Happy "Tell a Fairytale Day" Everyone!

So apparently yesterday was Tell a Fairy Tale Day or something (I found this out while half-asleep from my beta, Lorien, who called to tell me). Lacking internet at home, I had to wait until I went into work to post a relevant blog. But here's my relevant blog, yay!

 

I love fairy tales. I've been studying them since my senior year of high school, when I became a library aide and discovered the fairy tale section on the shelves. I've read quite a lot of original tales, both well-known and obscure (nearly everyone knows some variation of "Cinderella," for example, but how many children know the story of "The Children Who Played At Being Butcher" or "The Juniper Tree" or "Bluebeard?"). I've also read and/or seen various adaptations. I own quite a few as well. I just love them.

 

Many of my novels and short stories are either adaptations of or incorporate various fairy tales, too. My Twilight Chessboard novels are inspired by Alice in Wonderland. My sci-fi novel that's slowly coming together (veeeeeeery slowly, since I have other projects) is a space odyssey (sort of) based on "East of the Sun, West of the Moon." I've written various shorts inspired by various stories (my horror short, "Perchance to Dream," is adapted from The Nutcracker, and my tragic fantasy, "The Rat Prince," intertwines "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella," "Snow White," "Beauty and the Beast," and "The Pied Piper of Hamelin."

 

Right now I've got two projects in the works that are heavily influenced by fairy tales.

 

One, my high fantasy (meaning set in a world other than our own), The Shepherd's Daughter, draws on The Nutcracker, The Wild Swans, and the motif of the four winds from East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

 

And my current baby (which I'm pushing 76,000 words on, eek! So excited!) is I Hear the Bones Singing, which stars several fairy tale characters including Cinderella, Bluebeard's wife, Rapunzel, the Snow Queen, Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. That one should be out this year (and hopefully will get picked up by an agent 'cause that would make my year)!

 

Apparently Lorien mentioned these books in her blog so I'm gonna go sneak over there and see what she says…

 

In the meantime, check out my fairy tale lists of cool things, yo!

 

- LA Knight

 

Some of my favorite fairy tale movies include:

 

-         Alice in Wonderland (2010) by Tim Burton (yes, Alice in Wonderland counts as a fairy tale; so does Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz)

-         Barbie as The Twelve Dancing Princesses (I know, I know—childish, right? But it's hard to resist a kid's movie with an assassination plot and ballet in it)

-         Beastly (one of the best modern "Beauty and the Beast" adaptations I've seen; the book's okay, too)

-         Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Disney (the book is fairly adult, but the movie can be viewed by almost anyone)

-         Little Red Riding Hood as done by The Cannon Movie Group (live-action with music, done in the 80s)

-         Neverland from the SyFy Channel (a science-fiction version of the Peter Pan story, very unique)

-         The Polar Bear King (low-budget and foreign, not well-done compared to many of these in the list, but it holds a special place in my heart)

-         Sleeping Beauty by Disney (best villain line EVER!!! "Now you must deal with me, O Prince—and all the powers of Hell!")

-         Snow White & the Huntsman (love this movie; and Chris Hemsworth is HAWT!)

-         Tangled by Disney (one of two best versions of "Rapunzel" EVER; the other is a short story and listed below)

 

Some of my favorite fairy tale books include:

 

-         Cinder, book 1 of The Lunar Chronicles (very original sci-fi version of "Cinderella." I'm getting the "Red Riding Hood" sequel for my birthday)

-         Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier (a well-written historical retelling of "The Wild Swans" set in ancient Ireland)

-         Entwined by Heather Dixon (a brilliant retelling of "The 12 Dancing Princesses;" it is one of my favorite fairy tale books, one of my favorite versions of this tale, and one of my favorite books, period)

-         Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey (OMGOMGOMG!!! LOVE THIS BOOK!)

-         Golden by Cameron Dokey (a retelling of "Rapunzel" where Rapunzel is bald; yeah, how weird is THAT?)

-         The Mermaid's Madness by Jim C. Hines (a sad but fairly epic retelling of "The Little Mermaid," with appearances by Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty after the fashion of Charlie's Angels)

-         Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley (beautifully literary, a wonderful retelling of "Beauty and the Beast")

-         Spindle's End by Robin McKinley (LOVE this retelling of "Sleeping Beauty," so awesome, LOVE IT!!)

-         Splintered by AG Howard (an eerie but beautiful redux of Alice in Wonderland that just came out this year!)

-         Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguie (one of the best adaptations of "The Princess and the Pea" I've EVER seen EVER)

 

* Nevermore by Kelly Creagh (not actually inspired by a fairy tale, but inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, who is a literary great, so I'm counting it; Nevermore is one of my favorite books of all time)

 

 

And some of my favorite fairy tale short stories are:

 

-         "Beast" by Francesca Lia Block (a kinda sad but beautiful short, found in her anthology The Rose and the Beast, that shows the aftermath of the Beast's transformation back into a prince at the end of "Beauty and the Beast")

-         "The Blue Mirror" by Kathe Koja (a dark modern adaptation of "Bluebeard" set on the streets, written with beautiful language)

-         "Cinder-Elephant" by Jane Yolen (omg this story's hilarious, and the origin material should be pretty obvious, too)

-         "Gifts" by Poetofnowords (the most beautiful—and disturbing—version of "The Children Who Played at Being Butcher" I've ever read; I found it on Inkpop.com, which has ceased to exist, so I don't know if it got eaten by the internet or what)

-         "The Magic Circle" by Donna Jo Napoli (a sad story where the witch in "Hansel and Gretel" isn't evil of her own will)

-         "Match Girl" by Anne Bishop (a dark, disturbing, but ultimately empowering retelling of the usually depressing story "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Andersen)

-         "Rapunzel by Tanith Lee (not to be confused with her much darker retelling, "The Golden Rope." This version of "Rapunzel" is pretty brilliant and really funny. Everyone should read it. You'll be surprised how everything ends)

-         "Red Under the Moon" by OceanFire9 (found on Fanfiction.net—it's really short, but it's spectacularly brilliant, a short look at "Little Red Riding Hood")

-         "The Springfield Swans" by Caroline Stevermer (a great retelling of "The Wild Swans" set in the Midwest and involving baseball; Ms. Stevermer also wrote another book I adore called River Rats)

-         "Tiny" by Francesca Lia Block (a cute but kind of confusing modern adaptation of "Thumbelina;" I love the story and the language, but the end kinda leaves me going, "WTF, mate?" Still, I like it)

My favorite fairy tale couple on television!