Here’s the second part of my podcast interview on the Very Serious Writing Show about twisting classics and fairy tales. I had so much fun chatting with Daniel Thompson about Into the Woods, crossovers, dystopian comedies, and the path to publication.
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Sarah E. Morin 
Steampunk Cinderella, but it wouldn’t exactly be about Cinderella… 🙂
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Intriguing! Who IS it about? Or is it a secret? 😉
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Regency Rapunzel, because my twisted-into-a-tangled-mess retelling, which is non-magical fantasy, makes me think of Jane Austen in its conflicts.
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Ooo, I love Jane! Does Regency Rapunzel wear her hair up or down?
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I don’t know. Probably depends on the time of day.
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Steampunk Beauty and the Beast, where the Beast is a cyborg. The world needs more steampunk 🙂
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Nice take! I’d read it!
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Beauty and the Beast, Western. But the girl is the beast (in the sense of physical scars and ugliness)
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Yes, I love gender-flipped Beauty and the Beast stories. Have you seen Penelope?
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Thriller Snow White. Are the dwarfs really mining diamonds or something else entirely?
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Who knows what terror lurks deep within the heart of…earth? Love it.
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Rapunzel-Modern Romance. Can she escape the cruel tower of corporate business in a big city?
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I think there would be buyers for this. Instead of the witch literally throwing her from the tower, her boss fires her and escorts her forcibly down the elevator? Tosses her desk supplies onto the street? Thanks for playing!
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I’m not sure if it counts as Arthurian legends aren’t exactly fairytales, but I have plans to someday write a sci-fi King Arthur story. 😀
Strictly fairytales, I would love to see a lesser known fairytale, like Maid Maleen, or King Thrushbeard in some sort of -punk setting. Maid Maleen would be a good decopunk story I think, and King Thrushbeard steampunk. 😀
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Sure, Arthur counts! Hm, he’s supposed to come back one day, when England is in peril. Maybe he reappears in the future? Neat!
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Swan Princess and Science Fiction. How would a space villain use science to turn someone (gender-swapped or not!) into an alien creature? And how would that someone turn back?
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Nice! This has real possibilities – hope you write it, Cadi. Wonder how the moon will tie in…
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Although it’s not actually a fairy tale, I kind of want to write a sci-fi Robin Hood, even though I already wrote a retelling set in the traditional setting.
If I picked a more proper fairy tale, I’d go with Beauty and the Beast, probably, because I’m fascinated by the themes that could be explored there. While it’s probably technically a kind of fantasy anyway, I think it could be interesting in low or urban fantasy!
also: I read Waking Beauty in July and I loved it. I read 92 new books in 2015 and yours was one of only three that I gave five stars on Goodreads. 🙂 I’ve been trying to convince friends to read it, which is something I don’t do often! Anyway. ❤
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A sci fi Robin Hood – perhaps the rich and the poor are separated by access to technology? Maid Marian is a hacker…
Congrats on finishing your own traditional setting Robin Hood! Hey, Juliet Marillier and Robin McKinley can write multiple versions of the same fairy tale, so why not you? I want to see that sci fi version now.
Thanks for your kind comments about Waking Beauty! So glad you enjoyed it and are sharing it with others.
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I’ve actually been playing with the idea of a retelling of Snow White and Rose Red, without Snow White, and told mostly from the Bear-Prince’s point of view. Still fantasy, but more speculative fiction, hopefully.
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Snow White and Rose Red is one of my favorites from childhood! And love the idea of telling it from the Bear’s POV.
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