Guest Post: Fairytales Within Fairytales, By Gina Chen

Hi friends! Today, I’m so excited to share this guest post by Gina Chen, author of Violet Made of Thorns on fairytales within fairytales, while still creating a new story.  Without further ado, read her post below!

Violet is a prophet and a liar, influencing the royal court with her cleverly phrased—and not always true—divinations. Honesty is for suckers, like the oh-so-not charming Prince Cyrus, who plans to strip Violet of her official role once he’s crowned at the end of the summer—unless Violet does something about it.
But when the king asks her to falsely prophesy Cyrus’s love story for an upcoming ball, Violet awakens a dreaded curse, one that will end in either damnation or salvation for the kingdom—all depending on the prince’s choice of future bride. Violet faces her own choice: Seize an opportunity to gain control of her own destiny, no matter the cost, or give in to the ill-fated attraction that’s growing between her and Cyrus.
Violet’s wits may protect her in the cutthroat court, but they can’t change her fate. And as the boundary between hatred and love grows ever thinner with the prince, Violet must untangle a wicked web of deceit in order to save herself and the kingdom—or doom them all.

Heroes and villains, princes and witches, once upon a times and happily ever afters, true loves and transformations, guardians and gods and prophecies—I love fairytale tropes as much as the tales themselves. If you grew up on a diet of them, you already know what you’re in for when you spot a crone with strange fruit or an enchanted beast; there’s wicked magic afoot and maybe a lesson to be learned.

Or maybe this time, the crone isn’t wicked. Maybe the fruit is blessed. Or some other trope is turned upside down. That’s one of the things I love about fairy tales: because we are so familiar with their base elements, these tales can be retold and remixed in countless ways, from strict retellings to complete subversions. Change the point of view. Change the setting. Change the purpose. Make it absurd. Make it horror. Smash a bunch of fairy tales together.

(That’s what Shrek did. That’s also what I did.)

This is an old tradition; you’ll see similar tales told across different cultures. Some travelled along with storytellers, but I think most are similar just because we’re fascinated by the same kinds of characters and sense of wonder. As for my addition, Violet Made of Thorns plays with tropes pretty directly. Violet knows how fairy tales work, and she doesn’t think she’s the hero of her own. She’s grumpy and wants to be left alone (also like Shrek). She stumbles through a journey that has shades of “Cinderella” and “Sleeping Beauty”, but with none of the grace of the original heroines. The happily ever after is something she doesn’t want. I call this story a fairy tale but maybe it’s better to describe it as a deconstruction of one, showing off the bones of a fairy tale before forming the meat on top. Every time something new happens, Violet is already predicting the path forward based on her visions and her knowledge of tropes. She complains about it to you, the reader, assuming you know this as well as she does. And if you don’t, that’s okay, too; her story can stand alone, just like the stories that came before her.

Subversions aside, I wanted to stay true to the spirit of a romantic fairy tale. I still wanted to tell a story about a witch, a prince, and true love. My favorite part is the epilogue. You’ll see when you get there. I had a lot of fun with it, and I hope you have fun reading.

Up for grabs, Turn the Pages Tour has ONE (1) finished copy of Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen. This giveaway will be available from July 24th to August 7th at 11:59 PM CST. Open to US residents only. No giveaway accounts allowed. To enter, click the link below!
GIVEAWAY LINK: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1e4a114d72/?

Links for Violet Made of Thorns: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound