Possible Storybook Topics

Topic: Grimm Brothers – Grimm: Past and Present; Grimm Brothers vs. True Blood (Eric & Pam)

My Idea:  I want to have the Grimm Brothers time travel to modern day.  I think that I want them to meet people from some of my favorite televisions shows.  I took the idea from the Storybook that had them meet the Winchesters, which I think was an amazing idea.  I think I would either have them meet the characters from the TV show Grimm (how ironic would that be) or even meet Eric and Pam from True Blood.  I’m not sure how these stories would play out, but it would be fun!

Comments:  I love the Grimm Brothers.  I have decided to do my extra readings throughout the semester from the Grimm units, and I think that a Storybook based off of them would be a lot of fun.  I want to continue reading and learning about the Grimm tales.  I hope that I get the chance to learn about how these stories came to be.

Possible Stories:  Red Riding Hood a.k.a Little Red Cap - Great story to link the past and the present as it is almost a universal warning story. 

Sources: The UnTextbook; University of Pittsburgh

Bibliography Info

                Sample Story: Little Red Cap

                Book Title: The Grimm Brother's Children and Household Tales

                Book Author: Translated by D.L. Ashliman

                Year: 1998-2013

Grimm Brothers. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Topic: My Brothers Grimm

My Idea: I think it would be a lot of fun to write about the Grimm fairytales from the viewpoint of their younger sister, Charlotte.  I’d like to think that she surreptitiously followed them on all of their adventures, watching them and often helping them without their knowledge.  She’s the one who wrote down the stories.  In a way, it’s like the movie, where the brothers are trying to save people and vanquish the villains in many of their fairytales. 

Comments: Like I’ve said, I love the Grimm brothers and am doing my extra readings on them.  I love the idea of inserting women into the stories of old, since usually the women are weak or very insignificant characters.  I like that I get to learn more about the Grimm family in general, as I never knew they had a sister until I started researching for my other Grimm topic.

Possible Stories: Hansel and Grethel - I think this would be a perfect story for the sister to write about. She could help them from behind the scenes and it's a story that has enough body to be able to twist to my idea.

Source: The UnTextbook, Wikipedia, University of Pittsburgh

Bibliography Info

                 Sample Story: Hansel and Grethel

                 Book Title: Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

                 Book Author: Translated by Margaret Hunt

                 Year: 1884

Topic: Why Are We the Villains?  Misunderstood: It’s Not Our Fault  

          Villain or Misunderstood?

My Idea: I want to rewrite the fairytales from the Villains’ perspectives.  I loved the movie Maleficent, and think that it would be awesome to use the same concept with other villains.

Comments: Of course I’ve encountered many of the fairytales before, in books, stories, and on screen.  We all hear about how evil and hateful the villains are, but very few people are inherently bad.  I want to write about how and why these villains are so vengeful towards the heroes and heroines of the fairytales.  I want to use the Grimm fairytales as a jumping off point for my stories.

Possible Stories: Rumpelstiltskin

Sources: The UnTextbook; Wikipedia

Bibliography Info

                Sample Story: Rumplestiltskin

                Book Title: The Grimm Brothers Children's and Household Tales

                Book Author: Translated by D.L. Ashliman

                Year: 1998-2013

Topic: The Real Story of “King Arthur” 

My Idea: I’d like to write this legend with a significant twist.  I want “King Arthur” to be a woman, a woman who was so strong and such a fantastic leader that she was able to rule in Medieval England.  The reason that it was translated into a King was simply because later historians couldn’t believe a woman had ruled and battled in England so effectively.

Comments: I grew up reading books and seeing movies/TV shows based on the legend of King Arthur.  I know the basic story like most people do, about Excalibur and the Lady of the Lake and what not.  I do want to explore the legend further and learn the whole story, not just what is common knowledge.  I’ve read stories where Arthur and his Knights are Vampires and the Women are Witches, stories where Merlin is a woman, amongst others.

Possible Stories: The Drawing of the Sword- I definitely need to include this story as                               it sets up the entire legend

                                  The Round Table – Marriage of Guinevere; How could I not include the story of the                     round table?

           King Arthur and Morgan le Fay

Sources: Arthurian Legend  Wikipedia   The UnTextbook

Bibliography Info

                Sample Story: The Drawing of the Sword

                Book Title: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table

                Book Author: Andrew Lang

                Year: 1902

Extra Reading Diary: Brothers Grimm (Librivox) Unit

For my Extra Reading this week I chose the Brothers Grimm (Librivox) unit.  I like how the fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers seem to be intended as warnings.  They warn people of what may happen to them if they do not think through their actions.  While some tales end happily, things always go wrong before they go right.  This is almost exactly the same way that romance novels today are written.  The two meet, they have a fight/something happens, then they make up and love each other again. 

I loved the story of Briar Rose.  I think that it is funny that the Disney version of the story is set up as if the Prince saved the kingdom, when he was really just in the right place at the right time.  True Love’s Kiss has no presence in this story, which I really liked.

I really liked how the villains in these stories are only acting on revenge.  In the case of the fairy in Briar Rose, she wasn’t invited to the celebration and saw it as a slight against her by the entire kingdom.  In the story of Rapunzel, the witch imagines that Rapunzel is trying to escape from her, which leads to her acting out against both Rapunzel and the Prince.  

I love stories that are told from the villain’s point of view.  I think that it gives the story an interesting dynamic that I am hoping I will get to explore this semester. 

I am going to try to read all the Grimm units for my Extra Readings this semester!  I'm so excited!

The Fairy Maleficent. Source: Flickr

Week 2 Storytelling: Mother Knows Best

Kat wondered where her fiancé was.  He had gone to talk to her mother, Artemis, about their engagement, but he hadn’t been back for hours.  She was getting worried.  Her mother was quick to judge and had an even quicker temper.   Especially when it came to Kat and her life, in particular her love life. For all Kat knew, the two could be waging war right now.

Statue of Artemis.  Source: Wikimedia Commons

As Kat walked into her mother’s temple, she noticed that none of the other maidens were there.  They never left their posts at the entrance unless her mother commanded it.  This definitely didn’t bode well for her fiancé! 

“Mom! Where are you?” she shouted out. 

“I’m right here,” her mother said from behind her.  “There’s no need to yell.  Not to mention it’s very unseemly for someone of your age and status!”

Kat whipped around to see her mother looking surprisingly calm.  The talk with her fiancé could not have gone that well. She knew her mother too well to believe that. 

“Where’s Sin?” Kat asked.  “He was supposed to come talk with you.  You know we’re getting married whether you approve or not right? I love you, but I love him too!”

“He’s… working,” Artemis said with sly smile. 

“Working? Working on what?” Kat demanded.

“Just running a few of my errands for me.” Kat knew that couldn’t be good. “I think he’s on his way to ask Hades for a ‘bottle of death’ right now,” Artemis said with a laugh. 

“WHAT?!” Kat screamed.

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Meanwhile, Sin was trying to complete his final task.  He couldn’t believe that Artemis thought that his completion of this random jobs would prove that he loved Kat.  Just the fact that he was willing to marry Kat when he knew her mother was Artemis should be enough.  The woman was insane!

Sin had already bargained with Hades and was on his way out of Tartarus.  He couldn’t believe that he had to promise Hades that he would do something for him in the future for a freaking bottle of death.  If Artemis wanted someone killed, he could do it for her! Kat could do it for her for that matter.  She was the daughter of the Huntress after all. 

Door to Hell. Source: Wikipedia.

As Sin was approaching the exit to Tartarus, he noticed a strange smell coming from the bottle Hades had given him.  He would have ignored it, but it reminded him of… something.  What was that elusive smell? He knew it from somewhere. 

As he was sinking to the ground, he recognized the smell.  It was the Hypnos’s sleeping potion.

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“Don’t you yell at me young lady.  I’m just looking out for you.  If he can’t complete these simple tasks, then he’s not good enough for my baby girl,” Artemis declared haughtily.

Kat couldn’t believe her mother.  “I am a grown woman, mom.  I can look after myself.  I love Sin.  I’m going to marry him and start a family.  So tell me, where is my fiancé?”

“He should have left Tartarus by now…  Unless he fell asleep on the job.”

Just as the words left her mouth, Kat realized what Artemis had done.  What if her mother had accidently killed him with her underhanded schemes?  Without a word, she teleported from her mother’s temple to her soon-to-be husband’s side. 

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As she wiped away the sleeping spell, she realized just how much she loved Sin.  She realized that she couldn’t live without him.  She needed him by her side.

As Sin’s eyes opened, Kat immediately blurted, “Marry me today.”

“What?” Sin said, still not fully alert.  He could have sworn Kat had said to marry him today of all days.

“Marry me.  Today.  Not whenever my mother comes to term with it, but right now.  We’ll go to my father.  He can perform the ceremony.”

“Are you sure?” Sin wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he was determined to roll with it. 

“I’m positive.  I love you.  I don’t care what my mother thinks.  I love you and my father loves you and that’s all that matters at this point. Artemis will come to terms eventually.  She’ll be pissed at first, but she loves me,” Kat said softly.

Sin grinned.  “Anything that will piss Artemis off is fine with me.  Let’s go.” He whipped out his phone and called Kat’s father right there.

Author’s Note:

This story is a twist on Apuleius’s Cupid and Psyche.  It’s based on the later part of the Cupid and Psyche tale, focusing on The Sleep of the Dead.   In the original story, Psyche is the one sent on a variety of tasks for Venus, although Venus is not really trying to prove Psyche’s worthiness.  She’s hoping that on one of the tasks, Psyche will either die or give up.  Cupid, meanwhile, is laying injured in bed, unaware of Psyche’s plight. To be honest, almost every romance novel follows the Cupid and Psyche story line to some degree!

I took my characters and a vague story line from the Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon, specifically her book titled Devil May Cry. (I absolutely love this series and think that the storylines are really dynamic and action packed, especially for a romance novel.)  This isn’t how the book was set up, beyond the characters and the fact that Sin hates Artemis, but it was one of the first things that came to mind when I had to write my story.  I decided that it was time for the man to do the trials to win the woman’s heart, even though he was essentially trying to win the heart of Kat's mother.  

"The Sleep of the Dead" from Apuleius's Golden Ass, as translated into English by Tony Kline (2013).  Web Source: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook. 

Reading Diary B: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

The second half of Apuleius’s Cupid and Psyche Unit was just as good as the first half.  In the continuation of the story, I found out that the myth was actually very similar with what the books that I’ve read have presented, although with some slight artistic modifications.  There were many aspects of the myth that I liked:

In Psyche’s Prayer, Venus, Juno, and Ceres are presented as family, almost as sisters.  I thought that this was an interesting parallel to Psyche and her two sisters from the beginning of the unit.  However, they were also almost opposites, as Venus is the one with envy while Juno and Ceres attempt to reason with her, but do not disrespect her wishes.  I think that this type of parallel is a great way to show how some families remain united, while others turn on one another.  

Psyche continues to show her dynamic character as well.  Venus and Mercury shows Psyche being turned away, first by Ceres and then by Juno, and yet she still stands strong. She decides to have the courage to face her enemy, despite what is almost certain to be a gruesome fate.  In contrast, in Venus and Psyche on through The Sleep of the Dead, Psyche continually makes efforts to end her life, only to be stopped by the typical fairytale aids.  She wants to jump from cliffs and towers, which shows her weakness.  But when told of a way to complete her tasks, she has the strength to continue.  

I think that proving your love for another through actions is important.  While the way that Psyche is forced to do it is a little over the top, I think that is simply an exaggerated example of something that everyone wants done.  People don’t want to just hear your love, they want to see it.  I think that this is something very important to include in a story with romance.  

The Reunion of Cupid and Psyche.  Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Diary A: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

For this week, I chose to read the unit on Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche.  I’ve read about them in several books before, but I’d never actually read the original myth or story.  In retrospect, I mainly chose this unit because I have a fascination with Greek myths and prefer the layout of a story as opposed to the layout of a poem, as most Greek myths are written.  But who cares, it’s an awesome story that I loved reading!

I love stories with dynamic female characters.  People always rave about how there needs to be strong female characters, but I think dynamic ones are more important.  By this, I mean that she needs to show both strength and weakness, not just one or the other as most characters seem to.  Psyche, to me, is a dynamic female.  She has a strong character, which I could see in The Oracle of Apollo.  Psyche held her head high and comforted her parents as she walked to what she thought would be her death.  She was strong and faced the unknown with an appearance of confidence, even if she didn’t entirely feel it. 

However, she also had a weak character.  She didn’t trust her husband, despite the fact that he had done nothing to harm her or earn her distrust.  This became apparent in Fears and Doubts.  She fell for her sisters’ conniving ways, looking upon her husband so that he was forced to leave her, as he had warned her. In a way, this is a weakness that most people have.  Family is important, especially for many women.  They crave the comfort of companionship, and the only companion Psyche had was the presence of her husband at night.  It's no wonder that she fell for her sisters' schemes. 

After her husband left, she showed a unique combination of a strong and weak character.  In Psyche’s Despair, Psyche weakened to the point of acting on her wish for revenge.  But she showed strength in how she manipulated her sisters into bringing about their own demise.

I hope that as I write my own stories, I can write dynamic characters like this one.  All people have strengths and weaknesses, not just the men.  Women are not inherently weak and men are not inherently strong.  Both Psyche and Cupid proved this in the first section of reading in Apuleius’s Cupid and Psyche. 

(Cupid and Psyche in the Louvre. Source: Flickr)