TOTW - Fresh Fairy Tales

Fairy tales – they’ve been told and retold, but maybe you’re drawn to tell one again. And you’d be in good company.

Even many of the versions of fairy tales we think of as “collected” were actually retold in ways that made them distinctive. A number of today’s popular fairy tales were invented by actual authors, often women, in the French salons of the 17th century. These salons were creative and intellectual outlets for women shut out of other intellectual institutions. (For more on the French Salons, read “Introduction: The Rise of the French Fairy Tale and the Decline of France” by Jack Zipes in Beauty and the Beast and Other Classic French Fairy Tales.) Later, in the nineteenth century, the Brothers Grimm made significant changes to tales they collected from their sources, most of which weren’t peasants in the German countryside but educated young women. (For more on this, read the introduction by Jack Zipes to The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.) The Grimms also reshaped the tales for their intended audiences. Perhaps you would like to join such an august company of re-tellers.

But what more can be said with these stories? Bookshelves in YA and children’s libraries are full of fairy tale retellings. How might you craft fresh versions?

Perhaps the more appropriate question is this - Why do we still enjoy reading these tales? Why are many of us drawn to write them?

The simple answer is that they continue to have relevance for contemporary readers. What follows is a list of suggestions for finding unique relevance in old stories – the unexplored but rich terrain in fairy tales.

Consider the Historical Parallels or Significance. What are the connections one might make to tales and historical events? How might a tale represent what happened in the past? Jane Yolen, for example, used “Sleeping Beauty” to tell a sophisticated story of the Holocaust in Briar Rose. An alternative would be to consider contemporary parallels or significance, as Alex Flinn has done in a number of her novels. 

Draw a Cultural Picture. What stories are too little told? How might they depict cultures and peoples misrepresented or underrepresented in literature? Grace Lin used Chinese folk and fairy tales to inspire the wonderful MG fantasy Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. However, those of us considering writing outside our cultures should think carefully on the if’s, when’s, and how’s of such a decision. 

Find Logic in the Illogical. Often, the things that occur in fairy tales don’t entirely make sense. Why doesn’t Red Riding Hood notice that her grandmother has a hairy face? Why is Cinderella so obedient as she’s robbed of her position and possessions? Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted offers an answer to this last question that’s both humorous and emotionally resonant. Great stories can come from making sense out of nonsense. 

Tell the Tale from Another Side. Every character has his or her own story: the prince, the witch, the servant girl who walks into the tale briefly and then walks out. Try seeing the story from all sides, and writing it from an alternative perspective. To read an example of this kind of story, track down Donna Jo Napoli’s Zel or The Magic Circle, both of which offer the perspectives of witches. 

Kindle the Emotional Heat. Fairy tales might be about magic and once-upon-a-time, but they’re also about fathers who abandon children, lovers who must see past the ugly outward appearance of a beloved to the sweetness beneath, girls who make the wrong choices and must try to save themselves. These stories are, at their cores, about situations people continue to face every day. When we’re drawn to a particular tale, we might ask, why? What truths are we finding in it? The answers to these questions led me to write a version of “Hansel and Gretel”. Robin McKinley provided two sets of answers in two novels that retell the story of “Beauty and the Beast”, Beauty and Rose’s Daughter. 

I’m sure I’ve overlooked some ways of approaching old and yet compelling stories. How do you create unique stories from already-told tales? 

End of Summer Shamelessness

Summer may be over, but it's still hot here in Southern California, and for Inkies around the country who have some hot, hot news to share!

P.J. Hoover's debut with Tor SOLSTICE has a beautiful cover along with a wonderful blurb from Cynthia Leitich Smith!

Piper's world is dying. Each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles that threaten to destroy the earth. Amid this global heating crisis, Piper lives under the oppressive rule of her mother, who suffocates her even more than the weather does. Everything changes on her eighteenth birthday, when her mother is called away on a mysterious errand and Piper seizes her first opportunity for freedom.

Piper discovers a universe she never knew existed—a sphere of gods and monsters—and realizes that her world is not the only one in crisis. While gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper’s life spirals out of control as she struggles to find the answer to the secret that has been kept from her since birth.

An imaginative melding of mythology and dystopia, Solstice is the first YA novel by talented newcomer P. J. Hoover.

Awesome, right? And the blurb from Cynthia Leitich Smith:

“Solstice is one red-hot read—it intrigues, sizzles, and satisfies.” —Cynthia Leitich Smith, New York Times bestselling author

The fantastic trailer for THE CRIMSON CROWN by Cinda Williams Chima is now live, featuring an original song by Roto. Check it out before you can see it theaters this fall!

Cinda's not the only one with a brand shiny new trailer. Grace Lin's STARRY RIVER THE SKY (which now has 5 starred reviews) is also live!

So amazing. Both of them!

Speaking of reviews, DIVERSE ENERGIES, a multicultural YA dystopian anthology (Tu Books) has a new one. The anthology features short stories by our own Ellen Oh and Cindy Pon, as well as award winning authors such as Ken Liu, Paolo Bacigalupi and Ursula Le Guin. Kirkus gave Diverse Energies a very positive review in their October 1 issue:

As the title promises, this sophisticated science-fiction anthology is diverse in nearly every sense of the word... Readers will find poor children working in mines and factories, a have-not yao boy kidnapping a rich you girl and a girl reeling as the world inexplicably changes around her, and no one else notices. Although many stories imagine bleak futures, their tones are refreshingly varied... Careful, curious readers will be rewarded, though probably not comforted, by the many realities and futures imagined here.

Yep, that's a win!

And last, I announced a new book deal a couple of weeks ago, for 2014 and 2015. Not fantasy, but I thought I'd let you know anyway.

Author of POSSESS, TEN and the upcoming 3:59, Gretchen McNeil's new Don't Get Mad series, GET EVEN and GET DIRTY, pitched as Revenge meets The Breakfast Club, about four girls who form a secret revenge society for bullied classmates which goes well until one of their targets turns up dead, to Kristin Daly Rens at Balzer & Bray, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Ginger Clark at Curtis Brown (NA).

And that's all the awesomeness for this week!!!!

Chinese Dragons, Mermaids, and Unicorns

It's fairly well known that the Western legends of dragons differ greatly from the Eastern mythology. Westerns dragons are evil fire-breathing monsters that tend to covet treasure and fair maidens; and are usually heroically killed. Eastern dragons are awe-inspiring, lucky protectors that can rule the clouds or the sea. However, without a doubt, both creatures are referred to as dragons. The differences that a cultural lens create have always been fascinating to me.

Because it is not only with dragons do the East and West have a common creature with conflicting mythologies.  There are mermaids. In the west, mermaids are beautiful, fish-tailed females that lure men to watery deaths.

In Chinese mythology, there is a famous mermaid and she, ironically, brought men to life. Nu-gua, a goddess with a fish tail, was bored  with the earth having only dumb beasts. So, with a lovely clean batch of mud she began to fashion little beings that looked like her--only giving them legs for fun. She was quite pleased with her little people but it took so long to make them and earth was so large and empty. So, to speed things up she took a rope and dipped it into a large batch of mud that was conveniently located (not that nice, and were three different colors of it, black, brown and yellow). This mud-covered rope she spun over her head, the drips and spatters of mud becoming new people.  These new people were, of course, not as well-formed and refined as Nu-gua's original batch but there were a lot of them. So Nu-gua had the people made from mud-drips into commoners and peasants while her hand-formed people became the aristocrats. Thus, the Chinese class system was formed! Not very politically-correct, but it is a contrast to the languid, lovelorn mermaids of the west.

Another same-but-different mythological creature is the unicorn. The Chinese unicorn or the qilin is a symbol of longevity and good omen, just like the Western unicorn. However, the qilin  has the skin of five colors and scales like a fish. It walks on water and its horn is fleshy, to signify that the qilin is an animal of peace--its horn could never be used as a weapon. Very different from the pure white unicorns that I drew on my notebooks in 7th grade!

Other then curiosity, why does this matter? Well, as authors, our jobs are to write stories with a fresh perspective. In all the stories of the world, they say there are only really two plots (hero goes on a journey or stranger comes to town). All the rest is texture and layers--so why not look at a different cultural fabric for inspiration? For all their differences,  the creatures are the same.

Grace Lin is the author and illustrator of picture books, early readers and middle grade novels. Grace's newest novel, STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY, a companion novel  to her 2010 Newbery Honor book WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON comes out in October! 

Day Late and a Dollar Shameless

I apologize.

Last week, I completely forgot the Shameless Saturday post.  This week, I'm a day late.  Ugh.  My brain is leaking like a sieve these days!

But it's okay.  I'm here.  Now.  And I've got some awesome news to share!!!

Starting off with books that are new on the shelves, the amazing Nancy Holder has a new book in stores. VANQUISHED, the third book in her YA dark fantasy Crusade series, is on sale now!

I love that we get to do cover releases here on the Inkpot and Amy Butler Greenfield is thrilled to finally be able to share the cover for CHANTRESS (McElderry, May 2013). Seriously, people, this cover is freaking GORGEOUS! Cannot wait to get my hands on it!!!

We've got two three set of Inkie appearances coming up.  Laura McCaffrey will be joining Tanya Lee Stone, Sarah Aronson, and Laurie Halse Anderson as faculty for the Children's Writing Intensive at Stone Spirit Farm, offered through The Learning Collaborative of Bethany, CT, on Oct 18-22, 2012.

Bay Area residents, be sure to check out the SF in SF reading with Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon next Saturday, September 15 at 7pm at The Variety Preview Room 582 Market Street at Montgomery (1st Floor of the Hobart Building). Malinda will ready from her latest YA Sci Fi Thriller ADAPTATION and Cindy will read from SILVER PHOENIX and FURY OF THE PHOENIX. Signing following.

I'll also be in SF, in my first official signing for TEN, at Books Inc. Opera Plaza Friday, September 21st at 7pm.  I'll be joining by Michelle Gagnon (DON'T TURN AROUND) and Jessica Shirvington (ENTICE.)  The next day, Saturday, September 22nd, I'll be on a contemporary YA panel at the Sonoma Book Festival with Corrine Jackson (IF I LIE) and Dana Einhardt (THE SUMMER I LEARNED TO FLY) and 11:30am.  Then on Sunday, September 23rd I have my Los Angeles launch event for TEN at 2:30pm at Mysterious Galaxy, Redondo Beach.  Yeah, I'm a slacker.  :D

You can check out these and all my fall appearances on my blog.

Grace Lin is back with a new book.  Her October release STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY has gotten not one, not two but three starred reviews! Check them out on her blog.

In foreign rights news, Korean rights have sold for Jennifer Nielsen's THE FALSE PRINCE, making it the eighth language licensed. THE FALSE PRINCE was also named as one of the Best Books of 2012 on both the Middle Grade and the Young Adult lists at TheBestBooksOf.com.

And last, er, I always get embarrassed talking about my own news.  But I'm finally able to share the book trailer for TEN (Balzer + Bray, September 18.)  Warning: it's creepy.

See? I WARNED YOU!!!!

In addition, I just launched my guerrilla street team The Army of Ten, where you can sign up and win some amazing prizes, including books, swag and a meet and greet with me!  :)

Rolling with the Shamlessness

One of the things I love most about being the official Enchanted Inkpot Ambassador of Shamelessness (I feel like I need a badge or something...) is that I get to bring you news like this:

The cover for my friend and fellow Inkie Ellen Oh's debut PROPHESY.

Not only that, but I get to bring you the two FANTASTIC blurbs!

"What an adventure! I fell in love with the lush, richly woven world of PROPHECY. Kira is truly a force to be reckoned with. When I finished my journey with her, all I wanted was more. Spectacular!" - Marie Lu, author of the LEGEND trilogy

"Filled with ancient lore, political intrigue, non-stop action, and a fiercely determined heroine, PROPHECY is a rich and thrilling read—my favorite kind of book!" - Robin LaFevers, author of GRAVE MERCY

I love my job.

Meanwhile, Nancy Holder has a whole flurry of news this week. First, she sold Bulgarian rights to POSSESSIONS, her YA horror series.  Next, she sold the short story "Love and "War" to THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF ER ROMANCE.  And then she'll be the keynote banquet speaker at Slayage 5: Conference on the Whedonverses, July 12-15 in Vancouver, Canada.

Yeah.  She's boring like that.  ;)

In review news, early reviews are coming in for Grace Lin's STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY, with Fuse8 rounding the bend in first.  Spoiler: they loved it.

And lastly, my newest horror title TEN has been included in the Junior Library Guild book club for fall.  WOO HOO!

Okee.  That's all for this week!

Pour on the Shamelessness

You know, us Inkies get around.  Last weekend, we descended about New York City for BEA 2012, with signings, meet and greets and cocktail parties galore.  I had an amazing turn out for my signing of TEN, and Grace Lin's upcoming middle grade novel STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY was part of the middle grade buzz panel!  Which is pretty rad.

Next week?  It's Anaheim's turn for ALA 2012!

Cindy Pon has both a panel AND a signing at ALA.  The Not Another Boring Vampire Romance: Going Beyond the Norm in YA Paranormal Fiction will be led by the fabulous librarian, Angei Manfredi where Cindy will be joined by Kendare Blake, Jackson Pearce and Kenneth Oppel.
Saturday, June 23, 8-10am in the Anaheim Convention Center, Room 209B.

Then from 12.30-1.30pm, Cindy will be signing along with Tahereh Mafi at the HarperCollin’s Booth 2558. Cindy will be signing BOTH Silver Phoenix paperbacks as well as Fury of the Phoenix hardcovers.

Nancy Holder is also signing at ALA: 1:00 – 2:00 PM, in the Simon & Schuster (Booth #2600-2601).  And don't forget Robin LaFevers,1pm Saturday at the Houghton Mifflin Booth!

I'll be at ALA as well, roaming around the convention floor Saturday June 23rd.  No signings for me (boo hoo) however, I will be doing a special TEN giveaway.  BUT YOU HAVE TO FIND ME AT ALA TO WIN!  Details coming on my blog next week.

We've got a huge cover reveal coming up next week.  Ellen Oh's PROPHECY reveal will be hosted by the YA Book Central on Monday, June 18th at noon EST.  Don't miss it!

A couple of weeks again, we announced that William Alexander got an amazing blurb from Ursula Le Guin for his upcoming release GOBLIN SECRETS, and now Ursula herself is blogging about the book.  Yes, that scream your heard just now?  Inkie fan girl/boy screams from around the country.

Speaking of blurbs, Miriam Forster has two to share for her upcoming debut CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS:

"A truly unique treasure, Forster's debut is storytelling at its best. With a chilling mystery, a forbidden romance, and delightful characters I fell in love with, I wanted to spend more time in the City of a Thousand Dolls." —Elana Johnson, author of Possession

"With fantastic world building and a wonderful heroine, City of a Thousand Dolls intrigued me from the first page. Forster took me on a fascinating journey full of twists and turns--I can't wait for the sequel!" --Cindy Pon, author of Silver Phoenix

Lastly, Lisa Gail Green has two short stories out in the new anthology JOURNEYS OF WONDER on sale only at Amazon.com now! $.99 or free through the Amazon Prime lending library.

Far-Reaching Shamlessness

There's a lot of exciting news this week.  Um, I even have some for a change.  But more on that later...

New on shelves this week, Ellen Booraem's SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS is out in paperback, with a slightly modified cover. (But still with sparkles!). Official pub date was Feb 16. If you haven't gotten a chance to read this fantastic fairy novel, GET ON IT!

We're lucky here in the Inkpot to have some amazingly talented authors, and we always love it when one of them earns the recognition they deserve.  Grace Lin is just one example.  Her award-winning middle grade fantasy WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON is #26 on Scholastic Parent and Child Magazine's "100 Greatest Books for Kids."  She's in amazing company, too.  SO COOL!!!!

Grace isn't the only Inkie getting recognition. Nancy Holder's horror novel THE SCREAMING SEASON, is a Bram Stoker Award nominee. Winners will be announced at the World Horror Convention. How awesome is that??? Meanwhile, she sold a piece to ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE: FIGHT BACK!, the second in a trilogy of mosaic novels about a zombie pandemic, edited by Stephen Jones.

And not to be outdone, William Alexander's GOBLIN SECRETS received a starred review from Kirkus this week:

Alexander’s world, blending steampunk and witchy magic, is impressively convincing and evocative in its oddities. Though highly textured, it’s tightly woven and reassuringly seamless.

The result is wryly humorous and bearably yet excitingly menacing: Even while much is left unexplained, Rownie’s triumph is both gripping and tantalizing.

Steampunk goblins? WIN!


I have a review to share as well! POSSESS got a fabulous review in the School Library Journal's March issue, that called it a "fantastic YA debut":

This tale of possession, duplicity, angels, and demons is set in foggy San Francisco and is a wonderful addition to the field of paranormal romance. It's also a mystery and a tale of teenage outcasts and bullies, and loss of a parent. While some of the story is predictable, the humor and occasional twists will keep fans of the genre hooked and wanting to finish this book in one sitting.

*dances*

Which leads to the last piece of shamelessness for this week...

I was finally able to reveal my cover for TEN this week! To celebrate, there's a huge contest going on at Me, My Shelf and I - an online scavenger hunt for ten clues (see what I did there???) and the grand prize is a signed, annotated copy of the unbound galley of TEN!

Are you ready for the cover?

And yes, I totally freaking LOVE it!  :)