the stars sing and give praise, never knowing what evil they have set loose on the world.

The Wolf.

Project REUTSway “Fairy Tales From Hell” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Dark Wolf” by Kathleen Palm

***

Project REUTSway PSA: If you weren’t chosen for this week’s Top Looks, don’t worry! You’re still in the running for the final anthology, provided your story met all of the posted submission guidelines. Likewise, if you were chosen for the TL this week, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be a finalist overall.

Keep creating! Keep writing! As they say, it’s still anyone’s game!

The post Project REUTSway Challenge #3: Fairy Tales From Hell – Introducing, This Week’s TOP LOOKS! appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the inner-workings of the publicity business, 90% of the time new authors are put in charge of writing their own press releases.

Even if you do eventually end up reaching the level of success where you can hire someone to do it for you, it’s actually STILL in your best interest to at least take a look at the end result, so you can be 100% clear on how your product (i.e. your book, and yourself as an author) is being represented to the public.

SO PAY ATTENTION to this post, y’all.

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

Veronica Park has written a book, and this marvelous book has just been released. It’s something you’re going to really want to read, because it has vampires, and UFOs, and pirates. Also, Ron Perlman gave it two thumbs up over the phone, and Stephen King called it “an actual book, which has words and everything.”

This book, which is called IN YOUR FACE, JK ROWLING, is a preternatural celestial romp through time and space, which combines themes of love and loss with slapstick hilarity of unimaginable proportions. The main character, JOE SNOW, is a sexy yet likeable mix of Harry Potter and General Zod. Joe and his equally sexy supernatural friends must save the world from an onslaught of gigantic gummy bears or everyone will die screaming, buried in a gooey, flaming napalm.

To contact Veronica Park (the author) about this existential overload of fictional glory, please contact Veronica Park (the Director of Marketing) at REUTS Publications via the following methods:

email:

phone: 1-555-555-5555

website: www.reuts.com

For your convenience, here are links to the above mentioned materials:

Amazon.com – where the book is on sale, etc.

Veronica Park (the Author’s) blog

VP’s Twitter

VP’s Facebook

***

This is the basic format for writing a press release. Obviously, I used totally fictional (as in, I made them up on the spot) examples and mostly fake contact information…and okay, let’s be honest, I probably took a few too many liberties with creative adjectives…but that’s just kind of how I roll when it comes to blogging. Sorry.

Ahem. To put it more clearly, a good press release should include the following information, in the following format:

Press Release (optional)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (NOT optional)

TITLE OF BOOK by Name of Author

Today’s Date — Why we are sending this press release? What makes this NEWS? (It’s not just that a book is being released–new books are released every day.) What makes this author or this book unique? Why will this publication’s readers want to know about it? (Include specific information about the target demographic–i.e. “Teens between the ages of 14-17 who live in urban areas will especially enjoy this book, because a, b and c.”

What is the book ABOUT? Be brief, but clear. Specific. Journalists don’t have time for vague descriptions or ominous platitudes. This is NOT a query letter, but it ALSO shouldn’t be boring. i.e. “TITLE OF BOOK is about NAME OF MC, the daughter of a New Orleans dog groomer who finds out she can control dogs with her thoughts.” What are the stakes? (What will make people keep reading?) i.e. “When MC finds out that someone at the National Dog Show is cheating, it’s up to her to find out who it is before her mother loses the title, and the prize money that will save their house from being repossessed by the bank.”

If the journalist in question is interested in following up on this story, here is where they can contact your publisher (or you, if you’re an indie author). Choose at least 2-3 methods whereby they can contact you, and state what types of interviews you’d be willing to provide (for example, if you’re sending the press release to a blogger who also has a podcast, this VERY SHORT paragraph would be a good place to mention that you’d also love to be considered for a live interview.)

###

Note: KEEP IT TO ONE PAGE OR LESS, ALWAYS. And always end with either *** or ###.

Rules:

• Keep it simple. Keep it short. Be as clear as possible without sounding boring or overly explanatory.
• ALWAYS include contact information.
• Tailor the end of the first paragraph to the publication you’re targeting, just like you would with an editor/agent in a query letter.
• Keep it professional. Write in 3rd person, even if you’re writing a press release about yourself. Don’t make jokes or personal comments that will make the tone seem amateur or sloppy. (Basically, don’t pull most of the crap I did in my first example letter.)
• Do make it interesting and engaging.
• If you’re emailing the press release, you don’t need to include a cover letter style heading, but you DO need to include all of the info listed above.
• Don’t just make a carbon copy press release and send it to a billion people at a time. Even if it seems like that’s a good idea, you’ll lower your response rate that way.

Alright, that’s it for now. Go forth and practice writing your press releases! As I always say, there’s no teacher like experience!

BY THE WAY, here are some other FABULOUS articles that discuss format and content: how to write a press release that very busy and no-nonsense journalist types (like me…but with far less nonsense, probably) will actually WANT to read:

Crowd sourced responses from Journalism.co.uk on What Journalists Want to See in a Press Release

8 Tips for Writing a Great Press Release by Zach Cutler of the Huffington Post

How to Write a Press Release that Gets Noticed by Entrepreneur.com

The post Marketing Monday: The Art of the Press Release appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

Challenge #3: Fairy Tales from Hell

Dates: 11/17 – 11/23

Submission Deadline: 11/21 at 11:59pm EST Due to technical difficulties, the VIP Alert did not send this week, and the Challenge 3 Submission Deadline has been extended to 11/22 at 9:00am EST.

Category: YA / NA

Story Basis: Any “classic” fairy tale (Grimm Brothers, Hans Christen Andersen, Disney, etc.) – you can play with setting, characters, etc. but please make sure there are a few recognizable elements of the original left over

Genre(s): Paranormal / Contemporary / Historical / Open

Theme of the Week: Demons, Fallen Angels, Succubae, etc.

Optional “Bonus” Challenge (on top of the regular challenge): Gender swap the hero/heroine of your fairy tale, and/or add an LGBT element.

Submission Guidelines: Please email your submission (2,000 – 5,000 word short story format ONLY, as an attached Word file) to  by 11/22 at 9:00am EST.

***Make SURE to include the title of your submission and the term “Project REUTSway Challenge #3” in the subject line of your email, and put your story title, last name and word count in your attached file name. Your submission MUST follow these guidelines AND include a recognizable element from this week’s theme, otherwise you will NOT be considered as a finalist.***

Fun with Friends: This week, tweet your favorite lines from your #ProjectREUTSway WIP using the tag #AmREUTSing. Also, there’s apparently a new hash tag “trend” going on, called REUTScon. In case you want to chat or “hang out” with your fellow #REUTSWriMos. We at REUTS approve of this community mindset, so conference away!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us on Twitter @ProjectREUTSway or email us at .

FAQ from Last Week’s Challenge:

Q: How many short stories am I allowed to contribute per challenge/week?

A: Three.

Q: How will I know if you received my submission?

A: The Project REUTSway Team will send a confirmation email upon receipt, but this is not automatic (it’s written by a human being) so please give it 24 hours before you resend.

Q: Can I submit a story that I wrote a year ago and just send in the first 2,000 – 5,000 words, even if my story doesn’t fit the challenge parameters?

A: No.

Q: Do I absolutely HAVE to follow the submission guidelines to the letter, in order to be considered as a finalist?

A: YES. (Think of it this way. This is a contest, but the end result is potential publication. If you want us to take you seriously as an author/future client, you should probably take our guidelines seriously. Just saying.)

The post Project REUTSway Challenge #3: Fairy Tales from Hell appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

Thank you to all who participated in the second challenge of Project REUTSway 2013!

With your help, we managed to hit 400,000 words in less than 14 days and effectively, collectively DESTROY NaNoWriMo’s word count requirement.

BUT WAIT. We’re not going to stop there, oh no. We’re going to keep RIGHT ON running with all of this fabulous creativity, until we’ve got ALL the twisted fairy tales we can handle…and more! (Not to mention the most epic word count in all of NaNoWriMo.)

Please stay tuned for the next challenge, which will be even more SINFULLY FABULOUS than the last. Project REUTSway Challenge #3 will be announced Sunday 11/17 at 9:00am EST.

While you wait, you can nosh on this week’s TOP LOOKS:

Project REUTSway Challenge #2: The Ugly Dead – TOP LOOKS

(In no particular order, posted in their raw & unedited form)

***

There were too many reminders of her in their grand house by the sea.  He could no longer sit on the sweeping porch to watch the waves crash onto the rocks without having the memories overcome him, threatening to drown him in his aching for her.

He saw her auburn hair in the deep colors of the sunset and her green eyes in the hillside.  If he stayed to the interior of the house, he caught flashes of her in the corner of his eye: reading in the chair by the fire, stirring the pot on the stove, and singing her favorite tune on the piano.  Her smell, lemons and lilacs, lingered in the hallways and followed him around the house.  He hadn’t even been able to re-enter their bedroom out of fear that he would never emerge.

During one inconsolable night, when Jack had succumbed to his grief, he started searching through their belongings, just to have something of hers to hold onto, he found a leather pouch at the bottom of the trunk that lay at the foot of their bed.  Jack had given this pouch to Ariella on their wedding night, making her promise not to open it until their children were grown and gone and they were ready for their next adventure.

Those same children had proven to be such a joy and distraction, that Jack himself had forgotten his gift, and it seemed Ariella had as well.  But now, Jack cried tears of joy because he finally had the answer to it all.  The end to all the sadness.

He turned the pouch upside down and emptied it into the rough palm of his hand.  He now held three magic beans, and unlike last time, he knew of their worth and their power.

Project REUTSway “The Ugly Dead” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Jack and the Zombiestalk” by Tara Creel

***

The ballroom is magnificent, chandeliers glittering in the light like diamonds. Everyone is dressed in their best; the men in their tuxedos and the women in their gowns, looking beautiful and sophisticated, like they belong. They’re royalty, the best of the best, and you are a part of that now. And you’re better than any of them. They all know it. He knows it.

It’s nearing midnight when he kisses your hand and leads you outside. He puts his coat around your shoulders to keep you warm and loops your arm through his. The wind is not so harsh with the coat and his arm makes you feel safe; you would go anywhere with him. You consider the crisp air and the stars romantic; you look at the sky like you half hope it will snow.

You still can’t believe that he invited you to the Christmas ball; you, pretty though you are, with your blonde curls and bright blue eyes, are only a maid. You work for a respectable family, who treat you poorly but give you a place to sleep at night. Why would he invite you to the ball? But he did; he saw you shopping in the market as he was coming home, was captivated by the beauty you possessed and followed you home. There was an invite at your door barely a week later.

Now here you are, in a dress that took a month to make because your Godmother, the only family you still have, refused to let you miss your chance to dance with the one who presented an opportunity to be amongst fine guests as though you belong. And here you are, strolling along the manor’s garden with him, the lucky one. Out of all the other girls at the ball he could have asked to walk with, he wants you.

You let that thought sink in, allow yourself to smile.

When he asks you what’s so funny, you giggle and shake your head; you tell him that you’re happy. He doesn’t doubt your reasoning. He’s happy, too, he says.

He leans in just as you turn to face him properly, catching your lips with his own. You gasp and he moves back, barely; it’s only enough to speak, so close that his breath tickles your skin and causes you to shiver for an entirely different reason. He was going for your cheek, he murmurs to you. But a real kiss was what he wished for.

Your heart flutters in your chest, beating faster and faster as your nervous excitement grows. He’s perfect, the man you have dreamed about your whole life; maybe he will love you, maybe he will take you away from the family you loathe and spend his days with you, maybe you will have a happily ever after.

Maybe… maybe… maybe… that’s all you can truly say.

Project REUTSway “The Ugly Dead” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Beautiful Nightmare” by Sam Hardy

***

Never was there a stepsister more insufferable than you, Mayumi. The way you used to cry every night for your sweetheart Ronin to take you away made my ears bleed: “Woe is me. I’m too beautiful and wonderful to live in a hovel like this. Boo hoo.”

Shut up Mayumi. Your nails are not so lovely that they can’t afford to get dirt underneath them. My nails are just as dirty. Gouging the eyes out of newts for my mother’s spells isn’t my idea of fun either, but you don’t hear me complaining. No, I can’t complain because my windpipe is severed thanks to you.

It didn’t hurt, in case you care. Mother struck swiftly and silently. In fact, I slept through the whole thing. When the first light streamed through the window in the morning, I opened my eyes, eager to see your dead body lying next to me as Mother and I had planned. Imagine my surprise to see your side of the bed empty and my blood soaking through the mattress. My hair is one big scab of dried blood. I’ll have to wash it if I have any hopes of being presentable.

I have to give you credit for being more clever than I thought. Saving up all of your meager brains for one trick was a good use of them, I suppose. I’d like to bash those brains out of your head. Don’t I deserve a handsome samurai like Ronin as much as you? What makes you so special besides your poppy-red lips, fair skin, and your long eyelashes? I’d rather be plain-looking and smart than pretty and sniveling like you.

It’s that robe you were always wearing that caught his eye anyway. I know your mother wove some kind of love spell into it before she died. All of those gorgeous blue and violet flowers all over it. If only you’d let me borrow it when I’d asked nicely. It isn’t fair that you have pretty clothes from your mother while I have to wear these old, filthy rags.

I’m almost ready to come find you and rip that robe from your puny body. Only a few more passes of this needle and I’ll be whole again. You have no idea how hard it is to sew your own head back on when you can’t reach the back of your own neck.

After I strangle you with your own belt, I think you’ll have some idea.

Project REUTSway “The Ugly Dead” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Sweetheart Ronin” by Suzanne Morgen

***

Yellow stars abbreviate the vapors of fog and their cold breath while men stomp gleaming boots. A mother whispers to her daughter, “Stand still and look up. We are not cattle.” A small child clings to her father’s legs. He wraps one of her curls around his fingers and prays for her. Stifle your cries, look in their faces. Remember that what they believe does not make it so.

Stories of lives turned into numbers inked into arms.  All they know is the freight rail cars wait for them and when they board life becomes one long night. Someone takes a stranger’s hand and then they are all linked. It is not enough. An old woman fights the terror in her bones passed down from her ancestors and can’t find the room to breath. A door opens and the grey light and shouts stun them into moving again. A hand snaps under the heel of a shoe and they only gasp for clean air, for the freedom of muscles unbound.

A White Angel lifts his arms to him and the girl wants to look into his face but someone pushes her into a line. Right. Left. Left. Right. The father shouts his little girl’s name, reaches for her dark curls as a soldier forces her to the left. The White Angel smiles kindly.

“Shoot them both,” he says.

Bang. Click. Bang.

Even the bare trees hold their breath as the bodies are dragged away.

In the silence, the White Angel’s herald is made clear—left is death.

Project REUTSway “The Ugly Dead” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Thirteen Petal” by Tonia Marie Harris

***

“Please.”

The soft plea had his gaze falling to the small girl once more.  He reached out to caress the chubby hand still shifting about but held back.

The woman took his hand.  She took it without hesitation and pulled it forward until the baby latched onto his finger, gripping tight.

“I will, lady.  I will watch over her.”  He had voiced the promise without realizing he had, but the universe heard his vow and shuddered.  He was bound to keep the girl unto her natural life’s end.

The serenity on the woman’s face melted the anger before it fully formed.  A feeling, unlike he had ever known, warmed him.  “Sleep now, my lady,” he whispered as he dropped the veil and the sounds of the mortal world erupted around them.

She kissed the baby’s small head.  Then she rested against the pillows.  “Thank you.”

Sephtis watched as she closed her eyes and relaxed.  He brought his powers forth, and they washed over her like a gentle wave, filling her body with a shimmering blue.  He lifted her soul away to ferry it where it belonged.

A tear trailed down the woman’s cheek.  It twinkled as it hesitated on her chin before falling into the baby’s eyes.

Project REUTSway “The Ugly Dead” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Love of Death” by Mandy Springer

***

Project REUTSway PSA: If you weren’t chosen for this week’s Top Looks, don’t worry! You’re still in the running for the final anthology, provided your story met all of the posted submission guidelines. Likewise, if you were chosen for the TL this week, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be a finalist overall.

Keep creating! Keep writing! As they say, it’s still anyone’s game!

The post Project REUTSway Challenge #2: The Ugly Dead – Introducing, this week’s TOP LOOKS! appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

Challenge #2 Theme: The Ugly Dead

Dates: 11/10 – 11/16

Submission Deadline: 11/14 at 11:59pm EST

Category: YA or NA only please, no MG or Adult

Story Basis: Any “classic” fairy tale (Grimm Brothers, Hans Christen Andersen, Disney, etc.)

Genre(s): Paranormal / Contemporary / Historical / Humor / Romance / Any combination thereof

Theme of the Week: Zombies, Mummies, Ghosts, etc. (If Haley Joel Osment can see it, it probably counts.) – NO vampires, revenants, chupacabra or bloodsuckers allowed this week!

Optional “Bonus” Challenge (on top of the regular challenge): Set your fairy tale in an unexpected location or time period

Submission Guidelines: Please email your submission (2,000 – 5,000 word short story format ONLY, as an attached Word file) to  by 11/14 at 11:59pm EST.  Make SURE to include the title of your submission and the term “Project REUTSway Challenge #2” in the subject line of your email, and put your story title, name and word count in your attached file name. Your submission MUST include a recognizable element from this week’s theme, otherwise you will be disqualified from being chosen as a finalist.

Fun with Friends: This week, tweet your favorite lines from your #ProjectREUTSway WIP using the tag #AmREUTSing.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us on Twitter @ProjectREUTSway or email us at .

FAQ from last week (for those of you newbie REUTSWriMos who are joining this FABULOUS contest already in progress…welcome!):

• Q: How closely does your story need to follow the original?
• A: Not too closely. Get creative. Surprise us. Shock us. Knock our socks off! As long as your retelling has some recognizable elements of the original story, that’s just fine.

• Q: What timeline are the announcements and deadlines posted in?
• A: See, above. Re: EST.

• Q: Can I enter more than one story per challenge?
• A: Absolutely. But each story must independently fit the 2,000 – 5,000 word limit, and you are limited to THREE entries per week.

The post Project REUTSway – Challenge #2: The Ugly Dead appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

Thank you to all who participated in the first challenge of Project REUTSway 2013!

With your help, we managed to hit 50,000 words in less than three days and collectively “win” NaNoWriMo. BUT WAIT. We’re not going to stop there, oh no. We’re going to keep RIGHT ON running with all of this fabulous creativity, until we’ve got ALL the twisted fairy tales we can handle…and more! (Not to mention the most epic word count in all of NaNoWriMo: 250,000 and climbing!)

Please stay tuned for the second challenge, which will be even JUICIER than the first. Project REUTSway Challenge #2 will be announced Sunday 11/10 at 9:00am EST.

While you wait, you can wet your lips and cut your teeth on this week’s TOP LOOKS:

Project REUTSway Challenge #1 – “Bloody Ever After” Top Looks

(In no particular order, posted in their raw & unedited form)

***

He’d fashion all manner of playthings, his face crinkled in amusement as I tirelessly tore after toys, kicking up clouds of sawdust that coated us from head to toe. Silly jingles filled the air while he tinkered with treasures of his own creation. When night fell, I rested by the hearth near his favorite chair, lulled by the cacophony of clocks. He’d delight me with whimsical tales of wishing stars, high-sea adventures and secret islands, while the scent of burning pine enveloped us in a comforting haze of warmth. As bedtime neared, Papa would pat my head affectionately, ruffle my raven hair, and tell me what a good boy I was.

I remember when I was the only one he loved…

Before the bright-eyed boy came, like a thief in the night, to steal Papa’s affections. Effortlessly, he charmed his way into Papa’s heart and established permanent lodging there. I don’t see the appeal. But to Papa, he’s the sun and the moon.

Resentfully, I watched their playful banter from a distance, restraining myself from snatching the feather right off the boy’s ridiculous cap. The way they rounded our cozy den, legs swinging in a giddy jig, was nauseating.

I tried not to notice the cheerful gleam in Papa’s eyes, just as I tried not to show how wounded I was by his sudden indifference.

Papa would occasionally frown and say something like, “Fig, what’s the matter with you, eh? You’re not jealous are you, ya little rascal?”
I’d glare at him, petulant. Oblivious to his offense, he’d set me down with a hearty chuckle and direct his adorations back to the boy.

Project REUTSway “Bloody Ever After” Top Looks – Excerpt from “A Twist of Conscience” by Samantha Redstreake Geary

***

She stands behind the woman who wants her dead.  A hushed whisper escapes her lips.  “Murderer.”

The queen turns slowly, eyes narrowing.  She opens her mouth to speak, but she doesn’t get the chance.  In one swift movement, a hand closes around her neck and forces her against a wall.  The queen squirms under the powerful hold of her captor, gasping for breath.  Fingernails dig deeper and deeper into her skin.  She pries at the fingers, to no avail.

Blood trickles down her neck.  The dark angel drops the woman to the floor.  She licks the red nectar from her fingers, eyes fluttering from the sweet taste it leaves on her tongue.  The dying queen crawls toward me, dragging herself through the trail of blood she leaves behind.  The angel is on top of her, drinking the life from her.  The queen reaches her hand to me.  I cannot save her.

“Mirror…” she gurgles as she chokes up blood.  “Who…”

I give my final answer, “Skin snow white, her lips stained red.  Beauty eternal, her life undead.”

Project REUTSway “Bloody Ever After” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Beauty Eternal” by Summer Wier

***

“You think you can do better without me? Go ahead and try. I hope you rot here.”

He stormed off, leaving the door open. To Marie’s embarrassment, a neighbor passed just in time to hear the cruel words and see her crying in the kitchen. She’d never seen the man before; surely she’d have remembered his face. It was handsome—perfect, actually—but at the moment, his classic features were twisted with distaste as he witnessed the squalid scene. Marie was deeply ashamed. How had she let herself come to this?

Now, standing in the freezing bathroom, Marie remembered Eric’s parting shot and grimaced. The irony was that she would never rot here. Die, maybe, but not rot. It was cold enough in the apartment to keep a body for weeks. The gas had been shut off days ago, and if she didn’t come up with some extra money soon, the electricity would be next, leaving her to face the winter nights without heat in this old, poorly insulated building.

She chased the thought away and looked in the mirror, satisfied with her camouflage. The bruise was almost invisible. The dark circles under her eyes were masked, and a (hopefully) believable glow hid the pallor of her cheeks.

Thirty minutes to pack up her wares and get to the museum.  She hurried to the kitchen, where her sparkling creations cluttered every surface.

They’re not crap, she thought to herself. Somehow Eric’s mockery of her beautiful matchboxes hurt more than her bruised face. She picked up a deep fuchsia one with gold edges and held it up to the light. She had covered this box with satin from one of her great-grandmother’s old gowns and dotted it with tiny gold beads. The fabric was so smooth and lustrous that the box appeared to glow. You could almost believe the matches inside would light themselves.

They were more than matchboxes to Marie. They were bits of beauty in her bleak life, proof that she could make something lovely.

Project REUTSway “Bloody Ever After” Top Looks – “Match Girl” by Meg Faulkner

***

“What did you do,” Crell asked, mortified.

“I behaved like you. I took what I wanted.” Twirling her hair around. “Now I’m pretty, even more then you.”

Crell stalked from the room and into her bed chambers — startled she paused when she ran into a shadow. “Who in blazes are you,” She demanded.

The person took a minute to reply. “My name is Luna.”

It was as if the person was testing it.

“I’m going to kill you for coming into my room.” Crell warned as she stalked forward, but the person didn’t appear to came.

Instead she lifted her hood and stared at Crell, “Impossible, Sadie said-”

“You deserve death.”

Crell backed up, knowing she was at a disadvantage. “I fed you and clothed you.”

“The bare minimum.”

“I-”

“I really don’t care, you’re going to die.”

Luna pulled a sword and chopped her mother apart until her limbs were missing. Because of her blood drinking advantage, she was still alive. Luna leaned down a licked her mother’s cheek. She left a trail of blood behind.

Grabbing a narrow knife made of silver she shoved it into her mother’s chest. This would keep her from moving.

Project REUTSway “Bloody Ever After” Top Looks – “Ugly Duck” by Laura Young

***

Ramona coughed, her breath ragged. Her body shuddered as the infection spread. Sweat matted her salt and pepper hair to her head. “Please, release me from this curse.”

The only thing Victoria could think to use was the wooden bucket. She turned it upside down and stomped on it until it broke. A piece of wood about a foot long splintered off, a suitable stake. Ramona had always been so kind, motherly. She didn’t know if she could do it.

“I…can’t.”

“Yes, you can. Don’t let me become one of them.”

Victoria placed the wooden stake over Ramona’s heart. Tears fell freely as she leaned on it, the wood piercing through to her friend’s heart. “Rest now.”

Ramona’s smile faded. “Thank…you.” Her eyelids closed one final time.

Victoria wept as she prepared the tinderbox. At seventeen she hadn’t seen many horrible things, let alone committed any horrible acts. Even though she knew Ramona would rather be dead than become a vampire, she wished there had been some other way. This was, after all, her father’s fault. The best way of honoring Ramona would be to ensure Reginald didn’t get away with it.

She struck the flint with the dragon shaped striker. It appeared as though the dragon’s eyes momentarily glowed red. Hadn’t they? The char cloth caught and the room went cold. Goosebumps dotted Victoria’s flesh. Once the candle was lit she pricked a finger with a sharpened piece of wood and watched the crimson drip fall toward the wick.

As the blood hit the flame, Victoria did as instructed and called upon the spirits of Sandu, Rica, and Nico. Outside, the sunlight dimmed and it seemed like the world stopped on its axis for a moment. Victoria jumped as the flame flared up a foot and burned the bluest color she had ever seen.

It occurred to Victoria that she didn’t know what to do next. Had the ritual worked? Should she blow out the candle?

Just as she thought about blowing out the candle, a frigid breeze rushed through the bars extinguishing the tiny flame. Victoria looked around but saw no one. With shaky hands she replaced the contents of the tinderbox and waited for another sign.

She didn’t have to wait long.

Project REUTSway “Bloody Ever After” Top Looks – “The Dragon’s Tinder” by Brian W. Taylor

***

Project REUTSway PSA: If you weren’t chosen for this week’s Top Looks, don’t worry! You’re still in the running for the final anthology, provided your story met all of the posted submission guidelines. Likewise, if you were chosen for the TL this week, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be a finalist overall. Keep creating! Keep writing! As they say, it’s still anyone’s game!

The post Project REUTSway Challenge #1 – Bloody Ever After: Introducing, this Week’s TOP LOOKS! appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.