#erwarren

[teacuptrailstaff]

the faerie festival, starring e. r. warren

by editor-in-chief christina

Some of you might have read the first two installments of "Burnt Chocolate, Faerie King", our first serial. If you haven't? It's a mixture of rom-com, fairy tale, crack, and action that'll leave you grinning. The mind behind it is E.R. Warren, and the updates have been occasional thus far since the serial started in July. 

That's about to change.

All throughout the month of October, we'll be posting rapid-fire updates of BCFK - think once every two days kind of fast. At the end of the month, we'll close out with a flashy, satisfying Halloween finale. E.R. has a plan all laid out for you all, and she has some surprises in store.

For those of you who don't quite know what "Burnt Chocolate, Faerie King" is all about, here's a short logline:

When his true love Willow flees the fairy world for a big city, the fairy king chases her and suffers with a cross-dressing shelter-owner who teaches him about relationships—human or otherwise.

Yes, that's every bit as crazy and wonderful as it sounds, and you can read the two installments that we've already published here.

For those of you who are already fans of Willow and the gang - you won't be disappointed! This is going to be a whirlwind month of fairy shenanigans. Every other day at noon, a new chapter will be laid on the trail for you to enjoy. On Halloween, however, we're going to mix things up to end the serial with a bang. Here's the schedule for what we've officially dubbed The Teacup Trail's Faerie Festival:

10.7.2014 (today!), noon: Chapter 3.

10.9.2014, noon: Chapter 4.

10.11.2014, noon: Chapter 5. 

10.13.2014, noon: Chapter 6.

10.15.2014, noon: Chapter 7. 

10.18.2014, noon (postponed from intended date of the seventeenth due to christina's busy schedule! sorry!): Chapter 8.

10.19.2014, noon: Chapter 9.

10.21.2014, noon: Chapter 10.

10.23.2014, noon: Chapter 11.

10.25.2014, noon: Chapter 12.

10.27.2014, noon: Chapter 13.

10.29.2014, noon: Chapter 14.

10.31.2014, 9:00 am: Chapter 15.

10.31.2014, noon: Chapter 16.

10.31.2014, 3:00 pm: Chapter 17.

10.31.2014, 6:00 pm: Chapter 18.

(NOTE: All times are in Pacific Standard Time.)

The festival kicks off today at noon - I'm expecting to see you there! But in the meantime, be sure to congratulate E.R. on her website, Twitter, or Tumblr.

[teacuptrailstaff]

#watchmewrite :: a writerly video tag!

by editor-in-chief christina

On September 29, past Trail contributor E. R. Warren (erwarren) posted a screen-recorded video of herself drafting the latest installment of "Burnt Chocolate, Fairy King", the serial that she writes for The Teacup Trail. Being the literary nerds that we are, we loved it - and by the way, it's a great taste of coming attractions on the trail.

You should watch that here. It's glorious.

One thing led to another - as in much exciting tweeting ensued - and Samantha Chaffin, another friend of the Trail, made an equally glorious video of her own while working on her new short story "Hail the Pumpkin King". Samantha took it upon herself to turn this video trend into a tag: #watchmewrite.

Now we're inviting all you writers to join in. It's easy to do and great fun - there are just a few steps:

Screen record yourself writing or editing a portion of your work. On Macs, this is very quick - just use Quicktime and hit File > New Screen Recording. On PCs, however, you'll have to download a new software - try one of the picks on this list.

Once you've got your footage, have fun with it. Speed it up. Add music. Go crazy - just make sure we can see how your process works!

Upload it to a video sharing site. E. R. recommends Vimeo, as the quality's better than YouTube there and we'll be able to see your words better.

Then share! A blog, Twitter, or Tumblog is always a great place to go. And be sure to let us know so that we can all watch you write!

Have fun, writers. I'm planning a video myself sometime soon, as Samantha was kind enough to tag me - so stay tuned for that, because I'm staying tuned for all of your wonderful session videos!

[theteacuptrail]

Burnt Chocolate, Fairy King [ii] :: E. R. Warren

(Note: This flash fiction is a sequel to “Burnt Chocolate, Faerie King”.)

I am a fragment of a leaf  a trembling reflection  on the pond of existence as but a reflection in the lake in the eyes of the butterfly  in the butterfly’s dream  I will die, and it will be dark. 

Leggy looked up expectantly from his poem. 

One of the sprites on the floor nodded. 

The Faerie King sighed. “I miss Willow. Why did the one girl I loved have to flee to the human world?”

Leggy coughed and lifted his poem.

“What?” snapped the Faerie King. 

“I haven’t finished,” said Leggy. He paused to smooth a crease in his pants and tilt his lotus leaf beret. 

Who will remember me when I am dead?

“This is depressing,” said the Faerie King. 

Leggy cleared his throat and continued:

Death is a depressing spring.

“There, now I am done.” 

Two sprites began to clap from their places on the floor. The Faerie King gave a melodramatic sigh and ruffled his hair. Even wearing his favorite electric blue trousers had not improved his mood. The drew-drop breeze blew in through the large windows, the sounds of the spring poetry festival rising up from the courtyard beyond.  

He polished the ends of his turquoise wings, his thoughts far away. The Faerie King had hung his crown off a pumpkin vine growing up the throne. He was still a young king, no more than twenty summers, but he was powerful in all the natural magics and stubborn, wrestling monster wasps until he won, even if it put his life at risk. He hated to lose. 

“I don’t know what to do,” said the Faerie King. “I love her, and she’s determined to date mortals.” 

“What if you turned mortal?” drawled one of the sprites. 

“That’s a terrible idea,” said the Faerie King.

“I have another poem to read,” announced Leggy, drawing a leaf from his jacket. “If you would be so indulgent. Ah-hem.” 

He read:

What is love But a tree of twittering birds? Twittering, twittering

The Faerie King twisted in his throne. “Why would anyone turn mortal?” he interrupted. 

“Well,” mused a sprite, “she might not recognize you. You could pretend to be someone else and win her heart.”

“Do people do that?”

“No.”

“Ah-hem,” interrupted Leggy. “I have not finished!” He lifted his page and rushed through the verses:

Twittering, twittering  Towards chirpy lovemaking Amidst the thorny brambles Twittering—

“I could turn myself mortal for a few weeks,” said the Faerie King. “And win Willow’s heart, which has always been mine, but she would come to realize it.” 

Twittering to love

Leggy turned on his heel and stormed from the hall, but no one paid him mind. The door slammed. The Faerie King leapt to his feet and snapped his fingers. His wings vanished with a pop. He threw open his arms.

“To the human realm!” 

~~~~

E.R. Warren writes bad poetry and forces her friends to attend impromptu poetry slams, but owns no electric blue clothing. You can read more about her writing and various travel plans here. 

[theteacuptrail]

Burnt Chocolate, Faerie King :: E. R. Warren

Willow wrenched open her window and heaped the burnt chocolate dishes on the windowsill.

By the time she washed the acrid smoke from the kitchen, she was weeping. At everything. Her stupid parents, her ridiculous hopes for a relationship, for the ugly kitchen—and the chocolate-covered strawberries were supposed to be the start of her recovery, but the bars burned and splattered the inside of her microwave. 

She scrolled down the post on her phone, reading about how to clean the char-caked dishes. “Lather, rinse, repeat,” she read sarcastically, her lips trembling. 

Willow burst into tears again and turned back to the window. 

A green-kissed faerie boy sat on her windowsill, his feet planted in her sink as he scraped at the burnt chocolate with his fingers. Willow hurled the towel at the floor. 

“Out!” she screeched. “Out! Out!” 

Two years of amateur softball practice coalesced with two weeks of cooking classes as she threw her butter-dish and saucepan—one in each hand—sending the faerie toppling into her shriveled flowerbed. 

“The King sends his regards,” gasped the faerie boy, “and begs you to re-consider your decision to remain in the human realm while his offer still stands.”

Willow shoved the chocolate dishes into the sink and leaned over the windowsill, her face flushed with fury. “It is all his fault,” she raged at the hapless messenger. “He needs to stop hexing my restaurants, tearing my skirts, and sending wolves after my dates! He’s an immortal wanker!” 

She jerked back, banging her head on the window so hard the panes cracked. As she rubbed the swelling lump, she saw her ex standing on the sidewalk with flowers in his hands. 

He stared. 

Willow stared back.

Willow glanced down at her empty flowerbed, and when she looked up, her ex was hurrying for his car. 

“Wait,” she cried out, “Oh goodness, not again!”

The car screeched away from the curb, and with a moan, Willow slammed the window shut and filled the sink with soapy water. “Lather, rinse, repeat,” she ground out as she began to scrub. “Lather, rinse, repeat…” 

~~~~

E.R. Warren regularly melts chocolate for desserts, but is not being courted by a faerie king. You can read more about her writing and culinary misadventures here.