Guest post written by Spell of the Sinister author Danielle Paige
Danielle Paige is the New York Times bestselling author of the Dorothy Must Die series, Stealing Snow series, Mera: Tidebreaker, and the upcoming book The Ravens co-written with Kass Morgan. In addition to writing young adult books, she works in the television industry, where she’s received a Writers Guild of America Award and was nominate d for several Daytime Emmys. She is a graduate of Columbia University and currently lives in New York City. You can find her on twitter and instagram.
About Spell of the Sinister: In New York Times bestselling author Danielle Paige’s wickedly fresh take on beloved tales, the fairy godmothers make the rules. Be careful what you wish for . . .
It’s been ten years since my novel Dorothy Must Die came out, in which another girl lands in Oz and has to fight an evil Dorothy. Having my tenth anniversary the same year the Wicked movie feels oddly full circle, because Dorothy Must Die is the reason why I write retellings. This week also marks the release of Spell of the Sinister, the sequel to my fairy godmother novel Wish of the Wicked.
Here are five retellings that I love:
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
The best retellings answer a question, or explore an underdeveloped character. Wicked does both. I was endlessly fascinated with the witch from the first time I read The Wizard of Oz. Gregory asks and answers why, and also redefines the witch for this generation and maybe every one after.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Perhaps my favorite retelling aside from Wicked. Cinderella in space! If Marissa could take Cinderella to space, then I could place my characters anywhere I wanted, as long as I kept a few touchstones from the original tale. Just wholly original with impeccable worldbuilding.
Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
I absolutely love how Kalynn expands the Cinderella universe. 200 years after the original tale, we meet Sophia and a generation of woman forced to attend balls where they are picked by their future husbands. Sophia wants no part of it, and discovers an alternate history that suggests that Cinderella, too might have had her own qualms about the marriage ball.
Neon Gods by Katee Robert
Such a sexy, refreshing take on the Hades and Persephone myth. I’ve always been fascinated by the myth; the story of a love that literally created seasons has always been intriguing to me. In Katee’s mind, it’s pure fire.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Hello Feyre and Tamlin! Sarah’s work starts as a real homage to Beauty and Beast, but she expands it into a vast sprawling fantasy world that goes way beyond the original lore.
