Bewildering Stories welcomes...

A. J. Grace-Smith

Anna, as she’s known to her friends, lives in Gloucestershire. She works in bookselling, has had success in publishing short stories, and is working on a novel.

“La Nouvelle Cendrillon” is in English, its title notwithstanding. It’s a version of Cinderella set in outer space, with the Cinderella analogue thirsting for revenge for her mistreatment.

The story is also a bibliophile’s delight. Readers will have a lot of fun decrypting literary references, such as the “bell jar,” the “Winter Palace,” the “infanta,” among many other clues. Ironically, perhaps, if “infanta” refers to a character in Pierre Corneille’s famous play Le Cid, one might have to wonder about it. The Infanta is an extraneous character that can be omitted with a net gain to the play. But who knows? And many other details invite the readers to compile a mental glossary.

A. J. Grace-Smith’s bio sketch can be found here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, Anna. We hope to hear from you again soon and often!