Don't Eat That Poisoned Apple!

Mirror mirror, on the wall, who is deadliest of them all...?

I am really excited to be involved in the Poisoned blog tour. And, as you can probably see for the cover (this is one of the many reasons I jumped at this tour!), Poisoned is a Snow White retelling, from Jennifer Donnelly, the author behind award winning A Gathering Light, These Shallows Graves, Revolution and her Cinderella reimagining, Stepsister...

Once upon a time, a girl called Sophie went into the forest with the Queen's huntsman. Her lips as red as blood, skin as white as snow, hair as black as night, Sophie is about to inherit her father's throne. Expect the Queen believes Sophie is unworthy, too weak and too foolish, to rule. And Sophie believes her, believing all the poisonous words that people say to keep girls, women, people like her in their place.

Then, the huntsman carries out his order to kill her and cut out her heart... and yet, she lives. And she wants to reclaim everything that has been taken from her...

I am so excited as I always like hearing/watching reimagining of Snow White so as soon as I got the email from Blue, asking if I wanted to be involved in this tour, I JUMPED at it! So, thank you Blue for asking me! And thank you, Jennifer, for find time to write this delicious guest post! 

Oh, before I go, if you want to say hi to Jennifer, you can visit her via her website (JenniferDonnelly.com) or tweet her at @JenWritesBooks. And curious over Poisoned, check out Hot Key Books!

Now, over to Jennifer for the post!

How do you manage to keep the stories unique and interesting for a retelling?

 
I think the best way to make a retelling unique and interesting is by bringing yourself to the story. (And I think that holds true for any story, not just fairy tale retellings.)

What speaks to you about the classic tale that you’d like to retell? What do you see in it that maybe other people don’t? Your perception of the characters, your passion for their journey, is unique and will bring a new angle to a story many of us know by heart. And that’s what readers respond to.

Is there a minor character who deserves her time in the spotlight? Give it to her.  Are there questions that you’ve always had about a fairy tale? Find the answers. Do you feel a character was misrepresented or treated unfairly? Right the wrong.

Think about the story’s setting, too. Many fairy tales leave the detail and color of the world around the characters vague. Fill it in for your readers. Tell us not only what that world looks like but sounds like and smells like. Fill it with funny, quirky, or scary secondary characters and tell us what they’re wearing and eating, what they keep hidden under their beds, who their best friends are, how they get along with their parents. You can show your readers so much about a character through her relationships with friends, crushes, parents, teachers, classmates, rivals – all the people who make up her world.    

Above all, tell us who your main character is, what she wants, and the lengths she’ll go to get it. Passion and heart – your characters’ and your own – are what make a story truly compelling.