Author: K.S. Trenten
Title: Fairest
Publisher: Prizm Books (A Torquere Imprint)
Cover Artist: Kris Norris
Release Date: May 11, 2016
Heat Level: 2
Pairing: F/F, with bits of M/F and M/M in the background
Length: 27,425 words
Genre/Tags: Lesbian Romance, Fantasy, New Adult
On the eve of my sixteenth year, I’m cursed to prick my finger on spindle and fall into a hundred year sleep. This is what the witch with the snow white skin and haunting dark eyes promised me, as I lay in my cradle. I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind, since. She haunts my dreams, steals into my quiet moments, when I think I’m alone. Everyone thinks she’s my enemy. Everyone thinks I need to be protected from her. I can’t think of her as an enemy, no matter what anyone else thinks. Who is she, truly? The only name she’s ever been given are a few, enigmatic words. The fairest of them all.
I’m a sucker for a great retold fairy tale, and this one held my interest captive throughout. Short enough to enjoy in an afternoon, it was still long enough to be satisfying. There were some really clever surprises in this story. I couldn’t put it down–I wanted to know how it was all going to come together in the end.
One of the best parts was the blending of several familiar fairy tales. I loved the juxtaposition of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, and I detected elements of a few other stories as well which were more subtle. There has been a resurgence in popularity of stories featuring fairy tale villains as antiheroes and sympathetic characters. I’ve come to appreciate these because it can be easy to get caught up in a black-and-white view of the world when there are actually far more colors. In this case, a number of the characters are both hero and villain at different times and in different ways.
The narrator/main character shows a lot of growth over the course of the story. She starts out being a bit on the immature side. I had trouble figuring out why she was so taken with the witch in the mirror, but I think at least some of it is that childish nature. By the end, I was also captivated by the witch’s story, and the main character blossoms in her own right. It’s a well done coming-of-age tale.
I’m always looking for stories featuring QUILTBAG characters that I can give to my kids. Regardless of how they identify, it’s good for them to see a range of happily-ever-afters with characters across the spectrum. This novella fits the bill. There is no on-page violence or intimacy, and I would consider this to be age-appropriate for a middle schooler on up. I would feel entirely comfortable giving it to my 12-year-old. I especially like the idea that older children who might already be familiar with classic fairy tales would be able to revisit the stories with a happily-ever-after between two women.
For a fresh take on the classics, a family-friendly happily-ever-after, and an enjoyable afternoon read, this gets 10/10 fountain pens.
My first memory was of her dark eyes. They seemed to capture all the colors of my infant universe, even as they threatened to swallow me. Her eyes should have been terrifying, but they weren’t.
Her blood red lips moved, shaping words I could only dimly recall. My parents remembered them only too well, as did everyone else who’d gathered at the castle for my christening.
“I, too, have a gift for this child. She shall grow up, with all the beauty and promise of the dawn, but her sun will never rise.”
My mother told me she nearly swooned with terror at the look of sheer malevolence the witch gave to the sunbeams, playing about my cradle. She wanted to stop the witch from speaking, as did my father. No one could move, no matter how much they wished to. Everyone stood, still and motionless, spellbound by the witch’s gaze.
“Before the sun sets on the eve of her sixteenth year, the princess shall prick her finger on a spindle. With the first drop of her blood, a sleep will fall upon her, claiming her for a hundred years.”
My mother tried to call in another witch to remove the curse. My father burned every spindle he could find. However, nothing could lift the curse, for all their efforts. The witch had disappeared into a cloud of green smoke. No one could find her after my christening, despite many attempts to locate her. The only thing she left behind, besides her curse, was the memory of her dark eyes.
Writing isn’t just a job for me. It’s a calling.
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Today I’m chatting with K.S. Trenten about writing, life, and their current project. Welcome! Let’s talk a little about Fairest.
What inspired you to write this story?
Many things. A quote from one of my favorite Japanese anime series; ‘Revolutionary Girl Utena’, “Princesses who aren’t saved by princes become witches.” My fascination with mirrors and reflections. The striking similarity between the curses which strike down Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. A strong desire to explore deeper meanings in the words, “Who is the fairest of them all?” A desire to add romantic tension to the conflict between the wicked queen and Snow White. Above all, my own love of pairing up the villain with the hero. 🙂
AM says: Those are all great concepts! I loved how the fairy tales blended so well and drew on those similarities.
Is there a character you feel especially connected to? Why?
The main character. She’s struggling to find her way, to justify a passion most people disapprove of. I’ve had to struggle to become a writer in a genre many people don’t understand, or approve of. In our struggle, we find strength neither of us realized we possessed.
AM says: That’s one of the things I liked about her. I was intrigued and wanted to know why she pursued a person she’d been warned away from.
What was the hardest part of writing this?
Making the word count! I kept having to expand, since I often found myself short on story. I’m really glad I made the additions, though. The dwarves, the Forest of Tears, and the end weren’t in the original draft. ‘Fairest’ is a deeper, more interesting story with these things included.
AM says: I really liked the dwarves, so I’m glad you added it too! I definitely get the struggle to make word count as well.
Choose a favorite line or short passage. What do you like about it?
“The fairest of them all,” she whispered. “That’s who you see, when you look into the magic mirror, when you’re young, foolish, and full of your own beauty.” She tried to smile, but there were tears in her eyes. “At least that’s what you see, at first. Yourself, at your best.”
I really like this passage, because it expresses exactly what I wanted the phrase ‘Fairest of them all’ to mean.
AM says: This was pretty much my favorite thing too. It seems like that concept alone is enough for a whole bunch of stories. What does “yourself, at your best” mean?
Tell us a little about any upcoming projects.
My f/f science fiction story, ‘A Symposium in Space’ was just released in Torquere Press’s ‘Theory of Love’ anthology. Another dinner party is being held with love as the subject, only it’s a futuristic matriarchal setting, plus there’s a bit of a twist on this dinner conversation. I’ve got another f/f fairytale novella, ‘At Her Service’ being released by Prizm Books on February 22, 2017. I’m waiting to hear back from Lethe Press about two submissions, both m/m. One is called ‘Aissa and Polyxena’. It’s a romantic take on the legendary tragedy of Achille and Troile. The other is a Victorian AU steampunk tale of choirboys using names and song to take a stand against the sinister ‘pale lords’ who rule their world. I’m revising a fantasy bromance, splashed with m/m and f/f, which I’ve been working on for more than a decade, ‘The Hand and the Eye of the Tower’. It’s about androgynous twins of a magical nature, who get trapped in a shifting other world, trying to save their older brother from a mysterious force that’s draining his life. Last NaNoWriMo, I wrote a m/m companion novel to ‘The Hand and the Eye of the Tower’, based off its original draft, ‘Stealing Myself From Shadows’. It features an androgynous boy, who isn’t quite real, returning to the realm he came from to rescue his creator. I’m also gathering together a collection of stories from the universe my novel comes from, which I’ve named ‘Tales of the Navel’. This is just some of the projects in process! (laughs)
AM says: Well, you’ve got me hooked. I love fresh takes on classic tales, I enjoy steampunk, and I like your writing. So feel free to hit me up for another guest spot!
Who has had the biggest influence on your life?
My husband.
AM says: Supportive spouses are awesome!
Which author(s) have inspired your writing?
A.A. Milne, Beatrix Potter, L. Frank Baum, Ruth Plumley Thompson, Anne Rice, Storm Constantine, Sarah Monette, Elizabeth Bear, Algernon Blackwood, Neil Gaiman, and Charles de Lint.
AM says: That’s quite a diverse and wonderful list!
Tell us about your favorite literary character(s).
Armand from Anne Rice’s ‘Vampire Chronicles’. He’s ancient and eternally youthful, seductive and innocence, spiritual and carnal. He’s Marius’s kept boy and Louis’s keeper. He’s Lestat’s enemy and opposite, yet they love each other. I keep finding reflections of Armand in Italian art; in Caravaggio, in Reni, and others. I also keep finding aspects of him in some of my favorite characters in Japanese anime; Gaara, Sasori, and Phantom, to name just a few.
AM says: I haven’t read much Anne Rice (please don’t throw tomatoes at me!). But this makes me want to give her a go.
Word Sprints!
- Plotter or pantser? Pantzer.
- Coffee or tea? Coffee.
- What’s your favorite book? It’s a difficult choice, but I’ll say ‘Queen of the Damned’, by Anne Rice.
- What’s your favorite season? Autumn.
- Who has inspired you the most? My mother.
AM says: Thanks for stopping by! Terrific answers, and I’m looking forward to adding a few more things to my to-be-read pile.
Rafflecopter Prize: One winner will be selected to win an eBook copy of Fairest.
Thank you for all the lovely compliments! Not to mention for hosting both ‘Fairest’ and myself! In answer to one of questions about ‘yourself at your best’, I can still recall that flush of pleasure, victory even! when I managed to clean myself up for a school dance and everything; hair, dress, and shoes came together. Seldom was I satisfied, but there were a few moments, when I got a real thrill of girlish vanity, when I managed to make it work. 🙂 I still get the same flush now, when I glance in the mirror from time to time, after accomplishing something I’m really proud of. (bashful grin) I think the good witch knew that feeling, or something like it only too well. 🙂
I totally know the feeling! I think we all have flashes of those moments at times, and flashes where we can only ever see someone else getting praised. The idea of “yourself at your best” is something I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since I read it. Yesterday, I was thinking about how maybe part of seeing someone else as “fairest” is not that we aren’t good enough but that our own insecurities keep us from seeing ourselves at our best. There’s so much depth in the idea, and so many ways it can be interpreted.