My Name and Its Connection to Fairy Tales

The moment I had a rough idea of Red, the questions about my name and its connection to my interest and fairy tales came up. The truth is the story behind my name is boring. It’s my grandmother’s name and my father wanted to remember her through me. If her name had been Eunice or Jennifer, my name would have been Eunice or Jennifer and we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.

My interest in fairy tales is driven by my interest in the stories we tell ourselves over and over again as a people. There are all of these tales that we recognize instantly in just the first few lines. I just wonder what would happen if we told these stories from a different perspective.

What if the princess was the monster?

What if the prince was a trap?

What if “happily ever after” meant something you never thought you wanted?

Those are the questions that interest me and those are the reasons I started down this path that starts with Red and ends only God knows where.

photo by:


ell brown