Once Upon a Bookcase: once upon a retelling

Showing posts with label once upon a retelling. Show all posts

Tuesday, 21 May 2019

christina june, fairy tale retelling, hansel and gretel, no place like here, once upon a retelling, retelling

Once Upon a Retelling: No Place Like Here by Christina June

07:00 Jo No comments

This post contains affiliate links.

Can you tell us a little about No Place Like Here? What kind of a retelling of Hansel & Gretel is it?

NO PLACE LIKE HERE is what I’d call a contemporary novel inspired by Hansel & Gretl. While it’s not a strict retelling, readers will be able to recognize many of the familiar elements of the story transformed in clever ways. My books are also companions, so while they can certainly be read as stand-alones, it’s also fun to read them all and see how favorites pop back up.

Tuesday, 14 May 2019

beauty sleep, fairy tale, fairy tale retelling, kathryn evans, once upon a retelling, retelling, sleeping beauty

Once Upon a Retelling: Beauty Sleep by Kathryn Evans

07:00 Jo No comments

This post contains affiliate links.

Can you tell us a little about Beauty Sleep? What kind of a retelling of Sleeping Beauty is it?

It’s ‘Inspired by’ I think. I was brought up on fairy tales and I think I just absorbed them. If you’re an author, the stories that are woven into your childhood all feed into the writer you become. I call it book soup.

Friday, 3 May 2019

a thousand ships, greek myth retelling, natalie haynes, once upon a retelling, trojan war retlling

Once Upon a Retelling: A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

07:00 Jo No comments

This post contains affiliate links.

Can you tell us a little about A Thousand Ships? What kind of a retelling of the Trojan War is it?

Well, it’s retelling the war from the perspectives of the women involved in the war – it goes forwards and backwards in time from the Fall of Troy (thanks to the Trojan Horse…), and follows the consequences of the war in one timeline and the causation of the war in the other timeline. We see the goddesses, women, demigoddesses, wives, daughters, etc. of the men whose stories we’re used to reading. Often these stories did exist in the ancient world but have been lost, so I decided to reimagine them for the 21st century.

Tuesday, 23 April 2019

#loveozya, cassandra, cassandra retelling, greek myth retelling, kathryn gossow, once upon a retelling

Once Upon a Retelling: Cassandra by Kathryn Gossow

07:00 Jo 1 comment

This post contains affiliate links.

Can you tell us a little about Cassandra? What kind of a retelling of Greek myth of Cassandra is it?

Cassandra is inspired by the Greek myth of Cassandra, the princess of Troy who is given the gift of prophecy but is cursed to never be believed. She had a reputation for being quite mad but she saw every calamity that would fall on the Trojans, and her own violent death. It would be difficult to maintain your mental health under these circumstances.

Tuesday, 16 April 2019

a raven's tale, cat winters, edgar allan poe, historical person retelling, once upon a retelling, retelling

Once Upon a Retelling: The Raven's Tale by Cat Winters

07:00 Jo No comments

This post contains affiliate links.

Cat Winters - Photo credit: © Aedan Studio Photography

Can you tell us a little about The Raven’s Tale? What kind of a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s life is it?

THE RAVEN’S TALE focuses on the events of Edgar Allan Poe’s life between February 1826 and April 1827, when he was 17 and 18 years old. The novel opens when young “Eddy” is preparing to escape his difficult home life and head to the prestigious University of Virginia. I’ve stuck closely to the historical details of Poe’s real life and populated the book with his family members, friends, and classmates. However, half of the chapters are narrated by young Poe’s burgeoning Gothic muse, so you’ll find fantasy intertwined with reality in my interpretation of the legendary author’s teen years.

Tuesday, 9 April 2019

c g drews, fairy tale retelling, goldilocks and the three bears, once upon a retelling, retelling, the boy who steals houses

Once Upon a Retelling: The Boy Who Steals Houses by C. G. Drews

07:00 Jo 1 comment

This post contains affiliate links.

Can you tell us a little about The Boy Who Steal Houses? What kind of a retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears is it?

The Boy Who Steals Houses is a reimagining of Goldilocks in a contemporary setting and it’s by the perspective of a boy instead of a female Goldilocks. It was really fun to take the bare bones of the original tale and fit them into a modern setting.

Tuesday, 2 April 2019

historical person retelling, kip wilson, once upon a retelling, retelling, sophie scholl, white rose

Once Upon a Retelling: White Rose by Kip Wilson

07:00 Jo No comments

Kip Wilson - Photo credi: © Rosanne Samson

Can you tell us a little about White Rose? What kind of a retelling of Sophie Scholl’s life is it?

Most of the books available about Sophie Scholl are either biographies that cover her entire life or non-fiction about the White Rose resistance group in general, and furthermore, most of them are in German. I personally love non-fiction and biographies, but I find both verse and first-person retellings more engaging, so that’s why I decided to focus White Rose on Sophie’s young adulthood in very close first-person verse (and in English, which is my native language).

Tuesday, 26 February 2019

anastasia retelling, jessica khoury, last of her name, legend retelling, once upon a retelling, retelling

Once Upon a Retelling: Last of Her Name by Jessica Khoury

07:00 Jo 1 comment

Welcome to Once Upon a Retelling! I'm a huge fan of retellings, and I'm really interested in hearing about authors' own love of the original stories, and what inspired them to retell those stories. And so Once Upon a Retelling was born, a feature in which I interview authors about their versions of well-loved tales.

Today, I'm stoked to have Jessica Khoury stopping by the blog to discuss her Anastasia retelling, Last of Her Name.

Can you tell us a little about Last of Her Name? What kind of a retelling of the legend of Anastasia is it?

Last of Her Name is inspired by the Anastasia legend (the historical one, not the cartoon--which I’ve actually never even seen!). It’s set in a far, far future in which humanity has settled on a bunch of new planets, and follows the lost heiress to the imperial line which once ruled the whole galaxy. It differs from the historical Anastasia pretty much right away--while we now know that Anastasia did not survive the tragic assassination of her family, in this story, she survives and grows up ignorant of her ancestry on a small, rural planet. That is, until her identity is exposed to everyone, including herself, and she must go on the run with her childhood friend/secret resistance fighter Pol.

Tuesday, 19 February 2019

chaucer, classic retelling, kim zarins, once upon a retelling, retelling, sometimes we tell the truth, the canterbury tales

Once Upon a Retelling: Sometimes We Tell the Truth by Kim Zarins

07:00 Jo No comments

This post contains affiliate links.

Can you tell us a little about Sometimes We Tell the Truth? What kind of a retelling of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is it?

Sometimes We Tell the Truth is a contemporary YA Chaucer retelling, in which American high school seniors take an all-day bus ride from Canterbury, Connecticut, to Washington DC. To make them pass the time well-behaved, their civics teacher tasks them with telling stories, and the winner will get an A in the class. This means, as in Chaucer’s original, I have about two dozen characters tell a story on the road. In Chaucer’s unfinished text, the pilgrims never arrive at Canterbury, and we never learn who won the competition of telling the best tale. So I had the fun of inventing my own ending and all the in-between bits that helped me get to that ending.

Friday, 8 February 2019

historical person retelling, mary shelley, monsters, once upon a retelling, retelling, sharon dogar

Once Upon a Retelling: Monsters by Sharon Dogar (+ Giveaway)

07:00 Jo 11 comments

This post contains affiliate links.

Can you tell us a little about Monsters? What kind of a retelling of Mary Shelley’s life is it?

Monsters is a retelling of Mary’s life from just before she met the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (aged 16 in 1814) to the publication of her own novel Frankenstein in 1820. In these few short years Mary and her step-sister Claire, eloped with an aristocratic atheist poet, became unmarried mother’s and flirted with the idea of poly-amory. Monsters follows Mary and Claire as they try to understand what it might mean to be intelligent, radical young women who refuse to conform to the early nineteenth century idea of what a woman should be. There were other women at the time, such as Jane Austen, who challenged the status quo, but she did it secretly, where Mary and Claire made public their beliefs, and in consequence were both ostracised and ridiculed.

Tuesday, 29 January 2019

hannah capin, henry viii retelling, historical person retelling, once upon a retelling, retelling, the dead queens club, the tudors retelling

Once Upon a Retelling: The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin

07:00 Jo No comments

Can you tell us a little about The Dead Queens Club? What kind of a retelling of Henry VIII and his six wives is it?

THE DEAD QUEENS CLUB reimagines Henry and his wives in the 21 st century...in high school. It’s a dark comedy with lots of drama—it’s basically MEAN GIRLS meets THE TUDORS!

Why the story of Henry VIII and his wives? What drew you to these historical people? And what inspired you to retell their story?

Henry VIII is such a larger-than-life figure, and his reign reads like a script—it’s a story that still holds our attention 500 years later! For me, though, it’s always been the six wives who deserved a retelling. They were all smart, fascinating women, and the narrative so often pits them against each other when that doesn't need to be the case.

Tuesday, 15 January 2019

beauty and the beast, east of the sun west of the moon, echo north, fairy tale retelling, joanna ruth meyer, once upon a retelling, retelling

Once Upon a Retelling: Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer

07:00 Jo No comments

Can you tell us a little about Echo North? What kind of a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and East of the Sun, West of the Moon is it?

Echo North is a re-imagining of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, starring a girl with a scarred face, a white wolf (instead of the white bear like in the original), and an enchanted library filled with books you can literally step into. The setting and landscapes are inspired by 19th-century Siberia, and I’ve borrowed a big element from the Scottish ballad Tam Lin for the ending!

Tuesday, 27 November 2018

atalanta retelling, elizabeth tammi, grek myth retelling, lesbian, lgbtq, lgbtq ya, once upon a retelling, outrun the wind

Once Upon a Retelling: Outrun the Wind by Elizabeth Tammi

07:00 Jo No comments

Can you tell us a little about Outrun the Wind? What kind of a retelling of the Greek myth of Atalanta is it?

Outrun the Wind is best described as a sapphic reimagining of the Greek myth of Atalanta. Much of her story is still as it is commonly known—she swears to marry whichever man can beat her in a footrace. She goes on the Calydonian Boar Hunt, is abandoned at birth, etc., but I imagined what might have been going on in the background. What were her true motivations? Additionally, this is a dual-perspective book, so I got to interweave an entirely original character and storyline into Atalanta’s myth.

Saturday, 20 October 2018

april genevieve tucholke, beowulf retelling, legend, legend retelling, once upon a retelling, retelling, the boneless mercies

Once Upon a Retelling: The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

07:00 Jo 2 comments

Can you tell us a little about The Boneless Mercies? What kind of a retelling of Beowulf is it?

The Boneless Mercies is a reimagining of Beowulf, with four female warriors taking the place of the one male main character of Beowulf. It is a book about death-traders--female mercenaries who are doomed to roam Vorseland killing the old or the sick. Frey and her band of Mercies dream of a bigger life...so when Frey hears that a beast is slaughtering people in a northern jarldom, she decides that killing it is the Mercies’ one chance at fame and fortune.

Tuesday, 2 October 2018

damsel, elana k. arnold, fairy tale, once upon a retelling, original fairy tale, retelling, retelling a genre

Once Upon a Retelling: Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

07:00 Jo No comments

Can you tell us a little about Damsel? How does it differ from other fairy tales we know?

Here’s the official synopsis, which I think does a pretty good job of setting up the story:

A dark, twisted, unforgettable fairy tale from Elana K. Arnold, author of the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of

The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: When the king dies, his son the prince must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been.

When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon or what horrors she faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome young man, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny of sitting on a throne beside him. It’s all like a dream, like something from a fairy tale.

As Ama follows Emory to the kingdom of Harding, however, she discovers that not all is as it seems. There is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows, and the greatest threats may not be behind her, but around her, now, and closing in.

I’ve also heard people call DAMSEL “a fairytale #MeToo” and “Handmaid’s Tale meets the original (pre-Disney) Sleeping Beauty story.”

Wednesday, 19 September 2018

a blade so black, alice in wonderland, blog tour, children's classic retelling, l. l. mckinney, once upon a retelling, retelling

Once Upon a Retelling: A Blade So Black by L. L. McKinney

07:00 Jo 6 comments

Can you tell us a little about A Blade So Black? What kind of a retelling of of Alice in Wonderland is it?

A Blade So Black essentially answers the question “What if Buffy fell down the rabbit hole instead of Alice?” I like to call it a reimagining, though I guess that’s not as official a genre as retelling just yet. It’s more inspired by the original classing than trying to emulate the beats in new ways. What I was hoping to do was take the tale and put a completely different spin on it, such as if it actually existed, how did it come to be? What is its connection to our world? What would it look like and how would it function in the present day. Those kinds of things lead to this story.

Saturday, 15 September 2018

children's classic retelling, genderbent retelling, julia ember, lesbian, lgbtq, lgbtq ya, once upon a retelling, peter pan, retelling, the navigator's touch, the seafarer's kiss duology

Once Upon a Bookcase: The Navigator's Touch by Julia Ember

07:00 Jo No comments

Can you tell us a little about The Navigator’s Touch? What kind of a retelling of Peter Pan is it?

I guess you could call it an “alternative villain origin story!” Following on from the events of The Seafarer’s Kiss, The Navigator’s Touch tells the story of Ragna, a Viking shieldmaiden who has lost her hand to a devious enemy, and is putting together a mercenary crew. At the beginning, Ragna is young and inexperienced, still reeling from the loss her family, but as the story goes on, she really grows into her own as a commander. The duology also draws inspiration from an Anglo-Saxon poem called The Seafarer, which tells the story of a sailor lost at sea. In the first book, I wanted to meld the story of The Little Mermaid together with that elegy to create something new. The second book is also a composite of fairy-tale and poem, this time with Peter Pan. There are original adaptations of the poem in The Navigator’s Touch that I loved working on!

Thursday, 13 September 2018

a spark of white fire, indian mythology retelling, once upon a retelling, retelling, sangu mandanna, the mahabharata

Once Upon a Retelling: A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna

07:00 Jo 2 comments

Can you tell us a little about A Spark of White Fire? What kind of a retelling of the Mahabharata is it?

A Spark of White Fire is the story of Esmae, an orphaned servant who reveals herself to be the lost princess of a kingdom torn by civil war. Esmae wants nothing more than to reunite with her family and take back the crown that was stolen from her brother, but she soon discovers that things may be a little more complicated than that. Her story is very much inspired by the Mahabharata! It’s a reimagining of the original epic, set in space, with a mixture of fantasy and futuristic elements.

Sunday, 9 September 2018

frankenstein, marcus sedgwick, mary shelley, once upon a retelling, retelling, retelling of the writing of a novel, the monsters we deserve

Once Upon a Retelling: The Monsters We Deserve by Marcus Sedgwick

07:00 Jo 2 comments

Can you tell us a little about The Monsters We Deserve?

The Monsters We Deserve is neither a retelling of Frankenstein, nor a retelling of its creation, though in small ways it draws on elements of both. It’s really a book about the true meaning of Shelley’s novel, a meaning that has been largely misunderstood from almost the very beginning of its life. So it’s a story about writers, creation, writers’ ghosts and the ghosts they leave behind. It takes the form of an extended mental letter from an unnamed writer, whose initials are MS, holed up in a remote chalet high in the French Alps, to their editor. I didn’t intend it to be read as a ghost story but I suppose it is in some ways.

Thursday, 23 August 2018

fawkes, gunpowder plot, historical event retelling, interview, nadine brandes, once upon a retelling, retelling

Once Upon a Retelling: Fawkes by Nadine Brandes

07:00 Jo No comments

Can you tell us a little about Fawkes? What kind of a retelling of the Gunpowder Plot is it?

Fawkes is a retelling of the Gunpowder Plot—a true event where a group of men decided to smuggle barrels of gunpowder to blow up the king of England. Throw in some fantasy magic, duels, and a main character torn between loyalty and love, and that’s Fawkes. (Mwahaha!) The retelling takes place in the original time period—17th century London—but is told from the POV of Guy Fawkes’s son, Thomas. In real life there are only rumours that Guy had a son so I reimagined the plot to see what it might have been like had his son been involved. (Enter family drama!!)

Tuesday, 21 May 2019

Tuesday, 14 May 2019

Friday, 3 May 2019

Tuesday, 23 April 2019

Tuesday, 16 April 2019

Tuesday, 9 April 2019

Tuesday, 2 April 2019

Tuesday, 26 February 2019

Tuesday, 19 February 2019

Friday, 8 February 2019

Tuesday, 29 January 2019

Tuesday, 15 January 2019

Tuesday, 27 November 2018

Saturday, 20 October 2018

Tuesday, 2 October 2018

Wednesday, 19 September 2018

Saturday, 15 September 2018

Thursday, 13 September 2018

Sunday, 9 September 2018

Thursday, 23 August 2018

Grab My Button

Ad: Bookshop Affiliate

Blog Archive

Pageviews last month

Disclaimer