That is the tagline on the back cover of my next novel, The Golden Age of Magic. And I love it! When I got the idea for this novel, I knew I would be playing with established fairy tale norms. The main character is on the brink of becoming a fairy godmother, part of an ancient and revered sisterhood that has served the royal houses of Europe for centuries, which meant borrowing a well-known trope from all that rich oral tradition collected by the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault. And, yes, even a little inspiration from the Disney interpretations too.
Fairy tales are what many of us avid readers cut our teeth on. I’m a reader and writer today in part because I had a mother and grandmother who both read to me when I was young. Hearing those fairy tales and nursery rhymes over and over again planted the seeds of imagination early on. They made me later want to explore more stories and imaginary worlds on my own, which I suppose is how I ended up writing the types of stories I do.
I believe all my novels have a fairy tale quality to them, and that’s because I love a fantasy world that’s full of magic yet based in a real world setting. In my latest, there are heroes and wise old mentors, good intentions and evil schemes. Journeys, quests, rewards, and sacrifices. And, yes, a necessary villain or two. All set in the world of Hollywood, 1927.
