Red:
A Modern Fairytale Retelling
A Modern Fairytale Retelling
by
Jessi McPherson
Jessi McPherson
Genre: YA Fantasy
Everyone has read the tale of Little Red Riding Hood... Such a carefree, naïve
girl who fell victim to the wolf and had to be saved by the Huntsman. I’d like to set that story straight. It all began with a girl, a curse, and wolf. We all have a hero inside. All it takes is to believe. Cara knew the legends of her village but she never thought she'd become one.
girl who fell victim to the wolf and had to be saved by the Huntsman. I’d like to set that story straight. It all began with a girl, a curse, and wolf. We all have a hero inside. All it takes is to believe. Cara knew the legends of her village but she never thought she'd become one.
“Please help me,” a weak voice said in the distance. Cara ran toward the faint
sound, and on the ground found a young man, no older than she, lying covered in
blood and wounds.
“Oh, god. Are you okay?” He was silent. She knelt beside him to check his
pulse. It was there, but it was weak. “Well, hang on. Hopefully Gran has
something to help.” Carefully she lifted him, but it took everything she had to
bring him to the trail. She knew there was no way that she would be able to carry
him all the way there. “Please stay alive until I get back,” she whispered to him
and took off running. It only took a few minutes to make it the rest of the way to
the cottage. “Gran, Gran, please come quick!” she yelled as she headed for the
door.
“Dear child, what has you all worked up?”
“I need your cart. There was a young man in the woods, and he’s injured.”
Her Gran looked up at the moon. “Come, child. Show me where.” They
hitched her horse to the cart and Cara led her Gran to where she had left him.
“Was he alone?” Gran asked.
“Yes, and gravely injured.” As they rounded the bend, they could see that he
was still lying on the side of the road.
“Oh dear. He’s been attacked. Come, let’s get him to the cottage and tend to
his wounds. We don’t have much time,” her Grandmother urged.
“He’s coming,” he groaned. Her Gran knelt beside him and whispered
something. He seemed to relax.
“What did you say to him?”
“Only that he was safe and being treated,” she replied. They walked quietly
back to her cottage. “Place him on the cot, dear. Do you have the elixirs your
mother sent?”
“Yes, here in my bag.”
“Good. I need those− also, some wolfbane and jasmine from my shelf.” Cara
grabbed the plants that she had been asked to get and sat beside her
Grandmother, watching her work.
“I don’t recognize him from the village,” Cara said, placing the plants in the
mortar for her Gran.
“No, I don’t suppose he is a villager.”
“Where do you think he came from?”
“I think we will find out, either when he wakes or when the sun rises,” her
Grandmother said.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see, child, and it’s about time.”
Cara didn’t understand what she meant. She watched as her Grandmother
pulverized the herbs and noticed she spoke quietly as she did. “What are you
saying?”
“Just a little spell to help with the healing. He is in a lot of pain and won’t heal
until he calms.”
“So it’s true. You are a witch.”
“That’s a strong word, but yes. You are, as well. You come from a long line of
them. We are here to help protect the Hylands. That is why your mother sent you
tonight.”
“What do you mean?” Cara asked, wonderment evident on her face.
“She noticed you’ve been changing and slowly coming into your gifts over
the last few months. There’s a lot you are going to learn about, but now we must
attend to this man.”
Cara was in shock. Her Grandmother was, in fact, a witch, and apparently, so
was she. She started to shake.
“It’s okay, sweet child.”
“Why didn’t you or Mother tell me sooner?”
“We weren’t sure if you would inherit any gifts. Not every child that is born
into our line has the power. We had to wait.”
She couldn’t believe it. Their attention was drawn to the young man as he
started groaning and speaking frantically. “Lily, Lily run!” he yelled, thrashing
about.
“Come, hold him down while I work, dear.” Grandmother mixed herbs and
covered his wounds. Cara still hadn’t moved. “Cara, snap out of it. Yes, I know
it’s a lot to process− and not how we intended to tell you− but right now I need
you to focus, or he will die.”
Cara blinked a few times and moved to do what she had been asked. His face
calmed slightly as she laid her hands on him, but the anguish was still evident.
She finally took a moment to look him over. She didn’t know why, but she felt
compelled to gaze at his perfect figure. Even covered in wounds, dirt, and blood,
his beauty was evident− from the sculpt of his chest to the contours of his face.
She slid the blood-matted hair from his face, and he slightly opened the most
beautiful green eyes she had ever seen. As he gazed into hers, he said, “Please
find Lily.” Then he closed his eyes again.
“Who is Lily?” she asked. He didn’t answer. Instead, he started thrashing
again.
Hi all, I'm Jessi Mcpherson.
I live in a small town in Iowa right on the banks of The Mighty
Mississippi. I started writing when I was about 10 years old. Almost
every girl has a journal but I not only had fun stories of the day
but poems and short stories that popped in my head. I love fantasy
and romance novels and read almost daily. I like to find my
inspiration in everyday life. That's one of my goals is to find one
thing every day that inspires me. I grew up an army brats so I have
traveled to a few places over the years. I have two amazing children
and a very amazing husband. They thankfully put up with crazy work
schedules because being a mom and a writer isn't enough but I am also
the general manager of Sidelines Sports bar in my home town. No
matter how busy I find time for it all. I do hope you enjoy my books
and I look forward to writing more.
I live in a small town in Iowa right on the banks of The Mighty
Mississippi. I started writing when I was about 10 years old. Almost
every girl has a journal but I not only had fun stories of the day
but poems and short stories that popped in my head. I love fantasy
and romance novels and read almost daily. I like to find my
inspiration in everyday life. That's one of my goals is to find one
thing every day that inspires me. I grew up an army brats so I have
traveled to a few places over the years. I have two amazing children
and a very amazing husband. They thankfully put up with crazy work
schedules because being a mom and a writer isn't enough but I am also
the general manager of Sidelines Sports bar in my home town. No
matter how busy I find time for it all. I do hope you enjoy my books
and I look forward to writing more.
Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts and a giveaway!
I enjoyed getting to know your book and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeletethe cover is intriquing. i am not really into suspense fantasy or paranormal, but i got hooked reading the excerpt.
ReplyDeletequilting dash lady at comcast dot net
sounds exciting , I enjoy reading "old fairy tales" with some modern twist
ReplyDeleteI love red riding hood remakes. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like an exciting read! Thanks
ReplyDeleteI grew up with Little Red Riding Hood, mom always delved deeper into a book so we learned something from each story. I did the same with my two kiddos. This story really has a lot we can learn from. I would love to read a modern version of this book.
ReplyDeletequilting dash lady at comcast dot net
i love how you find your inspiration in everyday life. i am the same with my quilting. i find my inspiration in nature and make a quilt with a story from what i see. so each quilt is unique and special for that person.
ReplyDeletequilting dash lady at comcast dot net
I like your idea of finding something inspirational every day. I have the bible. I also like the idea of finding something every day that makes me happy and making someone else happy.
ReplyDeletequilting dash lady at comcast dot net
this cover is most intriguing. you are a very busy lady it sounds like. i have found that being busy helps to not be lazy and that is extremely good when we know how to balance things.
ReplyDeleteI see you live on the banks of the Mississippi. My husband and son did a number of civil war reenactments at a town on the Mississippi.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteI really like this cover. question - knowing the original story, was it difficult to kinda rewrite it making it a modern story?
ReplyDeletei know that my daughter would also love to read this story. this would be a great christmas gift for her. how long did it take you to write the book to satisfaction so it could be published?
ReplyDeleteHow fun that you started writing when you were 10 years old. That was about the time I started writing short stories and reading them to my little sister (who is 9 years younger) I kept them all in a journal. I look back at them now, and really I have to laugh. They were super simple and a lot of fun. My sister at the time was so serious and didn't look at life in a fun and happy way. This was my way to try to change that some. Now she is a wonderful lady with humor and love for all of nature and people.
ReplyDeletesuch an interesting cover. for many years i had a journal also. everything went in there. i always had a separate journal that i kept with my bible. i think i would like to pick it up again now that we are empty nester's. thank you
ReplyDeleteI love romance also and also read daily. I have had trouble getting into fantasy though. not really sure why.
ReplyDeletedid growing up as an army brat and traveling help with your writing career?
ReplyDeleteour sons father in law was in the marines. they like to talk about what it was like and what his father in law has seen. our son is a history major, so things mesh really well between the two.
I am with you, I have an amazing husband and two amazing children also. My husband is a godly man who has led our house in Gods ways for 35 years. I thank the Lord for him daily. We have two beautiful children. Richard is now 33 and married for the last two years. And Heather is 30 and single and enjoys being single.
ReplyDelete"All it takes is to believe" that can apply to a lot of us in different areas. I would love to read this book. I love fairy tales. From when you started to write to having the book in your had, how long did it take?
ReplyDeletebeing a mom and a writer and a GM at a sports bar would fill anyone's days. I can only imagine you have a lot of energy. that is great. I am a low energy person, so schedules are extremely important for me. My family has been very helpful and loving. Bless you.
ReplyDeletewhen i look at this cover, I think that there are some difficult times this girl goes through. will she grow stronger from them, or cave in? but with her mother and grandmother, she should be ok. would love to read this book.
ReplyDeletethe excerpt is interesitng. but grandma knows something that we need to read the book to find out. very clever. on my to read list.
ReplyDeleteI am curious what exactly the legends are that she became one. marked this book as one to read. thanks
ReplyDeleteI like how it says we all have a hero inside. It just takes believing. This is so true. When we follow Jesus and let him guide our lives we have a hero of the best kind.
ReplyDeletefrom the post we are left dangling as to whether she likes having this gift or not. hmmm, guess i will have to read the book.
ReplyDeleteI also have two amazing children and a wonderful husband. our children are wonderful young people with their heads on straight. Richard is 33 and has been married for two years. He loves being married. And Heather is 30 and loves being single. My husband of 35 years is a wonderful godly man.
ReplyDeleteI have a cape similar to this minus the hood. I really like the cover. hope you have a fantastic day.
ReplyDelete