Tapestry of Tales

About the Book

What if our favorite fairy tales recounted a few aspects of the stories incorrectly? Maybe they omitted key characters, misinterpreted events, falsely placed blame, or even told the wrong ending.  Sarah Deckard explores these possibilities in  Tapestry of Tales: Classic Fairy Tales Retold.  Here she has cleverly woven the fabric of nine traditional fairly tales with new elements to create eleven unique stories, which range from the humorous to the suspenseful.

Within these pages, the reader will discover the perspectives of an “evil” stepmother being used as a scapegoat, a well meaning witch whose fear drives her to isolate her daughter in a tower, and a dwarf vilified for wanting a baby.  One will meet characters such as a prince who, like countless others, becomes entangled in Sleeping Beauty's thorns, the corrupt brother of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and the Little Mermaid's other princely suitor.  In this collection, endings can be ironically amusing or foreboding.  Princes and princesses end up happily together or apart, unhappily together or apart, and just sometimes no one ever comes along.

Thought provoking yet touched with classical enchantment, this book offers readers a chance to rediscover their favorite fairy tales with new eyes.

Not a children's book.  For ages 16 and up.

About the Author

Sarah Deckard has graduated summa cum laude with an Bachelor's in English- Creative Writing from The University of TN at Chattanooga.  She is also a member of Phi Theta Kappa and the Golden Key International Honors Society.

Miss Deckard has has over a score of poems published as well as several short stories.  Her writing credits include anthologies such as With Flute and Drum and Pen, Best Poets of 1998, The Rustling Leaves, We the Poets, and Dark Distortions I.  Her magazine and journal credits include Minas Tirith, Evening Star: The Journal of the American Tolkien Society, Ethereal Tales; Transcendent Visions, Northern Stars Review, Kinships; Moon Drenched Fables; Moon Washed Kisses; Twisted Tongue; and Children, Churches and Daddies.  She also has a poem that was chosen for recording on the tape Sounds of Poetry.

Miss Deckard writings are filled with the ideals of Nature, Magic, Childhood, and Love, as well as the loss of those ideals. Though she does write modern short stories, she prefers to twist the themes or endings of stories that are well known so that the reader discovers a new perspective.  Miss Deckard also creates fairy tales of her own.  Her inspiration comes from real life, new and old stories, fear and hope, and sometimes her nightly dreams.  She owes a great deal of her ideas and style to other great writers, predominantly  J.R.R. Tolkien.

She lives in the Chattanooga, TN but does a good deal of traveling.  She has three dogs--two German Shepherds and a Doberman Pincher--who are like her children, and so are worthy of note in her biography.