Rewriting My Least Favorite Tales

If you have been reading my blogs, you know that I've been rewriting some of the fairy tales to make inspirational, historical novels or novellas set in the Middle Ages. I am taking out the magic and make-believe and making them more plausible. I have just sent the first one, Roslyn's Rescue, to the editor. It is loosely based on "Little Red Riding Hood."

It has been interesting to me to discover that it is easier for me to rewrite the tales I did not like as well than it is my favorite ones. I guess that makes sense since I am more eager to change those I liked less. "Little Red Riding Hood" was never one of my favorites, but I had a wonderful time revising it. In my version, Roslyn and her sickly mother live alone, and the woodcutter everyone considers dimwitted tries to help them out. The wolf is actually an unscrupulous knight.

I have also finished the first draft of the next tale. Glenda's Gold is based on "Rumplestiltskin," a story that never made much sense to me. How I handled Glenda spinning the straw into gold to make it realistic still amazes me. The solution came to me from the Bible during my morning devotion time. God does indeed work in unexpected ways. It will probably take me several weeks to edit and check thousands of words to make sure they were used during medieval times before I send this one to my editor.

I am debating which story to work on next. I am considering "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Hanzel and Gretel," or "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." I may publish each story as an ebook first and then group two together to form the print edition. Glenda's Gold also has some of Roslyn and her family in it, although each book could also be read as a standalone. I am truly enjoying this -- all except looking up so many words.

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