Recommendation: Beauty and the Beast

Today’s recommendation is not a direct adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. It’s an adaptation of a similar tale, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, a Norwegian fairy tale. It’s called East, by Edith Pattou.

DumpBear

The story follows Rose, a young girl from a poor family. A White Bear appears at her family’s door one day, promising to give her family riches if Rose will leave with him. She agrees, scared but determined. Rose soon loses her heart to the mystery man who lives in the castle the White Bear brings her to, but loses him just as quickly. She is determined to save him, even if it means going to the mythical land east of the sun and west of the moon.

I discovered this book years ago and it’s one I often come back to. A fun, sweet story, East is a timeless tale of love overcoming all odds.

What are some versions of Beauty and the Beast you enjoy?

Until next time, fellow wonderers!

Evolution of Fairy Tales: Beauty and the Beast

Alright! Today we get back to the Evolution of Fairy Tales series with Beauty and the Beast. I’ll compare the traditional 1756 French tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (shortened to Beaumont for time-saving purposes) to the 1991 Disney film.

Roses

The Story Begins

Beaumont: Belle is one of three sisters, daughters of a wealthy merchant. Her two older sisters are as beautiful as she is, but they are vain and wicked (sound like anyone we’ve talked about before?). Belle’s father tragically loses his wealth when his ships sink in a storm. He is forced to relocate his family to a cottage in the country to earn a living. No background is given about the Beast, though later versions say he was a prince who was left in the care of a fairy (who turned out to be evil). The fairy tried to seduce him when he became an adult. When he refused her, she turned him into a beast.

Disney: The narrator opens by telling about a selfish prince. A beggar woman comes to the castle, asking for shelter. She offers him a rose in exchange, but the young prince makes fun of her ugliness and turns her away. The woman reveals herself to be an enchantress and curses the prince by transforming him into a beast. She gives him the rose, telling him that if he can find love by the time the last petal falls, the spell will be broken. If he can’t, he will remain a beast forever. Ten years go by, and the focus shifts to Belle, a young girl living with her father in a small French village. Belle is tired of the slow pace of life, longing for adventure. She is alienated by most of the people in town, except for an unwanted suitor who won’t leave her alone.

A Rose for Belle

Beaumont: Belle’s father receives word that one of his ships has arrived in harbor. He hurries to see what wealth he can salvage. Before he leaves, he asks his daughters what to bring them, in case he has money again. The older two ask for jewels and fine clothes. Belle asks for a rose, a flower she hasn’t seen since moving to the country. The merchant arrives to find that only enough cargo has been saved to pay off his existing debt; there is nothing else.

Disney: Belle’s father, an eccentric inventor, is on his way to a fair when he loses his way in the woods. Lost and without a horse, he stumbles upon a seemingly abandoned castle. Animated furniture (and by animated, I mean alive, not just cartoon) serves him, making him comfortable.

Captive in a Castle

Beaumont: On his way home, Belle’s father finds a palace. He stays there for the night, and as he leaves, he sees a beautiful rose garden. He remembers Belle’s request and takes a rose. The Beast confronts him, telling him that because he stole the Beast’s most precious possession, the man must pay a high price. He agrees to let Belle’s father return home to give the rose to Belle if he will return to be the Beast’s prisoner. The merchant returns home with wealth from the Beast, trying not to let his daughters know of his plight. Belle pushes for information and insists on taking his place.

Disney: Belle grows worried when her father’s horse returns without him and she sets out to find him. She arrives at the Beast’s castle and discovers him in a cell, dying of a cold. She frantically offers to take his place and the Beast sends her father away. He has Belle shown to a room and tells her she will be his guest and demands she join him for dinner. They argue, leading Belle to attempt to defy and escape him.

Friendship

Beaumont: The Beast is polite to Belle from the start, giving her everything she wants. Every night at dinner, he asks Belle to marry him. She always replies no, because she only sees him as a friend. Every night, she dreams of a handsome prince who begs for her to save him.

Disney: Belle slowly comes to realize the Beast is kind, despite his fierce appearance and gruff nature. They spend time together and grow to be friends.

Returning Home

Beaumont: Belle grows homesick and asks to visit home. He agrees, as longs as she returns in one week. She leaves with an enchanted mirror and ring. The mirror will show her what is happening at the castle and the ring, when turned three times around her finger, would transport her back instantly. Belle’s sisters are surprised to see Belle not only alive but better off than they are. After hearing about the ‘savage’ Beast, they decide to delay Belle. They reason that if Belle stays, she can serve them again. If she returns late, the Beast will kill her in a rage.

Disney: Belle grows homesick and the Beast offers to let her use his magic mirror to see how her father is. She sees that he is sick, possibly dying. The Beast urges her to return to him, even though it means losing his only chance at breaking the curse, as the rose has bloomed for the last time. Belle returns to her father, who is being threatened by Belle’s old suitor. She tells the townspeople about the Beast and they decide to hunt him down. Seems reasonable, right?

The Broken Curse

Beaumont: Belle grows guilty, realizing she has stayed away longer than she promised and uses the mirror to check on the Beast. She sees him dying and rushes to his side, using the magic ring. She admits her love for him. As she cries over him, her tears transform him back into the prince he truly is, the prince from Belle’s dreams. They marry and live happily ever after.

Disney: Belle rushes to save the Beast from the crazed mob of Frenchmen, but he is badly injured in the fight. Belle tells him she loves him, breaking the spell. The Beast returns to his human form, along with his staff. He and Belle marry and live happily ever after, the end.

What’s your favorite part of Beauty and the Beast? Mine was always the library that Beast gave Belle in the Disney version.

Until next time, fellow wonderers!

How to Survive a Writer’s Conference (Or an Introvert’s Guide to Being Social)

As I mentioned earlier this week, I attended a writer’s conference recently. This is the second one I’ve been to this year, and I like to think I’ve learned a few things about doing conferences well. Some of these things I’ve been told to do, others I’ve had to discover through trial and error. Hopefully they’ll help you in the event you go to one.

Don’t be scared. I know it sounds obvious, but I was still incredibly nervous going to my first conference. Knowing that all those editors and agents would be there, as well as writers who were more experienced and successful than I was, was intimidating. But I learned something crazy: they want me to succeed. Not only that, they want to help me succeed. The people at writer’s conferences aren’t competing, they are encouraging each other. So don’t be worried.

Rest. Conferences are packed full of activities. Don’t feel guilty if you need to skip a session in favor of a break. You need to be at your best, so take time to recharge your social battery.

Make an effort to connect. Don’t just observe the conference; actively engage. Talk shop with the other conferees during breaks. Stay after the workshops to ask the teachers questions. Hand out business cards. Sign up for as many one on one meetings as you can. Even if you don’t pitch at every one of them, you can still ask questions and make connections. After the conference, follow up on with the people you met. Send thank you notes. People will remember you.

Smile. Chances are, the people at the conference are as nervous as you are. Even something as simple as putting on a smile makes you more approachable.

I hope this advice was helpful! For those of you who have been to conferences, what sort of things have you found to be useful?

Until next time, fellow wonderers!

P.S. If you’re missing the Evolution of Fairy Tales series, I’ll be resuming that next week.

Happy November!

I don’t have a recommendation today, as there aren’t many Frog Prince adaptations out there. Instead, I thought I’d give you a short update on what’s been going on in my life.

I spent two days at the end of October at the Indiana Faith and Writing Conference held at Anderson University. I had a great time meeting and learning from different agents, editors, and writers. I also got some valuable advice about pursuing a career in editing.

As some of you in the writing community may know, November is National Novel Writing Month. The basic idea is to write a full novel in 30 days. I have decided to take part this year. It’s exciting, but a little daunting. Unfortunately, I have gotten off to a slow start. Hopefully I’ll be able to make up for lost time.

Aside from all that, my life continues as usual. School, work, and friends. It’s pretty great.

Until next time, fellow wonderers!

Evolution of Fairy Tales: The Frog Prince

This tale actually hasn’t changed a lot over the years, other than the Disney film. Then again, the story is a short one that wouldn’t lend itself to the silver screen very well without some added extras.

Frogs In The Pond 3

The stories always start the same way; a young princess is playing with her favorite gold ball when she drops it into a well. Distressed by the loss of her toy, the princess begins to cry. A frog offers to retrieve the ball if she will be his friend and take him back to her castle. The princess immediately agrees. Then, because she finds the frog ugly and unsettling, she leaves him there and returns home. The frog follows her and disrupts the family’s dinner. When the king learns of the princess’s promise, he insists she keep her word. The frog becomes a guest, following the princess everywhere. In some tellings, the princess learns to care for the frog and kisses him, breaking a witch’s spell and turning him back into a handsome prince. In other variations, the spell is broken after the frog sleeps on the princess’s pillow. So the moral of the story is to always keep your word and you’ll be rewarded.

Of course, in the original tale, the princess was a spoiled brat who somehow broke the spell by throwing the frog against a wall.

Did I surprise you? Or have you come to expect the more violent origins?

Until next time, fellow wonderers!

Cinderella Recommendation and an Interview with Kelly Oram

I have got a special post for you today! I have a recommendation for an adaptation of Cinderella that I really love. Not only that, but I have an interview with the book’s author. I hope you enjoy it!

It’s been almost a year since eighteen-year-old Ella Rodriguez was in a car accident that left her crippled, scarred, and without a mother. After a very difficult recovery, she’s been uprooted across the country and forced into the custody of a father that abandoned her when she was a young child. If Ella wants to escape her father’s home and her awful new stepfamily, she must convince her doctors that she’s capable, both physically and emotionally, of living on her own. The problem is, she’s not ready yet. The only way she can think of to start healing is by reconnecting with the one person left in the world who’s ever meant anything to her—her anonymous Internet best friend, Cinder.

…

Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There’s major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won’t make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he’s left his wild days behind and become a mature adult. In order to douse the flames on Brian’s bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn’t thrilled with the arrangement—or his fake fiancée—but decides he’ll suffer through it if it means he’ll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Cinder-Ella-Kelly-Oram-ebook/dp/B00MRLYO7K/ref=la_B003UPV4RA_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408987820&sr=1-9

I got the chance to ask Kelly some questions about the book and her writing. My questions are in bold, her answers below them.

Traditionally, the Cinderella character is perfect. What was behind your decision to make Ella scarred, both emotionally and physically?

It’s a long complicated answer that had to do mostly with character motivation, but I’ll try to explain as best I can. I decided scars would be great reason for Ella to want to hide from Cinder. I couldn’t have them meet until the “ball.” Obviously, Brian being a celebrity had a reason to want to keep his identity secret, but I needed a reason for Ella not to simply demand they meet in person the minute she moved to Los Angeles too. Without them both hiding from each other an anonymous relationship wouldn’t have made sense. They were too good of friends to not want to meet in person.

It also had to do with their characters and the depth of their relationship. I liked the idea that Ella was insecure about her looks because she knew that Cinder was so confident and probably gorgeous. I loved that because she was scarred, she had something very personal in common with Brian that they could bond over. Both of them were always judged based on outward appearances, and no one ever treated either of them “normally.” That’s why their relationship with each other was both a breath of fresh air and healing for them. It’s why they became such close friends with one another.

A lot of the story revolves around a book series both the main characters love. I have to admit, I was so intrigued by The Druid Prince that I looked it up online. I was more than a little disappointed to find it wasn’t real. Did you draw inspiration for it from any specific sources?

You aren’t the only person who has admitted looking up The Druid Prince. Is it horrible of me to say that I LOVE that? Yes, it was a made up story because I haven’t written any fantasy myself and I wasn’t sure on the specific copyright laws if I wanted to use a real book. Creating a fictional book with a fictional author was easier. But like Brian and Ella both, I am a huge fan of fantasy. There are a lot of books I read that I sort of pulled inspiration from when creating The Druid Prince, but the two main ones were The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima (One of my favorites book series ever, and you should all go read it RIGHT NOW) and the Sorcerer’s Ring series by Morgan Rice. Also a fantastic fantasy series. If you read either of these series, you’ll definitely see hints of The Druid Prince in them. And before you ask, no, I don’t have any plans to actually write The Druid Prince for real. I don’t’ even have a specific plot line for it. But I would like to write a high fantasy some day. That would be so much fun.

The relationship between Ella and her family is very gray, when it’s generally black and white. In my opinion, it’s more real. Why did you decide to do that, rather than make Ella right and her stepfamily ‘evil’?

I think it was because Cinderella is naturally the epitome of cliché. There are so many retellings out there, and even though I wanted my version to be an obvious retelling, I still wanted it to feel different somehow. I knew my story would still be fluffy and cliché as Cinderella fairy tales always are, but I wanted to take some of the edge of the “cheese” of the story. Make it a little less “Disney.” I hope that makes sense. So since I had gone with a contemporary version, it was easier to make the characters a little more real. Gray is a great place for drama!

Which part of the story was your favorite part to write?

Oh, that’s easy. I loved writing Ella & Brian’s first in-person meeting. I had so much fun with that scene. The thing is, I knew that was the moment that everyone would be waiting for. I made it no secret that “Cinder” was the famous movie star Brian Oliver, so from page one, I knew the readers would be anticipating the moment that Ella finds out who Cinder really is. I wanted it to live up to expectations. In fact, the idea of the two Internet friends meeting at a fantasy convention was an idea I’d first thought of for a different novel. I’d had this scene in my mind for years and when I decided to write Cinder & Ella, it just fit so perfectly into the story line that I had to use it. I was really excited to let it finally play out.

Thanks so much for your willingness to answer these questions!

You are so welcome! Thanks for having me stop by! I hope everyone loves the book as much as I do. Cinderella is my all-time favorite story, so this book, especially, is very dear to my heart.

What are some other adaptations of Cinderella that you enjoy?

Until next time, fellow wonderers!

Recommendation: Sleeping Beauty

There have been many adaptations of Sleeping Beauty, many of which I’ve enjoyed. Some set it in a fantasy world, some in the future, and some even cast the villain as the hero. My favorite version, and today’s recommendation, is Melanie Dickerson’s The Healer’s Apprentice. 

Fairytailcas

The Healer’s Apprentice is set in Germany in 1386. The main character is a young woman named Rose. She is the daughter of a poor family faced with a choice; become the healer’s apprentice, or be subjected to an arranged marriage with the first man with money who comes along. Despite blood causing her extreme nausea, Rose becomes the apprentice of the healer who works at the castle of a local earl. While training, Rose meets and befriends the earl’s two oldest sons; Wilhelm and Rupert. Both develop feelings for Rose, who is caught in the middle. She prefers Wilhelm, but he is betrothed to a noble lady he has never met. She doesn’t trust Rupert, though.

Dickerson’s story incorporates pieces of the well-known and loved Sleeping Beauty tale in a new light. The story is a beautiful historical piece and weaves in themes of Christianity effortlessly. It’s also followed by more books, in the same setting with some of the same characters, that draw from other fairy tales.

I highly recommend this book; it’s one of my go-to reads.

Until next time, fellow wonderers!

Evolution of Fairy Tales: Sleeping Beauty

Today I’m going to tackle the story of Sleeping Beauty. I’ll be comparing the version written by Charles Perrault in 1697 to the 1959 animate Disney film. Perrault’s version seems to be inspired by an Italian tale called Sun, Moon, and Talia, written by Giambattista Basile in 1634. It’s not quite so family friendly, so I won’t discuss it here. Perrault’s telling is much tamer.

Spinning Wheel

Perrault

A princess is born and seven fairies are invited to a feast to celebrate her birth. Each fairy is given a gift upon arrival. An eighth fairy, overlooked because she had been absent for so long, arrived and was offended when she didn’t receive a gift. The first six fairies bless the baby princess with gifts like beauty and grace. The angry fairy places a curse on her, that she will prick her hand on a spindle and die. The seventh fairy is able to change the curse. The princess will prick her hand, but she will not die. She will fall into a 100-year sleep and only a kiss from a prince will wake her. The king outlaws spindles and spinning wheels, hoping to avoid the curse.

Many years pass, but one day, while the king and queen are away, the princess discovers an old woman using a spindle. She asks to be shown how to use it, and pricks her finger. Immediately, she falls asleep. The fairy who changed the curse puts the entire palace to sleep, so that the princess will not be alone when she wakes. Then she grows a forest of thorns around the castle to protect it until the one hundred years are over.

A hundred years later, a prince is hunting in the forest. He comes across the castle and discovers the beautiful sleeping princess within. He wakes her up and the two are married. The prince keeps his marriage, and eventually two children, a secret from his mother, who is an ogre. (Or at least partially. It depends on the telling. How that happened is never really explained.) When the prince becomes king, he brings his family to his home.

The prince’s mother (or the Ogress Queen Mother, as Perrault calls her) sends the new queen and her children to a secluded house in the woods. Then she sends a cook to kill and prepare the two children for her to eat. The cook fools her by preparing a goat and a lamb. She demands that he cook the young queen. The young queen, thinking her children are dead, begs to be killed as well, but the cook refuses and again tricks the prince’s mother.

The prince’s mother soon realizes that she has been fooled and prepares a pit full of venomous snakes and other horrible creatures, when the prince suddenly arrives. (Well, now he’s a king. This is why we name characters. It gets too confusing when you have a prince who becomes king, plus his mother the queen and his wife the queen.) His mother is exposed for trying to kill his family. She jumps in the pit, dies horribly, and everyone lives happily ever after.

Disney

The king and queen are holding a celebration for their newborn daughter. It is announced that she is betrothed to Prince Phillip, the son of a neighboring king. Three kind fairies come to bless the princess, but before the third can bestow her gift, an evil fairy, Maleficent, appears and curses her. Before the sun sets on the princess’s sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. The third fairy is able to use her gift to weaken the curse. She will not die, but fall into a death-like sleep. True love’s kiss is the only way to wake her up again.

The three fairies take the princess, Aurora, to a cottage in the woods. They vow to raise her without magic so Maleficent won’t be able to find her. Meanwhile, all spinning wheels have been outlawed by the king.

The day before Aurora turns sixteen, she meets a boy in the woods. (Oh look, a strange man! I must love him! *eyeroll*) They fall in love over a song, not realizing that they are, in fact, betrothed. Aurora finds out later that she is a princess and prepares to return home, deeply saddened by the loss of her new boyfriend. Once back at the castle, she is led off by Maleficent’s magic and pricks her finger on a sharp pointy thing.

The fairies put the whole castle to sleep and seek out Aurora’s mystery man from the woods. Because, obviously, he loves her. After speaking to her once. He has been kidnapped by Maleficent, who gloats in proper villain style. The fairies free him and he rides off to Aurora’s rescue.

Maleficent makes things difficult, raising a forest of vines and thorns, but Prince Phillip has a sword, so we know who wins that round. Then she turns into a dragon, but the prince has the fairies to help, so he defeats her again. (For good, this time.) He rushes to Aurora, kisses her, wakes her up, and escorts her to the ball downstairs. (Because the first thing you do after waking up from a magical sleep is party.) They realize that they can get married and everyone lives happily ever after. The end.

You’ll have to excuse the snark in this post. Despite my admiration for fairy tales, I have to admit that they can often be quite ridiculous. I didn’t feel like filtering my comments today.

So what do you think? Did the Perrault version surprise you?

Until next time, fellow wonderers!

Recommendation: Snow White

One of my favorite versions of Snow White is Gail Carson Levine’s Fairest. Gail Carson Levine is well known for her fairy tale retellings, with her most famous one being Ella Enchanted. Fairest takes place in the same world, with a few of the same characters.

Mirror

The story follows Ava, the adopted daughter of an innkeeper and his family. In a country that highly values music and beauty, Ava feels conflicted. She has a beautiful voice, but is large and awkward. The new, and very attractive, queen befriends her and makes her a lady-in-waiting, but soon begins taking advantage of Ava. Ava, along with some new friends, have to risk everything if they are going to expose the queen’s treacherous magic.

I don’t want to spoil the ending, because it’s fantastic, but I will say that Gail Carson Levine takes the classic story and adds her own unique twist.

What are some of your favorite adaptations of Snow White?

Until next time, fellow wonderers!

Evolution of Fairy Tales: Snow White

Today we delve into the world of Snow White. I’ll be comparing the Brothers Grimm version, first published in 1812, to the 1937 Disney film.

Red Apples

 

The Young Princess

Grimm: Snow White is born a princess, named after her mother wishes for a child as white as snow. Soon after the girl’s birth, the Queen dies. After a time, the king remarries a vain and beautiful woman.

Disney: Snow White is a princess living with her proud and wicked stepmother, the Queen. The Queen forces Snow White to work as a maid.

The Magic Mirror

Grimm: The Queen asked her magic mirror every day who was fairest. The mirror replied that she was, until Snow White’s 7th birthday. The Queen begins to hate Snow White.

Disney: The Queen possesses a magic mirror that will answer her questions. The Queen uses the mirror’s power to determine if she is the most beautiful woman in the land. As the film opens, the mirror declares for the first time that Snow White is more beautiful than the Queen.

The Huntsman’s Task

Grimm: The Queen orders a huntsman to take Snow White deep into the woods and kill her. To prove he has done her bidding, he must bring her lungs and liver to the Queen. The huntsman takes Snow White as ordered, but can’t bring himself to kill her after she begs for her life. He tells her to run away. He kills a boar and bring its liver and lungs to the Queen, who then eats the liver and lungs.

Disney: The Queen, in a jealous rage, orders her huntsman to kill Snow White and bring her heart back in a box. The huntsman takes her to the woods, but breaks down, admitting the Queen’s nefarious plan and urging Snow White to run away.

Flight and Rescue

Grimm: Snow White flees through the woods for days before finding, and making a mess of, a cottage belonging to seven dwarves. The agree to let her stay, as longs as she keeps house for them. They also warn her not to let any strangers into the house while they are away during the day.

Disney: Snow White is lost and frightened, until she finds some woodland animals who lead her to a house. She makes herself at home, and when the dwarves discover that she can clean and cook, the invite her to stay.

Discovery and Trickery

Grimm: The Queen again consults her mirror, only to find out that Snow White is still alive and living with the dwarves. She disguises herself and offers to sell Snow White a bodice, which she laces so tightly Snow White can’t breathe. The Queen leaves, believing she’s won, but the dwarves return home and free her. The Queen again speaks to her mirror and discovers that Snow White lives. She dons a new disguise and offers Snow White a poisoned comb. The dwarves again save her, throwing the Queen into a rage. She prepares an apple, one half normal and one half poisoned. When she again approaches Snow White in disguise, she gains her trust by eating the normal half of the apple. Snow White eats the poisoned half and enters a coma-like state. The dwarves can’t save her because they can’t tell what is wrong with her.

Disney: The Queen, enraged that Snow White lives, disguises herself and offers Snow White a poisoned apple. She eats it, and falls into a deep sleep. She can only be revived by love’s first kiss.

Glass Coffins and Broken Spells

Grimm: The dwarves place Snow White in a glass casket, assuming she is dead. Time passes, and a prince, travelling through the woods, finds her. He is entranced by her beauty and demands that the dwarves let him take her back to his kingdom. As he takes her away, the coffin is jostled, and the apple pieces falls out of her mouth. Snow White wakes and agrees to marry the prince. They plan their wedding and invite all the royalty from the surrounding kingdoms.

Disney: Saddened by Snow White’s death but unable to bury her and hide her beauty, the dwarves build a coffin of glass and place her in it. A prince finds her some time later and recognizes her as the girl he had long ago fallen in love with. He kisses her and breaks the spell. The two ride off into the sunset together.

Retribution

Grimm: The Queen, preparing to attend the wedding, does not realize that Snow White is the bride. She asks her mirror if she is still fairest, but the mirror replies that the bride is more beautiful than the Queen. She attends the wedding and is appalled to find Snow White alive. As punishment for trying to kill her step-daughter, the Queen is forced to wear red-hot iron shoes and dance until she dies.

Disney: The Queen, after poisoning Snow White, is pursued by woodland creatures and the dwarves. As she attempts to roll a boulder towards them, she is struck by lightening and falls off a cliff.

If there’s anything I’ve learned from this series so far, it’s that the original fairy tales are much more violent than the ones I grew up hearing. I can’t say I blame Disney for changing them; I certainly would have been terrified if I had heard the Grimm versions as a child.

Until next time, fellow wonderers!