Writings

Ana Mardoll is a writer, activist, and nonbinary trans boy in love with another trans boy. They live together in Texas with five spoiled cats. Ana's favorite employment is weaving new tellings of old fairy tales, fashioning beautiful creations to bring comfort on cold nights. Ana is the author of the Earthside series, the Rewoven Tales novels, and many published short stories.

An enthusiastic proponent of diverse stories and "own voices" narratives, Ana writes stories which include bisexual and polyamorous lovers, transgender and genderqueer characters, disabled characters dealing with chronic pain and mental illness, survivors of sexual violence with post-traumatic stress disorders, and pagan and wiccan religious practitioners.

Ana's note on pronouns: After coming out as genderqueer in 2015, I now answer to xie/xer professionally and he/him in casual acquaintance. Reviews and articles should use xie/xer pronouns to refer to me. For articles and reviews published before 2015 which use my old she/her pronouns, I prefer those works not be updated with my newer pronouns as I consider those works to be footprints marking my overall gender journey. My preference is that they be left as they were written, however if the writer wishes to update their work due to personal preference or site policy regarding pronouns, I defer to their wishes.

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» Rewoven Tales
» Earthside
» Non-Fiction Works
» ARCs and Review Copies



Patreon

On my Patreon, I tell stories. I tell stories about fat, physically disabled, mentally ill, transgender, bisexual people because I didn't have many such stories growing up. So I spin them now. My characters live in worlds that try to harm them, but they find acceptance and community and love of all flavors because they are wonderful beautiful souls who deserve hope and joy. Kinda like us.

You can find my patreon short stories here: Link!


Rewoven Tales

Fantasy Fairy Tale Retellings

Old stories are familiar as a cherished blanket, worn thin and threadbare from loving use. These retellings break those stories down to the bare elements and reweave them into fresh creations, made uniquely beautiful with the addition of bold new threads. Discover a Beauty and the Beast that explores the tragedy of patriarchy and purity culture, and fall in love with a Little Mermaid who salvages a priceless treasure in the wake of her heartbreak. The Rewoven Tales are not sequential and may be enjoyed in any order.

Cinder the Fireplace Boy and other Gayly Grimm Tales (Rewoven Tales)

by Ana Mardoll

Once upon a time there lived... a beautiful prince who kissed a frog. A cinder-smudged child who hid a secret. A princess who climbed a long braid of golden hair for love. A thumb-sized boy with the courage of a giant. And a valiant little tailor whose wit was as sharp as her needle.

These stories and many more await you in this delightful collection of classic fairy tales, lovingly retold and featuring characters who receive wonderfully queer happily-ever-afters! Let these new takes on the Brothers Grimm warm your heart and nurture your yearning to see yourself reflected in beloved favorites.

Trigger warnings and pronoun guides are provided for each story.

»»» Purchase here!

Tags: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Transgender, Nonbinary
Note: Cinder the Fireplace Boy is a collection of short stories which may be read in any order.


No Man of Woman Born (Rewoven Tales)

by Ana Mardoll

Destiny sees what others don’t.

A quiet fisher mourning the loss of xer sister to a cruel dragon. A clever hedge-witch gathering knowledge in a hostile land. A son seeking vengeance for his father's death. A daughter claiming the legacy denied her. A princess laboring under an unbreakable curse. A young resistance fighter questioning everything he's ever known. A little girl willing to battle a dragon for the sake of a wish. These heroes and heroines emerge from adversity into triumph, recognizing they can be more than they ever imagined: chosen ones of destiny.

From the author of the Earthside series and the Rewoven Tales novels, No Man of Woman Born is a collection of seven fantasy stories in which transgender and nonbinary characters subvert and fulfill gendered prophecies. These prophecies recognize and acknowledge each character's gender, even when others do not. Note: No trans or nonbinary characters were killed in the making of this book. Trigger warnings and neopronoun pronunciation guides are provided for each story.

»»» Purchase here!

Tags: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Transgender, Nonbinary
Note: No Man of Woman Born is a collection of short stories which may be read in any order.


Pulchritude (a Rewoven Tales novel)

by Ana Mardoll

Experience a darker side of The Beauty and the Beast where, in a world of vindictive fairies and scornful magicians, not everyone will live happily ever after. Pulchritude tells the tale of Bella, a beautiful girl caught between her selfish father and an enchanted prince ready to sweep her into a dangerous romance built on deception and betrayal.

This debut novel by feminist blogger Ana Mardoll returns a classic fairy tale to its origins as social commentary and in doing so holds a strange mirror to our own world.

»»» Purchase here!

Tags: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Horror
Note: Pulchritude is not a Romance novel. There is no Happily Ever After.


Earthside

Paranormal Urban Fantasy Romance

Faeries walk among us, though our eyes are not keen enough to pierce their disguises. They lurk in city shadows, stealing away unwary humans to the otherworld. The taken are altered to serve their new masters as lovers, soldiers, or cattle: memories wiped away, bodies twisted into new shapes, and latent magic drawn to the surface and spun into powerful talents. These captives become half-human and half-fae, never belonging to the otherworld but without any memory of their home. Only a lucky few will escape their torments to return earthside, and those who do quickly learn that danger has not passed.

Poison Kiss (Earthside Book 1)

by Ana Mardoll

Rose awakens in a fairytale land, stripped of her memories and any sense of self she might once have possessed. Facing a short life of brutal servitude as one of the May Queen's executioners, she chooses instead a reckless dash for freedom alongside her sister-captive, Lavender. Yet even if the two women manage to flee the otherworld to return earthside, they may never be safe from the reach of cruel faeries who seek to use them as pawns in a deadly game.

When a strange silver man calling himself Clarent unexpectedly dumps out onto the doorstep of their apartment, Rose and Lavender will work together with a diverse community of survivors in order to stay alive and free. Through the magical dangers that assault them on all sides, Rose must navigate the struggles brought on by her painful past while contending with the difficulty of forging an intimate relationship with the two people who love her most when her very body is lethal.

»»» Purchase here!

Tags: Fantasy, Romance (FFM), Urban Paranormal, Queer


Survival Rout (Earthside Book 2)

by Ana Mardoll

The evening wasn't supposed to end in kidnapping, yet despite best laid plans three college students find themselves hauled out of the local bar and into another world. Imprisoned in a nightmarish fairyland where boys are forced to fight horrific monsters for the entertainment of their captors and girls are served up as prizes to the victors, a small group of human captives must learn how to work together in order to survive.

Yet trust is difficult in a place where every memory has been ripped away, leaving the young adults unable to remember the first thing about themselves or their pasts. Can they overcome their fears and mistrust of each other and use their newly awakened powers to escape?

»»» Purchase here!

Tags: Fantasy, Romance (F+GQ/FMM), Urban Paranormal, Queer



Non-Fiction Works

Transcending Flesh

by Ana Mardoll

Do you want to write a science fiction or fantasy setting which provides for extensive body modification through the use of magic or cool technology, but you're wondering how to include transgender people in your world without falling back on offensive stereotypes or erasing their existence altogether?

This guidebook contains a series of essays covering settings which feature fast, easy, and widely-accessible body alteration, including the futuristic BodyTron5000 ("step right in and we'll jiffy up a uterus!") and fantastical trips to the Gender Witch for magic potions. These settings have ripple effects on trans people both on and off the page, and writers must consider multiple angles of gender presentation and body diversity when creating new worlds. This resource also contains guidelines for role-players and dungeon masters on how to respectfully incorporate transgender characters and issues into fictional game worlds and playing sessions.

»»» Purchase here!

Tags: Transgender, Nonbinary, Writing


Standing With Wendy

by Ana Mardoll

On June 25, 2013, Texas Senator Wendy Davis filibustered for nearly twelve hours in order to block the passage of Senate Bill 5, a bill which would greatly impact access to reproductive healthcare in the state of Texas. Though her filibuster successfully blocked SB5, the bill was repackaged and passed in a second special session as HB2.

This work contains transcripts of almost 64 hours of debate and testimony on the Texas Senate and House floors, starting with Wendy Davis' filibuster of SB5, including the proposed House and Senate amendments for HB2, and ending with powerful citizen testimony on these bills.

»»» Purchase here!

Tags: Texas, Abortion, Wendy Davis



ARCs and Review Copies

Review copies are available for free on request to reviewers and book bloggers.

Write to anamardoll@gmail.com with the details of (1) the requested titles, and (2) your preferred book format. Please allow 48 hours to respond, as I have disability issues which sometimes render me unable to immediately answer.

On a personal note, I was a reviewer for many years and still dabble in reviewing from time to time. I realize how much effort goes into a review and I greatly appreciate the reviews I receive as an author. Reviews are an author's lifeblood, determining where retailers place our books within search results. Thank you for your time and effort in helping to promote good work and inform other readers.