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beauty and the beast

3 of Our FAVORITE Flawed Heroes

November 5, 2020 by admin

Horizontal image of dark ominous sky and sea with text: Our FAVORITE Flawed Heroes

My favorite stories are those with a flawed hero. As a genuinely flawed individual I find them relatable. This means I inadvertently fall in love with protagonists that have some serious issues. They may have issues with their fathers, they may struggle with a curse, they may even be so gifted with brilliance that they can’t seem to have normal human relationships. Yep, sign me up, these are the strange, difficult heroes I am here for.

Flawed Hero Jarron, The False Prince

I just want to go on the record as saying that no one writes complicated heroes like Jennifer A. Neilsen. Seriously, she is the best when it comes to showing you all the challenges and never smoothing them over. She lets each hero explain himself, but only after you want to smack him a dozen times or so. Then you think, “Oh! That’s why you are the way you are!” And, yes, that’s why her deeply flawed characters are some of my favorites, because they are real people.

Take, for example, Sage/Jarron from The Ascendence trilogy. Based on two of Neilsen’s real-life students, this complicated orphan/prince is constantly in trouble, causing trouble, and getting hurt. His mind never rests and as he strategizes several moves ahead of each foe he encounters, he keeps us flipping pages. If all heroes were as frustrating and as fun as Jarron, we might never go to bed but stay up all night reading.

Girl on bed reading with text: If all heroes were frustrating AND fun, we would stay up all night reading.

Flawed Hero Prince Edmund, Under the Curse

To say that Prince Edmund is deeply flawed would be putting things mildly. When he first appeared in the middle of my story about Rapunzel, I really didn’t know what to do with him. Even though he and Rapunzel kept parting ways, he always managed to reappear when I least expected him. I finally got the point, he wanted a chance to tell his own story. So after writing the first three books that tell the story from Rapunzel’s point of view, Under the Curse begins where we left Edmund and finally we get some answers.

Unlike Rapunzel’s beloved, Prince Edmund has a dark side, has been cursed by a sorceress, and struggles with some deep-seated anger towards his father. His backstory is messy, his intentions unclear, but his potential is evident. One might say that what he really needs is a good woman who can help him find his way. More about her in my next blog.

To receive the Rapunzel’s free origin novella, you can sign up for my newsletter here. Of course, you can skip ahead in the series and order your copy of Under the Curse to learn more about this unlikely hero.

Moodboard collage of flawed heroes with text: What Makes a Flawed Hero our FAVORITE? Bitter backstory, prideful downfall, guarded

Flawed Hero Prince Ren, A Curse so Dark and Lonely

Despite some of my misgivings about the inconsistent heroine in this book, the complicated hero won me over. A fairy tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Ren has been the beast caught in a curse that causes him to repeat the same season over and over until he can find a maiden to love him. But this season will be his last chance, the curse is coming to an end.

What Ren doesn’t plan for is a maid who comes not just from another world, but from another way of thinking. The best part of this book was not just how Ren related to the lady in question, but to his man-at-arms, Grey. The brotherhood between these two humanized Ren and caused me to long for him to be released from the curse. The agony that Ren went through knowing he had caused so much devastation each time he transformed into a beast also turned my heart towards him.

Vertical image with Spiderman taking off his mask with text: Our FAVORITE flawed heroes

What do you think?

So, what’s your take on any of these? Do deeply flawed heroes make you snap a book shut, or turn the pages faster? Are you someone who longs to know more about their motivations and backstories? Share your thoughts in the comments or on social media and tag me!

About JacQueline

As the author of  The Journey series, a young adult fantasy retelling Rapunzel’s misadventures, JacQueline also wrote Memoirs of a Headcase: Held by the God of Hope, to share hope in the battle against chronic pain and depression. Currently she lives in North Alabama with her karate husband and three book-crazy kids. All opinions expressed on this website come from her own experience. Do not substitute it for professional therapy or medical advice. Any affiliate links used on this website will provide additional income to JacQueline’s family at no additional cost to you.

If you are a reader wanting to connect with JacQueline, you can get a free book here. Each month you will receive book recommendations and other booknerd fun.

Are you a writer or an author looking for help? JacQueline has been writing all her life and loves meeting others who think writing is living. As an author coach, helping other writers on their journey gives her joy. Schedule your free coaching call to learn what steps you should take next now.

Photography: Kyle Johnson, Nicole Wolf, Ian, Hunter Newton, Joey Nicotra.

Social media images: JacQueline Vaughn Roe

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Filed Under: Books Worth Reading, Novels Tagged With: beauty and the beast, book recommendations, books for teens, books worth reading, fairytale retellings, Hero, Princes, rapunzel, recommended books

Love Stories and Fairy Tale Retellings

February 12, 2020 by admin

Love stories and fairy tale retellings crowd the bookstore shelves in the young adult fantasy book section. My teens and I bee-line our way to the aisle and spend, literally, hours in them. We sigh over the beautiful covers and wonder how this or that author will remold our favorite love stories. But why do we want fairy tales retold? What continues to draw us to them time and time again?

Why We Love Stories of Fairy Tale Retellings

Now, of course, not everyone loves a fairy tale retelling. But I doubt those readers are visiting my site here, so we won’t worry about them. Let’s chat instead of the reason we love to retell a fairy tale. Fairy tales that have a habit of being retold have a quality of wonder. There is clear evil and there is clear good. Though in modern fairy tale retellings you will often find those lines blurred {because, let’s face it, none of us are completely good} the original source material has a familiar beauty of love triumphing over what is broken. And right now, in our dark world, that gives us hope and fills us with joy.

Our Favorite Fairy Tale

I find the question, “What is your favorite fairy tale?” enlightening. I was sitting on my counselor’s couch (not lying down, mind you) when she asked me this question. She shared how our favorite fairy tale reveals a great deal about ourselves. Do we have one? We probably believe in happy endings. Is it Cinderella? Perhaps we feel mistreated. Is it Sleeping Beauty? Maybe we are waiting to be rescued.

She shared she had one unnamed client who adored the story of Beauty and the Beast. I perked up, that was one of my favorites too, long before Disney made it into an animated film. The woman who loved it had a penchant for attaching herself to men who were much like the beast at the beginning of the story. This patient had spent her life trying to transform each man she dated into a prince, but only got abused in the process. I was so glad that I hadn’t said that, but I had answered, “Rapunzel.” I don’t remember her reply, because, like most counselors, she didn’t tell me the answer. I had to figure out for myself why it resonated with me.

Do All Fairy Tales End Happily?

Why does your favorite strike a chord with you? Is the idea of the story like a well-worn book you’ve smoothed with your hands so many times that the pages now feel like silk beneath your touch? Do you picture yourself as the heroine or the hero? (I hope you don’t see yourself as the villain, but I have those days, myself.)

In my early twenties, much like now, I was suffering from chronic migraines. But at the time, I had left college because they had become so debilitating. I had had these chronic migraines since high school and learned to live with them. So why had they suddenly become so bad as to cause me to drop out of living my life? My counselor knew that there were some mitigating factors, and looking back, I can see that Rapunzel was an enlightening piece of the puzzle.

Like Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel is waiting, always waiting in her tower. When she finally decides to take a risk and love someone enough to allow him to rescue her, the witch who imprisoned her finds out. Rapunzel watches as her beloved is thrown from the tower into thorns far below and then Rapunzel is cast out into the wilderness to wander for years.

The Greatest Love Story isn’t just a Fairy Tale Retelling

Though I didn’t see it at the time, I felt similar to Rapunzel, isolated by my pain. It wasn’t just the migraines, I had fallen in love with someone who didn’t love me back. I was left feeling alone, betrayed. Unsaid words became the pain in my head and the depression in my spirit.

Here’s the amazing part, God used that hard time to show me that He wanted to rescue me out of the wilderness. He would care for my heart whether or not I ever found my prince. After all, the true Prince had already come to this world and paid the ultimate price to ransom me. (John 3:16) I just needed reminding.

I suppose it only makes sense that I remained attached to Rapunzel. Only a few years after getting better and graduating from college, I began to write my own retelling. It grew and changed from the original story and became one of a different rescue. And this Valentine’s Day, while love stories and fairy tale retellings are pictured all over Bookstagram, I smile, knowing my true Prince rescued me long before my husband ever knew my name. You can start here with a free novella, Before the Tower, and I’ll connect you with more bookish fun at least once a month in my newsletter.

About JacQueline

As the author of  The Journey series, a young adult fantasy retelling Rapunzel’s misadventures, JacQueline also wrote Memoirs of a Headcase: Held by the God of Hope, to share hope in the battle against chronic pain and depression. Currently she lives in North Alabama with her karate husband and three book-crazy kids. All opinions expressed on this website come from her own experience. Do not substitute it for professional therapy or medical advice. Any affiliate links used on this website will provide additional income to JacQueline’s family at no additional cost to you.

If you are a reader wanting to connect with JacQueline, you can get a free book here. Each month you will receive book recommendations and other booknerd fun.

Are you a writer or an author looking for help? JacQueline has been writing all her life and loves meeting others who think writing is living. As an author coach, helping other writers on their journey gives her joy. Schedule your free coaching call to learn what steps you should take next now.

Photo credit: Natasha Brazil, Derek Story, Lenin Estrada, and Rose

Social Media Graphic Design: JacQueline Vaughn Roe

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Filed Under: Books Worth Reading Tagged With: beauty and the beast, cinderella, fairy tale retellings, love stories, rapunzel, young adult fantasy books

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