Rosamund Hodge

Thanks to the lovely folks at Novo Século, CRUEL BEAUTY is going to be translated into Portuguese and published in Brazil.

I’m excited to say that when I attend Sirens Conference this October, I will be on two panels:

Portal Fantasy: Threat or Menace?
Rosamund Hodge, Cora Anderson, Rachel Manija Brown
Everybody knows about portal fantasy, where characters from the “real world” cross into a separate fantasy world. It is a classic trope that still draws readers—the Chronicles of Narnia have never been out of print. And yet new portal fantasies are very seldom published, and many agents and editors have said that they’re unmarketable. What exactly is this subgenre, and why is it so loved and so shunned at the same time? What new stories does it still have to offer?

A Tourist’s Guide to the Undiscovered Country
Rosamund Hodge, Cora Anderson, Kendare Blake, Joy Kim
From The Descent of Inanna to Dante’s Divine Comedy to Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Farthest Shore, journeys to the underworld/afterlife have been a staple of fantastic literature. This panel will discuss both the ancient tradition of underworld journeys and how this tradition is used in modern fantasy. Why does this theme have such an enduring appeal? How do modern novels use and transform it?

Now through May 28th, you can download the audiobook of CRUEL BEAUTY for free!

(For the same week, you can also get a free audiobook of Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Fun fact: an early draft of CRUEL BEAUTY had an extended discussion of Oedipus.)

When I was nine or ten, my parents had us all watch the BBC production of Romeo and Juliet. I thought it was the stupidest story in the whole world. I also kept acting out alternate endings with my Barbie dolls, which probably should have been my first hint that I didn’t hate it as much as I thought.

And now I have a new book deal. Here’s the official announcement:

Kristin Daly Rens at HarperCollins imprint Balzer + Bray has bought, in a six-figure deal, two books in a YA fantasy series by Rosamund Hodge, author of Cruel Beauty. The new series, pitched as “Romeo and Juliet meets Sabriel,” re-imagines Shakespeare’s story of feuding families and doomed lovers in a city threatened by necromancers and protected by “the Juliet,” a girl born in every generation with powerful magic. Publication will start in spring 2016; Hannah Bowman of Liza Dawson Associates negotiated for North American rights.

My ebook novella Gilded Ashes is finally available! It’s a retelling of Cinderella set in the same world as Cruel Beauty.

There are different kinds of retellings. Cruel Beauty was sold as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast — and I did write it as one, but it was also a retelling of Bluebeard, Cupid and Psyche, and East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I feel that all retellings are an archaeological expedition to dig up the story hidden behind the story, but I don’t feel that Cruel Beauty is the only story buried in that ground. I could have written a different story. I chose to write Cruel Beauty.

Gilded Ashes is different. For years, I’ve had an idea in my head of What Really Happened With Cinderella. When Balzer + Bray asked me to write a novella set in the same world as Cruel Beauty, I realized it was the perfect opportunity to bring that story to life. And now I’m delighted to share it with all of you!

Buy Gilded Ashes: Kindle | Nook | iBooks | Google Play | Kobo

I suppose now is as good a time to announce it as any: my next book is called Crimson Bound, and it will be out in the spring of 2015. It’s not a sequel to Cruel Beauty, but it is another fairy tale reimagining: Little Red Riding Hood meets (genderswapped) Girl With No Hands. With bonus apocalypse.

You can already add it on Goodreads!