Fairy and Folk Tale Inspiration

When I was a child, I adored fairy tales and folk tales. I devoured the Brothers Grimm and then every other kind of fairy tale or folk tale I could get my hands on, including those from other cultures.

After a while, my interest expanded to include mythology, starting with Greek and Roman, moving to Norse and Egyptian, and so on.

So I suppose it’s not a huge surprise that I started writing fantasy. The fantastical elements of all fairy/folk tales fascinate me because they allow a writer to use metaphorical meaning to explore everyday problems: jealous siblings, narcissistic fathers, traitorous friends.

The core of a fairy tale is always very human emotions: the longing to be someone we’re not, to change our lives with the snap of our fingers, to get what we want somehow (never mind exactly how).

And then the consequences ensue and sometimes the characters can do nothing to avoid them (the original version of The Little Mermaid, for example). But sometimes characters can avoid the consequences by being clever and quick-thinking. Almost never is the solution to punch someone in the face, though I admit I am personally partial to this type of direct action.

Fairy tales often include animals, either as anthropomorphic versions of people embodying all the human emotions or as sidekicks (often able to talk or otherwise communicate) offering wisdom and guidance (and the occasional trick).

The Mage of Motor Avenue series employs some of these animal sidekicks to illuminate themes. One of the novels in the series is based on Norse mythology (The Sorcerer of Motor Avenue), but the other two have fairy-tale origins (Mage and Warlock), which makes it possible for me to poke around inside Lois’s head (Lois is the main character) to see what makes her tick in various improbable situations that are nonetheless rooted firmly in human emotion and situations: What is acceptance? What makes a family? How far will you go to protect people you love?

These are questions fairy tales can explore in a way that boring old reality can’t.