Cherry Potts, Writer

Category: fairytales

  • Old Women in Books: on publishing your mother

    Today is my mum’s birthday. Ghillian Potts is 84. Like me, she has written all her literate life, and still has a notebook full of poems written between the ages of about 7 and 12, (of variable quality!) To celebrate, my publishing company, Arachne Press, is publishing two of her books today. I crowd funded…

  • More From Cut a Long Story

    More stories up on Cut a Long Story… Starkridge: Don’t Mess with Mountains… Glory, or Hope: two goddesses meet on a beach… Prairie Rain: a flash fiction set on a porch near the town of Normal, Illinois Déjà Vû: A radical retelling – Sleeping Beauty and Snow White seen through the prism of The Stepford…

  • Cutting a Long Story – update

    Some of the stories that were originally published in Tales Told Before Cockcrow are up on Cut a Long Story. Pleasingly quick. Buy them now!! (thank you). All Hallows: Keith’s obsessions get him into trouble The Red Dress: A daughter’s loyalty is put to the test. Tales Told Before Cockcrow: Sybil tries to get Amelia…

  • Inspirations – Deja Vu

    I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of Déjâ Vu, and this story originated in something I wrote when I was still at school, a highly melodramatic piece about walking into one’s own past. That story remains as just one scene, as Lucy/Hilary steps out of the train at a station, and goes to a…

  • Inspirations – Russian Fairytales, illustrations and London Bridge

    Two stories came from the same picture, which I have been completely unable to trace. I think it is from an edition of The Snow Queen, and the illustrator might have been Kay Neilsen or Edmund Dulac or possibly Arthur Rackham, but as I’ve been unable to track it down I can’t confirm; maybe, like…

  • bright shiny new book

    So I’ve been working through the first box of books sending them out to reviewers. And I’ve been so busy organising things I didn’t get round to posting on the website, so (Trumpet fanfare!!) Mosaic of Air is here, and will be in the shops on 26th September. There will be a launch party at…

  • The Queen’s Safety

    My story The Queen’s Safety was read at Liars’ League last week. For those of you not in the audience, you can read, listen or watch the story (performed by Greg Page) on the Liars’ League site soon, but in the meantime, the video is on YouTube.

  • Blackheath Cendrillon: A slipper and a ring

    Blackheath Cendrillon: A slipper and a ring

    L.C. here.  This is my last post on behalf of Cherry.  She says I’ve behaved very irresponsibly and I am lucky not to have been had up in front of the Leveson Enquiry.  Anyway, I’m feeling a bit crest-fallen because I didn’t find out who the mystery woman was first after all. But I was…

  • Blackheath Cendrillon: A Post from the Court Poet, Grand Duchess Elizabette

    Blackheath Cendrillon: A Post from the Court Poet, Grand Duchess Elizabette

    ‘CENDRILLON’ – A TRIBUTE The skies above were leaden, the clouds loomed dark and grey, but, at the Halls, the mood was light, all musical and gay. Forget the Jubilympics,  forget the Torch Relay, ‘Cinderella, the Opera’ is the order of the day. Nick Jenkins was regaling us with tales of Gay Paree, La Belle…

  • Blackheath Cendrillon: Prince Charming’s Dilema

    Blackheath Cendrillon: Prince Charming’s Dilema

    L.C. Spinetti here again, I got in a bit of trouble with that recording earlier, Harriet says she’s going to sue me, but only when she needs the publicity. However the head honchos at REALly?! really liked it, and I got a pay rise and a commission to take pictures of all the eligible Gels…