The Journey to Success

Hello, reader! I didn't intend to take such a long break. For those of you who are curious, I won NaNoWriMo. Which means I wrote 50,000 words on my novel in November. As you may have guessed, the things I was putting off doing in November came back with a vengeance in December. But, I managed to bribe a house elf to finish a few things for me so I could get back to this blog.

Picking up where we left off, I wrote a modern version of Puss in Boots. This story didn't turn out quite like I expected when I sat down to write it, but I still think it turned out well.

Wise guide or just a cat? Who can say?

Puss in Boots

Pictured: three brothers with their inheritance, and also a goose

Greetings, reader! This week, we're looking at Perrault's version of Puss in Boots. It's very different from the character you know from Shrek. For one thing, this cat is a lady. Check out the story in the link above and ready below for an over-analysis of it.

Carmine and Her Grandma

Hello, readers! For those participating, happy NaNoWriMo! For those who have no idea what that is, in a nutshell, it's a group of crazy writers who are each trying to write 50,000 words in one month. Of course, I am one of these crazy writers. This year, I'm working on the second draft of the sequel to my novel, which is tentatively titled Pride and Pettiness. For those of you who don't know, my debut novel, A Tale of Two Tricksters, is available on Amazon. Which, incidentally, was also a NaNoWriMo novel. I may be a bit biased, but I think it's an excellent book and you should totally buy it.

This week, I wrote a modern version of Little Red Cap, the Grimm brothers version of Little Red Riding Hood that we analyzed last week. Continue below for my modern retelling!

Soup is great if your grandma is sick. Or at any time.

Little Red Cap

Seems like a trustworthy wolf to me.

Happy Halloween, readers! Hopefully today has more treats than tricks for you. If you don't observe Halloween, then happy Thursday!

Today's story comes from the Grimm brothers in Germany. Little Red Cap, better known as Little Red Riding Hood, is a story about a naive girl and a devious wolf. There are many versions of this story, even on the webpage linked to above. I chose this version to write about, but if you want a more violent and frankly gross option, you could also read Little Red Hat from Italy or Austria. It might be more appropriate for Halloween, but I didn't want to go into detail with that one.

So, continuing on below, we'll talk about Little Red Cap, which is the Grimm brothers version of this famous story.

Dirt into Gold

Hello, reader. Sorry this post is a little late. I was out tending my banana trees. Read below for my modern version of Magic Powder.

These flowers could be the key to making gold. Maybe.

The Magic Powder

An unusual process for alchemy...

Salutations, reader! Today's story comes to us from Myanmar. The Magic Powder is about an alchemist, a wise father-in-law, and an industrious wife. Check out the link above to read the story, and continue with me below to overanalyze it.

A Single Shoe

Greetings, reader. Today we have a modern version of Rhodopis The Egyptian Cinderella. Unfortunately, there isn't a falcon in this version. But don't worry. There's still a traveling shoe.

I'd be mad if I lost one of these too.