by Sasha Soren
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All the world loves a story, and fairy tales are some of the greatest stories of all. There are a few fairy tale characters referenced in Random Magic (Sasha Soren) - they might just be a little different than the ones you expect.
Here we have a few of the unusual suspects from the book:
Story: Appears in Slavic fairy tales, a cunning and tricky old woman,
with a gift for magic.
In Random Magic: Actually, our Baba Yaga in Random Magic is a bit like the traditional Baba Yaga in character - shrewd, powerful, and tricky - only a little more spiffy and possibly a lot more dangerous, depending on her mood. In the novel, she’s an old age pensioner with a dark sense of humor and a love for playing games of chance.
Quote from Random Magic:
Her face floated uncannily in the spiral of green smog. She sniffed the air, nostrils twitching. Her eyes narrowed, and she stared over her shades at Winnie.
“I smell magic, witch girl,” she said.
Story: A young maiden is locked in a tower until she’s rescued by a prince.
In Random Magic: Well, in the novel, she’s still locked in the tower. And she still has massive amounts of golden hair. But the heroine of Random Magic, Winnie, proposes a solution for Rapunzel to rescue herself, if only she’d use a bit of resourcefulness and common sense.
Quote from Random Magic:
“Come back!” yelled the girl in the tower. “I can’t leave until Prince Charming comes to rescue me. You must tell me if you’ve seen him.”
Winnie squinted an eye and sized up the situation.
“Not to be nosy, but…”
“Yes?”
“Seems to me,” Winnie said reasonably, “that your hair’s long enough there that you could climb down all by yourself.”
Story: In Greek mythology, Calliope is one of the Nine Muses, celestial sisters who inspire great works of art among mortal men.
In Random Magic: In Random Magic, all the Muses have nicknames, because their given names are a bit of a handful - Efterpe (Effie), Melpomene (Mellie), and Calliope (Callie), etc. Callie is still the chief of the Nine Muses, and inspires writers to great works, however, she’s also genial and hospitable, and loves a good party almost more than anything. She’s good-natured and helpful, but has almost no attention span. She’s fond of naps and is always running late - although, after all, she’s never running late, really, because her lifespan is …eternity.
Quote from Random Magic:
The sound of murmuring voices drifted in from another room. Winnie, Henry and Effie stuck their heads cautiously through the doorway of the brightly lit room, and took a peek.
“That’s her,” Effie whispered. “There she is.”
“Where?” said Winnie. “Never mind. I see her.”
She was hard to miss. Callie was hanging upside down from a chandelier, laughing.
Her fiery red hair didn’t hang down, and never really came to rest, but floated around her like a nimbus.
Nevermore shown as a raven at :37 in Random Magic book trailer
Name: Nevermore
Story: Nevermore is a line from a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, the poem can be read here: The Raven
In Random Magic: In Random Magic, Nevermore is a shapeshifting raven, and possibly the most well-read and most serious of Callie’s companions, as he knows all but says very little.
Quote from Random Magic:
With a last flap of dark wings, the raven alighted on the balcony. It scanned the room with sharp black eyes, decided all was well, then hopped down.
The raven changed into a tall young man with long dark hair, wearing a glossy black coat. He stepped over Mojo, slithered across the salon and into the bathroom.
Story: Poor little Hansel and Gretel are abandoned in the woods by their evil stepmother, outwit a witch who’d like to eat them, and make their way home following a trail of breadcrumbs.
In Random Magic: In Random Magic, Hansel and Gretel are quite capable of taking care of themselves, and more than a little spoiled. They still meet a witch in the middle of the woods, and they still leave breadcrumbs in the forest, but the story turns out a little different from the traditional fairy tale.
Quote from Random Magic:
“Hello, harmless old woman living by herself in the woods,” said snack food number one. “We’re little lost innocent precious lambs of children abandoned by our wicked witch of a stepmother.”
“Wicked witch, is she? Has she got a guild badge?”
They stared at her blankly.
“Never mind, I’ll take your word for it. So, you were saying, about this charming young--”
“Old.”
“Old, was it?”
“Yes,” swore Hansel. “Old and ugly.”
“And mean,” added his sister.
“And she’s got a wart,” he said. “Right on the end of her nose.”
“Ah, a real looker, then.”
Story: In the traditional story, Little Red Riding Hood is on the way to visit her grandmother and she’s intercepted by a big bad wolf, who’d like to eat her up for lunch.
In Random Magic: In Random Magic, the wolf is called Brute, and he’s a far less evil sort; he helps the hero and heroine of the story (Henry and Winnie) because Winnie saved his life, once.
Quote from Random Magic:
Brute edged cautiously up to the big black door of a huge gate. In the distance, Henry could just make out the twinkling lights of something large, dark, and spooky. With turrets.
They dismounted.
Brute stretched, then shook out his wobbly legs, spattering Henry with mud.
“That’s as far as I go, sorry,” he growled gently. He shivered suddenly, his fur bristling like a nervous cat. “They give me the creeps.”
~end
Guest post created by Sasha Soren, author of Random Magic
© 2012. All rights reserved.
by Sasha Soren
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You might also enjoy: The Top 10 Characters in Random Magic.
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WIN a copy of this book!
Open to all.
Offer ends: May 13, 2012 --> extended to May 31
TO DO: (2 parts)
1. TELL ME which fairy tale twist was the most amusing to you or which offbeat fairy tale character from ABOVE would you most like to meet and why
2. WATCH the Random Magic book trailer above and tell me which part of the trailer you most enjoyed or were surprised by.
AND, leave your email (if I don't already have it)
EARN an extra point: watch the book trailer on youtube and leave a comment there
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Contest has ended - winner is here
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* image sources: fairy tales gift, Baba Yaga, Rapunzel, Calliope, Hansel and Gretel, wolf
