About the Author: “Kim Bussing is an award-winning author of fairy tales for adults and children. Books in her middle-grade series, THE PRINCESS SWAP, have been selected as Amazon Editor’s Picks, featured as both Barnes & Noble and Publisher’s Weekly New & Notable picks, and have been included on the Kids Indie Next List by the American Booksellers Association. When she’s not writing, you can find her at a bookstore (unsurprisingly), attempting to bake macarons, or listening to Broadway soundtracks” (Bio from author’s Goodreads profile).
Find Kim Bussing on the following platforms:
Kim Bussing: That’s a great question. When I was at the U of A getting my MFA, I actually took a class on fairy tales. I TA’d it with Kate Bernheimer. And, you know, I’ve always really been drawn to fantasy and fairy tales as a reader, and it was something I always wanted to write, but I didn’t feel like, you know, I was getting my MFA in literary fiction. I thought I had to write really intense literary novels. And I TA this class for Kate for a couple of years, and I just love the history and scholarship of fairy tales, and when you really dive into them, you know, tracing how characters that we love, like Cinderella, have been around for thousands of years and are so representative of the cultures that they come from. So what Cinderella looks like, how she behaves, it’s so different depending on who’s telling the story.
And I really loved seeing how authors and writers were kind of in constant conversations with each other around fairy tales, and just developing who these girls are, who these characters are. I was like, I grew up with Disney, and I was so sick of seeing girls who had to be rescued. And I was like, You know what? I want to write stories where girls have a lot more control over their own narrative and, you know, where they can kind of find their own versions of magic. And also, you know, dive a little bit deeper into who these girls are. Cinderella is always this perfect, good, kind girl, but it’s like her dad died and she’s living in her stepmother’s basement as their maid. And that’s just, you know, it’s not realistic for us to show young girls and young people that, oh, bad things are happening, you just have to always be happy. It’s like, no, how do you survive and be a good person when a world feels really big and kind of overwhelming? I think fairy tales are such a fun framework for that because we all know them. It’s very familiar to go back into those worlds.
KB: That’s a really great question. I mean, quite honestly, my agent told me I should, but I was always drawn to YA, and I think middle grade is so fun because there’s still just such an innocence and excitement for adventure that allows you to just—it kind of feels like stories can be a bit more expansive. Because the cynicism that comes with even being just a teenager or an adult is not there for 12-year-olds. These characters are just really kind of fearless and ready to take on the world. And then also, you know, 12 and 13, which is the age of my characters, that’s such a pivotal point in any person’s life, you’re really like coming into the world, coming into yourself. And so I love having characters who are just kind of navigating that space. And you know, for younger kids to be like, this is a version of how you can grow up. And also, it’s a good time to get people hooked on reading. So, if my books can get one person hooked on reading, that is all I want.
KB: Yeah, that’s a really good question. I do a lot of research when I’m writing these. I’ll watch the Disney version, obviously, because that’s what people are referencing (most likely) when they think about them. Then I’ll also read versions of fairy tales from different cultures and different time periods, like going back to, you know, the very old ones, the more recent ones, and kind of seeing, like, what are the core things that are threaded through? Like, there’s always a glass slipper, there’s usually always a pumpkin. These are things that people are looking for. And I think, as readers, it’s really satisfying to find things that we recognize, that you want people to have that sense of satisfaction. Like, oh yes, this is Cinderella. This is Belle. I think with some of the more reimaginings, it’s, you know, once a story starts, it just kind of builds upon itself. And it’s kind of like, okay, what makes the most sense? Like, if you’re in the city, you know, where Belle is, what kind of festivals are they going to have? What kind of celebrations are they going to have? And just kind of letting the world build itself without feeling so constrained by what’s happening, and like the original stories. But usually, I kind of use everything as an Easter egg, like, there’s always a ball, usually in fairy tales, that was kind of the inspiration for the Revel. And just kind of like picking on those and pulling them apart and seeing what else they could be.
KB: Yeah, I mean, I think it’s just really important. I mean, I think that kind of goes back a little bit to feeling like we have control over our own narrative and to knowing that we are strong and capable no matter what. And also, I think just seeing versions of princesses that are not “perfect,” I don’t know if that’s the right word, but I think usually we think of princesses as just kind of like these flawless people who have no problems. And thinking about, you know, how do you really have control over your life? How do you overcome really difficult situations? And I think part of the reason I wanted her to have a glass leg is because it’s a little bit more fantastical. And hopefully, that even if children do not have that kind of disability, there’s still something that often feels wrong about us when we’re 12. And it can really be anything. And it being like helping kids see their own strength in the things that are often pointed out as being weaknesses. And also just, you know, another kind of thing that she’s learning to overcome. And helping children see, okay, if this is your situation, how do you feel more empowered to overcome it?
KB: You sound like you know quite a bit about fairy tales, but a lot of people don’t know that they’re not for children, or they weren’t originally. They were told kind of as ways to pass down knowledge. Sometimes, they were told around campfires by adult male soldiers in order to stay awake at night, you know, and not be eaten by bears or be attacked by other soldiers. And even when you look at “Beauty and the Beast” style fairy tales, those are being told by French women in salons. They are very much being told by adults as kind of, I think, a way—and this is what I’ve always believed about fairy tales and fantasy—of making sense of the world through metaphor. And so I think that’s part of the reason they continue to matter so much to adults as we grow. It’s because it’s much easier to fight a dragon than to fight grief. And they really allow us a space that I think is kind of the most honest in storytelling, to face things that cannot otherwise be named.
And I think for kids, it’s just, it’s nice to have your imagination opened and believe that magic really can be out there, like you could have a very ordinary life, and then all of a sudden there are dragons or talking flowers or lizards or whatever. And I think, I mean, I’m just kind of rambling because there’s so much I think about fairy tales, but I do think that one of the benefits they offer us is that they remind us that there is magic to be found in our daily lives if we look. And I mean, there must be something there, right? Because I have had adults dress up for events, for my events, and I’m like, that’s awesome. Because you know, I’m an adult writing these books.
KB: This is now a five-book series, and I work with my editor to kind of outline who each book would feature. So, I knew the first three books immediately. And then, last September, I knew who the last two books would feature. But then, I mean, I know a lot of writers say it’s kind of like watching a movie, and it’s kind of like, you learn about it as you’re in it. I had the characters, I had Belle and Cinderella, and I was thinking, what kind of world do I want them to live in? I really loved, kind of a fantasy world, so I wanted something that felt somewhat similar to other fantasy settings, and then I kind of let myself build it from there. So, researching a lot of different cities all across the world and picking and choosing things I like to make my own magical cities. Because I get stressed out about it being too, like, geographically accurate, because I’m like, what if I get the types of trees wrong? It’s fairy tale land: you can have any trees anywhere! And then just kind of like watching it build, and again, like referencing other stories. So, thinking about, like, where are these stories usually set? What kind of things are there? What kind of settings are people looking for to make it feel like a comfortable fairy tale? And then I try an outline, and usually, I fail, and then I just write a really messy first draft and then go back and rewrite it, like, five times, and get to know the characters better every time.
KB: Oh, wow, they’re all really fun in their own ways. I think Ella and Belle, I felt very close to because they were the first ones. Rapunzel’s in the third book, and I really liked her. But I do think that the fourth book is “The Frog Princess” and Wendy, from Peter Pan, and those two feel—maybe it’s because I just have been with them for so long and most recently—but those two feel like the most fun for me right now, and hopefully other people feel that way too.
KB: That’s another great question. “Beauty and the Beast” for sure when I was growing up, because I love to read, and so it was nice to see a fellow nerd as a princess. But now it’s definitely “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Andersen.
KB: Yeah, so once I get through these books, because it’s been very time-consuming, I would love to do something with Alice in Wonderland [and] The Wizard of Oz. I mean, we’ll see what happens. I don’t know how much you know about publishing, it is a very wild industry, so it’s just kind of like you cross your fingers and enjoy the ride and see what happens. But I think also doing some more, like modern retellings, where it’s not set in a fantasy world, but getting to play around in the real world a little bit more.
Danielle Hartshorn, Pine Reads Review Writer and Editor