Today’s Lesson: Snow Queen is a Fairy Tale

Hi Champions! This post is your reminder that the 2018 Reader Survey will only be live for a few more days. If you haven’t filled it out I’d love to hear from you as the answers will help me plan what books to write in the future! This is also your last chance to get the sneak peek of Snow White before it is released in December (you’ll get redirected to the sample when you finish the survey).

Now we have to talk about something that quite frankly I find a little scandalous. If you’ve already taken the reader survey you know that one of the questions asks which of my book series you’ve read. There is also a question asking what genres you like to read.

The clear winner so far for the “genres you like to read” question is “fairy tales” which as a fellow fairy tale lover is not a surprise to me. 😉  What IS a surprise is the answers for which of my books series you’ve read. I’m including a screenshot below so you can see the responses so far.

I actually swooned a bit like those delicate Victorian ladies you read about when I saw that The Snow Queen series really far behind the Timeless Fairy Tale series. I feel a bit strange asking this, but is it obvious Snow Queen is a fairy tale? Have I not made it clear that it’s connected to the Timeless Fairy Tales series and they should be read together? If you’ve haven’t read Snow Queen but have read the Timeless Fairy Tales series can you leave a comment below telling me why? (I’m totally flummoxed by this, and it’s pretty important given how closely intertwined Snow Queen is with the Timeless Fairy Tales. I’m starting to sweat a bit about Angelique’s books, ahahaha.)

On the happier end, I’m shocked that Robyn Hood is ranking so high. I’m saying this with all the love of a mother, but it is not well edited and frankly you can tell it was one of the first books I launched, so its popularity is a bit puzzling. (It’s beating out The MBRC and Second Age of Retha series which are much more polished.) If you have chosen to read Robyn Hood but decided to skip stuff like the MBRC and Retha, could please let me know why in the comments below? (I’m trying to figure out if this is purely a genre based decision, or something else, as this will affect what book projects I take on in the future.)

And finally, I have a somewhat sad message for everyone who keeps asking when will I write a sequel to Life Reader. I’m so happy you all love that book and it has a special place in my heart too since it has so much of the magic and humor I love packed into it. But if you look at the graph…It’s in last place right now. 🙁

This is a good example of how the results of the reader survey really do impact what I do in the future. I can’t justify devoting time to writing a sequel for the least popular series right now, particularly when I have some big projects coming on deck. BUT! Don’t panic, I still am planning to write a sequel to Life Reader. It’s just going to be quite a long time (as in, several years) before I can get to it.

Once again, a big thanks to everyone who filled out the survey and is helping me fill in the gaps of my understanding! 😉 I hope you guys have liked the free sample. I’ve been thrilled by the feedback I’ve gotten as I’m taking a slightly…different approach to Snow White than the usual retellings.

I am happy to share that Snow White (the first draft anyway) is tapping out at roughly 92,000 words, which is about 10,000 words longer than 12 Dancing Princesses and Sacrifice, so I’m hoping you guys will enjoy the extra pages. (Lol, and I cannot WAIT for you to meet all the characters. This book has some of my favorite character interactions ever!)

But I digress. Thanks for reading–and commenting, and taking the survey–and have a lovely week!

The Princess and the Pea: Where it Fits

I thought it was about time I wrap up the Princess and the Pea with a post that examines where in history it falls.

The cues in the story unfortunately had to be a bit limited–I needed to keep it at a novella length or I wasn’t going to make the deadline for the Summer Reading Event–but it still gives you some information to work off.

There are two big clues, however, that help you settle it in the time line. The first being that at start of the story Torrens isn’t known for its music and instruments–something that was established in the first book of the series with Beauty and the Beast. And the second is the epilogue scene in which you meet Evariste and Angelique, and Evariste brags that Angelique has recently saved Princess Rosalinda of Sole (Aka Briar Rose of Sleeping Beauty.)

So this story is a true prequel in that it happens before any of the events of the Timeless Fairy Tale series. (That’s if we’re counting the Snow Queen books separately, which I do.) It’s known that Princess Rosalinda was cursed approximately fourteen years before Severin was cursed and Evariste was captured, and Lis and Channing had already been married for a number of years before then, so you’re looking at approximately 19-24ish years before Book 1 in the series.

A final–less obvious–clue lay in the identity of the bushy-bearded King of Torrens who shows up in Frog Prince. That King is neither Albion, nor Channing (both of whom are still alive) but Channing and Lis’ adopted son. How is he king of Torrens if Channing and Albion are alive, and why does he have such a bushy beard? Those questions will be answered in his fairy tale book–which will take place after the events of Snow White and Angelique’s story. (Some of you have already successfully guessed what his story will be, but for those of you who haven’t the biggest hint to his fairy tale lies in his beard.)

If you want to see an exact timeline that shows you everything that has happened in the Timeless Fairy Tale series–including the events of Princess and the Pea–check out these Champion created timelines (scroll down a little to see them).

The Princess and the Pea: The Moral

The Princess and the Pea was written in 1835 by Hans Christian Andersen. If you aren't familiar with the original story you can read a quick (and sarcastic) summary of it over in this other blog post.

What I did not mention in the other post is that at the time of its publication it was about as popular as a lead balloon.

The critics were hostile and disliked the informal, “chatty” tone of the story–and the other two it was published with.

Over the years the story has also been poked apart by readers who point out the irony in the story. The most glaring irony/plot hole, is that a princess who is so tired she can’t sleep because of a pea and it gives her bruises, arrived at the prince’s castle alone, in a rainstorm, with soaked clothes, and had traveled a long distance. A princess who was sensitive enough to feel a pea would never do something so daring and uncomfortable.

As for the moral, some believe Andersen meant the story to be tongue-in-cheek and poke fun at the ridiculous measures aristocracy went through to preserve their bloodlines, others believe Andersen mostly meant for the story to drive home that “sensitivity” is required to be a true noble, not wealth. This is thought because although Andersen mingled with the “upper-crust” he was never accepted as one of them due to his poor birth, and thus he identified with the princess who had no visible wealth or even great beauty. (As a side note: Andersen was not a rich man, and lived off wealthy patrons, which is also why some think he wanted to believe aristocracy was something besides breeding and wealth.)

Regardless of what others say, Andersen himself said he meant for the described “sensitivity” to be emotionally sensitive. Meaning the princess was compassionate and would be sensitive to the needs of her people, and that’s what made her a true princess. It’s a worthy moral–and one I tried to communicate in my retelling–but Andersen did a pretty poor job in communicating it. (Though that can be attributed to its length. It’s seriously about ten paragraphs long. In fact, this blog post is about the same length as the story.)

It was actually Andersen’s words–that a true princess was one sensitive to her people’s needs–that sparked the idea for my retelling–but I decided to come after it from a slightly different angle. (I was also inspired by the last few lines of Andersen’s tale, in which he notes that the pea that ruined the princess’ sleep was put in a museum, and it is still there if no one has stolen it. It made me ponder why anyone would ever want to steal such a thing, and so the Pea of Primeorder was born!)

And here's the link again if you haven't tried my fantasy retelling of this story: Read The Princess and the Pea. It features a mercenary female lead who is called to the castle to help protect the fabled Pea of Primeorder by Prince Channing.

(Best of all? It's free!).