The Magic to be Found in a Retelling

 

I just finished reading Hunted by Megan Spooner. This Beauty and the Beast retelling follows Yeva on her journey through her family's financial ruin and into a magical forest, which just so happens to be equipped with a beast, to track down her father's killer. If you haven't read it yet, I'd highly recommend it. 

I have always been a huge fan of retellings. There is something in them that is comforting and exciting all at once. Whether it be a Cinderella, Little Mermaid, or Beauty and the Beast retelling, I dive into each one whole-heartily, and therein lies the magic of a retelling. 

Readers Already Want to Read it.

When you take on a retelling, you also take on that story's built-in fan base. So, if you're a newer writer, this might be just the thing you need to establish your own fan base. If you love mermaids and your readers love mermaids and you tell a story about them, what better way to flag down the people who were already looking for your book? 

Major Plot Points Have Already Been Established.

If you have issues with pacing or plot holes, retellings might just be the structure that you need to write that story you've been daydreaming about all along. If your story idea would fit nicely into a fairytale that already exists, why not add those two things together and see what happens?

Who Doesn't Love Fairytales with a Twist?

Just because the outer shell of the story has been constructed, that doesn't mean that you can rework the insides. Think story renovation. This way, you still get to add your own flair to a story that has been loved for hundreds of years. What better way to show appreciation than to keep the love of the story going even longer?

You Don't Have to Stick with the Brothers Grimm.

Don't think that the only retellings worth existing belong to the Grimm Brothers. There's a whole world full of fairytales out there. If you haven't already, do a quick Google search to see what you come up with. You might just find your newest favorite story.

I'd love to know which fairytale you'd love to tackle if you were going to write a retelling. Tell me in the comments below.

Happy writing.

Five YA Series to Keep You Company in Quarantine

Am I the only one who has lost count of days during shelter-at-home? If you're like me, you have a zillion books in your TBR (to be read) pile, but there's something extra fun about picking up your favorite books and rereading them. Below, you'll find five of my favorite young adult series.

1. Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl



If there was ever a series that captured my heart, it was this one. These two lovely writers tell the story of a magical girl and her nonmagical love. There are so many things for them to overcome and experience in their small southern town. If there was ever a movie that spoiled a book, it was by far this one, but for fun, you can always watch it after you've read your way through this series.


2. Princesses of the Midnight Ball series by Jessica Day George



I'm a huge fan of Jessica Day George. I love her writing style and the stories she chooses to tell. This series is perfect for those of us who love retelling and princesses. She manages to tell the stories we've all heard before in such a fun, new way. Who knew yarn was so useful? This series is perfect for just about everyone.


3. The Lost Heroes series by Rick Riordan



You've heard of Percy Jackson, but did you know that his story continues in The Lost Hero? I loved this series! There are so many new friends to meet, and new problems to solve (thanks a lot, Hera). If you like Greek Mythology-based stories or hilarious prose, this series is a must-read.


4. Wings series by Aprilynn Pike



If you like relatively nice fairies, this series is for you. It's your classic fairy baby gets raised by human parents, and now has to go back to learn the ways of the Fae. Aprilynn does a fabulous job of keeping things whimsical and interesting without making the protagonist so Fae-like that you feel disconnected from the story. This series is a lovely way to spend your safer-at-home time.


5. Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas


The main character in this series is an assassin. She's clever, determined, and lethal. This series can be pretty intense at times, so it might not be the best read for younger readers. That being said, if you like powerful women protagonists, this will be right down your alley. This is one of those series that's hard to put down, so prepare for some late nights reading.


Have you read any of these series before? What did you think? Did I name a favorite of yours? Or do you have a series to recommend to us? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Either way, I hope you're all fairing well at home (or work if you're an essential employee). Until next time, happy reading!

Poking the Muse (Who, Maybe, I Shouldn't Be Keeping in a Cage and Starving) by Jane Kindred

A couple of months ago, I mentioned that my muse seemed to have gone dark. I was hoping by this month’s blog post I’d have a happy “I’m writing so fast my fingers are cramping” post to write. Alas, I haven’t written a single word.

I know a lot of people don’t believe in writer’s block. They think it’s an excuse lazy people make for not being willing to put “butt in chair” and just do the work. I suspect those same people tell their depressed friends that if they just went outside and got some exercise and counted their blessings every day, they’d feel better.

I don’t know if this is writer’s block. I just know that I want to be writing, I have time to write, and I am not writing. I see other writers on Twitter talking about drowning in plot bunnies, telling their new characters clamoring for a story to get in line. And there’s nothing in my head.

Well, not entirely nothing. There are two characters who keep dancing at the edges of my dreams, but they refuse to come out into the light and play. I named them the other day—Armand and William—in hopes of coaxing them out of hiding, but to no avail. I know the skeleton of their story (it’s based on a popular fairy tale), and I have vague images of a fog-shrouded setting of stone statuary and an empty, cobwebbed manor estate, but Armand and William remain stubbornly silent.

I think part of my problem is that the panic of a deadline isn’t looming over me, and I’ve gotten used to panic-writing. Another part is my aging cat, who howls bloody murder if I do anything but sit on the bed and let him have my lap. Not to mention the existential angst of living in 2018. But if I had a real story brewing, those things wouldn’t matter (or at least they would be mere details, obstacles, incidental).

In the meantime, I’m anxious and worried about everything. Which is something I’ve always lived with, but not writing definitely exacerbates it. It’s like a constant feeling in the back of my mind that I’m going to get in trouble, I’ve done something wrong, or some karmic fate is going to catch up to me, some disaster I cannot escape.

Spinning other people’s fates has always had a remarkably calming effect on that background noise. I often wonder if other writers use their writing this way, consciously or otherwise. Giving their characters problems and flaws that they can eventually triumph over. Writing worlds that they, the author, can control when everything in the real, mundane world is so often out of our control. Writing as therapy. Maybe that’s something I can do. Maybe.

Maybe I’m doing it right now.

Maybe Armand and William need a therapist.

Why Do Fairy Tales Appeal?

It turns out researchers believe the origins of many fairy tales go back thousands of years, long before written history, and were passed down orally for generations. If you look at most classic fairy tales, what you find are cautionary tales--don't travel through the woods alone, don't take candy from strangers, look past appearance (both good and bad) to the heart of people, and, of course, never trust a step mother.

Just kidding about that last one. However, human nature being what it is, most people don't like to be preached at. So is the moral of the story what draws us? Or is it something else?

Most fairy tales involve a magical or mystical element or folkloric fantasy creatures like dwarves, dragons, fairies, and so forth. Perhaps it's that which captures our imagination. In more modern times, we've altered the endings so that most fairy tales have a happily ever after aspect to them. (Don't even get me started on The Little Mermaid.). So maybe that's it?

All I can say is that, personally, for me it's all of the above. I'm a paranormal romance writer--so magic, fantasy, and romance, combined with a positive message or something that we can all related to, and, of course, the HEA, and you've totally got me hooked.

What about you? Do you love fairy tales? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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Co-written with USA Today Bestselling author Nicole Flockton!

Modern-day King Arthur meets Snow White for a surprising happily ever after in this magical mash-up of legends and fairy tales.

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For the love of fairytales

Once upon a time… this phrase has become so synonymous with a fairytale that you cannot imagine one beginning without those words nor can you imagine the story ending without the phrase and they lived happily ever after. So it really shouldn’t come as any kind of surprise, that fairytales permeate every part of our existence including our fiction well maybe most specifically our romantic fiction.

But why do we love fairytales? I asked my Mini Me this question not long ago. She gave me a rather peculiar look when asked the question. When I told her it was for a blog, She took a moment to think about her answer and finally she simply shrugged.

“Mom,” she said. “I love fairytales because they always make me think of you.”

It took me a moment to overcome the emotion generated by her response. When I pressed her to clarify her answer, she simply said, “fairytales are what you read me, the stories you told me. When I see one or hear one I think of you and I feel closer to you. Fairytales are like going home again.”

I cannot begin to come up with a better response to this question about why do we love fairytales than what my daughter said to me. After all, one of the reasons I have always loved fairytales is because my grandmother read them to me in the form of romance novels.

Going Home Again
So what is it about our fairytale that takes us home again? In most stories, we are thrust into a story we don’t understand. We don’t always know who are the good guys or the bad. We don’t know what’s wrong. We only know that something is wrong and that there is going to be a price to pay, but we don’t know why we should care.

Yes, This does sound a lot like going home sometimes.

We know there is a hardship and a conflict. We know that there’s an underlying tension and it is going to get stronger and stronger. And we know if someone doesn’t do something… it will get worse.

Very often, someone in the midst of all of this is innocent. Whether it’s a child, a gentle maiden, an awkward youth, or lonely dragon… this person or being is stuck in the middle.

Going Home is Hard
One truism about life or fiction is that it’s hard, and it will likely get worse long before it gets better. Everything in a fairytale is about struggle, fear, loss, defeat, failure… it’s about what doesn’t kill you, will make you stronger.

Overcoming life’s trials is the heart of any good fairytale. These complications are often so much greater than you imagined, and they can make or break your life. While our lives are not obviously complicated by a super villain, or haunted by wicked witch—our problems may feel like they come from one. Weirdly, this is the part of the fairytale I think nearly everyone can relate to, because it is the part that must be survived.

Who hasn’t stood there and thought “good God, now what?” as one thing after another goes wrong? Add up a lot of little events, and you don’t need a major catastrophe to feel like you will collapse under the stress.

We survive a lot of things: childhood, high school, first love, broken heart, marriage, death… living requires pain and being able to assign that pain to a name or title. He who cannot be named is far more terrifying than Tom Riddle. The fairytale clearly defines who the bad guy is.

Making Our Home

By the end of the fairytale, we know who the good guys are and who the bad guys, And we know what must be done. We know to achieve “happily ever after,” our home must be safe, a great rescue must occur and we must have a resolution. All that which was messy in the beginning, must be neat and organized. We will have made our home.

Considering our lives are never that neat or organized, this has and vast appeal. Because no matter how hard, or challenging, or difficult (yes I know they’ll mean the same thing) the fairytale will get a happily ever after and when we go home… at the end of the day isn’t that what we all want?


Writing Some Like It Royal
When I first began writing this book, but didn’t truly think about the idea that I was writing fairytale. But it’s a story about finding your way home, about overcoming challenges and obstacles to not only discover who the heroine is, but she and the hero can be. 

In some ways, I truly believe Some Like it Royal is the best of what a fairytale can offer: because it’s a story of hope.

Why do you love fairytales?

You are cordially invited...

Dust off your tiara and don't miss the upcoming release party on Facebook kicking off January 13th! 

You can also pre-order Some Like It Royal today!