K.M. Shea's Blog, page 50

Best Fairy Tale Retellings

Greetings, Champions!

I’ve got some website updates for you today. The resource PDF in the “For Writers” section has been updated with a few new books/resources–including the names of the map makers who produced my awesome Timeless Fairy Tale maps! I also have some new fanart to share (Jess created another beautiful picture of Briar Rose when she is in the middle of setting off her curse. Bonus points for putting her hair in a complex braid like I mentioned it was!!)

I think she did a beautiful job–thanks again, Jess!

My new assistant, Meg, has officially taken over my inbox and is going through everything like a wizard! I’ll be popping a brief interview I had with here up on the blog in my next post, but for now I thought we could have some fun!

In my previous post, I got to chatting with a few of you Champions (I’m looking at you, Hannah, Cami, and Arletta) about fairy tale books in the comments, so I thought it would be fun to expand the topic and share my favorite fairy tale retellings! It is worth noting that I am absolutely prejudice towards authors who either 1) include humor in their stories or 2) use beautiful language. (I thought I should own up to this ahead of time because the pattern is going to be pretty dang obvious early on.)

So! Here’s a few of my favorite Fairy Tale Adaptations!

Best Cinderella: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Lavine

Gail does a lot of fairy tale-esque books, and while I enjoy them all Ella Enchanted is by far my favorite. Elle is an awesome heroine, and her story will both break your heart and make you laugh, plus the world building is some of the best I’ve seen.

Best Beauty and the Beast: Beauty by Robin McKinley

“Chalice” and “The Blue Sword” are probably my favorite of Robin’s books, but Beauty is right up there with them. It has Robin’s typical/gorgeous descriptions, and it–probably more so than any of the other books I’ve listed–has more of the beautiful-true-blue-fairy-tale feeling to it. (It’s the perfect story to curl up with on a rainy or snowy day.)

Best Goose Girl: Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

This book is why I will NEVER do a retelling of the Goose Girl fairy tale. It’s too perfect and too wonderful, I just can’t! If you haven’t read it yet…what are you waiting for!?! Reeeeaaaad!

Goose Chase by Patice Kindl

This story is based almost entirely on one particular fairy tale…but for the life of me I can’t recall it’s name right now and Google isn’t helping me. Still, as soon as you start reading it you’ll know the goose-related-fairy-tale that I’m blanking on. This book is so much fun and really deserves a read. The main character is a hoot–I love her sarcastic and down-to-earth personality that shines through no matter her circumstances.

Best 12 Dancing Princesses: The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskel

This book is by far the most original twist on the 12 Dancing Princesses story I’ve ever seen. It has a lot of humor in it, but it also digs deep into the story’s characters and examines what makes them tick. Merrie has a couple of other great fairy tale retellings–though Princess Curse is my favorite–so if you haven’t heard of her I highly recommend you give her a try!

 

Best Tam Lin retelling: The Perilous Guard by Elizabeth Marie Pope:

So this story technically isn’t a pure retelling of Tam Lin, but it’s still amazing…again because the main character is kick-butt and there’s several incredibly funny lines in the story. Please read it, because then we can laugh over the last few pages together–the best lines are in that part.

Best King Arthur retelling: Avalon High by Meg Cabot

So technically this isn’t a fairy tale, but who is splitting hairs? If you enjoy humor, then this modern rendition of King Arthur is all for you. It’s one of the few King Arthur stories that actually has a happy ending!

Best Original Fairy Tale: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Seriously, this story makes it on my top ten favorite books of all time, it’s that good. It’s adorable and fun, filled with lots of adventure and romance. AKA EVERYTHING I LOVE! It has a lot of common fairy tale elements–a transformation, magic battles, riddles, a self-centered wizard, and more–so even though it’s not based on a fairy tale per say, it would be right at home in Cinderella’s Kingdom or in Beast’s country.

Best Fairy Tale-esque author: Vivan Vande Velde

About 75% of Vivian’s work all has a fairy tale flavor to it–from Dragon’s Bait to Heir Apparent–and she’s an amazing writer. If you haven’t heard of her you are in for a real treat. She and Diana Wynne Jones are my literary heroes (along with Jane Austen, that is) so if I’m coming off as a fangirl…it’s because I am.

Where’s the indie love?!

Almost all of the stories listed above are books I grew up with, so I am highly, highly prejudice towards them. But there are still a lot of indie authors–like me–who have done some fun re-tellings! My favorites are: Aya Ling, Melanie Cellier, Shari L. Tapscot, Brittany Fitcher, Chanda Hahn, Jenni James, and Kelly Oram. I haven’t read everything by this awesome crew (yet anyway) but I know they’ve got some good stuff I think you guys will enjoy!

So….who–or what–did I forget? I know right off the bat I don’t have a favorite Sleeping Beauty retelling, but I haven’t really read one that has made me fall-head-over-heels-oh-my-goodness-I-forgot-to-eat-in-love yet. Any recommendations? Until next time, thanks for reading, Champions!

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Fairy Tale Updates

Good day to you Champions! I hope you’ve had a pleasant April.

I’m happy to share that Cinderella and the Colonel will be free today (4/27) through Sunday (4/30). You can download a free copy of it here on its Amazon page. Please be sure to tell anyone you think might enjoy the story and spread the fun!

I’ve had quite a few questions over the past week from readers who are worried that the Timeless Fairy Tales series is over. Allow me to reassure you, it isn’t! This December you will for certain get a Timeless Fairy Tale–most likely 12 Dancing Princesses. 2018 will bring my rendition of Snow White, and hopefully the first of Angelique’s books! There’s one more secret Timeless Fairy Tale I’m hoping to slip in before Angelique’s story starts, but I don’t know if it will be 2017 or 2018.

In the meanwhile, I’ve got some changes going on behind the scenes so I’m a bit swamped at the moment–for instance I’m switching over newsletter providers in the next month so my newsletter will have a new layout…which is both a giant headache and super exciting. Thankfully, an assistant has recently joined my team! She’s a real hoot and I can’t wait to introduce you to her. She’s going to help me tackle my email as I’ve been unable to keep up with it and my writing for the past month. She’s already been helping me organize my book numbers–she’s a number genius–so I’m really happy I get to yank her into our community to join in our fun!

That’s it for today, Champions! Next month I’ll finally be reviewing the winter Hero Poll, and hopefully launch the Favorite Heroine Poll.

Farewell King Arthurs

This is it, Champions. This is the last official King Arthurs and Her Knights post. It’s been so much fun, and I am so honored and touched by how much love Britt, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table have received.

As I mentioned over a week ago, I’m going to close out the fun with a interview with Britt and Merlin! You guys blew me away with the number and depth of your questions, so I actually typed up the interview in a separate document. (Click Here for the PDF File) I hope the interview brings you both laughter, and closure!

When I started writing Endings I was really looking forward to giving Britt a strong finale and closing out her story. I thought the worst of the pain was over when I finished the last edit and put the book up for sale, but everything from reading reviews to writing out responses to the interview has been a bittersweet reminder that this is the last time I’ll be doing this for Britt Arthurs.

I want to give a big thank you to all you faithful Champions. The King Arthurs series was a bit of an experiment for me, and I grew a lot as a storyteller through writing these books. Thank you for supporting me as I wrote these tales, and for supporting Britt as she fought to establish an honorable court.

As I’ve said again and again, I write because I want to entertain and make people laugh. But with the King Arthurs books I also wanted to inspire. Britt Arthurs was a normal girl. Admittedly, her hobbies were a bit eccentric, but otherwise she was your standard American…and she went on to do great things. You might say her adventures in Camelot transformed her–and they did–but really it was her heart and thirst for honor and justice that made the Sword in the Stone recognize her as a potential king.

Because of the King Arthurs series, I have heard from many of you, and I can confidently say that so many of you are like Britt. Many of you have a passion for what is right, a gentleness in your forgiving nature, or great ferocity in your courage. It might sound kinda weird coming from a random author-chick’s rambling blog post, but I hope you see the beauty in your own heart and the great impact you have on those around you.

Thank you for reading, Champions. And thank you for joining me on this last story of High King Britt Arthurs.

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The Knight of the Cart

Endings is a combination of three traditional Arthurian legends: The Knight of the Cart, the Quest for the Holy Grail, and the war against Rome. I start Endings off with a retelling of the Knight of the Cart–which, historically speaking, is actually one of the first stories Lancelot appears in.

In the Knight of the Cart, Queen Guinevere is kidnapped by Duke Meleagant, the son of King Bademagus. Gawain sets out to reclaim her on behalf of Arthur, and is joined by Sir Lancelot. The pair ride around, searching for Guinevere, when they find a man driving a cart who has some information. The cart driver says he’ll tell them about it, but only if Lancelot rides in the cart with him.

Because Lancelot is a knight, riding around in a cart is incredibly demeaning for him and implies that he is of lower status than he really is, so he’s reluctant to hop in, but eventually does so. Lancelot and Gawain then encounter lots of rude ladies and knights who look down on Lancelot for riding in the cart. Eventually the pair decides to split up.

Lancelot manages to find Guinevere in Gorre, but the queen gives him the cold shoulder after hearing about his reluctance to climb into the cart to save her. They eventually make up, with Lancelot breaking into the tower Guinevere is being kept in to spend a passionate night with her, marking the the beginning of their adulterous affair that eventually destroys Camelot.

Meleagant figures out Guinevere’s indiscretion, but Lancelot rides in to rescue her. (Why didn’t he take her with when he fled the tower after their passionate night? Because this is Lancelot, and logic is not his strong suit.) The two fight, but King Bademagus intervenes. Guinevere is sent home. The story continues as Lancelot is an idiot who gets himself locked up multiple times, but it was this first section with Guinevere that I was interested in using. (Hilarious tidbit: the original author of the Knight of the Cart disliked Lancelot so much he actually never finished writing the story and left Lancelot imprisoned, HAH!)

With the events of Enlighten, the Knights of the Round Table discovered Britt’s real identity, but I hadn’t yet given her the chance to be a female. It was something I really wanted to do before the series came to a close, so I looked for opportunities where Britt could serve as a fill in for Guinevere or something similar. The story of the Knight of the Cart–bringing back Duke Meleagant–was the perfect opportunity, particularly as it would flow quite naturally into the conflict with Rome.

It also gave me the chance to include some of the more quirky King Arthur tales (like Sir Pelleas and Lady Ettard, and the story of Gawain and Ragnelle) and insert some much needed humor in the book. (My main concern with Endings was to achieve a natural balance of humor and battles, and bring back the huge cast of characters to say farewell and finish up a bunch of story arcs.)

That’s it for today, Champions! Later this week we’ll wrap up the last of the King Arthurs posts with the Merlin/Britt interview–which holy cow, turned out to be as long as a short story but was a lot of fun. Thank you for reading, and have a lovely week!

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The Holy Grail

Hello Champions! We’ve got more King Arthur discussion in store. Today we’re going to cover the legend of the Holy Grail!

First of all, I need to get something out in the open. The stories of the Holy Grail? They’re not all they’re cracked up to be. In comparison to most of the questing stories, it’s dead boring. It’s mostly about Sir Galahad (who is Lancelot’s illegitimate son) getting in some bonding time with Sir Lancelot. Oh, and Sir Percival is there too. For the sake of keeping this post shorter, I will be significantly summarizing and simplifying things. (Side note: the Holy Grail is traditionally said to be the cup Jesus used in the last supper.)

Alright, so one night Lancelot is approached by a beautiful lady who asks him to come to a nunnery and knight a youth. He does so–not knowing the youth is his son Galahad–then returns to Camelot. The knights hold a meeting at the Round Table, and Galahad prances in and sits in the “Siege Perilous” which was a fancy chair that supposedly only the best knight in the world would be able to sit in.

The Holy Grail then appears, and all the knights vow to search it out. Arthur, who was gone at the time, returns and basically tells the knights they’re all kidding themselves if they think every one of them should undertake such holy vows to seek it out. A bunch of them ignore Arthur and set out anyway, but they all return–usually wounded–and in some cases they perish. In the end Percival, Galahad, Bors, and Lancelot set out.

This is a depiction of the Holy Grail appearing before the Round Table. (The golden blob in the center is the Grail)

Galahad proves to be the best knight of all time as he possesses not only Lancelot’s skill as a knight, but also a pure spirit. (It is during this time that Galahad gets the shield from the White Knight that Britt and Mordred unwillingly took.) Lancelot sees a vision of the Holy Grail, and tries to touch it, but he is told that his affair with Guinevere has made him unclean so he is unworthy. He gets to bond with Galahad, though, and then returns to Camelot.

The three Amigos–Percival, Galahad, and Bors–are the only ones left. There’s a few different versions of what brings them together, but after having a vision they decide that Camelot is not worthy of the Grail, and they will instead take it to a holy city in the middle east. Based on most of the stories I read, no one besides Galahad actually touches the Grail–instead it pops in and out of their presence. (Which makes me wonder why it needed them to take it anywhere.) When they reach the holy city, the Grail ascends into heaven without them doing anything. Percival dies outside the city, and Galahad passes on after the Grail returns to the heavens, having decided to sacrifice his life in order to remain pure. Sir Bors returns to Camelot, the only survivor.

So in summary, Sir Percival and Sir Galahad both DIE, and Lancelot–the play-boy/best-friend-backstabber–waltzs off, and Bors is the only survivor among those who actually see the real Grail.

I knew from when I first started thinking up the series that I wanted to include the quest for the Holy Grail, but when I actually started doing research about it and learned what a downer it was, I began wondering how I could use it for a more comedic effect. As I began to connect it to the other events I wanted to happen–Rome invading and Britt getting kidnapped–I saw how I could fit it in as the knights’ cover story for their ambling ride through Britain. I threw in a few references to the original legend via dialog and actions–like Lancelot returning first, Britt riding with her alias as Sir Galahad, and Sir Percival stating the Holy Grail rose up into the sky. Also, I couldn’t help but throwing in a shout-out to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was too much to resist!

King Arthur legends set aside, I wanted to give a big thank you to all the Champions who reviewed Endings. I appreciate it a lot, and I’m so glad the book has been so well received. That’s all for today! Thanks for reading, Champions!

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Finding Joy in a Tragedy

Good day to you, Champions! Today I wanted to talk about why I ended King Arthurs the way I did.

As I mentioned previously, I knew how I was going to close out Britt’s story even before I started writing the first book. The reason for that is very specific: At it’s heart, the legends of King Arthur are tragedies. I’m sure this has you going “whaaat?” but it’s true.

King Arthur and his knights start out really well. Knights like Gawain, Percival, and Lancelot right wrongs and save dozens of people. As Arthur and the knights grow older, younger generations of knights step forward and also act honorably. Annnd then they start dropping like flies.

It begins with the occasional knight dying while questing, all so other knights have an excuse to set out and avenge him. But the death toll reaches a new height when Lancelot’s affair with Guinevere is discovered. Lancelot flees, but Guinevere is to be killed for her transgression. (In most versions of the story, Arthur’s hands are tied in the matter–he doesn’t really want to kill Guinevere, but the law demands it.) Lancelot returns to Camelot to free her, and in the process kills a large number of knights–most notably Gawain’s little brothers.

This action deeply wounds and angers Gawain, who then convinces Arthur to attack Lancelot and declare war. Even more famous knights die in the battle between Arthur and Lancelot. Gawain himself is grievously wounded. Eventually Lancelot and Arthur make peace, with Arthur taking Guinevere and sending her home.

Back in Camelot, Mordred holds a coup, and crowns himself king. (In many versions, he marries Guinevere to solidify his claim.) Arthur learns about this and rides back to face Mordred in battle. Many knights fall in the fight against Mordred–one of them being Gawain. Arthur and Mordred face off, and though Arthur slays Mordred, Mordred fatally wounds Arthur. Bedivere is the only knight who is still alive (though some legends have additional knights as well) and it is he who throws Excalibur into the water, summoning faerie ladies who then carry Arthur off to Avalon in hopes of healing from his wounds. Traditionally, it is said that if Arthur does not return he has passed away, but some of the more modern interpretations of the legends claim he’s still mending from his wounds and will return when he is well.

So. The most notable knights who actually survive are Bedivere and Lancelot. And the fun doesn’t end there. Guinevere becomes a nun, and Lancelot a hermit. After Arthur dies, Guinevere realizes what her affair with Lancelot caused, and refuses to see him even on her deathbed.

Super happy and joyous, right?

The tragic ending to King Arthur made my take on the legends particularly difficult. I really enjoy putting content from the original legends in my books, but I am also 100% committed to having a happy ending, so how was I going to pull it off? First of all, instead of shattering the kingdom for a humongous battle, I decided to bind it together for an equally humongous battle. Instead of using Lancelot as the enemy, I chose Emperor Lucius–who Arthur and his knights did fight and defeat in many different legends and stories. I knew I needed to have Britt grievously wounded, but what next? And so came the idea of sending Britt back to her time in the same way Arthur is supposed to be taken from Britain–by throwing Excalibur into the water and having magical ladies send her off.

I still include Lancelot’s treachery as he is partially responsible for Britt’s wound, and hinted at Guinevere’s maturing character in the last few scenes she appears in.

The story of Merlin and the knights being sealed in the cave actually has its origins in legends, too. In the original stories, Merlin fell hook line and sinker for Vivian–who was not a Roman spy, but was a black magic user. Vivian in turn sealed Merlin into either a tree, stone, or in some stories a tomb, where he would essentially be stuck forever. Sending a group forward in time also let me wipe away all of those knights’ deaths. (They disappeared suddenly as if they were dead, but in my version they were trying to rejoin their King.)

And that is how I made a happy ending out of a tragedy. The sad thing is that while I manipulated events and the timeline, the major thing I changed was characters’ attitudes. (It really shows that the way you chose to react to something will have huge consequences.) With what she thought was her dying breath, Britt forgave Lancelot and changed Camelot’s future. If she hadn’t, Britain really would have been torn apart by war as her knights would have done everything in their power to see Lancelot and his lands destroyed. In doing so, Britt teaches her knights the most powerful lesson of all: the healing power of forgiveness over the all-consuming darkness of hatred, which is the same final lesson of the original King Arthur.

Thanks for reading, Champions! Have a lovely day!

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The End of a Series

Wow, Champions! You are amazing, and you’ve unlocked the final King Arthurs freebie: Date Night. (You actually unlocked it yesterday, but I try to spend my Sundays off my computer, so its release was delayed until today.) It’s a nine page short story that ties up some loose ends with Britt and the Knights who live in modern times. You guys were so speedy Editor #1 hasn’t yet had a chance to look at it, so there might be some editing errors in it right now, but later this week I’ll replace it with the edited version. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Moving on! With the release of Endings, this brings one of my first major series to a close. It’s a bittersweet feeling, but I’m happy with the series, and I’m particularly happy with how it ended.

I first wrote King Arthurs as part of a Champion vote waaaaay back in 2013. I had asked what to write next, and Britt and her boys won the poll. King Arthurs was also a bit of an experiment for me as it gave me the chance to try out 99 cent books. (King Arthurs, with all its Arthurian lore, is naturally already episodic, so it was the perfect fit for novella books.) It took me about four years to complete the series, and the books add up to over 280,000 words total.

I want to give a big shout-out thank you to all of the King Arthurs Champions. Your loyalty to the series is what kept me going. Over the past few days I’ve received some touching messages, and I’m so honored these books had such a positive impact on people. I’m also so glad Britt and the Knights of the Round Table were able to entertain you, and I hope you find their final story a fitting end.

There’s been a couple of questions about the series I thought I would address here, so everyone can be on the same page.

Question: Will the King Arthurs books ever be available in paperback?

Answer: Yes! I’m waiting on a piece of software to become available that will make the formatting process easier. It should launch sometime this summer, so you should see the paperbacks pop out later this year.

Question: Is there going to be a spin-off series?

Answer: Sadly, no. One of the hard parts about being an author is to know when to close out a series. I’ve read too many series in which the books drag on just because its popular, and the stories have lost the sparkle of the first few books. I never want that to happen to my work. Britt, Merlin, and the knights are all in a good place now, and as sad as it is, Endings is the last book I’ll ever write about them.

Question: Is the end of King Arthurs the finale you had planned all along?

Answer: Yes! If you read the series, you’ll notice I have a few seeds planted that hint to the big reveals in Endings. We’ll talk a bit more about why I went with the ending that I chose in an upcoming post, but I want to give everyone a few more days to read it so it’s not too spoilerific.

That’s all for today, Champions! Thanks for reading, and thank you for supporting Britt in her journey as King Arthur.

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First Freebie Unlocked!

The title says it all! You, Champions, have been extra amazing and unlocked the first freebie in record time! I mean, the book has barely been out for 24 hours–way to go guys!

The thing is, this short story is filled with spoilers, so don’t read it if you haven’t finished Endings! I mean it! Spoilers ahead! In fact, because you Champions were so incredible in getting your reviews in, I’m going to refrain from talking about the short story–or from naming it–as I suspect there are a fair number of Champions who haven’t had the chance to finish it. So here’s the PDF File, but again, don’t read it if you haven’t finished Endings!!

I hope you guys enjoy it! Both this extra, and the last one will tie up a few loose ends from the story. Once the weekend is over and everyone has had a chance to read, I’ll begin my string of King Arthurs blog posts. We have some fun topics ahead of us, so I’m really looking forward to it! Thanks again for your amazing reviews, Champions, and have a lovely week!

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Endings Launch

Endings is officially launched and available to read! Thus far the feedback has been pretty positive, so I’m hopeful the story will continue to resonate with you Champions.

I am running my usual review special! I have two freebies to offer this time around–both of which will still remain nameless due to spoilers) but they’re pretty long, clocking in at seven and eight pages. So when Endings reaches 30 reviews I’ll release the first one to celebrate, and when it snags 60 reviews I’ll launch the second!

Thanks in advance for the reviews! The feedback is helpful for me as an author and for other potential readers at it helps them decide if it’s something they’ll be interested in.

I have a lot of really fun posts lined up to celebrate endings, but as part of that I thought I would try something new and host an FAQ “with” Britt and Merlin! What I mean is you guys can submit your King Arthurs questions, and the characters of Britt and Merlin will reply to some of them in a future post. If you have any questions for them (or any questions for me) fill out the forum below and submit it! I’ll be taking questions through Monday, March 27.

That’s all for today. I hope you enjoy Endings, Champions, and thanks for reviewing!

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Endings Pre-order!

The time has finally come, Champions! Endings is now available for pre-order! You can pre-order your copy here for the price of $3.99! (Otherwise it will be available in Kindle Unlimited as well.) Endings will launch on Thursday, March 23, so there’s less than a week to wait!

Also in good news, I finished both of the extras I’ll be offering for reviews. Both offer some pretty extra detailed content, and add a final note to the story that I couldn’t really achieve in the book, so I’m really looking forward to sharing them with you! (Still not sharing the titles, though, due to their spoilerific nature.)

This is a bit of a short update, mostly because I dragged myself to this point, so I’m going to close out with a quote from Endings!

“Okay, it seems like we need a lesson in morals and blame-shifting. Lancelot, you better be paying attention—you need to hear this as badly as Tristan.” ~~Britt Arthurs, Endings

Thanks for reading, Champions! Have a lovely weekend!

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