Systematic Student [Search results for Event — Fairy Tale Fortnight] 

This awesome interview comes to us courtesy of Bonnie from A Backwards Story. We've already mentioned Bonnie and the sphere of awesome she inhabits — she's really gotten on board with Fairy Tale Fortnight, and on top of posting scads of awesome reviews on her blog during the event, she's also sending some pretty terrific content our way, to share with you.
For today's post, Bonnie sat down to talk with Heather Dixon, author of the debut fairy tale Entwined, based on Misty's childhood favorite, The 12 Dancing Princesses.
(Yay!)

Heather Dixon’s debut novel, Entwined, is a re-telling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. The novel is lush and fleshes out the classic tale in a beautiful, descriptive fashion. For a review of Entwined, please visit A Backwards Story or Books From Bleh to Basically Amazing

Heather was kind enough to not only sit down and take the time to answer some questions, but scrounge up some awesome Disney trivia for everyone! Thanks so much, Heather!

1) What were your favorite fairy tales growing up? What drew you to them?
I really loved Disney’s Cinderella, and, of course, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, for the same reason: the visual aspect! I loved watching Cinderella’s rags transform into a beautiful dress, and I loved going through The Twelve Dancing Princesses picture books and seeing all of their dresses, and the sparkling forests. Call me shallow…I like pictures.

2) Was it hard coming up with your own spin on The Twelve Dancing Princesses when you began world-building for Entwined? How did you bring everything together?
The early-early drafts of Entwined were horrendous. It was much closer to the original Grimm fairy tale, took place in the medieval time period, and there was a lot to do with witches and blood magic. But it was so dark; I didn’t enjoy how I felt when I worked on it. It wasn’t until I established the theme of the story—forgiveness between the princesses and their father—that it started to take off. The Victorian time period, with its rules and mourning, was the perfect backdrop. Not to mention the dancing with waltzes and balls, and the courtships! Like magic, everything unfolded after that.

3) What are some of your favorite fairy tale inspired novels and/or authors?
I like all of them, from Ella Enchanted to Beauty! My favorite though is Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt. It is a beautiful story with so much depth.

4) If you could live out any fairy tale, what would it be and why?
Yikes, I don’t know if I’d want to live one out. They’re all kind of Grimm. (Ber-dum ching!) I wouldn’t say no to Sleeping Beauty. She has a pretty cushy life and gets to sleep for 100 years. I could handle that.

5) Will you be writing any more fairy tale novels? Can you tell us anything about your upcoming work?
Right now I don’t have any fairy tales in the novel pipeline, but I can see myself doing a princess comic or picture book, or a long rhyming fairy tale. (A fun one: a retelling of Undine, but with the princess trapped in reflections rather than water.) I’d also love to do a novel of The Nutcracker or Candyland.

6) What’s your favorite Disney rendition of a fairy tale? What makes it so special?
I love all the Disney fairy tales. They do a tremendous job with their adaptations. I feel a real kinship with Disney’s Sleeping Beauty though because of the spectacular art. The beautiful Eyvind Earle backgrounds/art direction and the Tom Oreb character designs are so inspiring. I find it very touching.

And, because I'm a sucker for animation, here are a couple of tasties about Disney's fairy tales:

-Disney's Cinderella is based off of the Charles Perrault version, not the Brother's Grimm (Nearly all the versions of Cinderella I know of have been based off of Perrault's).
[Misty says: That's because Perrault is awesomesauce. Hands down fave.]

-The backgrounds in Disney's Snow White are muted and soft because the artists were unsure people could handle brighter colors in a feature-length film.

-Disney's new movie, Tangled, was originally meant to have a rococo look, but when the project switched direction, the makers chose Disney's Cinderella and Disneyland's Fantasyland (!) as inspiration for their new look.

-Some little-known fairy-tale adaptations Disney has done: The Tin Soldier (from Fantasia 2000) and The Little Match Girl (a short at the beginning of The Little Mermais’s re-release). They've also been working (off and on) with Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen.

-The tall, vertical trees and square bushes in Disney's Sleeping Beauty were based off of medieval tapestries.

-Right now Pixar is working on Brave, a fairy-tale story about a girl archer.

-Disney's Cinderella takes place in the late Victorian era.

Today our guest is Bonnie! Bonnie has been an amazing addition to Fairy Tale Fortnight! She contacted me, asking how she could be involved and managed to add seven (yes, seven) additional authors to our line-up. Those interviews will be coming up later in the event, and we'll give Bonnie another shout out with each of them, because she's pretty much awesome! In discussion with Bonnie about favorite fairy tales and retellings and Bonnie and I have decided that we are Fairy Tale Soul Twins. So now, I will let Bonnie introduce herself and then get to her awesome post! ~*~
Bonnie Lynn Wagner is currently hard at work on her own fairy tale novel, which she hopes to start querying later this year. She runs A Backwards Story, a book blog that focuses on reviews and design. Reviews for all of the aforementioned novels can be found here, as well as other retellings every day for the duration of Fairy Tale Fortnight. She is a life-long fan of fairy tales and would love nothing more than to wake up one morning and find herself living in one.
When most people think about fairy tales, they envision a magical realm brimming with triumph, valor, and true love. Who doesn’t love reading about the heroes and heroines destined to embark on virtuous quests or struggling to break free from a dangerous curse? There are so many repetitious elements linking such tales together that I’ve come to savor the flip side of the story no one ever thinks twice about. While I love the traditional classics we all grew up with, these days, I’m more interested in the unexpected. I don’t know if there’s an official name for this, but I tend to call the sub-genre “fractured fairy tales.” The current fairy tale novels I most enjoy are ones with unique takes on the stories we all know and love.

HEART’S BLOOD by Juliet Marillier (read my review here)

This was one of the best books I read last year. It’s also become one of my all-time favorite fairy tale renditions because it’s beautiful and well-developed. I think I like this version of Beauty and the Beast even more than the famous Robin McKinley rendition that was a staple in my Favorite Novels Collection for years. Blasphemy, I know, but true. I love the fact that Heart's Blood is grounded in “our” world and entwined with Celtic lore and the arrival of the Normans. This could have actually happened, for the most part. The “beast” wasn’t a human transformed into a frightening creature. No, this time around, he’s an Irish Chieftain who suffered from a terrible palsy (a stroke) as a child, causing him to be partly-paralyzed with lopsided features. He takes the heroine in as a hired scribe when she seeks shelter as a terrified runaway. Even the “curse” is something that could have possibly happened long ago (in some worlds, at least) and has nothing to do with bringing “Beauty” and “Beast” together.

MERMAID by Carolyn Turgeon (read my review)

This is one of my favorite books so far this year. When I saw it at the bookstore a few weeks ago, I was lured in by the unique way the novel retold The Little Mermaid. The point of view flips back and forth from the mermaid to the princess that the prince ultimately marries. I’d never seen a version from the princess’ perspective before and was stunned. On top of that, the descriptions were beautiful, especially while in the mermaid’s realm. I loved the book so much that I quickly purchased Turgeon’s other novels, Godmother and Rain Village (which is loosely based on Thumbelina, another tale seldom re-envisioned). Godmother reminds me a lot of The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey. Both novels deal with the life of a fairy godmother. How often do we think about these women outside of their traditional roles?

GODMOTHER by Carolyn Turgeon (read my review here) and THE FAIRY GODMOTHER by Mercedes Lackey

In Godmother, our heroine falls in love with Cinderella’s prince and is banished to our mortal world, an outcast for depriving her charge of a happily ever after. The novel is one of the darkest fairy tale renditions I’ve read. The way everything comes together really leaves you thinking. I also love the fact that Turgeon wove the true historical account of the Cottingley Fairies into the tale. The Fairy Godmother, on the other hand, is a lot more uplifting. I was enamored with the way Mercedes created The Tradition, which forces people into fairy tale roles at the expense of everything else. Sometimes, the magic goes wrong. If you’re put onto the Cinderella path because you have a stepmother and stepsisters, you might wind up with a prince much younger or older... or he might die before he can marry. If a person doesn’t fulfill his or her happily ever after, there’s a bad build-up of magic that accumulates around them. Our main character is one such person. Rather than give up her magic when her happily ever after doesn't pan out, she chooses to become a fairy godmother and help others. She becomes such a strong person that she breaks from Tradition and creates her own tale.

THE SEVENFOLD SPELL by Tia Nevitt (my review here)

Just this past week, I read this unique self-published e-book. It really challenged the way I think about fairy tales. What compelled me to download this to my nook was that it’s told from the POV of a village girl. We always hear about the heroes/heroines, or even the villains of a fairy tale. How often do we hear about how their happily ever afters effect the rest of the kingdom? This novella takes place in the world of Sleeping Beauty. It’s about a girl and her mother, two spinners whose spinning wheel is taken away. Having lost their sole source of income, the heroine is forced to dip into what little dowry she had. Now, she has no chance of marriage and must look at unsavory methods of work in order to make a living. Her life is completely destroyed by the curse placed on the princess. At the same time, Nevitt introduces a new twist on the original christening ceremony, one where a Sevenfold Spell is created specifically for the newborn princess. When one of the seven fairies is unable to lay down the final part of the spell in order to reduce the curse’s severity, it results in something unexpected that hinders the princess throughout her life.

There will always be an author who is able to look at things we didn’t notice when reading our favorite tales, pull it out, and create something fresh and exciting. I already have two shelves brimming with renditions; this is one of my favorite genres to curl up with. With all the movies and novels coming out in our genre over the next couple of years, I’m optimistic that I’ll soon have new favorites to discover and add to my bookcase.

What about you? What are some of your favorite alternative fairy tales, new and old alike?

About a month ago, I wrote up a post discussing the upcoming Fairy Tale Fortnight event that Misty from The Book Rat and I are hosting. I've been really excited for this event since I signed on with Misty to co-host. But, if you follow me on Twitter, you know that I've been talking about almost nothing else... Why is that you say? Because it seems like every single time I open my email or check my Twitter feed, some new fairy tale awesomeness awaits me!

So, this post has two purposes — to give you a teasingly small glimpse into the greatness that is headed your way in April, so you can experience so of this excitement that has me squealing most unattractively at odd moments and doing strange dance moves up and down the stairs... But, it's also to get YOU involved. If you click on the pretty button, or anytime Fairy Tale Fortnight appears in this post, you will be directed to the initial introductory post, where there is a place to mention your favorite fairy tale, both original and retold, as well as volunteer to guest post. (You know you want to!) We would LOVE to have you involved.

We know that's more than some people can contribute, but we have something else for you!! Below you will find a list of the current authors who have committed to an interview as part of Fairy Tale Fortnight. Misty and I want YOU to tell us what you would most like to hear from these wonderful authors, and we can tailor their interviews to you! Your questions can be general questions directed at each or several of the authors, or you can ask a specific author a specific question.

So, who will be stopping by?! Well, let me tell you!

Elizabeth C. Bunce, author of A Curse Dark as Gold and Starcrossed.

Jessica Day George, author of Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, Princess of the Midnight Ball, Princess of Glass, and etc.

Donna Jo Napoli, author of many retellings, including Zel, Crazy Jack, Sirena, Spinners, Breath and etc.

Janette Rallison, author of My Fair Godmother, My Unfair Godmother, Just One Wish, etc.

Mette Ivie Harrison, author of Mira, Mirror, and and Princess and the... trilogy, including The Princess and the Hound, The Princess and the Bear, and The Princess and the Snowbird.

Diane Zahler, author of The Thirteenth Princess and A True Princess .

Jaclyn Dolamore, author of Magic Under Glass and Between the Sea and Sky.

So, now that you are just as excited as we are, maybe doing a happy dance of your own, start asking questions!!

Oh, and keep your eyes peeled for more updates! Misty and I are pretty sure there is going to be an Ask the Author 2 sometime soon, because we just can't stop the awesome!:)

*Ahem* For this post, it is important that you read to the end. That's where all the really good stuff is.:)

Misty and I were talking the other day about what type of content we are going to include beyond reviews, interviews, and guest posts for our Fairy Tale Fortnight event this April (so soon!!!). Both of us had ideas regarding vlogs, and then Misty had an epic idea of awesomeness-

What if, we were able to get a whole bunch of people to each record and upload a clip of themselves reading a short snippet from a fairy tale (we would send you what to read). Then, you would send it to Misty (because she had a LOT more experience that I do at editing videos, and I'd ruin it...) . After Misty has received all the clips for everyone, they will be edited together into one video. So, we would have this completely awesome video that is a communal bedtime story, featuring people from all over.

Isn't this awesome?! BUT, this is definitely an idea that requires a lot of participation. It will not be awesome if no one is interested in participating with us. So I'm asking you — What do you think? Is this something you would participate in? Is this something you would watch? What fairy tale(s) would you most like to see read?

And, would you rather have one big video, where everyone reads 1-4 sentences, or 3-4 separate videos where a few people at a time read longer clips?

Please, please, please let us know!! You can also check out Misty's post about this idea by clicking this link to take you to her blog, The Book Rat.

And, to make this even better, and to encourage more participation, I have plans in the works for a special giveaway. Misty has already mentioned that she is going to have a prize pack during the event for participants only (if you want to be included in that list, in my blog to go to the sign up form!!!!). Both Misty and I really want this event to be a success, and for it to be a hit, we need a lot of participation. But, I understand that not everyone has the time or resources to contribute a guest post or giveaway. And that's fine. But, what about all the awesome people who have our buttons on their sidebars, or tweet/retweet about the event and just help us promote in general? Well, stay tuned. Sometime within the next few days, when I've managed to collect my thoughts and figure out how I want this to all go down, I'm going to post about how you can be entered into my promoters only giveaway. So grab those buttons, tweet those links, blog away etc. The more you promote, the more chances you have to win!!

Comment away, and let me know what you think!!!!!

Hello and welcome! You have been listening to me talk about Fairy Tale Fortnight for months now, and it is finally here!!

This post will be constantly updated throughout the event with links and new information. Every night at midnight EST, the post will be updated with a full schedule of the day's upcoming events. As the posts go live, I will be updating with links throughout the day so you don't miss a thing!

At the bottom of each post will be one of these three pictures: Clicking on one of these pictures will bring you back to this page, to view all the great new updates.

There is also a link-up in an additional post where you can link up your fairy tale related posts for others to read!

Also, Bonnie at A Backwards Story has some awesome stuff happening on her blog this week! When she learned about this event, she not only provided us with a guest post, she spoke with a few of her author contacts about interviews (which will be upcoming) and she is reviewing a new fairy tale on her blog every day of the event. You will definitely want to head over there to see what she's got happening.

I really hope everyone is just as excited for this as I am! Let the Fairy Tale goodness begin!

Sunday April 17:

~ Schedule and Additional Post Link-Up
~ Anahita's Woven Riddle Contest
~ Beauty review at The Book Rat
~ A Librarian Guest Post — Winter's Child at Basically Amazing Books
~ Interview with Jessica Day George and a giveaway!
~ Her Royal Orangeness Guest Post-Tam Lin at The Book Rat
~ Entwined reivew at Basically Amazing Books

Monday April 18:

~ Why Fairy Tales Are Magic ~ a guest post from Zoë Marriott
~ Bound review at The Book Rat
~ Japanese Fairy Tales by Danya at Basically Amazing Books
~ The Healer's Apprentice Giveaway + Fairy Tales in Bruges at The Book Rat
~ Memory Monday: Beauty at Basically Amazing Books
~ Zoë Marriott Prize Pack of Awesome
~ Hush review at The Book Rat
~ Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow review at Basically Amazing Books
~ FIll-in the Blanks with JG at The Book Rat

Tuesday April 19:

~ Jaclyn Dolamore Interview & bookplate giveaway
~ Curlypow's guest post: Beauties and Beasties at The Book Rat
~ TBR Tuesday at The Book Rat
~ Beastly review at Basically Amazing Books
~ Princess and the Hound review at The Book Rat
~ The Uses of Enchantment giveaway from Edie
~ Happily Ever After — Myth... BUSTED with Jennifer AND a giveaway at Basically Amazing Books
~ 'The Red Shoe's at The Book Rat
~ A Kiss in Time review at Basically Amazing Books

Wednesday April 20:

~ Easter Giveaway at The Book Rat!!
~ Prize Pack from The Introverted Reader at The Book Rat
~ Mini-review of Ash + a giveaway! at Basically Amazing Books
~ The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde Guest Post at Basically Amazing Books
~ Wishlist Wednesday at The Book Rat
~ Interview with Donna Jo Napoli
~ Tender Morsels and the dark side — Guest Post at The Book Rat
~ Review: The Swan Kingdom at Basically Amazing Books
~ Review: Rapunzel's Revenge and Princess Academy at The Book Rat

Thursday April 21:

~ Nancy Werlin Giveaway
~ Fractured Fairy Tales with Bonnie at Basically Amazing Books
~ Kiss part 1 at The Book Rat
~ Review: A True Princess at Basically Amazing Books
~ Interview with Alex Flinn
~ Reivew: I, Corinader at The Book Rat
~ Review: Calamity Jack at Basically Amazing Books
~ Midnyte Reader: The Horror of Fairy Tales at The Book Rat

Friday April 22:

~ Mette Ivie Harrison Guest Post and Giveaway
~ Review: Sirena at Basically Amazing Books
~ Review: Princess at the Midnight Ball at The Book Rat
~ Why I Always Forgive My Fairy Tales at Basically Amazing Books
~ Friday Face Off at The Book Rat
~ Interview with Heather Dixon
~ Enna Isilee: How Fairy Tales Changed My Life at The Book Rat
~ Review: Princess of Glass at The Book Rat
~ Review: Zel at Basically Amazing Books
~ Kiss, part 2 at The Book Rat

Saturday April 23:

~ Jessica Day George Prize Pack #2, courtesy of Sierra
~ Short Story Saturday pt. 1 at The Book Rat
~ Groovy Fairy Tales guest post by Jayme at Basically Amazing Books
~ Short Story Saturday pt. 2 at The Book Rat
~ Fables review and giveaway, guest post by Kristen at The Book Rat
~ Interview with Zoë Marriott
~ Kiss pt. 3 at The Book Rat
~ Short Story Saturday pt. 3 at The Book Rat
~ Review: Wildwood Dancing at Basically Amazing Books
~ Mini-reviews: Impossible and Extraordinary at The Book Rat

Sunday April 24:

~ My Unfair Godmother giveaway at Basically Amazing Books
~ Dark Literary Retellings + giveaway from Titania at The Book Rat
~ Kiss, the final part at The Book Rat
~ Series Review: Once Upon a Time at Basically Amazing Books
~ Poetry, Shmoetry at The Book Rat
~ Once Upon a Time Cover Discussion at Basically Amazing Books
~ Interview with Marissa Meyer
~ Book of 1000 Days from Miss Eliza at The Book Rat
~ Review: Princess of Glass guest post with Ems at Basically Amazing Books
~ The Twelve Dancing Princesses guest post with Ems at The Book Rat
~ Once Upon a Time Series Favorites at Basically Amazing Books

Monday April 25:

~ Interview with Diane Zahler + giveaway
~ Review: Cloaked at The Book Rat
~ Memory Monday: Deerskin at Basically Amazing Books
~ Interview with Cindy Pon
~ 10 Awesome FT characters guest post with CSI Librarian at The Book Rat
~ Review: Shadow Spinner at Basically Amazing Books
~ Interview with Elis O'Neal
~ A Kiss in Time: Guest post with Sierra at The Book Rat
~ My Favorite Fairy Tales guest post with Enna + giveaway!
~ Beastly Teaser at The Book Rat

Tuesday April 26:

~ Giveaway: Shadow Spinner
~ Titania's Favorite Movie Adaptations at Basically Amazing Books
~ Alanna: Acrostic Awesomeness + YA FT giveaway at The Book Rat
~ Alanna: Acrostic Awesomeness + Children's FT giveaway at Basically Amazing Books
~ TBR Tuesday at The Book Rat
~ Fairy Tales, Myths and World Building: Between the Sea and Sky
~ Review: The Princess Trio by Mette Ivie Harrison at Basically Amazing Books
~ Sleeping Beauty-Then and Now guest post by Tricia at The Book Rat
~ Fairy vs. Faeri: a guest post by Laura at Basically Amazing Books
~ A Fill-in Game with Elie at The Book Rat
~ Review: Juniper Berry at The Book Rat

Wednesday April 27:

~ Interview with Janette Rallison + giveaway!
~ Juniper Berry excerpt + giveaway! at The Book Rat
~ Guest Review: Rapunzel's Revenge with Kristen at Basically Amazing Books
~ Wishlist Wednesday — Unreleased titles at The Book Rat
~ Guest Review: Cloaked with Sierra at Basically Amazing Books
~ Sleeping Beauty: A DoublClik Editorial
~ From One Book to Another: East of the Sun, West of the Moon at The Book Rat
~ Interview with Victoria Schwab
~ Review: Keturah and Lord Death at Basically Amazing Books
~ Failed it or Nailed it: East of the Sun, West of the Moon comparison at The Book Rat

Thursday April 28:

~ Interview with Carolyn Turgeon + giveaway!
~ 2 Classic Irish Tales, from Mel U at The Book Rat
~ Guest Review: Enchantment from Cynthia at Basically Amazing Books
~ Interview with Mette Ivie Harrison
~ Review: Troll Bridge at The Book Rat
~ Video with Jessica Day George and announcement from The Giveaway Fairy
~ Interview with Sarah Porter
~ Review: Magic Under Glass at Basically Amazing Books
~ Fill-in-Game with Khadija at The Book Rat

Friday April 29:

~ Guest Post with Marissa Meyer: Not Your Average Retelling
~ Mini-reviews: Jon Scieszka at The Book Rat
~ Why Fairy Tales? at Basically Amazing Books
~ Friday Face Off at The Book Rat
~ Guest Review: Tithe by Ammy Belle at Basically Amazing Books
~ Interview with Tia Nevitt
~ Book Journey Guest Review of Cloaked at The Book Rat
~ Book Journey Giveaway at Basically Amazing Books
~ Review: The Mermaid's Mirror at Basically Amazing Books
~ Review: Castle Waiting at The Book Rat

Saturday April 30:

~ Interview with Elizabeth C. Bunce + giveaway
~ Opening lines for the Faery Reel at The Book Rat
~ Short Story Saturday 2 at The Book Rat
~ Fairy Tales I Can't Wait to Read at Basically Amazing Books
~ Review: Daughter of the Forest at The Book Rat
~ Fill-in Game with Maureen McGowan
~ Review: The Sister's Grimm at Basically Amazing Books
~ Silly interview with Misty
~ Silly interview with Ashley
~ Little Red Riding Hood Video Project
~ End credits/THANKS!

Misty over at Book Rat likes Fairy Tales. I like Fairy Tales. So, together we are hosting the upcoming Fairy Tale Fortnight (link takes you to Misty's intro post).

The event will run from April 17th — April 30 and will be chock full of nothing but Fairy Tale goodness!

There will be reviews, giveaways, guest bloggers, interviews and lots of great stories, both traditional fairy tales, and the more fairy tale, esque stories. Even my Memory Monday guest poster will be talking about Fairy Tales!

Both Misty and I are looking for other bloggers who would like to participate and contribute! Misty even has a special giveaway reserved only for those who participate in some way or another. We'd love to have you all apart of this! It's going to be totally awesome! It's getting pretty close to the event, but we'd still love to talk to you! If you'd like to participate, send me an email at basicallyamazingbooks [at] gmail [dot] com

Misty has also created some absolutely lovely buttons. Feel free to grab one to put on your blog!

<a><img src="//i46.photobucket.com/albums/f143/mistyisnormal/FairyTaleFortnightbutton1.jpg" />

<a><img src="//i46.photobucket.com/albums/f143/mistyisnormal/FairyTaleFortnightbutton2.jpg" />

Is everyone else as excited for Fairy Tale Fortnight as I am?! It's going to be EPIC! And to prove it to you, to get you even more excited and to just share the general awesomeness, Misty and I are opening up a giveaway today!

Donna Jo Napoli agreed to be a part of Fairy Tale Fortnight and has been absolutely wonderful to work with. She agreed to an interview (which is awesome and will go up next week) and she also agreed to a very generous giveaway.

So — What can you win? We have 5 signed and personalized hardcovers of Crazy Jack to giveaway, which is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk and 10 signed and personalized paperbacks of The Great God Pan , which is a retelling of a Greek Myth. Yup. You read that right. 15 books to giveaway, which means 15 chances for you to take home an awesome signed and personalized book!!

In order to enter this giveaway, Donna has asked that you tell her your favorite NON-European Fairy Tale. Just fill out the form below to enter! This is the same form that is found on Misty's blog so please only enter once.

Although there is a place in the form for your favorite Non-European tale, we ask that you also leave your answer in the comments section. This will give you one additional entry, and is the only extra entry available.

Donna did ask us to open and close the giveaway early, because she will be leaving the country in the middle of the event and wanted to be sure she was able to get everyone their books before she leaves. Because of this, it will be mandatory that you leave your mailing address in the form below. Your address will be shared with no one, other than Donna if you win. But, there will not be time to email all 15 winners and wait 48 hours for a response because Donna will be leaving. If you don't include your address, your entry will be deleted.

Also, this giveaway is International! Open worldwide! Just make sure, that if you are international, you give us all necessary mailing information in the form!

The giveaway will be open from now until April 18th at 11:59 PM MST. I will draw the winners on April 19th. I will send an email to each winner, letting them know they won, as well as an email to Donna Jo containing all the winner's information.

Sometime around the end of last year, I stumbled across a page for A True Princess by Diane Zahler which is a retelling of The Princess and the Pea. Retellings of this story are rare, at least to my knowledge, so I instantly interested. And then the author caught my eye. I had read The Thirteenth Princess by Diane early in 2010 and I was completely charmed by Zita and her story. Because I so enjoyed The Thirteenth Princess, when Misty and I began planning for Fairy Tale Fortnight, I contacted Diane, asking her if she would be interested in participating and she said yes. There is an interview and giveaway coming up soon that Diane was generous enough to contribute, and she also sent me a copy of A True Princess to review during the event.

A True Princess is the story of Lilia, a 12 year old foundling servant. Found as a child around two floating down river in a basket, Lilia has lived in the home or Jorgen and his bitter second wife Ylva. Jorgen also has two children from his first marriage, Kai, who is near Lilia's age, and Karina who is five years older. As I read, I found myself searching for the word of phrase that would best describe how I felt reading it, and I decided that I simply adored this book, and that word — adored — is able to sum up how I felt and wrap it all together far nicer than words.

While I did genuinely enjoy this story, there were two main things that I didn't love. The first is that Lilia is only 12 years old. It tells us Lilia's age in the first few pages of the story, but I promptly forgot about it, and was completely shocked when I glanced at the summary on Goodreads, and it declares her 12. I had to glance through my copy to check, because to me, nothing about Lilia is 12 years old. Not her choices, not her thoughts, not her romance, and not her actions. I spent the entire book imagining her as 15, which is worlds away from 12. Karina also did not seem five years older than either Kai or Lilia either. She seemed much closer in age, which gave more weight to the idea that Lilia couldn't possibly be only 12.

The only other thing I wish had been different is a desire for more. There were so many fabulously wonderful ideas threaded throughout this book, any number of which could have been fleshed out and given more detail. There was a lot I wish we could have learned more about. While reading it, I enjoyed the world that Zahler had created, but I wished there had been more of it. I also wished for more development in the relationships. Things moved very quickly in this story, and what suffered the most was what we were able to see develop of the relationships. Lilia leaves in the middle of the night after overhearing Ylva demand she be sent to serve in the home of the abusive miller, and Kai and Karina set out after her to travel North with her, hopefully to find out where it is she came from and how she came to be floating down the river. We know, from this, that their relationship is close, but there isn't much time for us to see it develop. We don't get to see a lot of it, which makes certain later events (such as romantic developments) a little too... sudden and easy.

Although I did wish for more a little more detail to the story and fleshing out to the relationships, this is one that I am glad to have read, and will very likely read again. I've already picked it up to reread my favorite scenes again because I enjoyed it so much the first time around. I'm not very familiar with stories involving the Fey, especially in fairy tales, but as I find myself read more and more about them in my retellings, the more I wish to know about them. The Elf-King and his lovely, enchanting daughter were fascinating in this story and I found myself gripped and captivated every time they appeared on the page.

The resolution of the story was stunning and in my opinion, the best writing of the book. All of the book is good, but the resolution is where Zahler shines especially bright in this one. I found myself holding my breath a time or two, waiting for everything to be made right or resolved. Lilia really comes into her strength as she marches back into the woods to rescue Kai, knowing that to do so in dangerous, that the Elf-King is likely not to be trusted, but needing to save Kai no matter what.

Although this story is a retelling of The Princess and the Pea, and that infamous pea does make an appearance in the story, it is a tale less about a pea under a mattress and more about what it is that will make a true princess. Given the name of the book and the nature of fairy tales, you sense the truth of Lilia's origins almost as soon as you start the story, but discovering the truth alongside Lilia still feels like an adventure and a revelation. I loved the chapter headings, each a different 'rule' for what makes a true princess, and each rule usually foreshadows a way in which Lilia will break them throughout that chapter.

A True Princess is a charming, truly delightful fairy tale, one that fits well alongside The Thirteenth Princess and other fairy tale retellings. It is a simple yet wonderful addition to any fairy tale collection, and one I will enjoy reading again.

Hey everyone, and welcome to my blog! I'm excited to have you here! I have a lot of great stuff happening right now, and would love to have you stick around and check it out! You can also follow me on Twitter! I only started tweeting last month, but already think it's fun and love chatting with bloggers over there! I'd love to see you!

If you are new to my blog, or if you aren't new, but want me to head over to your blog, leave me a comment and I promise that I will return the visit and check out your blogs. Although, my internet is going to be pretty spotty this weekend, so it will probably be my Monday project.:)

So, the most exciting thing I have going on my blog right now is an event that won't start until April. Misty from The Book Rat and I are hosting Fairy Tale Fortnight, which will run from April 17th through April 30th. What is it you ask? It is 14 days of nothing but fairy tale goodness! We will have reviews, guest bloggers, author interviews, giveaways, and some surprise content thrown in there as well. Basically, it's going to be AMAZING! If you have any interest in fairy tales at all you are not going to want to miss this!

So, other than reading the awesomeness that will be posted each day, what else can you do? Well, if you click this link RIGHT HERE, it will take you to my introductory post, where you can find buttons to include on your blog, and a google doc you can fill out with your favorite fairy tale information, and you can offer us a guest post, if that's something you think you would like to do, and really, we would love to have you! The more interaction the better!

As I mentioned, we also have authors who have agreed to answer some interview questions, among other things, and if you click THIS LINK HERE, it will take you to the initial author introduction page, which includes that authors that have already committed to an interview. If you have a question you would like to ask the authors in general or a specific author, leave us a comment, and we will get it answered for you! Again, the more participation the better!!

Then, as part of my Memory Monday guest feature, Alexa from Pages of Forbidden Love is hosting a giveaway of her Memory! in my blog for a chance to win Battle Dress by Amy Efaw.

There's more coming up soon, so I'd love to have you stay, take a look around, and check back in!:)

Jennifer @ Crazy for Books asked what books we'd like to see made into movies. My response — NONE! I do not do well with book to movie adaptations at all. Out of all the movies I've watched, I can only think of three adaptations I enjoyed if I had read the book first, Holes, because Louis Sachar wrote the screenplay, A Series of Unfortunate Events because I did not like those books, at all so the movie was an improvement and sort of cute, and To Kill a Mockingbird because it's hard not to love Gregory Peck. I kind of feel like a little piece of the book dies every time a movie is made from it. So, I vote for no more!

As to Parajnkee's question, I don't/haven't read a lot of Science Fiction, but I have quite a bit that I plan to read, to try and learn more about the genre. But, out of what I have read, I would say my favorite adult SF would be The Practice Effect by David Brin, and YA would probably be Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl. Both are great stories that I feel like I could read again and again.

06As I'm sure most of you know, Misty at The Book Rat and I are gearing up for Fairy Tale Fortnight, and doing all we can to make this event as awesome for you as possible. We've gotten in touch with authors, bloggers, publiscists etc to try and make this event rock. And the participation we have received and the support has been amazing. I'm completely stunned by how many great authors are willing to contribute, and I've worn out my happy dance from the number of times I've checked my email to see even more participation.

One of the authors who has agreed to contribute to the event is Donna Jo Napoli, who has written many, many great fairy tale retellings. Stay tuned, both Misty and I will have some reviews go up for you. She's been great to talk with, and had been very generous with her giveaway offerings. (Just saying here, I wish I was you... Great giveaway!)

She emailed me the other day, asking for my help. And, because she's been so great to work with already, and I definitely support her cause, I was more than happy to agree.

This summer, Donna will be going to Italy to teach a writing workshop for the Siena School of Liberal Arts, which is a non-profit organization that provides significant outreach to the elderly, immigrants, and the deaf community. But, as is the case with, I believe many non-profits right now, the school is struggling financially. Donna has agreed to teach this workshop without pay because she truly supports their cause and wants to assist them in anyway possible.

I've left links all over the place in this post, and you can click on any of them for more information.

Donna is hoping that this post will do three things, in part or in full. She is hoping to raise awareness of both the workshop and the organization. She also wants this workshop to be a success. But for it to really be successful, it needs participants. The workshop will be in Siena, Italy this May and is suitable for writers just beginning their career, or those who have already been published. If this is something you are interested in, or think would be beneficial and would work for you time/money wise I strongly recommend looking into this workshop. It looks pretty great, and I know I'd love to work with Donna in person! And really, it's in Italy. If I had the money and time for it, I'd totally go just as an excuse to go to Italy!

But, because it's definitely not something that everyone is going to be able to participate in, there is also the option to donate something to their cause. They are a non-profit organization, which means they exist on Government assistance and donations from others who appreciate what they stand for. I have never asked my readers for any kind of donations or contributions before, and definitely don't plan to make a habit of this, but this is something I think is worth talking about. If you are at all interested in, willing or able to contribute in any way to this organization, I strongly recommend looking into it! Feel free to follow any of the links within this post for more information, or you can email Donna or myself and we can try to answer any questions.

Although this post is specifically about the Siena School for the Liberal Arts and their writing workshop, I'd like to broaden this up to say donate anything you can (time, money, books, information) to any of the non-profit organizations you support. There are so many groups out there (including your local library!) who support and improve literacy and who are trying to make improvements to your communities. They can only survive if people are willing to support them, so go for it! If at all possible, give a little of yourself and your talents to help support these great programs!

Let's help these great organizations stay alive!

Also, welcome to the hoppers! I posted this today on purpose, in the hopes that more people would see it, with the additional 'hop' traffic to the blog! But, I also welcome you and would love to have you stick around and chat!:)

Alright... So, I have this problem, where I see a great/really interesting challenge, and I just feel like I need to sign up for it/participate in it... So, although these lists may change, (added to...) here is a tentative post including all the challenges I wish to participate in for 2011. Most of these have quite a bit of overlap, so that isn't too bad, but I also think I might be crazy... :)

So, first, I have my new Fill in the Gaps: 100 Books project. (first link takes you to my post, second takes you to the official blog) I won't waste the space repeating my list here...

Next, I'm participating in two challenges hosted by The Book Vixen: The Out Do Yourself Challenge, where you try to read more books in 2011 than in 2010. This one might be trickier than I expected, because I'm finished at 250. For obvious reasons, I'm not going to list which books I think I'll try, but I'll probably be working toward reading around 260 books next year...

She is also hosting a fun YA of the 80s and 90s Challenge. It's pretty flexible in terms of which books, how many etc, but I've decided to try for 15-30. I think a lot of these are going to end up as rereads, because there are a lot of great books from this era that I miss, and really want to read again, so it will probably end up about half and half.

This brings me to my next challenge, which is the Read Me Baby, One More Time Challenge hosted by Midnight Book Girl. The goal here is to reread old favorites. This gives me a great excuse to read books I've been wanting to reread, but have felt guilty about because of all the other books I have waiting to be read. But, I don't care. Some of these books just need a reread! I'm going to sign up for the highest level, which is 13-20 books reread, because many of the books I want to reread are part of a series. Like, Harry Potter and The Tillerman Saga. Both childhood favorites, both with 7 books. Easy, right?!:)

I've also decided that I need to shrink my personal: Own and Need to Read list, so I'm participating in the Off the Shelf Challenge, hosted by BA Reading Challenges. Again, I don't have an actual list of which books I plan on reading, but I will update as I go. And, I'm trying for the On a Roll level, which means I'll be trying to read 50 books I owned before Jan. 1, 2011.

Going along with the above challenge, Adam over at Roof Beam Reader is hosting his 2011 TBR Pile Challenge. You have to read 12 books that have been on your TBR list for over a year, so no 2010 pub. dates. My post about this challenge is HERE, so you can see what I want to read.

I also have discovered that I really enjoy reading Multicultural fiction, and I want to make a conscious effort to read more. So, I've joined the POC Reading Challenge, hoping to get more books read with main characters who are different from me. One of the reasons we read is to learn, and I definitely know I have a lot to learn here. Any recommendations would be especially helpful!! For this challenge, you set your own goals, and I want to read at least 12 multicultural/POC books. That's only one a month, so I'm hoping that my actual numbers will be closer to 24 or 36. We'll see how I do!:)

And then, my final challenge — Among the Muses is hosting a Fairy Tale Reading Challenge! I LOVE Fairy Tales! How great that there is a challenge just about them!:) I'm aiming for 4-6, but I'm hoping to get more than that. And, this challenge goes along great with Misty @ Book Rat and my Fairy Tale Fortnight Event in April! Mark that down, if you haven't already!:)

Also, as a personal challenge, I want to start commenting more on the blogs that I read. So, I've decided that over the next little while, I want to visit every blog I follow and click on 5-7 reviews. Read the reviews, comment on at least half, and make sure I know why I follow them. I'm sad to admit that there are some blogs I don't read, that I follow. Not sure why I followed in the first place, but there are several blogs I follow who primarily review books I don't read... So, I'm going to try and remove the blogs I don't read, and then I can find even more blogs that I will!:)

So, what challenges are you participating in? And, I'm pretty sure I'm nuts!

Summary from Goodreads:

Every night, Shahrazad begins a story. And every morning, the Sultan lets her live another day — providing the story is interesting enough to capture his attention. After almost one thousand nights, Shahrazad is running out of tales. And that is how Marjan's story begins...

It falls to Marjan to help Shahrazad find new stories — ones the Sultan has never heard before. To do that, the girl is forced to undertake a dangerous and forbidden mission: sneak from the harem and travel the city, pulling tales from strangers and bringing them back to Shahrazad. But as she searches the city, a wonderful thing happens. From a quiet spinner of tales, Marjan suddenly becomes the center of a more surprising story than she ever could have imagined.
___________________________________________________

While in the early stages of planning fairy tale fortnight, Ashley contacted Susan Fletcher, asking her if she'd like to be a part of the event. Susan didn't have the time to contribute an author interview or a guest post, but she did donate a signed hardcover of Shadow Spinner from her personal collection. How cool is that?!

If you need further proof of how awesome it is, you can read Ashley's review (click!) . In case you haven't already guessed, she's definitely a fan.

In order to win a signed hardcover copy of this book, you must


Leave a comment telling us and Susan why you want to read her book.
Be sure to include your email address so we have a way to contact you if you win!


*Open Internationally
*Ends May 5th May 8th!