C.J. Redwine: “The Inspiration Behind The Wish Granter” + Blog Tour Contest

Today, we are delighted to be hosting a stop on the official blog tour for The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine, which is inspired by the Rumplestiltskin fairy tale. For today’s tour, C.J. stops by to share the origin story of The Wish Granter — plus keep reading for your chance to win a copy!

The idea for THE WISH GRANTER, which is the second book in the Ravenspire series of stand alone companion novels inspired by fairy tales, came to me as I was beginning the world building for the idea that would become THE SHADOW QUEEN. Until that point, I hadn’t considered writing an entire series of dark epic fantasies inspired by fairy tales, but the Rumpelstiltskin idea took hold of me, and I knew I had to explore it.

I was raised on fairy tales. Every week my mom took us to the public library, and I spent an hour in the children’s section bringing home new adventures and old favorites. No matter what other books I checked out, I always grabbed a volume of fairy tales. It didn’t matter that I’d read them a hundred times already. The imagery, the magic, the danger … it all spoke to me in a way that few other stories did. My love of fantasy stories has its roots in fairy tales, and one of my favorites is the tale of Rumpelstiltskin.

I was always fascinated by the questions the original tale didn’t answer. Why did Rumpelstiltskin help the miller’s daughter in the first place? Just because he heard her crying? He must have some empathy if he felt pity for her, especially when she could hardly afford to pay him well for his services, but it’s hard to find empathy in the bargain he drove with her that ended with her owing him her first born child.

Also, why was it so easy to discover Rumpelstiltskin’s true name in three days? Fae lore has long revolved around the idea that to know a fae’s true name is to have power over that creature. Fae would fiercely guard their true names to avoid the horror of suddenly having a human master. When Rumpelstiltskin arrives to collect the queen’s first born child, he again demonstrates empathy by agreeing to give her a fighting chance to change the outcome of their contract. But three days to discover a secret that no self-respecting fae would reveal to anyone would never have been enough time unless the queen got ridiculously, providentially lucky. And she does because against all instincts of self-preservation, Rumpelstiltskin spends those nights dancing around the outside of his cottage in the woods singing his name over and over. It’s like he wanted her to be able to break the contract. And what does he get in return? Depending on the version you read, he gets exiled from the kingdom, or he becomes so enraged at being outwitted, he tears himself in half and disappears.

I wanted answers to those questions. I wanted to understand what drove him to make those bargains, and to give the queen a way out of it. I wanted to know what happened to him after he was exiled, and if he thought the queen’s actions were a betrayal when he’d sacrificed so much to save both her and her child. And I really wanted to know what kind of monster he would become to protect himself from ever being betrayed by a human again.

THE WISH GRANTER was born as I started answering those questions. The character of Alistair Teague is a Faustian monster disguised in expensive clothes and a quiet, cold kind of elegance. He grants humans the deepest wish of their hearts, but in ten years, he’ll return for their souls. All goes well for him until he makes a bargain with the bastard prince of Sundraille and runs afoul of the prince’s twin sister Ari, a plus-sized girl with confidence, loyalty, and formidable intelligence who is determined to save her brother, even if it means sacrificing her own soul.

An epic fantasy inspired by the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale, about a bastard princess who must take on an evil fae to save her brother’s soul, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Queen.

The world has turned upside down for Thad and Ari Glavan, the bastard twins of Súndraille’s king. Their mother was murdered. The royal family died mysteriously. And now Thad sits on the throne of a kingdom whose streets are suddenly overrun with violence that he can’t stop.

Growing up ignored by the nobility, Ari never wanted to be a proper princess. And when Thad suddenly starts training Ari to take his place, she realizes that her brother’s ascension to the throne wasn’t fate. It was the work of a Wish Granter named Alistair Teague, who tricked Thad into wishing away both the safety of his people and his soul in exchange for the crown.

So Ari recruits the help of Thad’s enigmatic new weapons master, Sebastian Vaughn, to teach her how to fight Teague. With secret ties to Teague’s criminal empire, Sebastian might just hold the key to discovering Alistair’s weaknesses, saving Ari’s brother—and herself.

But Teague is ruthless and more than ready to destroy anyone who dares stand in his way—and now he has his sights set on the princess. And if Ari can’t outwit him, she’ll lose Sebastian, her brother…and her soul.

Available February 14th

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ABOUT THE SHADOW QUEEN

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

In Stores Now

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C.J. Redwine loves fairy tales, Harry Potter, and Sherlock. She is the author of the Defiance trilogy, a post-apocalyptic fantasy from Balzer + Bray. C.J. lives in Nashville with her husband and children. If the novel writing gig ever falls through, she’ll join the Avengers and wear a cape to work every day. To learn more about C.J., visit her website at www.cjredwine.com Where you can find C.J.: