Introducing... Sharpest Tooth Publishing
New moon, new month, new... publisher? (It's me!)
Sharpest Tooth Publishing is Tish Black publishing books by Tish Black. Call it self-publishing, author-owned publishing, or independent publishing. The fun part is writing. The hard part is marketing.
The first book in the catalogue is, of course, my first book: Ebony, Blood, and Snow: New Stories from Old Tales.
How did Snow White’s mother become so vain? What if Cinderella didn’t go to the ball? When does the Beauty become the Beast?
Inspired by familiar fairy tales, author Tish Black’s debut short story collection takes the tales in new directions and rewrites history: Little Red hunts wolves, Gretel helps the witch, and Bluebeard’s wife gets revenge. These transgressive stories challenge readers’ ideas of what the tales could mean to them. There’s more to learn from fairy tale heroines than how to be eaten, rescued, or married.
These unconventional heroines fight the patriarchy with no time for romance; instead, readers will find tales of revenge, sisterhood, political revolt, and independence. In the lead story, a beautiful woman with hair as black as ebony is given to a king with blood-red lips, but it’s with her chambermaid that she finds true love. When tragedy strikes, her values change. Exploring why Snow White’s mother chose beauty over her daughter, “Ebony” leads to her decision to send the huntsman. In “Thistle,” a princess cursed to sleep lives a lonely life until the witch who cursed her reveals the true story of what her parents have done to them both. Rapunzel escapes the tower on her own in “Plum” and then joins a radical group trying to take down a misogynist monarchy.
Conveying the radical feminism of Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber and the defiance of Emma Donoghue’s Kissing the Witch, Black’s collection of thirteen tales redefines the fairy tale heroine.
The publish date is… still TBD, but I’m confident saying pre-orders in December, release in January maybe early February.
Behind the Name
Charles Perrault published Histoires ou contes du temps passé, avec des moralités (Stories or Tales from Past Times, with Morals) in 1697, which included eight tales with a moralité (moral poem) following each. In 1911, S. R. Littlewood translated Perrault’s tales and adapted the moralité of “Le petit chaperon rouge” (“Little Red Riding Hood”) from a direct translation into a rhyming poem;
Little girls, this seems to say,
Never stop upon your way,
Never trust a stranger-friend;
No one knows how it will end.
As you’re pretty so be wise;
Wolves may lurk in every guise.
Handsome they may be, and kind,
Gay, and charming— nevermind!
Now, as then, ‘tis simple truth—
Sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth!
Perrault’s is not my favourite version of Little Red Riding Hood, in which the girl gets eaten in the end. I much prefer Angela Carter’s “The Company of Wolves,” in which the girl “knew she was nobody’s meat.” Its film adaptation makes use of Littlewood’s poem as the credits begin to roll, making the final line spoken in the film, “Sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth.”
It’s a poetic rewording of Perrault’s original final line (as translated by Jack Zipes), “the docile ones are those who are most dangerous.” Perrault was referring to men/“wolves” who would do harm to “young girls, pretty, well brought-up, and gentle,” but allow me an interpretation of my own.
Some of us—writers, that is—are seen to be quiet, introverted, and sweetest. But when we put pen to paper, our writing turns out to be the sharpest: contrarian, taboo, extreme, unconventional. The ones with the sharpest tooth have the best comebacks (even if we don’t think of them until hours later), can make our point with a biting comment, and know how to write our own anti-establishment morals into compelling stories.
Sharpest Tooth Publishing produces the sharpest fiction by the sweetest authors.1
Behind the Design
I had an idea… that I couldn’t make look good. There were wolf teeth and wolf ears… but I couldn’t get it to not look silly. 🐺 I may know Photoshop and a little InDesign but I am no designer. So I asked my friend Linda, who is a very talented designer and illustrator, to help me out. With the brief of “wolf teeth,” we abandoned my half-brained idea and she created this colophon (fun word for publishing imprint logo) using the S and T and a hint of wolf teeth! It’s not the wolf fangs I first imagined would be on my book’s spine, but it’s actually better. I wasn’t picturing using letters, but most colophons do, so I think it looks real profesh. And I really like the look with the complete words to create a larger logo.
Other book updates
My copy editor is giving it a final edit and has said, “Barely any notes thus far” which should make me less anxious about putting it out into the world, but it won’t. (Ya, I have an editor that uses “thus” in casual conversations, no big deal. She’s British.)
I am also giving the book a proofread- on paper! Yes, I used the office printer, but I did away with any formatting, like page breaks, to save paper, so it’s not a firable offence? I’m using pink, purple, and blue pens to make my notes and enjoying(? I think) the experience of reading my book from start to finish- something I have not done in a long time since I’ve just been editing for months!
I’m learning (slowly) how to use the Compile feature of Scrivener to create the actual final manuscript files (one for paperback, one for ebook) that will be uploaded to Ingram Spark and Amazon KDP soon! And once the manuscript file is done, I will have a page count, which is necessary for the final cover file which needs to know spine width!
Coming Soon
Christmastime is here! 🎶 Last year, I shared my dark and moody Christmas playlist; darkest season.
I might have to change the name of that playlist because I decided I liked it for my next book title! I’ve stocked up on research books and am excited to dive into Christmas, Yule, Midwinter, and Winter traditions, creatures, and folklore to inspire my next book: a collection of short stories inspired by the darkest time of year and finding light in the dark. ✨ (Spoilers: Santa can be a woman, Scrooge is gay, and Marie has a crush on Drosselmeyer.)
Any suggestions for my annual Nutcracker viewing? I decided to save money and not go out to a performance, but there are so many on YouTube and elsewhere for me to watch at home! How do I decide?!
You’ll hear from me soon with book pre-order links!
Until then, slow down, rest more, embrace the darkness, get cozy, stay home, enjoy the season for what it is. ❄️
Best winter wishes and coziest regards,
.tish
What is this plural? It just me. lol 🤪