Guest post: Favorite Modern Fairy Tales by Kait Nolan + Giveaway

As you well know I have always loved fairy tales. And recently I discovered that there are such things as fairy tale retellings. In June and July I have featured fairy tale retellings in different genres from comic books to spicy erotica, but one genre was missing: urban fantasy! Today I would like to draw your attention to a fantastic and original urban fantasy retelling of Little Red Riding Hood in Kait Nolan's latest YA release: Red (which I utterly enjoyed as you can see in my review here).

Please give a warm welcome to Kait Nolan who is here today to tell you about all the modern fairy tales she can't get enough of!


Favorite Modern Fairy Tales
by Kait Nolan

I love fairy tales and folklore. It’s been a hobby of mine for years, started, probably by my insatiable appetite for all things Disney as a child, which led me to the original tales from the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. I love the happily ever after. And I love the darkness in the original tales. They make for so much more interesting stories. One of my favorite hobbies has always been to try re-imagining these tales into modern day interpretations. That’s what led to Red, my debut ya paranormal. What would happen if Red Riding Hood had fallen in love with the wolf? How would the consequences of that echo through time and express in a modern heroine?

Since I love inventive retellings of old favorites, I thought I’d stop by today and share some of my favorites with you.

Shrek

Perhaps one of the most well-known modern fairy tales today is Shrek. There’s something in these movies for everyone (though I’m not speaking past the second movie). Goofy, animated characters for the kiddies. Blistering sarcasm and hidden meaning for the grown-ups. And Puss. The face. Need I say more? I love that the hero of this story isn’t a prince. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love a good prince as much as the next girl, but an ogre? A non-royal who most definitely doesn’t fit anybody’s typical parameters for hero. And yet he has a good heart and successfully moves beyond the surface to prove that heroism is about more than a pretty face and ability to wield a sword. And then, of course, there’s Fiona, who is just tons of fun and kicks butt. Always a plus in my book.

Ella Enchanted

This is one of my two favorite retellings of Cinderella (the other being Ever After, which I’ve talked about elsewhere). One of the reasons I so adore this movie is that the original message of Cinderella is that if you’re a good girl and behave yourself and do everything right, everything will just fall into your lap. Well, Ella is “gifted” with obedience. She has to do anything anyone says. And it gets her in all kinds of trouble. She spends her whole life fighting this curse and must ultimately find the strength in herself to break free. Plus she’s really smart and opinionated and makes the prince THINK. And, you know, she can sing and dance and makes me want to sing and dance—which nobody wants to see, but is nevertheless very fun.

The Princess Bride

No listing of modern fairy tales would be complete without The Princess Bride. What’s great about The Princess Bride—well, what isn’t great?—is that it gently pokes fun in the most marvelous fashion at a lot of fairy tale conventions of old. It’s peopled with some of the most memorable characters in moviedom: The Dread Pirate Roberts. Inigo. Fezzik. Vizzini. Buttercup. Prince Humperdink :snerk: The dialogue alone makes me want to watch it time and time again. Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You kill my father. Prepare to die! :LOVE: I’m pretty sure that, between the two of us, my husband and I could perform the entire thing. We love it that much.

Stardust

Okay this is one of those cases where as much as I love Neil Gaiman, I have to say, I actually prefer the movie version. :braces for flying vegetables: Wait, wait! Lemme ’splain. I am a romantic. The movie version explores the relationship between Yvaine and Tristan in a much more satisfactory way than the book. Plus there’s the marvelous world beyond Wall, which is so glorious on screen—a fabulous mix of steampunk and fantasy. Book or movie, it’s absolutely NOT your typical fairy tale with a simple moral and straight point A to B telling. It’s unique and full of twists and turns and…I think I have to go watch it again.

What are your favorite modern fairy tales? Share with us in comments. Stella, thanks for having me!

Kait Nolan is stuck in an office all day, sometimes juggling all three of her jobs at once with the skill of a trained bear—sometimes with a similar temperament. After hours, she uses her powers for good, creating escapist fiction. The work of this Mississippi native is packed with action, romance, and the kinds of imaginative paranormal creatures you’d want to sweep you off your feet…or eat your boss. When she’s not working or writing, she’s in her kitchen, heading up a revolution to Retake Homemade from her cooking blog, Pots and Plots.

You can catch up with her at her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

Her debut YA paranormal, Red, is currently available from Smashwords, Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Barnes and Noble, the iBookstore, and All Romance EBooks.

GIVEAWAY:

Kait is giving away an ebook copy of her latest release Red to a lucky commenter at Book Lovers Inc, make sure to stop by for your chance to win! Giveaway is open worldwide and ends on 17 September 2011.