Blog Tour: Craving Beauty by Jennifer Silverwood Exclusive Guest Post

Guest Post

Prompt: Explore the enduring appeal of fairy tale retellings, discussing how “Craving Beauty” breathes new life into a classic story and delving into other notable retellings in the genre.

A girl takes a shortcut through the woods on her way to her grandmother when she encounters a dangerous beast.

Two children are sacrificed by their father to the forest when he cannot feed them, armed only with their wits, and loaves of bread.

A mermaid may entice a prince but must pay a bloody price if she wants to keep him.

Look back far enough and you’ll find echoes of folktales and fairy tales within even older myths and legends. These stories were carved on rocks and painted on vases buried under meters of dirt and time. They seeped through our collective subconscious as higher arts were abandoned in the chaos of empires falling and rising once more.

Multiple versions of Cinderella have been found in cultures spread across the world. Even Romeo and Juliet was inspired by a much older Greek tragedy. Though altered according to the customs of their people, or from generations of oral retellings, the bones remain the same. The themes are familiar lessons.

Don’t trust strangers you meet in the woods.

Don’t take free candy from strangers either.

For that matter, be wary of princes with too-handsome faces, and wager whether the cost fits the prize.

Why do we continue to share these stories, to paint them with pixels or words? Why do we re-enact them in after-school plays and movies? Because we love them. And because “legends are lessons,” to quote Disney’s Brave.

I’ve always been fascinated by history and languages, and the way legends and folklore often hide snippets of our forgotten past. Stories endure many times long after the culture shifts, or an empire dies. They tell us about who we were, make us ponder who we are, and who we have the potential to be.

While writing Craving Beauty, I didn’t just want to create another retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I wanted to explore the potential legend behind the fairy tale. What if the watered-down version we all know and love was darker and a bit more epic? What would it have been like to have real magic in a time of superstition and fear?

We arguably live in a time of great progress, also beset with superstition and fear. If there was ever a time to face our fears and not only face them but overcome them, it’s now.

Our current fairy tale and folklore retellings reflect us and our time, just as the older versions reflected our ancestors. In Craving Beauty, I invite you to imagine what our past might have looked like if magic was real. What if enchantment and curses were merely two sides of a coin? What if Beauty was destined to become a beast in order to save the ones she loves?

Beauty and the Beast is one of the most popular fairy tale retellings, in no small part thanks to Disney’s animated musical. I still remember going to the theater as a little girl and watching in mesmerized wonder. As I grew older, I searched through my school library for more fairy tale and fantasy stories that could give me that same sense of wonder. That’s how I stumbled upon Robin McKinley’s Beauty. The tale endures in popularity through other fantastic renditions. From Hunted by Meagan Spooner, Grace Draven’s Entreat Me, and the Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas.

Fairy tales are here to stay, and they’ll be here for the next generation in need of escape. The shape and tone of the tale may shift with time. Some books may become lost, and others reclaimed and renewed for the next generation in need of escape.

Legends are lessons, but they’re also a way to dip our toe into the past, into a world free of screens and distractions. Step into a place where the only thing you can rely on are your wits and cunning, if not your strength. Remember what’s most important to our ancestors remains true today: love, family, and happy ever after’s.

Exclusive Giveaway!

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Craving Beauty. These are the prizes you can win:

– a $25 Paypal gift card

– 3 paperback copies of Craving Beauty (US, UK and Canada only). If winner is outside those countries they’ll receive an ecopy instead

– 5 ebook copies of Craving Beauty

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway