As part of the Excellence in Indie Publishing EPIC Giveaway going on this week, indie author K.M. Shea shares how going indie lets her write fairy tale retellings – and why she loves them!
Hello, hello! K. M. Shea here – or Kitty as all my readers call me – and I am so excited to be a part of this giveaway and included in all of the fun!
Let’s start off with a little information about me. I’m an indie author most recognized for my Timeless Fairy Tale series– but my readers would tell you I’m most well-known for my quirky characters and sweet romances. When I write my biggest goal is to create a story that entertains the reader. I want to make people laugh and feel better about the world, even if it’s just for a short while.
One of the biggest bonuses about being an indie author is that I have a lot more freedom on what I write than a traditionally published author. So usually when I explain to someone that I write fairy tale retellings, they’re a little confused. After all, why try to write something that’s already been written hundreds of times? It’s because I adore fairy tales… But not in the way you may think.
You see, I love how strange and bizarre the original fairy tale stories are because I really enjoy trying to twist them into something more realistic.
Allow me to give you a few examples. In Rumpelstiltskin the heroine ends up marrying the king who threatened to kill her if she didn’t succeed in spinning straw into gold. What is up with that? A death threat is not the stuff of romance! In Cinderella, the unnamed prince apparently has the memory of a goldfish, because he can’t remember what Cinderella looks like and has to rely on a magic shoe to find her. (In the original story he actually mistakes both of her stepsisters for her!) For me, this sort of stuff is comedy gold. I can make a few twists, and create a more reasonable story that has a lot more laughter in it.
But I also love fairy tales because they give you a chance to examine a character’s moral fiber. Cinderella gets the prince not because she’s gorgeous, but because she’s kind. Beauty is able to see past the Beast’s scary exterior, and loves him for who he is, freeing him of his curse.
Fairy tale heroes and heroines might screw up and make a few dumb decisions, but their character always proves to be sterling. Moreover, fairy tales don’t deny that there is darkness in the world. In fact, fairy tales are all about pitting unsuspecting characters against some of the greatest evils. But these characters don’t waiver. They remain loyal to what is good, and to their true loves, and they beat back the darkness until it has no choice but to flee.
That’s the kind of stuff I live for, because that’s what I want to inspire people to do. It’s my greatest honor to be able to encourage people through stories, and I love the flexibility that being an indie author gives me so that I can do that.
But that’s just me! Please share in the comments below what you love most about fairy tales. I love events like this one because I really enjoy meeting other people who are as passionate about stories as I am. (And also because I loooove discovering new books to read—one can never have too many!)
Thanks for reading, and a big thank you to Carrie for letting me visit.
K. M. Shea is a fantasy-romance author who never quite grew out of adventure books or fairy tales, and still searches closets in hopes of stumbling into Narnia. She is addicted to sweet romances, witty characters, and happy endings.
She is also extremely committed to her readers—who have set up their base camp at kmshea.com—and lives in the idyllic Midwest with her furry pet, Perfect Dog.
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As part of the YA/Speculative Fiction Excellence in Indie Publishing giveaway, you can win a prize pack of books, including Beauty and the Beast by K.M. Shea!
Once upon a time Elle made a mistake. A small miscalculation sends her through the roof of an enchanted chateau. Stranded until her broken leg mends, Elle is unwillingly forced to rely on the good will of the sour chateau owner —the cursed Prince Severin.
Prince Severin—the commanding general and staunch supporter of his brother the crown prince—is cursed to look like a beast until a maiden falls in love with him. He has given up all hope of shattering the curse, and has only disdain for Elle.
Unfortunately, the pair can’t seem to avoid each other thanks to the meddling of the chateau’s cursed servants. Eventually Elle’s playful manners and Severin’s hidden gentleness draw the pair together.
But not all love stories can end that easily. After all, Elle is not what she seems, and Severin’s life is placed in danger when hostilities flare between his brother and the monarchs of a neighboring country. When Elle risks everything to save Severin, will he be able to forgive her for her lies?
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Oh, my! These sound delicious! I love fairy tales and fairy tale retellings and I had never heard of these. Going to look at them immediately!
Thank you! 🙂
Me toooo!
…Also, I forgot to add this in my previous comment, but hi Carrie! *Waves* Thanks for letting me be a part of this!
Hi!!!! 😀
I hope you enjoy them! 😀
I always have a blast researching them, usually because they prove that even back in the days of oral tales, storytellers still had a sense of humor.
These sounds so good! They must go on my TBR list! I’m happy to be introduced to this new-to-me author. Thanks K.M Shea and Carrie!
I agree, Winnie! I want to read them too!
I do hope you find them entertaining! (If it’s laughter you want I’ve got to plug Puss in Boots–the cat in that story is quite possibly my funniest character ever. If it’s romance, then Rumpelstiltskin has my most popular hero to date. I’ve tried dethroning him so many times but he wins the yearly popularity contest I hold every time!)
These stories sound adorable!
I do try to make them fun and sweet…but I think pugs are just the cutest, so my adorable-meter might be broken. 😉
These sound great. My grown daughter loves books like Ella Enchanted. And hopes her daughters will like fairy tales , too!
Ahhh yes, I was just discussing this with my readers the other day! Ella Enchanted is, to me anyway, the BEST retelling of Cinderella that is out there.
And I’m with your daughter when it comes to fairy tales. I think it’s a lot like C. S. Lewis’s dedication for the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe–fairy tales are stories you love as a kid, then grow out of, then love again once you’re an adult.
Interesting! I love those original fairy tales…I think because they do wrestle with evil in unexpected and often fantastical ways. One thing I have wondered about is why so many feature a wicked stepmother or parents, but maybe it’s just a plot device to allow the children to struggle with things on their own (as happens in much middle grade/YA literature). All the best with your fairy tale retellings! I have written one for my daughters but I am not sure if I will ever publish it.
Yeah, the evil stepmother/absent parents is a common theme. I’ve never been able to pin down a reason for it even with all my research–which is pretty surprising now that I think about it. (I’ve discovered fairy tales are often far deeper than we them credit for, mostly because we don’t have the same understanding of some of the stuff they encountered in the story as the audience of that time would have.)
And you should publish it! The fairy tale genre is a fun family to be a part of!*I’m not saying this because I am a huge fairy tale fan and I selfishly want more fairy tale stories out there for me to read. Noooooo, not at all…*
I’m a big fan of your books! My favorite thing about fairy tales is the ending. Evil gets punished, good gets rewarded. Life is not like that, but in a book, I can pretend that everything will always work out for the best.