***
The Jeweled Fairytale Retellings #3
Power can take many forms, but sometimes the greatest magic comes from inside you.
Asha has been a servant for the cruel Duke Bryce for as long as she can remember, and when he married Queen Ilma of the Wind Kingdom, she was dragged to the castle with him and his daughters.
Now, the death of the queen has thrown the castle into panic: if her son, Prince Aither, doesn’t marry before his 18th birthday, the throne will go to Duke Bryce.
Prince Aither knows he must choose a wife, and he’s resigned to his fate. But Duke Bryce has his own ideas about who his bride should be, and if he gets his way, no one will be happy.
Asha is used to watching everything unfold from her place in the kitchen, but she soon finds herself on an unexpected quest set to change her life forever.
Meanwhile, Prince Aither must find a way to make the best of what seems like a hopeless situation and use his powerful magic as a force for good in the kingdom.
***
***
Guest Post
Ten reasons why I love fairy tale retellings
Cinderella. Sleeping Beauty. Little Red Riding Hood. Snow White. Rumpelstiltskin. These are the stories we love, that we grew up watching and reading about.
But what happens after the prince saves the days? Or what happened if the prince never did?
Retellings give writers and readers the opportunity to ask “What if” something didn’t happen exactly as we all thought, or exactly how it might have happened long ago. That’s the number one reason I love fairytale retellings so much, but here are nine more reasons:
1. They breathe new life into time-tested stories. Many people grew up reading Grimm fairytales or watching Disney’s renditions on the big screen. Fairytales have a place in most people’s hearts.
2. We already love the stories and characters. And we get to fall in love with them all over again!
3. Gives us a chance to play within an existing structure. Fairytales give writers an existing structure, they can then take and manipulate to fit within their imagination and worlds.
4. Retellings are FULL of imagination. Whether it’s the magic system, the world, the character or the story (or, hopefully, a mixture of all), fairytale retellings give writers the opportunity to choose their own adventure within that existing plot we talked about in my last point.
5. But we get to see them in new, uncharted waters. A lot of Disney’s retellings told stories of young maidens searching (or waiting) for their one true love, for their Prince Charmings to come and sweep them off their feet. Some of the original fairytale texts were a lot darker. Modern retellings often have hints of romance with a whole lot of plot and story!
6. Modernize tired tropes and enhance character development. Readers love a good character, probably more than they like a good story. Retellings give us a chance to portray similar characters and dive DEEP into their backstory, deep into their development, so people can truly connect with them.
7. We often add more diversity between characters. Diversity is a must, when it comes to characterization, settings, cultures, and pretty much every other facet of a modern story.
8. There’s also often a slew of worldbuilding and magic. Fantasy and magic is what I love, so it’s only natural that I’d like my retellings to have both!
9. Refreshes old stories for a modern audience. It’s tough to connect with characters with one goal, which is why modern readers often love multi-dimensional characters with values systems and quirks. As we change, our culture follows, morphing and twisting along with us. So, it’s only natural that we’d like our fairytales to come along with us.
But for retellings to work, they need to be done well. They can’t be copycats of the original text. They have to be new, exciting, and they have to engage audiences. Worldbuilding and mystical elements are a beautiful must.
Fairytales were my favorite stories as a child, and I still love watching fairytales – new and old! They’ve gotten darker, grimmer. Modern fairytales focus on more than finding love. There’s a story, and action, and something driving the main character forward.
Thank you, Sara Michaels and Lola’s Blog Tours
***
About the author
Sara lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two dogs. A lover of the written word from an early age, Sara reads everything from middle grade to young adult and adult novels. She loves genres ranging from science fiction and fantasy to contemporary and historical fiction, which is why she writes and plans to publish across several genres, including contemporary, romance, young adult fantasy, and science fiction.
When she’s not writing, you can find her playing video games, reading way too many books at the same time, singing to music, or riding her motorcycle around a beautiful Washington backdrop. She also writes for several online blogs and newspapers.
***
Author Links
Website: https://saramichaelsbooks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075098222081
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorsaramichaels/
Newsletter: https://saramichaelsbooks.com/newsletter
***
Book Link
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S7VD1ZX
:
:
:
:
:
B for Bookreview 