The Secret Adventures of WriterGirl

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters.


Look at that pose, those heroic piercing eyes, that beautiful silky smooth skin. Yep, I'm a superhero alright, done complete in comic book style. (Actually I discovered my photobooth application on my Mac and had way too much fun messing around with my little sister. This one just happened to turn out really really good. She can play a damsel in distress so well. She's so cool).

I love being a superhero in disguise. :D

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Annie by Safetysuit.



I was glancing over my post yesterday and I realized I came off as rude/arrogant in a I-am-a-cool-indie-music-wizard-and-you-are-not sort of way. Oops. I'm sorry. And guess what? It turns out I was wrong. You can totally find Hrafnagaldur online. It's on playlist.com and of course, itunes and amazon (where I bought my copy). So to make up for my accidental meanness, here is a piece of Hrafnagaldur for you (they didn't have the whole song on playlist, which made me sad, but the excerpt they do have of this 10 minute song is one of my favorite parts). Enjoy! You now can be a superhero too. :)

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Hrafnagaldur (Odin's Raven Magic) from Screaming Masterpiece.



More Fantastic Unknown/Forgotten Fairy Tales - Part 1
More Fantastic Unknown/Forgotten Fairy Tales - Part 2
More Fantastic Unknown/Forgotten Fairy Tales - Part 3



Since we are on the self-dubbed fairy tale month, I thought I should share my secret love for several shinning unknown gems. I like obscure things, in fact you could say I relish in them (just look at some of my Current Theme Songs. Today's for example, I don't think you could find anywhere). I love indie bands, I love exotic foods no one has heard of, let alone know how to pronounce. My most recent to this list comes from my trip to Thailand. Mangosteens rock the world out in white fleshy goodness.

Likewise I love obscure fairy tales. Lovelovelove them. I always dreamed of rewriting an unknown fairy tale, because I fell in love with fairy tale retellings ever since stumbling on Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley in fifth grade. Ever since then I've been hooked.

I grew up on fairy tales, and so as I grew up, I never understood when I talked about fairy tales that no one else had ever heard of. They gave me funny looks, and I often cocked my eight year old head in confusion. The most common of late has been The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Thankfully that wonderful story has come into a fuller light with such retellings as Wildwood Dancing and Princess of the Midnight Ball, and Barbie's Twelve Dancing Princesses (so sue me. I've seen it and I liked it). :) But even then, I've had so many people say they have never heard of it before. It's unfathomable to me.

Another thing I just don't get is how some fairy tales became popular, and others didn't. Take Rumpelstiltskin. Talk about a crazy fairy tale that makes no sense (thank you to A Curse as Dark as Gold for a valiant try to untangle that mess of a story). So here I've compiled a list of ten fantastic unknown fairy tales, presented as "The Grimms Edition." You may know of one or two, but I can bet you've never even heard of half of them. I would really suggest looking them up. They are well worth the adventure.


The Valiant (or Brave) Little Tailor *


The Girl Without Hands


King Thrushbeard**


The Two Brothers***


The Six Swans****


East of the Sun, West of the Moon*****


Allerleirauh (or All-Kinds-of-Fur)^


The Twelve Huntsmen^^


Iron Hans


The Peasant's Wise Daughter^^^



*the version of this I first heard as a child had Mickey Mouse as the main character. I was so happy to see it was a real fairy tale.

**keep an eye out for something special with this one.

***Can I claim this one for a novel adaptation? :)

****made most famous by Juliet Marillier's masterful retelling Daughter of the Forest trilogy.

*****my original favorite unknown fairy tale. Alas, tis too famous for me to ever do my own retelling of it now. It's like Beauty and the Beast with a polar bear and where the girl takes charge to save her own prince. You can't beat that!

^there is a wonderful adaptation done by the Jim Hensen's The Storyteller TV series called Sapsorrow (and what a cool name!). I would love to do a novel adaptation of this one as well. It's like Cinderella, but in a cool take charge way.

^^awesome AWESOME premise. Can't say any more.

^^^loved this one as a child too. Maybe it is famous and I just don't know it. Any takers to prove me wrong?

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): For a Reason by Death Cab For Cutie.


Have you ever had those days where two days blend into one? That was me yesterday. Wow, weird. I'm now leaving the time warp. *hopping out of time machine*

Because I had some seriously cool secret adventures to tell you. Last night (aka two nights ago because of said "time warp." Seriously, today isn't Friday. You're all crazy). ;) But two nights ago, I went into a cemetery just as the sun was setting. It was so cool. Some of my favorites cemeteries were in DC. They were so old, and the headstones, some were so weatherworn or covered in mold that you couldn't even read the inscription anymore. One of the other interns thought I was morbid and completely into the macabre because I wanted to go see the old cemeteries while we were in New York City. (It seriously is the weirdest feeling ever. Because you're walking along these enormous buildings and suddenly BAM! There's a 250 year old cemetery right in front of you. And I had to see the cemetery next to Trinity Church. I mean, come on, the climax of National Treasure was filmed there). Anyway! Cemeteries are invaluable resources to writers and thrill seekers alike. Let me explain. :)

They have so much history and atmosphere. I've gone in them more than once to do research, to find out the stories of the people who used to live here (and you wouldn't believe half of them. Really). That's what I was doing yesterday (aka two nights ago). But of course, I couldn't help taking a few pictures too. But there are other reasons I've been in a cemetery before.

Now, I'm not sure if this is a universal rule, but generally, cemeteries close at dusk. They usually have a very nice guard or very nice gates to give you the hint. This wasn't the case with the cemetery in my little college town. There are no guards and no gates, just a little stone wall that opens at each of the entrances.

There are also no signs (trust me, I checked). So one night (key word, night) I went - into - the - cemetery, just so I could know what it feels like to wander through one at night.

See you happy readers, you have no idea what writers go through to bring you these stories you love so much. And let me tell you, that was one of the freakiest experiences of my life.

I did not talk myself up. In fact, I thought all the horror movies were a lot of hype and creepy music. Part of the reason I went was to disprove all that nonsense and to get an "authentic" experience. I stayed on the path, but even then, oh man it was scary. Seeing the headstones constantly shifting in the single house light that spilled into the cemetery was unnerving. But the worst? The sounds.

It was really windy (which didn't help, and also part of the reason why I chose that night). The sound of the wind high in the trees that didn't blow down to me was unsettling. But the absolute worst? The pinwheels next to the graves. Man, I never thought those things could be so creepy! They would start up suddenly and keep spinning and then stop as you passed them. I almost died. And the bells. Whose idea was it to put bells in a graveyard? Creepy! I was there barely fifteen minutes before the cold and the scary were plenty of reason for me to go. Wow. That was a research experience I will never forget. So remember dear readers, writers do the strangest things to bring you a story that will literally come to life. Here is another tale about how another author, Tess Gerritsen, was doing research and how it almost got her arrested. :D

And what did I do after I left that cemetery that night? I drank a super big, super thick cup of hot chocolate. And then all was well with the world. :)

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): American Dream by Switchfoot.


I think it is high time for another contest, and I have a treat for you. I hold in my possession a first edition, first printing signed copy of Wings, a New York Times bestselling novel by Aprilynne Pike. And guess what? She's a debut author. That is just sweet beans in my book. This particular book has been all over the blogosphere it seems, and for good reason. She is trying to reinvent and breathe new life into the word "fairy." I will not say anything more to keep from spoiling anything, but it is pretty darn cool. Since her book is about fairies, I'm expanding this contest to fairy tales. In fact this entire month you will see posts related to fairy tales. I may even make it the official theme for this month. ^_^ Why? Because I love fairy tales.

So! For the contest, it's simple. All you have to do is answer one thing. We all know all fairy tales begin with "Once upon a time...," but what if they didn't? Your challenge to win this month's contest is to invent what fairy tales should start out as, if it hadn't been "once upon a time." Get your thinking caps on, this is going to be a fantastically fun contest. I can just imagine what some of them might be. Silly or sweet, just start saying them. And say as many as you like, there is no limit to the number of entries on this one. You have the most control out of this contest than any other. There will be no random number chosen. The best will win. And best of all, I'm going to let you guys choose the winner. I'm so excited, so start commenting and spread the word. I really want to know what you guys can come up with. :D


Oh, and I've marked who are my followers up to this point. You will get a survivor advantage in the next contest, no worries. ;)


[EDIT]: Hahaha. Contest ends July 31st. ^_^ Should probably include that tiny bit of information.