Today marks the launch of the new Harlequin Teen anthology GRIM, in which many young adult authors (like Julie Kagawa, Malinda Lo, Jeri Smith-Ready, Saundra Mitchell, Kimberly Derting and yours truly) share our new takes on classic fairy tales. We have a terrific blog tour running this week and the next, so I thought I’d share some details about that, as well as my story.
For GRIM, Harlequin Teen asked all of us to think of a fairy tale we’d like to retell in a new way. I realized the one I wanted to retell was Pinocchio … as a science fiction story. The result is “A Real Boy,” which takes place in a distant future where nature is a distant memory, and humanity only survives with the help of robots. If robots couldn’t handle the radiation/endless labor/etc., there would be little hope. So when Blue — a robotics student — gets the chance to work on a new project, she’s ready to leap at the chance.
The new project is a model of robot called Rowan (nature names sell), but Blue soon realizes that he’s more than just another machine. Rowan has perceptions and feelings no robot is ever supposed to have. But she can’t bring herself to believe he’s truly alive until the day Rowan does something he should never, ever be able to do — the day Rowan tells a lie.
“A Real Boy” and many other stories await you in GRIM. Plus, we’re doing an awesome blog tour this week and the next! The details:
Tuesday, February 18th – Stories 1, 2 and 3 – Two Chicks on Books
- Featuring stories:
- THE KEY by Rachel Hawkins
- FIGMENT by Jeri Smith-Ready
- THE TWELTH GIRL by Malinda Lo
Wednesday, February 19th – Stories 4, 5 and 6 – Book and A Latte
- Featuring stories:
- THE RAVEN PRINCESS by Jon Skovron
- THINNER THAN WATER by Saundra Mitchell
- BEFORE THE ROSE BLOOMED: A RETELLING OF THE SNOW QUEENby Ellen Hopkins
Friday, February 21st – Stories 7, 8 and 9 – Fiction Freak
- Featuring stories:
- BEAST/BEAST by Tessa Gratton
- THE BROTHERS PIGGETT by Julie Kagawa
- UNTETHERED by Sonia Gensler
Monday, February 24th – Stories 10, 11 and 12 – Mundie Mom’s
- Featuring stories:
- BETTER By Shaun David Hutchinson
- LIGHT IT UP by Kimberly Derting
- SHARPER THAN A SERPENT’S TOUNG by Christine Johnson
Wednesday, February 26th – Stories 13, 14 and 15 – Bumbles and Fairytales
- Featuring stories:
- A REAL BOY by Claudia Gray
- SKIN TRADE by Myra McEntire
- BEAUTY AND THE CHAD by Shara Rees Brennan
Friday, February 28th – Stories 16 and 17 – Fiktshun
- Featuring stories:
- THE PINK: A GRIMM STORY by Amanda Hocking
- SELL OUT by Jackson Pearce
We even got these beautiful banners for our stories. Isn’t this amazing? Anyway, be sure to catch out the blog tour, and GRIM.
