Ah, fairy tales. Like so much classic literature, fairy tales form the basis for many contemporary stories. In recent years, retellings have even become so popular they’ve become their own subgenre in fiction. And it makes sense. The originals are clean and usually end happily. Good triumphs over evil. The impossible becomes possible. Romance. Magic. Wonder. They’re inspirational and usually teach a lesson.
Best of all, they’re timeless.
So how do we take an old story and craft it into something new and unique without contorting it into just another twisted clone on the bookshelf?
Well, it’s not easy. I’ll tell you that. But with a little creativity and inspiration all around us, the task doesn’t seem so daunting. In fact, authors Andrea Boyd and Mikal Dawn teamed up with three Inspy Romance authors—myself (Jaycee Weaver), Toni Shiloh, and Angela Ruth Strong—to release a brand new anthology of such tales. Last week on October 1, Once Upon a Christmas: Contemporary Retellings of Timeless Tales hit the shelves, and the reviews so far affirm that we seem to have found success in remaking these classic old stories into something new, fun, and relevant to today’s contemporary romance readers. (Yay!)
Rather than blend into the background with straight modernizations or retelling the tale with simple nods or twists, we decided to give each story a Christmas spin. Andrea took Sleeping Beauty and gave her a real-life sleeping disorder with three fierce and funny aunts in a gorgeous old theater for a holiday production of the musical of the same title. Mikal brought Mulan out of China and into the boardroom with a fierce (but flirty) legal battle on her father’s behalf, the wicked Hun insisting on a Christmas victory. For an updated Snow White, Toni sent her sheltered heiress fleeing into a snowstorm and hiding from a wicked stepmother in an orchard owned by a handsome hero and his seven “uncles” over the holidays. Angela twisted the classic favorite Cinderella into a whole new story, giving her lumberjack-like prince the nutty stepfamily as a perfect obstacle standing between Ella and her happy (New Year) ever after. And lastly, it was my joy to take The Little Mermaid out of her Las Vegas aquarium and into the dry southwest, where she discovers the power of her own voice during the romantic holiday season.
We sure hope you’ll give this set of novellas a chance to live up to your fairy tale expectations…and I suppose your Christmas tale expectations, too. If you’ve already read our retellings of these timeless tales, be sure to comment with what you enjoyed most! We love your feedback. If you haven’t yet had the chance, we’d love to know—what’s your favorite fairy tale, retelling, or Christmas trope?
I really enjoyed the book. I thin the retellings were very creative and made reading to figure out how did you deal the storyline. The whole voice issue with Ariel was nicely written. Didn’t feel like you forced the problem.
I do enjoy re-tellings. Any BEAUTY AND THE BEAST re-telling especially.
That is a treasured tale! Thanks for commenting!
As a child I was given a book for my birthday with three fairytales in it. The ugly duckling, The flying Trunk and The Snow Queen. It became my favourite book.
The Snow Queen became my favourite Fairytale. (And its nothing like Frozen!).
I would love to see a modern day twist to this story and it could be done well at Christmas (Maybe it could even be done in a place like Australia where it’s warm for Christmas to give a complete twist)
I will look out for your book.
Sweet! I, too, love the Snow Queen. I would love to do a retelling someday. I argue that Frozen is absolutely NOT based on the Snow Queen other than a frozen heart and snow. About as similar as D’s Pocahontas is to actual events. LOL!
Sounds fun! I’ll look for It on KU.
Awesome! I’m rather hooked on KU! Haha!
I have the set, but haven’t read it yet! My favorite “fairy tale” is Beauty and the Beast, with my favorite portrayal the TV show with Ron Perlman as the Beast. I love Christmas stories where the MC’s either discover, rediscover, or help someone else discover the real meaning of Christmas!!
Yes! Definitely—coming to a new appreciation or understanding of the meaning of Christmas is key. I hope you enjoy the book!
I just got it from KU but haven’t read it yet. I think my favorite fairy tale is probably Beauty and the Beast, though Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella will always have special places in my heart, too.
I do love those tales as well!
I love fairy tales. I remember getting a big book of them at a grade school book fair. My favorite is The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
I’m going to have to get this collection!
Oooh! That was one of my favorites as well! I hope you do pick up our collection and also that you enjoy it!
I enjoyed this anthology. My favorites were the Cinderella story and the Little Mermaid Story. I loved the twists in the stories and of course, the happy endings!
Thank you for your kind words, Marcia! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed our stories. I have to admit, I loved them all, but I especially adored Mikal’s version of Mulan. I’ve never read a retelling of that and she made it so funny!
Hi Jaycee! As a child, I grew up reading Grimm’s fairy tales in German and as a reader, I am intrigued with retellings of timeless tales. Once Upon a Christmas is a delightful anthology of contemporary retellings with diverse characters, contemporary issues, twist and turn plots, and believable resolutions. I enjoyed that Sleeping Beauty had a real-life sleeping disorder with three fierce and funny aunts. Toni’s updated Snow White’s handsome hero and his seven “uncles” made me laugh. And your story of the The Little Mermaid who discovered her own voice was priceless. Well done, unique, and original retellings. Thanks. Best wishes and enjoy your weekend.
Thank you, Renate! I also grew up on Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen tales. They truly are timeless. I’m so glad you enjoyed our twists!
I have read the collection and highly recommend it! I do enjoyed how the authors made the twists and yet I could still recognize the bones of the fairy tale!
Hi Paula! Thank you! Keeping the bones recognizable was definitely the biggest and most important challenge!
So glad you enjoyed it!