Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline

Book excerpt: Dieselpunk and decopunk are alternative history re-imaginings of (roughly) the WWI and WWII eras. These are tales with the grit of roaring bombers, rumbling tanks, of 'We Can Do It', the Great Depression and old time gangsters, or with the glamour of flappers, Hollywood starlets, smoky jazz, elegant cars and Radio City Music Hall. Plus fairy tales. Two young women defy the devil with the power of friendship. The pilot of a talking plane discovers a woman who transforms into a swan every night and is pulled into a much more personal conflict than the war he's already fighting. A pair of twins with special powers find themselves in Eva Braun's custody and wrapped up in a nefarious plan. A team of female special agents must destroy a secret weapon-the spindle-before it can be deployed. Retellings of The Little Mermaid, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Cinderella, The Monkey King, Swan Lake, Pinocchio and more are all showcased alongside some original fairy tale-like stories. Featuring stories by Alicia Anderson, Jack Bates, Patrick Bollivar, Sara Cleto, Amanda C. Davis, Jennifer R. Donohue, Juliet Harper, Blake Jessop, A.A. Medina, Elizabeth, Nellie Neves, Wendy Nikel, Brian Trent, Alena VanArendonk, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, Sarah Van Goethem, Robert E. Vardeman and Alejandra Zannier.