The Fairy Tale Feminista
Answering life’s questions one fairy tale at a time.
Minding my Mythology, part II
Here’s the problem when mythology is collected from an interrupted culture: the stories are left partially incomplete. The Greeks thrived for centuries recording their mythology for posterity in a written language. It proliferated throughout the ancient world allowing it to become further etched in the culture. Even after the arrival of Christianity there were folk beliefs that remained.
Minding my Mythology, part I
I’ve mentioned once or twice that my superpower is research. It’s also my comfort zone and in these unsettling times, research is where I go to relax. Lately it’s been mythology. As a child, I devoured books about Greek and Egyptian mythology. And yet I never thought to search for my own.
Marking Time with Tale Friends
The other day I was trying to conjure up my quarantine fantasy (not that being under quarantine should be anyone’s idea of a fantasy other than the whole stuck on a desert island with your dream lover, but that’s for another post). It included things like spending an entire day in bed with meals delivered up to my bedroom and reading an entire book, cover to cover, without interruptions. Actually, that last one figures in a lot of fantasies of mine!It got me thinking about what people do when they’re stuck at home and because this is a blog primarily about how I feel about fairy tales, it seemed only natural to consider what a quarantine would be like with one of them.
Writing while...
As a writer in the 21st century, you’re often asked to share more of yourself than you’re comfortable with in order to gain readership of your intended work, be it blog posts or novels. The field is so crowded with talent that something has to help you stand out.
Less Fairy, More Tale
It's been far too long, dear reader, since I've written. Not that I'm not writing--I've been working on editing the third book in my four-book series. But I have been woefully negligent with my social media. It's an offshoot of my mixed feelings about marketing.Therefore, I'm going to write one of my rare writing posts. I don't write them often because I hardly feel like an expert. However, I have learned a few things while working as an indie author.
Random Joy in Weird Times
Whenever I'm given unexpected good news, I think about the Valiant Tailor. It was a small thing, working away at his trade and then pausing for a snack only to be interrupted by pestering flies. He ended their buzzing with one blow and was so tickled by the fact he made himself a sash proclaiming the feat.
Not all those who wander...
When I was about eight, I watched Alice in Wonderland over and over again. I loved the chatty and catty flower garden. I memorized all the Cheshire Cat's lines. I hated the ending. I didn't want Alice to back to her old life. I hoped she would learn to navigate the ins and outs of Wonderland.
Miss Plot?
For those who don’t know, I love Star Trek. While I’m iffy on the original series, I’ve seen the original cast movies more times than I can count. I watched them after discovering my first love, Star Trek: The Next Generation. My love affair continued through Deep Space Nine, Voyager and even Enterprise (although don’t get me started on the last episode—as far as I’m concerned the penultimate episode was the finale we all deserved)
Suspend belief
I spend a lot time on this blog criticizing fairy tales (as only someone who really loves them can), but there is one thing that I truly love about fairy tales--the ability for fairy tale characters to believe in the extraordinary.Cinderella just ran with it when her mother's grave started granting her wishes. The woodsman didn't question hearing voices coming from a wolf's stomach. And the miller's youngest son didn't ask Puss why he needed the boots, he just got them.
Living a Fairy Tale Trope
It’s a familiar trope in fairy tales. Cinderella had her father’s estate. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty both had a cottage in the woods. Rapunzel had her tower with no doors. Belle had the Beast’s castle. In fairy tales, princesses tend to find themselves in isolation.It’s not unusual. These stories were written in a time when most women could measure their worlds in the square feet of their homes. Men worked outside—women, inside.
Simple Kindness is Golden
Ever get the feeling that rudeness in on the rise? I know it's not a new idea, but that doesn't mean it bears ignoring. Just like anything that requires correcting, it should be revisited.In fairy tales princesses and women who will be princesses are always praised for their quiet accommodation and politeness, which I have noted on more than a few occasions in the blog. However, I've been remiss.
Author Anniversary: Special Edition
As Fairytale Feminista readers know, I don’t usually post on Fridays, but today I’m making an exception.Happy Valentine’s Day! I don’t celebrate, but last year I found a new reason to mark the occasion. Last year I published my first novella, The Cemetery Circle. It seemed appropriate to release it on Valentine’s Day because it was a paranormal romance that I thought up while on a romantic trip with my husband.
Fairy Justice
Imagine if you will Rapunzel still wandering the swamp with her twins in tow and the prince elsewhere, still blind and searching for his love.Imagine the maiden in Rumpelstiltskin handing over her baby to the fairy who demanded her as payment.Imagine the Woodsman never happened by Grannie’s house and Red Riding Hood still being digested in the stomach of the wolf.
The Spinster Queen
Real fairy tales have no end. And this one in particular makes me nostalgic because reading it was the start of my writing career. Check out Rachel's other After Ever After stories.
A Noble's Path release: Part II
Anyone who has considered indie publication or is currently engaged in indie publications knows that, to paraphrase a well-known opening line, it is a truth universally acknowledged that no matter how well a plan is executed, something will gum up the works. For me, it's paperbacks.For my last book it took a month after the digital release before the paperback was made available. This time I think I can better that wait by two weeks. Here's hoping!
Musing on the Muse
Next week, A Noble’s Path, the second book in my Enchanted Path series, is being released. It’s a bittersweet moment. I’m hoping that it leads to more interest in the series, but I know it also means having to embrace more marketing. It’s not my forte, not because I’m shy, but because it means selling myself as much as selling my book. The book I don’t mind talking about—I get very few opportunities to do so—but talking about myself seems immaterial to the writing process.
After Ever After
Divided loyalties test Inez Garza. The infamous incident at the Academy of Natural Studies has forced her to work for the King’s Men while continuing to serve the hidden market.Supporting Birthright furthers the cause of Magical Return, but the cost may be the fall of the royal house and losing Zavier forever.And the strongest pull of all is her growing and erratic magic, which demands everything and offers only destruction in return.Inez must decide where her loyalties lie—saving Canto or saving herself.A Noble’s Path: Book Two of the Enchanted Path
January with Thumbelina
January is a quiet, broody month. The end of the holiday season is as sudden as the beginning of it. The weather is unpredictable and rarely appreciated. And the new year has a sense of urgency to be different or at least better than the last. It’s all exhausting!I think about Thumbelina hiding out with the field mouse for the winter all cozy and grateful. Of course, the peace doesn’t last because the old field mouse because the next in a long line of creatures that think Thumbelina should marry. Thumbelina is forced to run away to avoid yet another arranged marriage. That’s what January feels like, a forced marriage between your expectations and other people’s—uneasy and slightly ominous.
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