Friday, September 14, 2012

Prince Charming, Etc.

Well, it's Friday. I've absolutely no idea how that happened, but somehow I have managed to finish the second draft of The Pollyanna Plan and complete the outline for my Christmas novella, which I'll start writing next week. Bring on the mistletoe!

Today, I'm pleased to welcome Laurey Buckland to the blog, talking about her new novel, A Girl's Guide to Fairy Tales. Great title, eh?

Over to Laurey!

Fairy tales seem to have saturated our media in the last few months in terms of films and television series , but that is not the reason I chose to base my first book on them. In fact, at the time I started writing, I thought I was on to something original. However, the fact the tales themselves have been around for centuries means that nothing that draws inspiration from them is truly original. So why bother?

Well…they were an appropriate theme for my story as fairy tales reflect universal themes of social class, love, money, appearance, the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between – otherwise known as real life. Reality is where I set my story. No magic, no Fairy Godmothers to put things right or handsome princes to rescue damsels in distress. Just blood sweat and tears in a bid to discover that elusive happily ever after, which I believe every person on this planet seeks, whether they realise it or not.

One of the hardest parts though is realising when we have attained that happily-ever-after. What really defines it? What really makes us happy? That is what I wanted to explore and show how different those endings are for different people.

Despite only being 26-years-old, I have still had a decade of listening to countless stories from my girlfriends regarding love, life, work, sex, bad dates and good relationships, as well as having a few of my own stories to share.

I wanted my characters to become ‘every women,’ with facets and traits readers could relate to. Therefore for daydreamer Maddie, obsessive compulsive Clare, over dramatic Isobel and happy-go-lucky Sophie, life is more a world of tragic than magic. For Maddie it’s a constant battle against the monotony of a job she hates while her heart aches to be somewhere else, for Clare it’s a perpetual struggle to vanquish her teenage insecurities and to see herself for the woman she really is, for Isobel it’s a refusal to reveal her true self for fear it’s not what everyone imagined her to be and for Sophie it’s a willingness to believe in a rumour that threatens to poison her perfect relationship.

But with the love and support of their friends and a little bit of luck, the girls soon realise that happy ever afters are not just reserved for fairy tale fiction – as long as they start believing in them.

If you decide to read A Girl’s Guide to Fairy Tales, I hope you enjoy and perhaps find fragments of yourself in the characters I have come to love over the last year.

Thank you, Laurey. 

Ladies, what was your favourite fairy tale growing up? And men, did you fancy yourself to be a prince, ready to sweep your princess off her feet?

Have a great weekend!

32 comments:

  1. OOOOH, great post, thanks Talli and Laurey. You're taking me right back... My granny ("Oma") used to tell me all of the Grimm's fairy tales, she was of the generation who knew them all by heart; she needed no book, and would add her own embellishments when it suited her or me (of course I didn't know *that* at the time). My favourite? Which to pick. Probably Rumpelstilzchen. Or Snowwhite. Or... (the list goes on). I have Oma's original book of Grimm's fairy tales here, daintily coloured in by my Mum when she was little. The print is so old fashioned, most people can't read it these days, the pages are brown and brittle, and I absolutely love it to bits. See, you've got me properly down memory lane now. GREAT post, thank you!

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  2. I wanted to be the prince! Hopefully I didn't come off as the court jester. I'd ask my wife but I might not like the answer...

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  3. It's great to meet you, Laurey! The book looks awesome. Growing up, I wasn't a fairy tale sort of girl. But I did know that I wanted to be swept away by a strong (and of course handsome) boy who could make all my troubles go away. So, yeah, guess I was looking for a prince.

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  4. Talli - congrats on finishing the second draft! And good luck with the Christmas one - both of them are already on my to-read list!

    Great post, Laurey! I love fairytales! Disney's The Little Mermaid was my favourite growing up. I desperately wanted to be rescued by Prince Eric! (I wouldn't have minded being a mermaid either!)

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  5. Hoorah for you Talli but please no talk of Christmas yet while in the middle of summer! LOL!!! Yes, I am in denial - it;s still summer, it's still summer....!

    All the best Laurey!!

    Take care
    x

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  6. The story sounds cute.

    Favorite fairy tale? Might be an odd choice, but I love Robin Hood, especially the Disney one with the fox.

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  7. Definitely Cinderella...enjoy your weekend!

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  8. My favorite was Sleeping Beauty. The magical kiss that made everything perfect.

    Congrats on the second draft. Can't wait to read it.

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  9. Congratulations Talli. Love the premise of your story Laurey. Favorite fairy tale? Anything to do with Oz.

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  10. Hi Talli, congrats on finishing your second draft!!

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  11. That sounds adorable. I'm not sure I was ever into the princess thing. Although when I was 15 I had a crush on Prince William, and I ended up marrying a guy that looks quite a bit like him (and people tell him so all the time LOL). I was attracted to things like Alice in Wonderland. And I pretty much wanted to be Maleficent... at least for halloween. Her outfit ROCKS. haha. Though I did run around singing the songs from Disney's version of Sleeping Beauty, so maybe part of me did want to be THAT princess. lol.

    Congrats on the second draft!

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  12. I read quite a lot of them growing up... I rather prefer the less sanitized versions, from the Grimm Brothers, for example. Red Riding Hood for instance doesn't bring in a woodsman at the last minute to save the day. Just ends with the wolf eating Red Riding Hood. Period. The Wolf wins!

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  13. Talli - Congrats on your work!

    As for fairytales, um, yeah... so I have a series called Blood and Snow, which is a fairytale retelling of Snow White. LOL. There are vampires, revenants, and even a wicked Queen.

    As a kid my favorite fairytale was probably Peter and the Wolf (is that a fairytale). Okay, one with princesses? Um, Sleeping Beauty? I enjoyed reading and watching them all.

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  14. Congrats on your latest book, Talli! I enjoyed fairytales growing up, but I think I liked folk tales more :)
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  15. Talli, congrats on finishing that second draft! and on the novella outline. You've been industrious, this week, clearly!

    Laurey, great guest blog. I like that you wanted to make your characters real women, even though it's based on fairy tales. It makes it easier to believe in the possibility of it coming true!

    Jai

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  16. Favourite fairy tale would have to be Cinderalla, it's a classic.

    Congrats on finishing that second draft, Talli and a Christmas novella too, you sound like you are going to be busy.

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  17. Great post. Hmmm, my favorite fairy tales run to the more classic Grimm ones like Rose Red and Snow White.

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  18. Congrats Talli on your reaching your writing goals as I know how hard that is! My favourite fairy tale was always Sleeping Beauty - and my favourite part - the Prince waking her up with a kiss!

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  19. Congratulations, Talli, on finishing the second draft! :)

    That sounds like a fun book. Can't think of any favorite fairy tales offhand, though.

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  20. Talli, great job completing the second draft! Laurey, your book sounds like a magical escape! Julie

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  21. I'll forever love Snow White.

    It was great meeting Laurey and congrats on the progress, Talli.

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  22. Great post! I loved Cinderella when I was young...and Belle...and Ariel... :)

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  23. Congratulations on finishing your work! What a great feeling. I've always loved the Beauty and the Beast story.

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  24. Great news about finishing that draft! As to the fairy tale that enchanted me most, that had to be Cinderella. I wanted that prince to find her so badly.

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  25. My favorite fairy tale was Cinderella. My first watch was a Cinderella watch and a plastic figurine of Cinderella was included.

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  26. Congratulations Talli, on moving forward with your Pollyanna Plan. I love your guest today. I adore fairy tales. They make the best story plot. My favourite always has been, always will be, Cinderella. I've played with it so much and it always seems fresh. How many modern stories are Cinderella revisited?

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  27. Congrats Talli on your progress.
    I have enjoyed 10th Kingdom and Once Upon a Time particularly. I also enjoy how Fairytales have made a come back. YOur story sounds intriguing Laurey.

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  28. Congrats on your progress, Talli!

    I've enjoyed Snow White...it's just a classy fairytale. I've seen the most recent film adaptations and they're so good onscreen.

    I haven't been into Cinderella...I know she's also very classy. Still gotta go with Snow White...it can't get better than that :)

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  29. Well done, Talli! You certainly write at quite a pace... It takes me ages to get an outline down... Great to see another fairytale-type author featured. Nice post!

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  30. Nice guest post:-) I still love fairy tales and it's interesting to read new interpretations of them.

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  31. Laurey, your characters sound well rounded and believable. I loved all the fairy tales as a child and still love happy endings.
    Talli, you are a machine! Very impressive writing discipline especially when you have so much else to do at the moment. Really impressive.

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  32. Thank you for all the kind and encouraging comments and a huge thank you to Talli for hosting me on the blog. If you get a chance to read it, enjoy. Open to honest reviews as well (eeek)
    As for favourite fairy tales, mine was always Beauty and the Beast (the Disney version of course as I'm a sucker for a happy ending)

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