K.M. Shea's Blog, page 39

Snow White: Other Retellings

Back when the Twelve Dancing Princesses book was released I had so much fun discussing other retellings of the fairy tale with you, Champions, I decided to make it a tradition! I assumed Snow White was a more popular and well known retelling (thanks Disney!) but it wasn’t until I asked you Champions for help on Facebook that I came up with a sizable list.

Below is a list of some of the Snow White retellings I’ve read as well as a few I’m aware of (but haven’t read). Have you tried these? Do you know of more? Please comment on this post and let me know if there’s books I’m missing as I’d be happy to edit this post with additional books!

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine  – I’m a big fan of Gail Carson Levine, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that I love this retelling in particular. Levine is a master at pulling the heart of a fairy tale through really different circumstances, and creating worlds that are so different and yet so real. This is a great story for readers of any age, and the main character is the biggest sweetheart ever!

Snow White by K.M. Shea – Yes this is my book!

The Country of Mullberg

Before we jump in, a few housekeeping items! The Annual Hero Poll is still running until January 24th, so be sure to cast your five votes before then! Also, just as a warning, I’ve been battling a pesky cold for about a week now, so this post might not be the most coherent thing I’ve ever written, ahahah….

As most of you know, I like to base my countries off real life (Historic) countries from our world. Loire and Trieux both have French roots, Sole is more Italian, Ringsted is Scottish/Irish, Farset has more of a celtic vibe, Kozlovka is Russian, and Verglas is more Norwegian.

The problem is I usually try to use lore from that particular country when I build the story, but Snow White–like Wild Swans–is solidly a German folktale. (There are variations, as we already explored, but the Snow White story as we know it is German.) I knew I needed Arcainia to be more of German influence due to Wild Swans, so what was I to do with Mullberg?

I was aware of this problem back when I was first designing the story world which is why I decided to make Arcainia and Mullberg neighbors. As neighbors its more understanding that they would share a similar German culture–much the way Trieux has/had a very similar culture to Loire.

You can see the similarities in the way the royals are unafraid to work, and are more aware of their subjects’ daily lives than the more affluent countries like Loire and Sole.

But I also needed a way to depict clear differences. And let me tell you this was a real challenge considering Snow White spends about 80% of the book IN THE FOREST. But I still tried to place clues, so let’s talk about a few!

First, you can see the German influence in Mullberg clothes. I very specifically mention that Snow White and Faina wear dresses with small puffs at their shoulders and elbows, complete with ribbing. This is a veeeerrrryyy German dress style, as you can see below.

This fantastic drawing was created by Clair Hummel (You can find her at: https://www.clairehummel.com/illustra... )

I also used Germanic names (Fritz, Marzel, Wendal–all the warriors have German names, yes, including Aldelbert–though his comes from the name Adelbert, I threw in the extra L because Aldelbert is the sort of guy who needs it.)

Where Mullberg starts to depart from both Germanic tradition and Arcainia, is in the formation of the government. Mullberg is unique in that it has a Cabinet of lords who serve to help the monarch make decisions.

Other countries have royal advisers, but none with as direct access as Mullberg’s cabinet. Moreover, Mullberg royalty is the most informal in the continent–even more so than Baris.

There is multiple examples of this through out the book–from the servants speaking freely to Snow White to the fact that the Seven Warriors don’t bother much with Snow White’s title. You can even see it in the way Fritz doesn’t dwell very much on the improbability of a princess falling for a forester. (Isaia, on the other hand, agonizes over this since he is from a land of nobles and blue bloodlines, even though he is of noble blood.)

Probably the greatest example of this, however, can be seen in the meeting with Lord Vitkovci and the other lords. The lords don’t protest Snow White staying with the Seven Warriors because it’s beneath her to room with peasants, they’re only concerned about her reputation.

Besides Mullberg’s distinct culture of informality, there is another unique trait to this country: mining. This I took directly from the original Snow White where, as you might recall, the dwarves are all said to be miners.

Though Snow White mentions that Mullberg’s biggest industry is mining, if you pay close attention, you can see that play out in Mullberg’s culture. (And I mean clooooose attention, because it is HARD to show that off when the heroine spends the bulk of the book in a forest.)

It starts in the palace. If you read the first chapter closely, you’ll notice considering it’s a little more humble than the other countries (being that it doesn’t follow Loire fashion or influence) the palace has a lot of jewel encrusted decorations. Heck, Faina uses a giant gem as a paperweight and no one thinks twice about it.

I also made a nod to it in the capital city’s name, Juwel, and the palace’s name, Glitzern (like glitz and glamour) but where it’s especially hidden is in Hurra. Hurra is a moderate city–given it’s close proximity to the capital there is no need for it to be huge. And yet in her short visit there, Snow White sees multiple jewelers and jewel smiths–something no country besides Mullberg would have the ability to support because the industry just simply isn’t there.

It’s a little more obvious when the Seven Warriors choose to take on the disguise of miners, but you can also see it in the palace decorations at the end of the book as well–there is again more gold and gems and different types of rock.

So that’s Mullberg! It was a really fun country to play in–particularly because of its informality. I hope you enjoyed today’s post, Champions, thanks for reading, and have a lovely day!

The post The Country of Mullberg appeared first on K. M. Shea.

2019 Hero Poll

Steel yourselves, Champions. It’s time…for the Annual Hero Poll!

For those of you who may be new, every year I hold a poll to crown the top voted heroes from my K. M. Shea and A. M. Sohma books. (There is a heroine version that is usually held in the summer–it was canceled last year, though, when we had the Summer Reading Event running!) Since I first started this poll Stil of Rumpelstilskin has won the contest every year, until last year when there was an upset as Merlin from King Arthur and Her Knights took first!

Who will win this year? YOU DECIDE! Vote for your top five favorite heroes. This poll closes January 24th, so you have until then to deliberate on your selection. And to all my heroes…good luck!

Special note: The poll order changes with every refresh, so look carefully to make sure you haven’t missed any of your favorites!

 

View Poll

The post 2019 Hero Poll appeared first on K. M. Shea.

Snow White: The Moral

We’re heading into the last few Snow White themed posts–today we’re discussing the moral, and then I have another post to discuss the country of Mullberg! (I’ll try to cram both of them in before we get the Hero Poll going, which starts later this week!)

Snow White is a little difficult to extrapolate the moral, mostly because the majority of fairy tales summarize the moral in the last few lines of the original tale. (In example, Cinderella and the Snow Queen.)

Of course, you can pull the traditional moral that a lot of fairy tales underline, and that is that the world is big and can be scary, and you shouldn’t blindly trust strangers–which is admittedly one of the morals in Snow White. (Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood are both examples of this moral as well.)

But perhaps the moral closest to the core of the story is vanity. The wicked queen/stepmother starts harassing Snow White because of Snow White’s beauty. Even though the princess has to be half her age, the queen is obsessed with being the fairest in the land and remaining young and beautiful.

What is the saddest part about the queen’s actions, is that she clearly believes her only worth as a person is in her beauty. This is a devastating thought, and though I’m probably reading into it, it seems unlikely this is a belief the queen came up with on her own without any sort of outside influence.

(As a side note, I abhor this kind of thinking. That’s why a lot of my heroines might be pretty, but often it is in an nontraditional sense. Gabrielle is the most beautiful of all–Angelique withstanding–and she HATES her beauty at the start of her story, and still doesn’t see any value in it even now as a crown princess.)

Back to the moral, it is the queen’s obsessive vanity that turns her into a cannibalistic murderer, and it is the queen’s vanity that ends her life.

You can see my tip of the hat to this moral in the way Faina acknowledges she is vain. (The mirror would have taken a long time to conqueror anyone who didn’t give two hoots about their looks because in order to influence a victim, the victim needs to be THERE.)

But while pointing out the folly of vanity is a worthy moral, I decided I didn’t want that to be the theme in my Snow White, and instead I decided to explore something that I’ve noticed is a vacuum in fairy tales: parental love.

In the majority of fairy tales, the parents are either incompetent (Belle’s father from Beauty and the Beast or the father of the heroine from Rumpelstiltskin) dead (Swan Lake, Cinderella’s mother) or absentee. (Cinderella’s father, Snow White’s father, etc.) In the few cases they are present and somewhat good parents–like Snow Queen–they are obstinate and oblivious to the heroine/hero’s struggles. Sometimes the parents are even villainous themselves. (Hansel and Gretel’s parents.)

I understand why–a major theme in Fairy Tales is encouraging children to grow up–but do ALL fairy tales have to follow that pattern?? Truly?

Since I first started planning this series I knew I wanted to delivery a great big wallop to that common thread, and deliver a story in which a parent sacrifices everything to protect their child. Even better, I wanted to use one of the most common fairy tale villains: a stepmother.

Queen Faina–Snow White’s stepmother–changes the future of the continent because of her stubborn love of Snow White. If she had given in sooner, or allowed the mirror to kill Snow White, it would have created a devastation that would have rocked the world.

While Snow White moves her court to save her stepmother, it is Faina who is the true hero of the story, for in her refusal to hurt her stepchild, she saved the continent from certain disaster. And that is the kind of love parents–or step parents, adopted parents, or even mentors–have for their children, the kind that shapes the world.

You can see echos of this not just through Faina, but characters like Empress Sonya of Swan Lake, Grandmother Guri, Cinderella’s stepmother, Rothbart, and Sybilla. (Yes, though Sybilla has no children, her love for Angelique is something of a saving grace for the enchantress-in-training.)

So, that’s my moral! It made for a rather different rendition of Snow White, but it’s also why I have a soft spot for Mullberg. Thanks for reading, Champions, and have a lovely day!

The post Snow White: The Moral appeared first on K. M. Shea.

2018 Reflection

I’m interrupting the Snow White themed blog posts to bring in my annual year-in-review post! (I thought it was fitting since it is the last day of 2018.) In this post I’ll go over some of the things I did this year (as a writer) and a few of the things I’ve learned. Let’s get started!

This year I tried a lot of new things!

I was a part of the Entwined Tales series with some of my best author pals and I went to my first writing conference in Chicago. (2019 is already sold out, but it was the Sell More Books Show Summit for those of you who are curious.)

I did a bunch more events this year (like the Atypical heroine event with Lindsay Buroker, and my gingerbread house building session on Facebook Live) and have also had a BLAST with the A. M. Sohma crew who have been able to play Lord of the Rings Online with me!

Snow White the Character

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, Champions, and Happy Holidays–though the New Year looms on the horizon. I’ve got some great goodies for you today, starting with a free ebook: Goose Girl! Goose Girl is part of the Entwined Fairy Tale series I did with five other authors, and actually the whole series is on sale right now! Click here for the series page.

Additionally, the final Snow White short is now available: A Picky Pegasus! It’s an extra scene from Angelique’s point of view. I hope you all enjoy it–and thank you so much for all the reviews! I’m so thrilled with the reception you’ve given Snow White.

Bookish Gifts and Items

Reminder that The Little Selkie is priced at free today through December 25th! Get it while you can!  Amazon.com | Other Amazon Stores

Now that my Christmas event is in full swing I thought it would be a great excuse to talk about bookish items! If you follow me on Pinterest you probably noticed I have a Gifts for Bookworms board, and can I just say some of the items are so clever, and fun, and just plain cuuute! If I talked about all my favorite items we would be here forever, and I want to get back to eating cookies so I’ll just call out a few of my favorites!

Mugs

If you saw any of my Lars Olsen #deskdwarf posts on Instagram you saw my newest bookish themed mug! I also have a Dr. Seuss one featuring some lines from Oh the Places You’ll Go. Here’s a buzzfeed article with tons more bookish themed mugs!

If you’d like a mug (or a travel mug) featuring some of my cover art, there are some options over on my merchandise store. If you’re not interested in cover art MyrrhLynn also made a mug featuring the most popular line ever from The Little Selkie (“Some people need a starfish in the face.“)

Games

I know this might seem random to include a game in this list but if you are a Jane Austen fan at all and haven’t played the Marrying Mr. Darcy game you need to give it a try! It is SO. MUCH. FUN! Especially if you play it with people who are willing to get into the spirit of it, because many of the cards say ridiculous things like “Scandal! Your dress was deemed too revealing!”

Bookends

I love cute decorations and book ends for my bookshelves. My unicorn bookends that I got at a garage sale sometimes make an appearance in my Instagram photos (although in my case I have so many books the bookends are pretty squashed on the shelf and aren’t really serving their intended purpose). I also have a Pinterest board with links to tons of other options – I’m kind of obsessed so I willingly pin pictures of everything bookend related from cute to cool to majestic to DIY.

T-Shirts and Clothing

I’ve always admired the litograph t-shirts and other products, especially since they give a lot of recognition to Jane Austen and other classic writers. Check out their website if you haven’t seen their works before – they take text from the stories and use it to craft an image that represents the story. It basically allows you to read your clothing.

Snow White: the Russian Version

A biiiiiig thank you, Champions! Snow White has reached well over 70 reviews–you guys are awesome! Here is the next short: The Royal Mullberg Cabinet! I hope you guys enjoy it!

The Original Snow White

Hello Champions, today we are going to jump right in on the origins of Snow White! (But I did want to say a big thank you to everyone who has read Snow White, and to all of you who are reviewing it! You’re awesome!)

When I first started my research, I found some very surprising information. Like most of the fairy tales I’ve written about, Snow White is a German fairy tale published in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm in their first collection of fairy tales. But while researching it, I discovered a Russian man by the name of Aleksandr Pushkin wrote a poem in 1833 titled “the Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights.” The two stories are nearly identical, but Pushkin made a few minor adaptions that made the story at lot less…icky. I’ll be going into the Russian version later because–as you might be able to tell by the title–I used Pushkin’s tale for inspiration as well. But today we’re going to focus on the more well known version by the Brothers Grimm.

Before I get started, just a gentle reminder that as we go over this fairy tale and I poke fun of it, I really do love the original story, and there’s a lot more complexity to fairy tales than we can comprehend because we don’t have the same experiences and knowledge that the average person back in 1812 would have. But, teasing the original story is so fun, so let’s get started!

Snow White and the Fairy Tale Enchantress

Snow White has launched, marking the last book of this branch of the Timeless Fairy Tale series! As those who read the sample chapter know, the conflict with the Chosen will end in Angelique’s series–The Fairy Tale Enchantress. (Book 1, Apprentice of Magic, will be available in February!)

I want to give a big thank you to the love and support you Champions have shown for Snow White! To show my appreciation, here is the first extra I wrote for Snow White: A Mother’s Responsibility. It’s a short story from Queen Faina’s point-of-view!

For those of you who are unaware, I really appreciate honest reviews on my books! They give me feedback which is really useful, of course,  but they also help future readers decide if a book is right for them or not. So as my thank you for reviews, and to celebrate a new book, I always release a couple extras! The next extra is from the viewpoint of the lords in Snow White’s cabinet–I plan to release it when Snow White gets about 75ish reviews–counting those on both Amazon and Goodreads!

But with Snow White’s end, a lot of questions have been raised about Angelique’s series, so I thought I would take a moment to cover what you can expect to see. For starters, Angelique’s series will have five books.

The first novel–Apprentice of Magic–will cover her time as an apprentice with Lord Enchanter Evariste. The following two books will follow her adventures as she runs from fairy tale to fairy tale–so for those of you who wanted to see her time with Quinn, Elle, and some of the other heroines you will LOVE these books! Since it is Angelique’s story I can unpack her interactions with others, something I wasn’t free to do in books like Snow White and Frog Prince, when the main characters have their own story that has the center stage.

The final two books will cover the clash with the Chosen. They’ll be a bit different because they’re going to feature point-of-view chapters from nearly every Timeless Fairy Tale Heroine–some more than others.

ALL heroines and heroes will make a reappearance during the last two books, and so will a great deal of the side characters you’ve come to know and love. Some of the stories will continue to progress, even! (For instance, Quinn’s soldier days aren’t wholly behind her, and Briar Rose has quite a few legendary weapons left to give out…)

Thanks for reading, Champions, I hope you enjoy the extra! In the next post we get to unpack the original Snow White tale…and I can’t WAIT! Buwahahahah…

The post Snow White and the Fairy Tale Enchantress appeared first on K. M. Shea.