The story behind my new book or... 💖⚙️📚
What is The Princess in the Coffin? + Summer reads for your TBR 📚
Hello!
I hope you’re having a wonderful week! I’ve been writing and revising since coming back from EriCon on Saturday. I had so much fun at Ericson Public Library talking to readers, cosplayers, and vendors! The TARDIS in the library was a fun surprise. I’m a huge Doctor Who fan and I was delighted to have my table right next to the TARDIS! I’ve been fortunate to meet the actors who played the 7th Doctor, 10th Doctor, 11th Doctor, 12th Doctor, Amy Pond, Rose, Donna Noble, Captain Jack, and River Song over the years at conventions.
One of the perks of being at an event is getting to talk to readers about my upcoming books while they’re picking up my current releases. A few readers got to see the draft my cover artist sent me of the cover for The Clockwork Coffin, coming out next July! (I should have an official cover reveal coming up in the near future. We’re still finalizing a couple things.)
Many readers wanted to know about the fairy tale that The Clockwork Coffin is based on. Though there are many variations of the same story in multiple countries, the original fairy tale is most commonly known as The Princess in the Coffin (sometimes called The Princess in the Chest.) It’s categorized under the Aarne-Thompson-Uther* index as ATU 307.
The main concept of The Princess in the Coffin is a woman has been cursed to transform into a monster and rise from her coffin each night. Breaking the spell requires no small amount of cunning and bravery. The problem with the original tale is the titular character has very little or no agency in her own story. Most of the time, the curse occurred because of something her parents did, not her. She doesn’t even have her choice of savior.
When I was working on ideas for this book, I searched through the ATU index for inspiration. I immediately fell in love with this fairy tale about a monstrous woman. I wanted to write her a better story.
In The Clockwork Coffin, Sabeline is a woman who has been dealing with her curse for thirteen long years after her parents broke a deal with a fae. The conditions of her curse are different from the original tale: she has a narrow window of time in which she’s awake and appears to be human. Sabeline uses these stolen moments to attempt to break the spell before she must return to her coffin. Every midnight, she rises as a monster.
I can’t wait to share more about The Clockwork Coffin! In the meantime, check out this group promo for summer Kindle Unlimited fantasy books by clicking here or the banner below! Both Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast and Monsters and Machines are in this promo.
I’m also swapping newsletter mentions with Emma Jane Holloway for Fortune’s Eve, a magical steampunk tale. This book is free!
*What is the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index?
The Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU Index) is a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore studies
Originally composed in German by Finnish folklorist Antti Aarne (1910)
Translated into English, revised, and expanded by American folklorist Stith Thompson (1928, 1961)
Further revised and expanded by German folklorist Hans-Jörg Uther (2004)
The ATU Index, along with Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (1932) is used by scholars
If you’d like to read more about fairy tale retellings and the index, check out my presentation from DemiCon here. I’ll be giving a more in-depth version of this presentation at TeslaCon in November!
Happy reading!
Kelsey
