Can you believe I've been blogging about princesses for the past eight years? How time flies! I like to do something special each year for my blogiversary. A few years ago, I filmed a special music video. This time, it's something I haven't done in over five years. I wrote a new book! That's right, folks. We're finally getting a new fairy tale novella. Titania's Reflection is a combined retelling of "Fairer-than-a-Fairy" and Shakespeare's classic A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's currently available on Amazon in ebook, audiobook, and paperback formats. If you've enjoyed my other works in the past, you should absolutely check this one out! It's like nothing I've ever done before.
Titania's Reflection would not exist if it weren't for all the princess-related research I do for my blog. I first discovered "Fairer-than-a-Fairy" when I spent a winter reading all twelve of Andrew Lang's Fairy Books looking for hidden gems. This story stood out to me as one that should get more exposure. It had some fascinating imagery, including a talking rainbow and a castle suspended in the air by four chains, and was surprisingly progressive because it contained a princess who wakes a sleeping prince instead of the other way around. It also contains a fascinating love story in which the princess fell in love with the prince without ever knowing what he looked like, showing that real love isn't about appearances. I knew I wanted to explore this fairy tale further, but I wasn't sure how at the time. So I continued blogging and waited for inspiration to strike.
Among the book deals I received this year, no series stood out to me quite as much as Sara Farnsworth's Realms of Caelia, which begins with Beauty in the Tower, a combined retelling of "Rapunzel" and "Sleeping Beauty." Her books made me realize that the best way to enhance a story might be by combining it with other ones. That was when I remembered watching the 1999 film adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The world of the faeries presented there blended perfectly with the world that the young princess was spirited away to in "Fairer-than-a-Fairy." A Midsummer Night's Dream has been used as a backdrop for many other fantasy works, including Nickelodeon's The Other Kingdom, Disney's Gargoyles, and a series of novellas by Tara Grayce. The Shakespearean classic also helped me come up with built-in names for all of the characters, since only the wicked fairy in "Fairer-than-a-Fairy" had a real name, which I replaced with Titania. The princess in the book is named "Fairer-than-a-Fairy," but that's way too much of a mouthful, so I had Titania call her Hermia instead.
Another inspiration for this book was the musical Between the Lines, which was based on a novel and concluded with a lovely message about creativity and sharing your story with the world. I was obsessed with this musical for a few months. It was one of the biggest catalysts that motivated me to start writing again. Its plot about a fictional character who falls in love with a girl from the real world gave me a lot of ideas for developing the dynamics of Hermia's relationship with Lysander, a prince trapped in the reflection of a rainbow. Helena and Demetrius were fun characters to write because I based both of them on the modern warrior archetype, which wasn't as popular in Shakespeare's time, at least for female characters. They created just enough drama to flesh out the fairy tale into a full-length book.
As I celebrate eight years of blogging about princesses, I'm thrilled to share my latest creation, Titania's Reflection, a unique retelling of "Fairer-than-a-Fairy" and A Midsummer Night's Dream. This novella would not have been possible without the research and inspiration I've gathered over the years. With its blend of fascinating imagery, progressive themes, and Shakespearean magic, Titania's Reflection is a true labor of love. If you've enjoyed my previous works, I invite you to experience this new tale, now available on Amazon in ebook, audiobook, and paperback formats. Thank you for joining me on this journey, and I look forward to sharing more princess-themed adventures with you in the years to come!
The upcoming reboot of Winx Club has gone through countless delays in favor of bland live-action adaptations and original animated shows , but a teaser has been released at last for this highly anticipated ninth season. It has been known for a long time amongst fans that the series has fully transitioned to CGI, which has never looked as good to me as the original 2D animation . However, the art form has come a long way since then. Rainbow S.p.A. has improved its technique over the years to add more magic to its computer animation. The new season looks like an attempt to retell the same story the show released in 2004 with updated animation for modern audiences. There are positive and negative ramifications to this. While they aren't trying to change everything for the worse like Fate: The Winx Saga , it's still at risk of going in the same direction as Disney's live-action remakes , which change so little that it's better to just watch the original again. The teaser...
Only one month after my recent obsession with Find Me in Paris , the time-traveling ballerina princess drama dropped its third and final season on Hulu today. Though somewhat predictable, this season offered a satisfying conclusion to the show's unique concept that combined dance with science fiction and tied up all remaining loose ends from the previous seasons. We finally learned the truth about Lena's birth and why she's always being chased by anyone remotely interested in time travel. Nearly every character got paired off at the end, even if it meant some questionable decisions on behalf of the writers. The season also offered some of the most beautiful dance sequences in the show yet for its key story moments. While I could have done without the repetitive recap sequences, the final episodes made it clear that this was always meant to be the end and gave the cast and crew many happy memories to look back upon. The final season of Find Me in Paris incorporated the ...
A new season has begun, which means there are tons of new anime shows available from Japan. Going over the long lists of new shows every three months can be overwhelming, so I'm here to curate the most princessy shows each season for you. This Spring brings us two unique princess shows and two villainess shows , which is a popular princess-adjacent genre with new offerings for every anime season. For me, the standout series of the Spring 2026 anime season is Always a Catch , which places a unique spin on the broken engagement trope . What makes Always a Catch unique is that it subverts the trope of modern princess anime shows that start with a wicked prince breaking off his engagement to a noble lady, resulting in her winning over a different prince. In this show, Prince Renato attempts to break off his engagement with Lady Aida, but he hasn't seen her in years and confuses her with her outspoken cousin, Mimi. As an apology for the mistake (and because he finds Mimi charming),...
The first time I saw preview footage from Bye Sweet Carole , I thought it had been rotoscoped from Disney's Beauty and the Beast . It wasn't, but this perception was a result of the game's distinct look that is reminiscent of hand-drawn films from Disney's Renaissance and Golden Age eras. The nostalgic aesthetic is a huge selling point for the game. It is difficult to find anything in the modern era that recreates this style so perfectly. The game's protagonist, Lana, bears features that are similar to the character models for both Belle and Snow White. It is not unheard of for a video game to use hand-drawn animation. Dragon's Lair and Cuphead are some examples of this. However, it is an exceptionally rare medium for interactive storytelling due to the amount of time it takes to animate every possible player scenario. Few people are willing to put this amount of time and effort into modern games because of how much easier it is to take advantage of new tec...
Time Princess has really done it this time. What have they done? They've created a pirate story that I actually enjoyed. In fact, but it just might be one of the best visual novels in the entire game! The Perfect Storm is similar in plot to Hela's Compass as both are about a young woman who journeys to sea to find a supernatural artifact that is tied to a deceased relative, but The Perfect Storm blew it out of the water literally and figuratively with its worldbuilding, story, characters, and music. Pirates are often presented as the male-oriented alternative to princesses, and while both are occasionally paired together , the genres are rarely combined. One exception is ab obscure Broadway musical called The Pirate Queen that tells the story of a real-life female pirate named Grace O'Malley , but I liked this one better. The Perfect Storm is a pure fantasy that is unapologetically female and removes the less desirable aspects of pirating like the drinking, womanizin...
In recent years, it has become trendy for everyone to criticize the Walt Disney Company as much as humanly possible. In many cases, it is justified , but these criticisms are unfounded regarding Wish , Disney's tribute film to their 100-year animation legacy. This is a movie that provides Disney fans with everything they have been asking, begging, and wishing of the studio for years. It is a beautifully animated original story that is all heart with no pandering and is neither a sequel nor a remake . Since the movie is also an homage to the Disney animation of the past, it is packed with subtle Easter eggs that only true Disney fans will notice and are not obnoxiously in your face like some of their previous attempts with Wreck-It Ralph 2 or Chip'n Dale: Rescue Rangers . In fact, this movie was so entertaining that it got me thinking about the characters on a deeper level than the writers may have even intended long after I left the theater. As previewed i...
Today is the day that Disney's live-action Snow White comes out on Disney+, providing an opportunity for the many people who did not see it in theaters to watch it. In honor of this occasion, I have explored many of the previous live-action interpretations of this character that have come before. Although I still have strong feelings about remaking the first feature-length animated movie of all time in a live-action format, I did not think that Disney's newest adaptation was the worst one. Yet, it had so much competition from its predecessors that it did seem a bit unnecessary. Let's explore all the live-action Snow Whites that came before and see where this one falls. Please note that this is purely for fun and not an official ranking by any means. All opinions are my own. Feel free to share yours in the comments, whether you agree or disagree with my list.. 10. Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) I tried to watch this movie again recently because I didn't remember i...
For those of you who aren't savvy in the world of underground Hollywood, there is a studio called The Asylum , whose sole purpose is to create low-budget imitations of popular movies in the hopes that an old granny will forget her glasses while shopping and buy one on DVD for her grandkids, thinking it's that big blockbuster movie they're always yapping on about. When they set their sights on an upcoming release from a major studio, they rush to get their imitation out before or around the same time as the one they're mimicking so they can pretend that they came up with the idea first. The Princess Twins of Legendale was not produced by The Asylum, but it feels like it easily could have been. In actuality, it was produced by a modern toy company called MGA Entertainment , which is famous for making Bratz and L.O.L. Surprise dolls. You would think that a toy company producing a low-budget movie would only do so with the intention of selling toys, but surprisingly, my...
It's no secret that modern anime tends to be derivative. Almost every new animated show from the East tells the story of a character reincarnated into another world or a younger version of themselves. However, another trope, specifically among anime about royalty, has dominated the airwaves. Nearly every would-be anime princess in recent years begins her story with a broken engagement to a prince. This was the catalyst of everything from 2023's I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness to last year's 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy and The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor . This season, a brand new show entitled I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons follows in their footsteps. The series begins with a noble lady named Leticia forced into an arranged marriage with Prince Clarke. To prepare her for her future as a princess, her parents send her to the castle for private finish...
Nowadays, reboots of nostalgic properties have become so commonplace that it's difficult to get excited anymore. In the case of Winx Club , an animated reboot, albeit CGI, is more of a correction/apology for the horrendous live-action remake that came out four years ago. Fate: The Winx Saga had none of the magic, visuals, or whimsy that made Winx Club such a beloved franchise. Rainbow SpA issued a different type of apology last year in the form of a completely original magical girl series . Mermaid Magic brought back the charm and nostalgia of magical girl transformations, fantasy, and innocent romance that Fate was missing. Now, they are redirecting their attention back to their original fans by focusing on their newest iteration of Winx Club, which is allegedly coming to Netflix this fall. Although Rainbow launched a short teaser for the 2025 Winx Club reboot late last year, there was very little revealed about what the girls would look like in their fairy for...
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