Fairy Tale Retellings: Preserving Tradition While Adding Uniqueness

Imitation is the highest form of flattery. -Oscar Wild

Do you agree or disagree? This quote is often used to justify copying. Perhaps someone says it as a form of comfort. Or perhaps it is said it to explain motives.

It’s a popular expression and to a certain extent very true. When studying drama in high school, the teacher showed us how stories as old as time were repeated throughout the ages. One of his example was Pygmalian by George Bernard Shaw which became My Fair Lady, a musical adaption by Alan Jay Lerner. The teacher went on to show stories that were hundreds and even thousands of years old that had a similar story-goal to ‘re-make’ a woman with no or little social graces into a woman who fit perfectly into high society.

Fairy tale re-tellings are super popular and they have been told and re-told for centuries. As mentioned in a recent post, fairy tale re-tellings are a new project in my publishing goals. The books will still stick to my brand of fantasy, urban/high, sweet/clean slow-burn romance, and strong female leads. The princesses represented in the books will either save the kingdom, or be a major part of saving the kingdom. The prince or male love interest will be more involved in the story as well.

So what part of my stories will hold to the original stories? In researching and in some cases (where possible) reading the original stories and then reading the stories throughout history, I hope to learn as much as possible about the original tales. In doing this, common elements rise to the surface. Even when the story has been gentled over the centuries, usually the key concept of the original story remains.

While holding to the key concepts and elements of the original stories, I am re-working the tale into something that is unique. My most recent work has been a Rapunzel retelling. I’m planning for this novella to come out this fall. (More details to come soon.) The main elements I held on to were the tower and the hair. There were other key ideas I played with, but those two are the strongest. I had a ton of fun writing the tale and the main character.

Are there fairy tales you love? What are the elements you connect with?

Mastering Narrative Payoff: Balancing Revelation and Surprise

Have you ever considered the work that goes into creating a tapestry, a hand woven rug, or blanket? I enjoy crochet, but that’s nothing to the intricate weaving of fine threads into beautiful patterns that grace our walls, floors, or even ourselves. The finely crafted pieces is made of uncountable threads twisted and folded together.

And good stories are made up for intricately placed threads that an author twists together, strategically places, then hides and reveals at just the right moment. If an author does their job well, the reader is left satisfied. The most challenging aspects of this process is deciding how much to share and when to share it in the overall story; it’s an art form. If key pieces are over overshared, the payoff isn’t enjoyed by the reader because the reveal was obvious. If under-shared, the payoff feels contrived. Finding the correct balance is a huge part of careful plotting.

What does ‘payoff’ mean? It’s the moment in the book near the end where everything comes together. When a book is opened, the first few lines and pages are meant to hook the reader. As the reader continues to explore, the story is revealed. Consider a mystery, the story begins with someone being killed. Then everything in the story is primarily about finding who killed the person and why. The author must delicately and quietly drop clues that aren’t too obvious to the reader so that when the killer is revealed, the reader is both delighted by the revelation and gently surprised because it makes perfect sense. While most obvious in mysteries, the same payoff is in all genres. In romance, it’s the couple finally getting together. In fantasy, it’s Harry Potter being revealed as the final Horcrux.

So how is this created? There are some basic guides out there like subtle mentions every ~40 pages. While a useful guide, this can be too obvious to readers. A huge part of satisfying readers is creating a story where a reader becomes lost in the narrative. The reader organically picks up key pieces that leave them guessing, curious, and wanting to find out how everything works out for the main character. Then when the payoff comes, the reader wasn’t expecting it, but because of the subtle gems placed throughout the woven narrative, the reader can say, ‘of course! That makes perfect sense’. So there’s no secret to this principle. Rather, it’s instinct and evaluating feedback.

Think of some of your favorite stories where the payoff was especially satisfying. How did the author work the narrative?

The Mirror Moment: A Reflection

Originally published in 2014, James Scott Bell wrote a book about writing called, Write Your Novel from the Middle. Bell, a crime/thriller writer who tends to lean towards courtroom drama, came up with the idea when reviewing numerous books and movies. He recognized a pattern that took place in the middle of all these stories. The main character essentially had a ‘mirror moment’ where they looked at themselves, their situation and had to decide what their next steps would be and the changes they needed to make in order to ‘win’.

I confess that while I’m not a fan of James Scott Bell’s genre, his books on writing have been very useful. Learning to identify the Mirror Moment has been tremendously helpful as an author. According to Bell, finding the Mirror Moment can help with determining theme as well as what the main character struggles with in the story which helps when developing the character arc.

Does the mirror moment mean the main character looks at themselves in the mirror? No. They can, but the mirror moment is more about the character looking internally. The character practices self-reflection with regard to their circumstance and out of that internal processing, the character will determine a new course that usually falls into what James Scott Bell says is an either/or change.

Growth to become a different person
Growth to become stronger to survive

I have two favorite mirror moments in my books. The first is in Hidden where Ciaran, who’s been ignoring a traumatic event of his childhood must face it to go forward. In this case, he goes to the place where his Uncle died. The moment is too long to share here. My second favorite mirror moment takes place in Realm of Choice and Life. Not only is it the mirror moment for the book, but it is also the mirror moment for the series.

I left Naila’s shop and walked down the rain-soaked street. It was quiet and serene with cool fresh air and a light mist coating my face. Moisture soaked into my shoes, but I didn’t care and laughed. In the reflection of a window to a restaurant, my face was spotted and streaked from the water.

Only a month ago, I knew who I was. Or I thought I knew. But now… Who was I? Human? Fae? English teacher? Was I what Rose wanted? Patrick? Lothair? My students? Scattered pieces of me intersected with the lives of others like the drops of rain that ran down the windowpane and then into each other. But underneath the rain, was my reflection.

Living up to everyone’s expectations was impossible. I wasn’t trying to please everyone, but in the midst of trying to do my best at work and build relationships, I was losing sight of myself.

I shook my head at the thought. I wiped the rain-spotted reflection with my hand and saw the complete me underneath. A small smile crossed my lips.

I was enough.

Both these books are available on Amazon if you are interested in checking them out.

The Mirror Moment is a moment of reflection that the main character has at a pivotal time in the story. Consider some of your favorite books or movies, can you spot the mirror moment?

Fairy Tale Re-Tellings

For the longest time, I avoided fairy tale re-tellings. Even when an author I like came out with a fairy tale re-telling, it would take a long time before I’d finally read it. And when I read the book, I read it mostly because of the author. Do I still feel this way? Truthfully? Yes and no.

Fairy tales haven’t totally won me over. My two big problems are: I’m not into the passive princess waiting around for a prince to save her. And I’m not into the ‘true love’s kiss’ or we don’t know each other, but you’ve come into my life and rescued me and now we’ll live happily ever after.

But fairy tales are still around centuries later. They exist in many cultures around the world, and are still beloved. Granted, many fairy tales have very dark origin stories that have undergone a gentling and softening process. But what makes them so enduring? Beneath the superficial romance, fairy tales do have deeper universal themes society aligns with.

Consider a beautiful girl who’s lost everything, becomes an orphan and a slave. Now, she has to fight to survive. Her kindness gains her allies and help to overcome those who oppress her. This is a bit of an underdog story, but also Cinderella.

There are themes of survival, strength, and overcoming impossible odds all while being sweet and nice. There are themes of friendship and teamwork where the main character overcomes their obstacles because of their supportive network. Snow White needed the kind huntsman who spared her life and the seven dwarves. Beauty needed the enchanted characters in the Beast’s castle.

And fairy tales satisfy with their promised Happily Ever After. Let’s be honest, we like a book to end on a positive note. We like to close the cover and know that everything will be okay with the Main Character and they’ve managed to ‘save the day’.

So let me ask, what’s your favorite fairy tale? Or what fairy tale theme do you gravitate towards?

New Release: Twilight’s Strength!

I am super excited to release Twilight’s Strength. It is the final book in the Twilight Realm series and brings everything to a satisfying conclusion.

If you’ve read the other books in the series, you’re probably wondering:

Do Zoe and Nix finally get together?
Do Zyanna and Daniel take down King Edmund?
Will Daniel finally be crowned king?
What of Zyanna’s child?
Will Nosh Dem finally be revealed and this dark influence taken care of?

If these are some of your questions, then you are in for a deliciously satisfying treat! Enjoy.

Now, if you don’t want any spoilers, please don’t continue reading. Not that I’ll give too much away and ruin the fun of the unfolding of a good read.

For the final book, I knew everyone had to come together and I knew I had to resolve story threads started in Twilight’s Curse. I also realized that there would be a mixture of all four POVs from Twilight’s Curse and Twilight’s Princess since readers would be invested in these characters and would want to know how everything was worked out. Because of this, Twilight’s Strength has the POVs of Daniel, Zyanna, Zoe, and Nix! And they each have conflicts and obstacles to overcome.

Daniel wants to take down his father, protect Zyanna, and when Nix comes along, get his approval. Daniel’s struggle has always been his insecurity. He has lived under the fear of his father and afraid to trust everyone. Now, he has a wife, child, and the Loyalists who will fight for him to protect. True to Daniel’s nature, he doesn’t want anyone to be hurt because of him, especially Zyanna, so he goes a little overboard which creates some fun tension between the sweet couple. This also creates an obstacle or two (or more) for Zyanna to overcome.

Zyanna comes into her magic and she is STRONG! (Nope, not the reason for the book title.) I had so much fun writing her and won’t tell you more about her magic or how she uses it in the book. That’s for you to discover. In this book, Zyanna must step up and fight despite her husband and brother wanting to hold her back. While in Twilight’s Princess she had to rely on and learn to trust others to achieve her goal, now she has to decide if she’s going to stay safe or risk everything to save the elves and realms she loves. You can probably guess the direction the story will go since it’d be a pretty boring book if she stayed safe. But to risk everything, she must stand against Daniel and Nix which creates some fun tension, and forms a friendship between her and Zoe.

Zoe is a little older, wiser, and a little softer than when we first met her in Twilight’s Curse. At least she’s no longer pulling out her daggers and threatening Nix. But that is part of the fun! Zoe’s life has reached a cross-roads of sorts. She’s not sure she wants to leave the orphans she cares for, she’s confused by Nix and a certain commander who’s showing interest in her. So, she decides to join Nix’s response to Daniel’s request for help to try to find her place in the world. While her fighting skills and childhood experiences with Nosh Dem send her to the Northern Wastelands to learn the truth, her heart is conflicted with Nix’s mixed messages and the commander’s interest. And she doesn’t like being responsible for the lives of those under her charge especially when they’ve been wounded. To defeat Nosh Dem, Zoe will have to face truths about her past and unwind the knots in her heart.

Nix is established as the king of the Twilight Realm, only he finds it’s a lonely rule without family. He finally hears news that his sister is alive and Daniel, the crown prince of the Night Realm begs him for help. Nix knows he must go to Zyanna and the commander prepares the royal guard and soldiers, but Zoe is the one elf he wants by his side. She agrees to come! As soon as they reach the Night Realm, Nix is forced to confront a sister who is now married and with child, and a crown prince who appears unconcerned about his kingdom. Feeling more alone than ever, Nix must decide if he should send Zoe to the Northern Wastelands to track down Nosh Dem or keep her close. He sends her north which puts a deeper wedge in their relationship. And Zyanna’s disappeared. Now he’s stuck with Daniel and saving a kingdom that isn’t his.

What I loved most about this book, is the characters facing their worst and coming out on top. Of course I won’t tell you how they worked through their issues, but I hope you have as much fun reading this book as I had writing it.

Pop Culture and Writing

You’ve heard the expression, ‘history repeats itself’! And it’s true, but have you considered why?

Think back to your childhood. Was there a toy, movie, T.V. show, a place, or something else that you connect with positively? Hopefully, there’s more than one! And when we see those same things in our present, they become a tie to our past.

To this day, whenever I hear music from the 1950s and 1960s, I immediately think of time with my dad. He loves music and when he would put on one of his old records, he’d start dancing and so would everyone else. They’re fun memories.

What if I said, ‘Just do it!’ You’d probably think of the Nike check and slogan. Or how about, ‘My precious.’ Does Gollum from Lord of the Rings come to mind?

So what does this have to do with writing? Well, something that’s important is learning to write to market and doing that means the author is aware of their readers’ interests and the things that carry meaning/memories.

If I wanted to write a romance novel for a woman in her 20s, I need more than good structure. A writer needs to know what the audience expects

Do they want spice or clean?
What kind of music or entertainment do the readers like?
Are there certain memes or expressions these readers like?
What are common occupations? Or are they in school?

The more an author can discover what their audience connects with, the better the audience will connect with their book and characters.

Behind the Scenes: The English Teacher’s Magic

I started my professional teaching career in 1999. That seems like a hundred years ago now and so much has happened over those 24 years!

Teaching English was never my plan, but life’s journey took me to Busan, South Korea after completing my undergraduate degree. Unlike most people at the time, however, I wasn’t there to pay off a student loan. I went for the experience since all my other plans fell through. Initially, I thought I’d spend a year and then come back to Canada or go somewhere else, but I enjoyed teaching and ended staying in Korea for seven years.

During that time, I worked on my Master’s Degree and the initial inspiration for, The English Teacher’s Magic, drifted through my spare thoughts. At the time, I wrote journal entries and had originally called the series, The English Teacher’s Diary.

Fast forward, a few decades (2019) where I decided on the basic organization of the book: The series would be separated by months. Each month has four weeks and each week would have four chapters making sixteen chapters in total for each book. And I would write one book each month. (Can you hear my laughter!?) Well, I did manage to write the first draft of the first book in January of 2020! February started and I worked on book two but then life shifted. It took a little longer than expected to complete the second and third books.

When I initially thought of the series, I knew the main character would be an English teacher, and some of the story would take place in the classroom. A teacher’s job has many challenges, which I knew would end up in the stories. I didn’t want to offend any ethnic group since I wasn’t actually focusing on a specific culture, but all aspects of the job -good, bad, ugly, beautiful. So… since I love writing fantasy, I set the book in the Fae Realm.

I had so much fun writing Tea’s story from one issue to another. Her challenges and her love triangle. Throw in a touch of magic and things got even more interesting.

So are all the experiences of Tea my own? Of course not! Here are some examples:

Tea’s friend Hannah is completely fictional, but based off of stories told to me by friends who are ethnically Korean but were born and raised in Canada.

I never came across any teacher or human as vile as Jacklyn, but I wanted someone who had bitter experiences and was hopeless. She kind of represents the bad or ugly side of the profession. (NOTE: every profession has a bad and ugly side. Idealistic perfection only ever exists in our imaginations.)

Truthfully, I am incredibly thankful for my diverse career as an English teacher. I have had the privileges to meet many amazing people and have some incredible opportunities. So in a sense, The English Teacher’s Magic, is a bit of a tribute to my former career.

While the book falls under, Urban Fantasy, there is a definite romance thread with some laugh out loud, silent giggles, and soft chuckle moments. And with all my writing, the world building is strong with a wide variety of characters you’ll love, identify with, hate, love to hate, and cheer for.

If you’d like to check out this series use the following buttons:

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Behind the Scenes: Twilight’s Princess

Recently (November), Twilight’s Princess was released on Amazon. It is Zyanna’s story and takes place in the Night Realm.

A bit of background:

I wrote all three books in the Twilight Realm Trilogy before publishing Twilight’s Curse, but after completing the series, I noticed a gap between book 1 and 2 (Twilight’s Princess), so book 1.5 (Twilight’s Spy) was written.

(SPOILER ALERT!!! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION)

When I first thought of Zyanna’s story, I actually started with her child’s story. When mapping out the initial brainstorm of the three books, I imagined a child who struggled with unknown parentage and consequently, her identity. I saw her going on a journey to a different realm to figure out who she was. Then I wondered where she came from and who her parents were and knew Zyanna and Daniel were the perfect parents.

When I wrote Zyanna’s story, I wrestled with her pregnancy wondering if it was something that should be in the novel, but the child is so integral to the evil of the Night Realm king and tension in the book that I couldn’t remove the unborn child. Plus (as you’ll read book three), there’s a lot of humor and tension connected to the pregnancy.

Will I write the daughter’s story one day? Maybe. And that’s all I’m saying about that. (There are ideas for more books in this world, but reader response is always a huge motivation to write more. So your reviews, comments, and word of mouth matter!)

Back to Zyanna. I loved writing the start to Zyanna’s story. Has anyone had a worse day? She finds out she’s pregnant, her boyfriend is cheating on her, her mom is not her mom, she’s really a princess from another realm, her parents were killed when she was an infant, the king wants to arrange a marriage between his son and her, and the prince loves someone else. I don’t think I missed anything. Oh, she ends up trapped in the Night Realm.

I loved Zyanna’s courage and spirit not to mention grace at how well she handled her troubles. It was also a lot of fun to write the emerging love story between Daniel and Zyanna. They are such a perfect pairing.

I can’t wait for you to read the rest of her story in the final book because she comes into the fullness of her magic and position. The plan for book three is February 2024.

If you’d like to check out the Twilight Realm Series or more of my work, use this button:

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October News!

Welcome Community!

Personal Anecdotes:
Welcome to October! The weather the last few days has been very nice and perfect for getting out for some fall yard clean-up and walks. I confess I haven’t done much on the yard clean-up (yet), but I’ve been loving the nature walks. Do you enjoy fall weather? What’s your favorite part? I think I love the colors and the cooler temperatures.

About two weeks ago, I came across a beautiful new walking path in my city and came across this:

(And yes, I was standing that close.) It is actually pretty common to see a lot of deer in the city forested areas. People don’t feed them so they are wild, but I guess because people are respectful, the deer are pretty calm and don’t mind us walking by.

For those who’ve been loving my adventures in kitten fostering, I returned the three shades about a week ago, and got a mama and her six kittens. “Wait! What? Did you say SIX???” (you ask). Yes, six and it gets even better. The kittens were only six days old when I got them. They are absolutely adorable and in the, almost, week that I’ve had them, they’ve doubled in size and most of their eyes are fully open. It is so fun taking care of them and the mama is an absolute sweetheart. Since the mama’s name is Esther, which means star, I decided to go with star themes for the kittens’ names. One kitten, who is a little escape artist and squiggled out of the nesting box on day seven of her life, I’ve named Bellatrix (part of the Orion constellation) which means ‘female warrior’.

Introducing: Patreon!!!
For the last few months, I’ve been busy building up my Patreon platform. I haven’t said anything about it, but it is ready for a reveal. I know a bunch of you love the short stories I post monthly on my webpage, but I won’t be posting one there this month as my focus is on Patreon! There are videos, look behind-the-scenes posts for my published works, games, a new survey (more to come), and more great content is coming in October (like a novella). Plus I’ll be uploading chapters for one of my not yet published novels. So for those who love reading, you’ll find a growing treasure trove to satisfy your interests.

Cover Reveal:
Check out a new release coming this November:

It’s a super cute story and perfect for fans of Hallmark-type stories with a touch of superhero. The author has a few series dedicated to these superhero stories, so check out her Amazon author page: H. L. Burke

Thanks for reading and being a part of the community. My next newsletter will be out in November.

As always, stay connected by sending an email. It’s always great to hear from you. And check out my Patreon page. I’d love to hear your thoughts or engage with you there.

Wishing you the very best!
K. M. Wray

Amazon | Facebook | Website | Goodreads | Instagram | TikTok | Patreon

September News!

Welcome Community!

Personal Anecdotes:
August has been a very interesting month. First, foster updates. It was so much fun taking care of the cute little family and watching them grow. The mama, who went from ‘vampire-diva’, turned into more of a cuddle-bug, and on the morning I had to return her and her brood, she was sprawled across my bed completely at rest! It took six weeks, but it was so much fun. Now they are ready to find their forever homes. I did go and visit her (the mama) at the Humane Society and she’s doing great. The director of foster and adoptions saw me there and talked me into taking in another bunch of kittens, so now I have three more and I’m having so much fun with them. They are a color ombre effect as one is black, the second is dark grey and the third is lighter grey with white feet. Absolutely adorable. I confess that part of my fun is that both my cats are shades of grey as well. At present, I’m calling the five of them my Shades! As a side note, I have an idea for a series that is still in the outline stage where animals will play a big part in those books. I think all this fostering will be some inspiration.

On the job hunting side, I’ve been attending quite a few interviews, and boy is it interesting. Some places are really intense about the people they hire. I’ve had to do presentations, write out a response to scenarios, complete personality tests, and then there’s the regular Q&A period. My one big takeaway is learning about different companies. Today, I had my third interview with one company and honestly, I think they are really serious about making sure their hires are the right fit, but also that the candidate believes they are the right fit too. This really impresses me. I’m hoping for the position, but either way, I’ll have confidence that I am either the right person for the job or not.

Have any of you gone through a job change in the last few years? I know there’s been a huge shift in the workforce with Covid, etc. I’d love to hear your stories and your journeys through a career change.

Short Stories:
For a long time, I had a story idea I sat on that connected to my profession as an English teacher, and then in January of 2020, I wrote the first draft of the first manuscript: The English Teacher’s Diary -January. I’ve been working on the series over the years along with other writing projects. Book three is about half finished. Anyway, earlier this month I saw a prompt from Reedsy about a world where currency was not money. And what better place than The English Teacher’s Diary!!! So this month’s story is inspired by that writing prompt. You can check it out here: A New Chapter. It is told from Jacklyn’s point of view. She is a minor character in TETD -January, February, and March. Feel free to leave a comment, like it, or send an email. I’d love your thoughts.

Survey Fun:
Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey last month. It was great to see some of your creative ideas. You truly are inspiring!

Freebies:
Check out this month’s freebies and find another favorite author!
The REAL Magic is Within

Thanks for reading and being a part of the community. My next newsletter will be out in October.

As always, stay connected by sending an email. It’s always great to hear from you.

Wishing you the very best!
K. M. Wray

Land Acknowledge: I was born on Treaty 1 Territory and in a province that is the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anishininewek, Dakota Oyate, Denesuline, and Nehothowik nations. Manitoba is the homeland of the Red River Metis. I acknowledge the past. There were horrors committed against the Indigenous nations of Canada. I accept that I have a responsibility to Truth and Reconciliation for this land. I have a responsibility to help heal the wounds of the past and move forward in a spirit of unity and peace.