Today is part two of two where I am being interviewed by Charlotte Glass about my books. After today you will have heard about how I got started writing, my journey through narrating and back to writing, how I collaborate with my beta readers, building a community, the things I had to Google for research for my book, who I’d cast in the HBO series of my series, and so much more.

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Freya Victoria is a Texas native that has always wanted to write her own books and has spent countless hours attempting to write, reading books from every genre, and has been reading aloud, with all the character voices, since she was a kid.

While she did not start narrating professionally until Fall 2021, she has been reading books aloud since she was a kid and always wanted to find some way to put the countless hours spent reading the books that she loved into a side gig that would grow her imagination and love for stories. Freya is passionate about all genres but has found a special love for narrating fantasy.

Growing up, Freya always struggled to come up with a storyline that she could develop into a full novel but, in early 2022 she finally found an idea that stuck and got about 30,000 words in before The Forgotten Beast, her debut novel took over her brain.

In April 2022, Freya launched her podcast Freya’s Fairy Tales where she talks to authors about their favorite fairy tales as kids, their journey to writing their novels, and the excitement of holding their very own fairy tale in their hands.

You can find her every day in the recording booth, working on someone’s audiobook, working on more podcast episodes, or sitting on the couch reading and writing. She resides in Texas with her husband and daughter and hopes to one day move into the country where she can not have to edit out the sound of her neighbors mowing their lawn or the trash truck as it drives by!

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Welcome to Freya's fairy tales.

We believe fairy tales are both stories we enjoyed as children and something that we can achieve ourselves.

Each week we will talk to authors about their favorite fairy tales when they were kids and their adventure to holding their very own fairy tale in their hands.

At the end of each episode, we will finish off with a fairy tale or short story right as close to the original author's version as possible.

I am your host, Freya Victoria.

I'm an audiobook narrator that loves reading fairy tales novels and bringing stories to life through narration.

I am also fascinated by talking to authors and learning about their why and how for creating their stories.

We've included all of the links for today's special guest host and our show in the show notes.

Be sure to check out our website and sign up for our newsletter for the latest on the podcast.

Today is part two of two where I am being interviewed by Charlote Glass about my books.

After today, you will have heard about how I got started writing, my journey through narrating and back to writing, how I collaborate with my beta readers, building a community, the things I had to Google for research for my book, who I'd cast in the HBO series of my books, and so much more.

The forgotten beast the forgotten ones book one when Callie finds an old locked chest in her parents'attic, her mom tells her not to worry about it.

That's a dare to find the key and find out what's inside, right?

Full of old journals.

She digs into the chest's depths and pulls one out.

But when Callie starts to dream about the world in the journal, these dreams feel far too real.

The snow is cold.

The run from the wolf makes her heart pound, and she can feel the pain of the ropes digging into her wrists when she's taken to the castle under the mountain, Callie's life was predictable.

She went to college, got a job, dated occasionally.

Suddenly, she finds herself falling for two men, traveling back and forth between her world and the prison world, never knowing which world she'll wake up to.

Callie gets trapped in her own world after the beast is shot.

She doesn't know how to get back to the beast.

She doesn't know if he's okay.

She's terrified he didn't survive.

And where the h*** is Mason?

When she finally wakes up again in the prison world, war is on the horizon.

Callie is captured.

She knows the fairy tale story of the men holding her captive, but why are they working together?

Will she be able to do what it takes to save not only herself but the beast's kingdom.

So after you typed the last words of those books is most definitely not the end.

It is to be continued, basically.

Yeah.

Without actually putting those words there.

Right after you invisibly wrote to be continued, what did that feel like?

I don't even remember at this point.

I think I just remember being like, I probably turned to my husband and said something, smart a**.

I don't know.

Because then it immediately went, I mean, some authors have told me on, here, take two weeks off and then go back into it.

I took no time off.

I went straight from finishing it back into, sorry.

I went straight from finishing it to immediately.

I think I may have waited like a day or two to talk to the alpha for her to finish it.

And we kind of discussed what characters needed more stuff.

And then I immediately went back into edits.

So there was no break.

It was like, all right, we got to get to work.

Because I did not want to wait until next Christmas to get it out.

I wanted it out this year.

And so that meant you have no time.

Well, I love that your entire book world journey has been, okay.

I have the rules.

I'm going to put them over here and do what I want.

I love that about you.

I love that about you.

And you'll glance at them to make sure that you're not, like, way off in left field, but you're like, yeah, okay, I'm still going to do what I want.

But I see your rules.

I see them.

Listen, if you're self publishing, which I knew from the first book that I started writing that I was not going to spend years querying anything, I knew from the beginning I was going to self publish.

And when you're self publishing, you have a much wider range of what you're allowed to do because you don't have to fit into a box that they know how to market and sell.

And so I knew the only rule that I knew I needed to stick to, that I wanted to kind of stick to was kind of word count for the genre ish.

And so I looked at, like, what's the standard Google?

I googled what's the standard word count for fantasy novels.

And it was like, oh, somewhere between 80 and basically infinity thousand.

And so I landed on, I think I had my goal originally set at like 120, and it ended up about like 92.

So that's the only rule I stuck to for the most part.

My rules are somewhere a mix between contemporary romance and fantasy romance.

Like, it's somewhere in there combined together.

It's a great story.

I truly enjoyed it.

So, my last question, because I'm always very curious about this stuff.

If the FBI were to confiscate your computer, are you going on a watch list for the things you have googled, or are you still in the super safe zone?

Realistically, I didn't have to google a bunch of crazy stuff for this.

I asked you some questions about some things that maybe my discord would get in trouble.

But for Google, I had to google how long does it take a leg wound to heal?

Like a penetrating leg wound?

So I googled that.

I think my watch list would be for the novel that I paused because that one.

To narrow down the trigger for why people were getting superpowers.

I had to google all these weird things to figure out.

First, it started with how many people are in the world that's relatively safe.

Then how many people does this happen to?

And how many people does this happen to?

And how many people.

Narrow, narrow, narrow, narrow, narrow.

Until I could find this really specific niche, that wouldn't be however many billion people are in the world all getting superpowers.

So that one would probably have me on more watch lists for beast.

It would be wound care in general.

Some things I would ask my husband, though, like, what would you do for blah blah blah?

But I don't think looking at the different pictures of.

Because at one point, you said I needed to name what type bow she was using.

And so I'm, like, talking to my husband, who does.

He actually makes his own arrows, but shoots a bow and arrows sometimes when he feels like it.

And so I was like, I got to figure out what kind of bow, what do you think?

And he's like, oh, you're probably picturing a blah blah blah.

I don't even remember what it was.

Not the one I was picturing in my head.

And so I googled the name of it, and I'm like, what does that bow look like?

And I'm like, no, that's not it.

That is not the picture in my head.

Then I'm like, what are different types of bows?

Like, my Google history is just, like, random things.

I don't remember googling anything for any of the torture scene, which is probably why it needed some work, because I didn't google anything.

You also had me.

No, wait.

I did have to Google.

So dumb.

I had to google the name of the thing that you would hook the chain to on the wall.

I love you so much.

I don't know what it's called.

I'm like, husband, if you were suspended in the air by your wrists, and there was a chain.

It's going to go to some kind of something up above, and then it's going to go to something on the wall.

And I could never find the answer.

So I think I just ended up saying, like, they tied it to the wall or something.

Anyway, I don't remember that being something that caught my brain, because I was more like, yeah, no, her arms would have popped off by now.

So now she's on her tippy toes.

So instead she's going to have incredible calf cramps from being in a ballerina.

Which is why originally, when beta readers got the book, there was no magic healing potion.

I was attempting to make everything heal in its timeline, and what threw everything off was the arrow.

The arrow threw everything off because there wasn't enough time in the course of the book for that to heal during between Christmas and Thanksgiving.

And so then it was like, well, if there's magic potions involved now, let's help her be able to shoot a bow and arrow more comfortably.

And then you have to add in.

She was in a tiptoe position because I've done calf raises and, God, those things hurt.

So I'm like, if you were in, literally a raised calf raise for hours, days, more than 5 seconds, your calves are going to be in pain.

Yes.

So we had to add the calf cramps.

When she comes down from the healing potion, healing powers.

I think, honestly, we would be in more trouble for our discord message list than your google, probably.

Yes.

I think we would be in way more trouble for, hey, Freya, this is unrealistic.

You need to fix it because of.

Blah, blah, blah.

At what point did she go, why.

Does she know us?

I think you told us all pretty early on.

I don't even remember what book.

We weren't talking about mine because I don't think you had my book yet.

I want to say I was reading a book, and you were like, oh, that's so unrealistic.

Because was it Adeline?

No.

There's a lot in haunting Addie, but my brain goes, no, but that's like, okay, I just remember you went on.

Like, a tirade about 50 shades.

I remember the 50 shades.

I went on a tirade about 50 shades because it did horrible things to my community.

But do you have a pet peeve in a book?

Because I have serious pet peeve about fetishized, unresearched BDsm.

That makes me crazy because half of what they put in that book would kill you.

And then you're not going to enjoy the fun stuff afterwards.

So for me, it would be a trope.

And I'm not going to say that I hate it because I will still read books with these.

There's two of them.

I will still read books with these tropes, but sometimes it gives me the ick.

So the first one is age gap.

I'm not a huge fan of age gaps.

It doesn't matter if it's the male or the female.

I don't care.

Age gaps are just not my favorite.

Will still read books with them because there are some that are done really well and that I do like, but for the most part, that is not my favorite.

Also the miscommunication trope.

I am just like you are grown a** adults communicate, for God's sakes.

Like, there is no reason that it should take you five chapters to ask a d*** question.

I'm like, come on, we're going to say those because I don't have enough.

I'm not going to say life experience, but life experience type things to have an opinion on a whole lot of other things.

I kind of agree with the age gap.

Like, it has to be done really well.

But when you say age gap, it surprised me that you liked the book that I did not, because that is a huge age gap in there, and.

That would be credence.

I wasn't going to name it.

I wasn't going to name it.

Yes, that does have an age gap in it.

I thought it was huge.

Spoiler for credence if you don't want to know what it is.

But, I mean, she doesn't end up with him at the end.

That whole thing, though, that whole book, the way that so many people complained about, like, oh, it's so forbidden.

It's family.

I'm like, they're step.

They're not real family.

You're adopted sibling or something like, no.

That'S not what got me that they were step family.

That was clear in my head.

What got me was she was not an adult when the mental and emotional abuse and badgering and manipulation started.

She was not an adult when they started trying to get her to agree to the s*** that she eventually agreed to.

I was like, no, that's probably bigger than fetishized, unresearched.

BDsm is underage.

I can't do underage.

I try mentions off the page, this happened when I was a kid that I could handle, like, on the page.

No.

Yeah.

So in my brain reading that book, she's underage I mean, she's almost 18 at the point that book starts, but because of the way her parents so alienated her, she had to grow up way too fast.

And that's how I kind of, I guess, in my head, thought of it was like, well, she's basically been an adult for half of her life at this point.

Super early.

I mean, the guys should have done better yet.

Super cringey.

Well, okay.

We cannot expect anything from those three.

You cannot expect any sort of redemption journey.

If they remade deliverance and set it in Colorado, we could call it credence.

I've never read that one.

Oh, my gosh.

Okay, well, that's one that has to go on your list.

It's also one that I was like.

So you're like, now you have to read it so I can see if you cringe?

No.

Yes.

I have a whole list of.

It's on my goodreads.

I'll have to make it an unprivate list and share it with you.

It's called chunky cringe fest.

Nice.

Some of them are not chunky, and some of them are cringey because the author didn't hire a book coach or ask a friend.

And they may or may not have a female werewolf shifter upside down under a desk, welding with her hair free flowing underneath.

So there was always a thing when I knew I wanted to self publish.

I have had scribed for a really long time, which isn't even called scribed anymore.

They just changed it.

But scribed, which is an app where you can read, like, a bunch of books because my husband had audible.

And I'm like, well, I want something where I can have a subscription to books, too.

Like, I read a ton, too.

And so we got that because you got the audiobooks and the ebooks.

And so I read through a bunch of barely above really terrible fan fiction, like, just a bunch of books from a bunch of authors that were just clearly writing it and throwing it up there and all this stuff.

And so I read a lot of, you knew that they were self published.

You knew that they had done it themselves, because a lot of them, you could tell either it had been edited, edited terribly, or it had never been edited at all.

But for the most part, I'm like, I just want to consume books.

So if it was a good storyline, I just ignored all the grammar issues.

So I knew when I started writing that I did not want someone to have that opinion of me.

So for the most part, I was like, we're going to have outside opinions.

We are going to hire an editor that knows how to edit.

We're going to beta readers.

I went back and forth and I decided, I think the day before I started asking for beta readers is when I decided to have beta readers.

That is so afraid of thing to do.

I think tomorrow I'm going to throw myself to the wolves and pick random people to enjoy this book because it sounds refreshing.

Well, then for the most part, and there was another person I met through Stormy Lewis that was one of the beta readers.

And then there's my brother in law, who I knew, and then the other two people were the only people that I didn't really know until they started beta, you know, for the most part.

And my editor was very concerned.

She's an author that I've narrated for, and she was like, you need to make sure that you put these protections in place in case one of them tries to steal the book and all this stuff.

And I'd seen authors talk about like, here's the things that you should do when you send your book out for beta reads.

And so I did all of those things and all of you.

I told another author this.

I'm like, there were five beta readers.

Four of them were mostly kind.

And then there was stormy, who kindly tore it apart.

And then when I went, how?

I mean, there was most of the sentences that you flagged, it was like, hey, you don't need the end of the sentence.

And I'm like, okay, that's easy.

Just take off the end of the sentence.

Yeah, it doesn't need that.

And then there was some stuff that I'm like, well, yeah, you were just like, give her a name.

So I did.

But then there was other things where I was like, I'm staring at the page going, how do I fix that?

Because it wasn't as simple as just take off the end of a sentence.

It was like, you need to rewrite this section.

And I'm like, how do I.

I think you were the one that pointed out one of the journal entries was not written like the rest of them.

And so I had to go back in and rewrite an entire journal entry because that one was based more on the original beauty and the beast, the one that has benefactress in it a thousand times.

I swear, when this launches, we need to do a live zoom with when everybody gets their book and have a repeating words drinking game.

I'll be drunk so fast.

I don't drink.

I don't either.

But with as many times as benefactor and ornaments were in there.

And decorations.

We did take out some of the snowflakes and flakes, though.

Yeah.

I think after flagging the 400th use of decoration, I was like, you know what?

Someone else can tell her about the snow and snowflakes.

No, you did.

I believe it was, oh, look, it's the snowflake flake drinking game.

So much of the feedback.

So there would be an initial with everything because I had each of you guys in your own Google Doc, which is the way that you guys wanted it, and that was fine.

I didn't care either way.

Could you imagine if all of the edits piled on top of each other in one Google Doc?

I mean, quite honestly, I'm thinking that would be easier going forward because then I wouldn't have to go through the book multiple times.

But as far as making sure it doesn't get pirated, that's not an.

Lets people be lazy because you're like, oh, look, this already got flagged by stormy.

And that already got flagged by stormy.

Yeah.

So as far as everything goes, like, with each new beta reader feedback that I got, I would have this initial where I would open it up and I'd be like, oh, no, how bad?

Of course, I get emails every time you guys leave a comment.

So I knew some people, like, one of the people didn't leave a single comment at all, so I never even had to look at that one at all.

But for the rest of them, I would go through and I had kind of read the feedback as I got the emails, but I didn't know.

It doesn't tell you what line got highlighted.

You just see the comment that they left.

Oh, lord.

So I'd be like, some of them, I would just laugh and I'm like, I wonder what that's in reference to.

And so then when I would be scrolling through and I would get to that part in the text, I'm like, oh, okay.

Yeah.

For the most part, I would have this brief cringe before I would actually open it up.

But I had printed out the manuscript, like, double spaced, so I had room to write on these things.

And so I would go through each person's Google Doc and write all their comments down.

If there wasn't enough room to write it in the margins, I would use a sticky note and I would underline and then have a sticky note.

And so by the end of it, I had four sets of feedback with all these sticky notes to go through and fix.

And then I started essentially beta reading my own book.

And so then I had my own sticky notes and notes in there, which mine was mostly grammar issues, but there was a couple of things that I was like, this is stupid.

Take that out.

I never, ever said any part of it was stupid.

I did say things were absolutely unrealistic.

And you're going to kill her.

Yeah, no, I'm more self deprecating towards myself.

Every person had a different pin color.

You all had different colors, and I wrote off the stuff, and then you were the last one to get stuff back to me.

So I'd already done almost everybody else's edits by the time you got back to me.

And then you had so much more than everybody else.

So much better.

Not better.

I mean, you guys all had about the same quantity or quality of feedback, like, take this off and do this, and da da da da.

You just had a lot more of them.

So it took a little bit longer to go through and get all of that done.

I've been doing this for a while, though.

Now I'm like, book coaching.

Well, and you saw, while my prompt for Alpha reader was like, make sure it sounds like a book, my prompt for beta readers wasn't a whole lot better than that.

I was like, if you question it, if it makes you cringe, let me know.

That's not a prompt.

That's not a good prompt.

I had an author go, here's my book.

Let me know what you think.

See, that's at the point that I got to arc readers.

That's where you're to that point.

So I had a couple of arc readers that have reached out, and they're like, I don't know if you're looking for feedback at this point.

And I'm like, well, no, I'm not, but what do you think is wrong with it?

And that's when they're telling you that there's too much eating and stuff.

Yeah, well, no one has come out and said like, oh, dear God, you need to cut out all this eating.

It's just been like, how does she afford this?

My editor was the one that was like, how is she not 600 pounds?

I had someone say that she was magic Christmas, right?

Someone said that she was too repetitive in her head when she gets to the fantasy world.

And so my response to that, I said, well, what would be going through your head if you suddenly woke up in a fantasy world?

Because I would be repeating the same thing.

I'd probably freak out about being away from my kid.

Only one time, though.

Oh, no.

I would be constantly worried about my kid.

I would constantly worry about my kid.

But then I might have this little guilty mom moment of, wait, I'm in a fantasy land, and there's no one here who's going to go, mama.

Yeah.

Again, going back to the very beginning when we started talking about, if you go back to think of my book like real life, but with these little elements that are unrealistic, that are fantasy in the world, if you think, how would I be in that situation?

Because as I'm writing it, that's in my head.

When I'm writing a book, I am the character in the scene.

So that is what would be going through my head if this happened.

And I love that because it's going.

Through my head and then I'm typing it.

So if it gets a little repetitive, I mean, decorations, honestly, there's not a whole lot of synonyms for decorations that don't sound stupid.

For some of them, we were able to synonym it away, and then for other ones, it was like, there's not another word for that.

So try to take it out where you can and then in other places, because the benefactress, the scene with the benefactress, because he's talking about the benefactress and then he's talking about his mom.

So you have to kind of be able to distinguish, is he talking about the mom her or the benefactress her.

Think that was the point when I was like, give her a name.

You know?

So I have a really good end of it all question.

So fast forward, you have finished all four books and all the novellas, and you are being approached by HBO to make this into a series.

Who's playing the beast?

Who's playing Mason?

Who's playing Callie?

Oh, God.

I've never thought about this.

What?

Are you kidding?

I had this whole movie in my head.

Okay, so for the beast, and this is going to sound pretty.

So they're like, what, mid.

Okay, we're going to pretend that these actors are the right age.

Okay.

Hollywood, they do all sorts of cool things with age.

So the beast, I would do Chris Hemsworth and then his brother for Mason, ballad.

And then for Callie, I have no idea.

I'm trying to think.

I really wanted Callie to be dove Cameron.

I like her.

I'm thinking her or maybe Amanda Seyfried, however you say her name, she's so.

Like, I love her to death.

I truly do.

I love all the things that she's been in, but she's as big as a bow.

And.

Me, I'm going to Google blonde actresses real quick.

Hold on.

We'll see.

Because I'm, like, racking my brain for.

Blonde actresses, but wigs are a thing.

I know, but I had to literally have pictures to.

Oh, I can't remember her name right now.

What is her name?

She played Sabrina on Netflix, and she was the daughter on Mad Men.

Oh, you know who else I like?

Sabrina Carpenter.

Yes.

I think she would almost be better for Huxley, though.

The personality of her when she does.

Is it her?

Is it someone else that does?

The nanny?

Not.

Not the nanny.

The housekeeper.

No, that's not.

I'm terrible with names.

That's the girl from Hannah Montana.

The best friend.

I can't think of her name.

That's okay.

I can't believe you've ever thought about what this would be, like, a Netflix or an about.

I think it's so close to once upon a time, though, that I don't know.

I mean, they redo stuff all the freaking time, but that's what I feel like people will be like, well, it's so close to once upon a time.

Okay, look, supernatural was out, and then they tried to make a show called Grim.

Now, please tell me who actually, besides my weird self, watched them both.

I don't know.

Probably a lot of people, actually.

Grimm croaked pretty early.

Supernatural is still growing really strong.

And the references to, oh, it's just supernatural.

And then Sci-Fi put out a show.

Wynona Earp.

And they're like, oh, look, it's supernatural with a girl.

So Hollywood does like to repeat itself.

We've got Game of Thrones.

We've got the Lord of the Ring thing.

We've got the wheel of time going on.

There's fixed to be some chronicles of Narnia that they have permission to do now.

So there's be, like, a lot of Redo's super heavy, super world building, super lore ridden stories for Hollywood to destroy and not use any of.

Yeah, I am 100% on board.

If that ever were to happen, however, I would have the requirement that I have a say in it.

I would want to be like Diana Gabbledon and not like every other author out there ever, that never had a say in their work, ever.

And it ends up nothing like the original.

I wouldn't want to be that.

I would want to be the one where you're like, I'm so glad they stuck.

And you would never be able to do it.

It would have to be a series.

It could never be movies because it's too much.

There's too much I'm still mad at.

Peter Jackson for cutting out Tom Bombay, doll.

Okay, I'm not an author.

I don't have that ability.

But I am a reader.

And I can say from the bottom of my heart, even without all that we have been through and all the behind the scenes and everything that I know about the series, this book, which I'm going to allow my bestest, best friend to read over the holidays, this series would have a place on my forever bookshelf, and I cannot wait for the rest of them.

So I am going to say thank you for having me on your show.

Thank you for interviewing me.

I love this so very much.

I call dibs on interviewing you for the rest of the series, and I need you to go away and go right, because I need more.

So we are, as of when we're recording this, I am about 9000 words into the first novella, which is from.

If you have read book one, you know who the bad guy is.

That is who we are getting for the perspective of the first novella.

And each subsequent book and novella will be the same.

It will be good Guy's story, with Callie coming back to save the day, help discover who created this whole prison world situation, and then the following novella will always be from the villain side.

Why are they doing what they're doing during this book?

Until we get to the very last book, which will be, I will somehow weave both the good guy and the bad guy together into one probably gigantic book.

Let's be real when you're combining two stories together, but I want the last one.

I want them to be woven together.

I do not want it to be one after the other.

I want it to all be back and forth and back and forth.

Because you will know at the end of book three who the big bad guy is.

And so I have the freedom to have both the last good guy and the bad guy together.

I'm so excited.

This is so like, I love this process and I love your process and the fact that you dive all in.

And I'm not winging it.

You know, more than anybody else that I have planned out most, not like the entire story.

I don't have every single book plotted or anything like that.

There are people that do that.

I am not one of those.

But I know what each book's major plot point is going to be.

I know who all the fairytale characters are.

I know their place in the story.

I know where they were in book one.

Of all the authors that I am currently coaching, helping doing with you are the most organized.

Like, you know, what is happening when and why.

And then I have other authors who are like, but what if we did this?

No, there's no place for aliens in this story.

Put that in the idea bucket.

I didn't even want magic beyond the prison world until it was like, we really can't get away with not having a magic potion.

There was zero way that that was not going to.

No way.

You had pulled a stormy Lewis and written yourself in a.

You know.

And then I like that amidst their year of suffering, they had this healing, whatever.

So much worse than it was.

But I am glad that you did pull back on some of her angsty, whiny, twilight esque.

I'm going to throw myself off a cliff.

Just.

That was something that the editor and none of you guys, I mean, you guys made, bella Swan comments, but the editor said it will be way more powerful when she cries if she hasn't been crying every 5 seconds.

So I selectively pulled out the scenes where it was like she could just be sad there, but then there was other ones.

Like, she's been through this super traumatic event or whatever, and she walks into work and she sees her best friend for the first time.

And her best friends can immediately tell something's wrong.

And I'm like, how would you react if you've been through this huge emotionally trying time and then suddenly you see a family member or a friend or whatever, you're going to break down?

Because that's finally you're in a safe place where the walls can come down and you're not going to be able to help it.

At least that's how I am.

And I know that other people are going to be like me, too.

Even though most of the world is.

Going to be like you, to be completely honest, most of the world be like, and then there's me who's like, yes, this sucks.

Are you going to cry?

I'm trying.

Yeah.

So I pulled out the scenes where it was like, she doesn't really need to cry here.

And then I left in the scenes where it was like, no, a normal human being would cry in this situation.

That's pretty standard.

And.

Okay.

And so that I feel like, not that I read through the entire book again after I did all the edits, because I did not.

Oh, God, I can't even tell you how many times I've read the book now.

Probably more than me, honestly.

So that's like one of the things that I do as a beta reader or an arc reader or a, hey, does this even sound like a story.

I read it twice.

Once for the story, and then I let my little critic Gremlin out, and I read it the second time.

And that's why they're like, I saw that you read it on the Google Doc, but there's no commentary.

And I'm like, I have to wake up the critic gremlin.

So I read it twice for the beta, and then I read it as you made edits, and then after.

And then I read it when the ercs went out, and then I just skim read it so that I could open all my packages in the PR box, which.

Wait, what happened on that page?

Okay, I skimmed it.

I was good.

I didn't just go to the page.

It was like, oh, come here.

This book is pretty much in my blood now.

So I am a kill two birds with 1 st type of person.

So when I'm editing audio, I am editing and proofing at the same time.

So I'm watching the script.

I have an auto scroll feature, and so I'm listening to the audio as I am watching the script go up, and I'm reading along with it.

And then if I hear a click or a pop, I stop.

I remove the click or the pop, and then I go back to continuing to listen and proof at the same time so that I'm not having to go through it 15 times.

So I do the same thing.

I'm reading through it as I'm editing it now.

I did a whole lot of, like, every time I'd throw it into pro writing aid, I would read like the sentence pro writing aid was trying to get me to change something on.

Because sometimes it would be like, oh, for example, when there are savs on the table, it wanted me to change it to slaves on the table every freaking time.

It still recommends that.

I know it's still now, and I'm like, no.

Pro writing aid.

No.

That would be a really bad and inconvenient typo to have.

Yeah.

So I do not accept all the things that pro writing aid recommends, but I'm kind of skim reading as I'm doing that.

And then when I'm actually going in and working in Scrivener, that's when I'm actually reading along and doing the edits.

Yeah.

Generally because you read it so many times and you get tired of it.

For me, I'm like, I just want to move on to the next book, and I'm having to go back through this one again.

And I think that's a very author trait.

Yeah.

I'm not an author.

The things that pour out of me into a keyboard are.

They're just a big, giant pile of.

Nope.

I'm really good at the.

Hey, maybe this happened.

Yeah.

And you've been.

You've been good.

I've thrown some.

And genuinely, some things that I throw at you.

I'm like, in my brain.

I genuinely see no other way for that to go down.

And you'll be like, how about we do this instead?

And I'm like, that's way better.

Way less dead things, dead people.

If we do it that way.

Hey, look, as long as I'm around, you are not going to randomly murder innocent animals who had nothing to do with any of this.

Now, the one thing that you did want me to do, that we could not do, and you even agreed with me, was we could not remove the ten year old or however old he is.

I know.

That was so sad.

I was just like, that poor kid.

I went on a deep dive, and I even reached out to a friend of mine who's a history professor, and his specialty is the American Civil War.

I was like, what did the drummer kids do?

And he was like, oh, no, they just died.

Wait, what?

I appreciate you doing the research for me, but at least I gave them a weapon.

Well, I mean, they did.

They usually had a pistol on them or something, and they would try to go hide in the trees or whatever.

So there's, like, this gentleman's agreement that they wouldn't purposely kill the trumpeter or the drummer or the flag boy.

It was like, maybe we don't murder this kid, but sometimes it was, like, inevitable.

Yeah.

You're in a giant field in Gettysburg.

There's nowhere to hide.

They are lobbing cannonballs at you.

Yeah.

And I was like, that's awful.

He's like, why?

I was like, oh, my friend's writing this book.

And on the civil war, I was.

No, no.

He was very confused.

I had to explain to him what was happening.

No, I had to untraumatize him by mailing him a bunch of peanut butter eminems with a note that says, I love you.

I mean, there's just some things where I'm like, it would be worse if he was running across the clearing to get back into the castle than him just staying in the protection of their troops.

I'm like, pick the Better one here.

And the better one was not him running out in the open.

So there's some things that are there because I didn't have a choice.

And then there's some things that.

It's like, oh, we could change it to this, and that would be okay.

Like the horse.

I reworked that entire scene where the horse did not.

I was willing to give up so many of my change edits just to.

Shake that horse, and I still did all the other edits, too.

There was some serious negotiations going on, and I was like, look, I will let you get away with this, this and this and this.

Just do not kill this horse.

My husband was like, it's a horse in a book.

Have you seen me?

He goes, oh, yeah.

No.

You still freak out about the dog running across the street in 4 July.

So, yeah.

All right, I won't ever.

Let you kill the animals.

I mean, I'll totally let you do horrible things to people, but never the animals or children.

But this was amazing.

I can't wait.

Did not die.

The child did not.

The child did not die.

The child did not die.

The horse didn't die.

The child didn't die.

Other people did, though.

Yeah, but, I mean, there was nothing that was absolutely standout, 100%.

This is going to cause book talk to explode if you leave it in your book, which is amazing.

I try very hard to make sure.

I know that inclusion is a big thing right now, and I am not going to say that that is not a big thing right now.

What I will say is I made sure that all of my people come from and have names representative of where the original fairy tales come from.

So all of these fairy tales.

Beauty and the beast, is originally french.

Callie has a french last name.

The beast has a french last name.

I think we gave Huxley a french last name.

I don't even freaking remember.

There are other fairy tales that I'm using that are from Germany.

There are other fairy tales that I'm using italian.

With Huxley, I can't remember if we gave her french or italian.

I don't remember.

And I realized there was, like, one person's name that we gave wrong, but it was like, oh, well, it was like, back in the day, it would have been this name.

And I'm like, okay, that fits, too.

But that's.

All of my characters come from where all of these.

The most of the fairy tales that we know that have become these big Disney movies or whatever come from Germany or, like, first recorded, because a lot of them were oral traditions that were passed down and not recorded until way later.

So I'm going off of first recorded, and so italian, French, German.

Those are where most of the fairy tales that we know and attribute as fairy tales come from those countries.

And so that is where my people come from because that is where the fairy tales came from.

And I try as best I can.

Some people, I pulled the name out of my a** and it just kind of stuck.

And so then I was stuck with it.

But for the most part, that is where we have some american, because our bad guys are an american story.

But yeah, there's going to be a little bit of everything because I did not keep it limited to like Grimm's brothers, only it was not specific.

Know, it has to be just this author's fairy tales.

It could be anybody.

Well, now I know why there's no little mermaid reference because your cousin burnt you out on her so bad.

Listen, I briefly thought Little Mermaid, and then I was like, I don't even know how to write time in the water, so we're just going to cut that one out.

It was a logistic thing.

I didn't know how to fit that into the story.

I felt like it would feel forced if it was there and I didn't want it to feel that way.

So I mean, we already had this feels forced.

We already had to make a werewolf for the sake of the storyline, which actually works out because I actually found out that the original versions of Little Red Riding Hood, he actually was a werewolf.

So I'm like, hey, I didn't even know that.

And here we go.

So you got to work with what you can work with.

But yeah, couldn't figure out the mermaid.

Couldn't figure out the mermaid situation.

And there could be spin off series.

You never know.

Maybe there's a ya book with a mermaid.

Who knows?

I mean, once you dive into fairy tale retellings, the possibilities are endless.

It could be spin offs of this series.

It could be that I do a completely different series with a completely different premise because I very much like the interconnectedness of the stories.

So this series mostly uses like the top most well known.

But there are so many fairy tales.

If you just go know the Grimm brothers have multiple editions with multiple fairy tales in theirs.

Then you've got like Hans Christian Anderson stories.

You've got Andrew Lang who did collections of all these other people's stories.

There's a lot of people.

Peraltz, Charles Peralt also did collections of other people.

There's so many stories to pull from.

My dad bought me my first copy of east of the sun, west of the moon, and it is still on my bookshelf.

I think it's important to know where the fairy tales come from?

I think the fact that you are willing to not tell stories that you don't have firsthand knowledge of is amazing.

A lot of people are, like, trying to do things outside of their scope of knowledge, and I give you all the kudos in the world for saying, hey, these aren't my stories to tell, so I'm going to tell what I know.

And that is great and perfect and exactly how it should be.

Because who can tell Freya's story better than Freya?

I'm once again absolutely honored to have been here, called dibs on all of the rest of these, and cannot wait for you to call me screaming when HBO says, hey, we want to turn this into a series, because then I'll just say, see, I told you so.

Now how are we going to work Henry Cavill into this?

Into this series?

I don't know.

We'll figure it out.

I could see him playing a certain captain.

All right, well, have a good rest of your Saturday.

Thank you so much for interviewing me, and I will see you in discord.

Yes, probably.

All right, well, I really need air conditioning.

I do, too.

So.

Bye.

We both liked beauty and the beast.

Today we'll be reading the Marie le prince de Beaumont version, beauty and the beast.

There was once a very rich merchant who had six children, three sons and three daughters.

Being a man of sense, he spared no cost for their education, but gave them all kinds of masters.

His daughters were extremely handsome, especially the youngest.

When she was little, everybody admired her and called her the little beauty, so that as she grew up she still went by the name of beauty, which made her sisters very jealous.

The youngest, as she was handsome, was also better than her sisters.

The two eldest had a great deal of pride because they were rich.

They gave themselves ridiculous heirs and would not visit other merchants daughters nor keep company with any but persons of quality.

They went out every day upon parties of pleasure balls, plays, concerts, etc.

And laughed at their youngest sister because she spent the greatest part of her time in reading good books, as it was known that they were to have great fortunes.

Several eminent merchants made their addresses to them, but the two eldest said they would never marry unless they could meet with a duke or an earl.

At least beauty very civilly thanked them that courted her and told them she was too young yet to marry, but chose to stay with her father a few years longer.

All at once, the merchant lost his whole fortune accepting a small country house at a great distance from town and told his children with tears in his eyes, they must go there and work for their living.

The two eldest answered that they would not leave the town, for they had several lovers, who, they were sure, would be glad to have them.

They had no fortune, but in this they were mistaken, for their lovers slided, and forsook them in their poverty, as they were not beloved on account of their pride.

Everybody said, they do not deserve to be pitied.

We are glad to see their pride humbled.

Let them go and give themselves quality heirs in milking the cows and minding their dairy.

But, added they, we are extremely concerned for beauty.

She was such a charming, sweet tempered creature, spoke so kindly to poor people, and was of such an affable, obliging disposition.

Nay, several gentlemen would have married her, though they knew she had not a penny.

But she told them she could not think of leaving her poor father in his misfortunes, but was determined to go along with him into the country to comfort and attend him.

Poor beauty at first was sadly grieved at the loss of her fortune.

But, she said to herself, were I to cry ever so much, that would not make things better.

I must try to make myself happy without a fortune.

When they came to their country house, the merchant and his three sons applied themselves to husbandry and tillage, and beauty rose at four in the morning, and made haste to have the house clean and breakfast ready for the family.

In the beginning she found it very difficult, for she had not been used to work as a servant, but in less than two months she grew stronger and healthier than ever.

After she had done her work.

She read, played on the harpis chord, or el sung while she spun.

On the contrary, her two sisters did not know how to spend their time.

They got up at ten, and did nothing but saunter about the whole day, lamenting the loss of their fine clothes and acquaintance.

Do but see, our youngest sister, said the one to the other, what a poor, stupid, mean spirited creature she is, to be contented with such an unhappy situation.

The good merchant was of a quite different opinion.

He knew very well that beauty outshone her sisters in her person as well as her mind, and admired her humility, industry, and patience.

For her sisters not only left her all the work of the house to do, but insulted her every moment.

The family had lived about a year in this retirement, when the merchant received a letter with an account that a vessel on board of which he had effects, was safely arrived.

The news had liked to have turned the heads of the two eldest daughters, who immediately flattered themselves with the hopes of returning to town, for they were quite weary of a country life.

And when they saw their father ready to set out, they begged of him to buy them new gowns, caps, rings, and all manner of trifles.

But beauty asked for nothing, for she thought to herself that all the money her father was going to receive would scarce be sufficient to purchase everything her sisters wanted.

What will you have, beauty?

Said her father.

Since you are so kind as to think of me, answered she, be so kind as to bring me a rose, for as none grow hereabouts, they are a kind of rarity.

Not that beauty cared for a rose, but she asked for something, lest she should seem by her example to condemn her sister's conduct.

Who would have said she did it only to look particular.

A good man went on his journey, but when he came there, they went to law with him about the merchandise, and after a great deal of trouble and pains to no purpose, he came back as poor as before.

He was within 30 miles of his own house, thinking on the pleasure he should have in seeing his children again.

When, going through a large forest, he lost himself.

It rained and snowed terribly.

Besides, the wind was so high that it threw him twice off his horse, and night coming on, he began to apprehend being either starved to death with cold and hunger, or else devoured by the wolves, whom he heard howling all around him, when on a sudden, looking through a long walk of trees, he saw a light at some distance, and going on a little farther, perceived it came from a palace, illuminated from top to bottom.

The merchant returned, God thanks for this happy discovery.

And hastened to the palace, but was greatly surprised at not meeting with anyone in the outcourts.

His horse followed him, and seeing a large stable open, went in and finding both hay and oats, the poor beast, who was almost famished, fell to eating very heartily.

The merchant tied him up to the manger and walked towards the house, where he saw no one but entering into a large hall.

He found a good fire and a table plentifully set out, with but one cover laid.

As he was wet, quite through with the rain and snow, he drew near the fire to dry himself.

I hope, said he, the master of the house or his servants will excuse the liberty, I take.

I suppose it will not be long before some of them appear.

He waited a considerable time till it struck eleven, and still nobody came.

At last he was so hungry that he could stay no longer, but took a chicken and ate it in two mouthfuls, trembling all the while.

After this he drank a few glasses of wine, and growing more courageous, he went out of the hall and crossed through several grand apartments with magnificent furniture, till he came into a chamber which had an exceeding good bed in it.

And as he was very much fatigued, and it was past midnight, he concluded it was best to shut the door and go to bed.

It was ten the next morning before the merchant waked, and as he was going to rise, he was astonished to see a good suit of clothes in the room of his own, which were quite spoiled.

Certainly, said he, this palace belongs to some kind of fairy who hath seen and pitied my distress.

He looked through a window, but instead of snow saw the most delightful arbors interwoven with the most beautiful flowers that ever were beheld.

He then returned to the great hall where he had supped the night before, and found some chocolate ready made on the little table.

Thank you, good madam Fairy, he said aloud, for being careful as to provide me a breakfast, I am extremely obliged to you for all your favors.

The good man drank his chocolate, and then went to look for his horse.

But passing through an arbor of roses, he remembered beauty's request to him, and gathered a branch, on which were several.

Immediately he heard a great noise, and saw such a frightful beast coming towards him that he was ready to faint away.

You are very ungrateful, said the beast.

To him in a terrible voice.

I have saved your life by receiving you into my castle, and in return you steal my roses, which I value beyond anything in the universe.

But you shall die for it.

I give you but a quarter of an hour to prepare yourself to say your prayers.

The merchant fell on his knees and lifted up both his hands.

My lord, said he, I beseech you to forgive me.

Indeed, I had no intention to offend in gathering a rose for one of my daughters, who desired me to bring her one.

My name is not my lord, replied.

The monster, but beast.

I don't love compliments.

Not I.

I like people should speak as they think, and so do not imagine I am to be moved by any of your flattering speeches.

But you say you've got daughters.

I will forgive you unconditioned that one of them come willingly and suffer for you.

Let me have no words, but go about your business and swear that if your daughter refuses to die in your stead, you'll return within three months.

The merchant had no mind to sacrifice his daughters to the ugly monster, but he thought in obtaining this respite, he should have the satisfaction of seeing them once more.

So he promised upon oath he would return, and the beast told him he might set out when he pleased.

But, added he, you shall not depart empty handed.

Go back to the room where you lay, and you will see a great empty chest.

Fill it with whatever you like best, and I will send it to your home.

And at the same time, beast withdrew.

Well, said the good man to himself, if I must die, I shall have the comfort at least of leaving something to my poor children.

He returned to the bedchamber.

In finding a great quantity of broad pieces of gold, he felt the great chest the beast had mentioned, locked it, and afterwards took his horse out of the stable, leaving the palace with as much grief as he had entered it with joy.

The horse, of his own accord, took one of the roads of the forest, and in a few hours the good man was at home.

His children came around him, but instead of receiving their embraces with pleasure, he looked on them, and holding up the branch he had in his hands, he burst into tears.

Here, beauty, said he, take these roses.

But little do you think how dear they are like to cost your unhappy father.

And then related his fatal adventure.

Immediately the two eldest set up lamentable outcries and said all manner of ill natured things to beauty, who did not cry at all.

Do but see the pride of that little wretch, said they.

She would not ask for fine clothes as we did.

But no, truly, miss wanted to distinguish herself.

So now she'll be the death of our poor father, and yet she does not so much as shed a tear.

Why should I?

Answered beauty?

It would be very needless, for my father shall not suffer upon my account.

Since the monster will accept one of his daughters, I will deliver myself up to all his fury.

And I am very happy in thinking that my death will save my father's life and be a proof of my tender love for him.

No, sister, said her three brothers, that shall not be.

We will go find the monster and either kill him or perish in the attempt.

Do not imagine any such thing, my.

Sons, said the merchant beast's power is.

So great that I have no hopes of your overcoming him.

I am charmed with Beauty's kind and generous offer, but I cannot yield to it.

I am old and have not long to live.

So can only lose a few years, which I regret for your sakes alone, my dear children.

Indeed, father, said beauty, you shall not go to the palace without me.

You cannot hinder me from following you.

It was to no purpose.

All they could say.

Beauty still insisted on setting up for the fine palace, and her sisters were delighted at it, for her virtue and amiable qualities made them envious and jealous.

The merchant was so afflicted at the thoughts of losing his daughter.

That he had quite forgot the chest full of gold.

But at night, when he retired to rest, no sooner had he shut his chamber door than, to his great astonishment, he found it by his bedside.

He was determined, however, not to tell his children that he was grown rich, because they would have wanted to return to town, and he was resolved not to leave the country.

But he trusted Beauty with the secret, who informed him that two gentlemen came in his absence and courted her sisters.

She begged her father to consent to their marriage and give them fortunes, for she was so good that she loved them and forgave them heartily all their ill usage.

These wicked creatures rubbed their eyes with an onion to force them tears when they parted with their sister.

But her brothers were really concerned.

Beauty was the only one who did not shed tears at parting, because she would not increase their uneasiness.

The horse took the direct road to the palace, and towards evening they perceived it illuminated, as at first the horse went of himself into the stable, and the good man and his daughter came into the great hall, where they found a table, splendidly served up, and two covers.

The merchant had no heart to eat, but Beauty endeavored to appear cheerful, sat down to table, and helped him.

Afterwards, thought she to herself, Beast surely has a mind to fatten me before he eats me, since he provides such a plentiful entertainment.

When they had supped, they heard a great noise, and the merchant, all in tears, bid his poor child farewell, for he thought beast was coming.

Beauty was sadly terrified at his horrid form.

But she took courage as well as she could.

And the monster, having asked her if she came willingly.

Yes, said she, trembling, you're very good, and I am greatly obliged to you, honest man.

Go your ways tomorrow morning, but never think of returning here again.

Farewell, beauty.

Farewell, beast, answered she, and immediately the monster withdrew.

Oh, daughter, said the merchant, embracing beauty, I am almost frightened to death.

Believe me.

You had better go back and let me stay here.

No, Father, said beauty in a resolute tone, you shall set out tomorrow morning and leave me to the care and protection of providence.

They went to bed and thought they should not close their eyes all night, but scarce were they laid down.

Then they fell fast asleep, and beauty dreamed.

A fine lady came and said to her, I am content, beauty, with your goodwill, this good action of yours, and giving up your own life to save your father's, shall not go unrewarded.

Beauty, waked and told her father her dream, and though it helped to comfort him a little, Eddie could not help crying bitterly when he took leave of his dear child.

As soon as he was gone, Beauty sat down in the great hall and fell a crying likewise.

But as she was mistress of a great deal of resolution, she recommended herself to God, and resolved not to be uneasy the little time she had to live for.

She firmly believed Beast would eat her up that night, however, she thought she might as well walk about till then and view this fine castle, which she could not help admiring.

It was a delightful, pleasant place, and she was extremely surprised at seeing a door over which was wrote Beauty's apartment.

She opened it hastily, and was quite dazzled with the magnificence that reigned throughout.

But what chiefly took up her attention was a large library, a harpist cord, and several music books.

Well, said she to herself, I see they will not let my time hang heavy on my hands for want of amusement.

Then she reflected, were I to but stay here a day, there would not have been all these preparations.

This consideration inspired her with fresh courage and opening the library, she took a book and read these words in letters of gold.

Welcome, beauty.

Banish fear.

You are queen and mistress here.

Speak your wishes, speak your will.

Swift obedience meets them still.

Alas, said she with a sigh, there is nothing I desire so much as to see my poor father and to know what he is doing.

She had no sooner said this when, casting her eyes on a great looking glass.

To her great amazement, she saw her own home, where her father arrived with a very dejected countenance.

Her sisters went to meet him, and notwithstanding their endeavors to appear sorrowful, their joy felt for having got rid of their sister was visible in every feature.

A moment after everything disappeared, and Beauty's apprehensions at this proof of Beast's complacence, at noon she found dinner ready, and while at table was entertained with an excellent concert of music, though without seeing anybody.

But at night she was going to sit down to supper.

She heard the noise beast made, and could not help being sadly terrified.

Beauty, said the monster, will you give me a leave to see you sop?

That is as you please, answered beauty, trembling.

No, replied the beast, you alone are mistress here.

You need only bid me be gone if my presence is troublesome, and I will immediately withdraw.

But tell me, do you not think me very ugly?

That is true, said beauty, for I cannot tell a lie.

But I believe you are very good natured.

So I am, said the monster.

But then, besides my ugliness I have no sense.

I know very well that I am a poor, silly, stupid creature.

Tis no sign of folly to think so, replied beauty, for never did fool know this, or had so humble a conceit of his own understanding.

Ethan Beauty, said the monster, an endeavor to amuse yourself in your palace, for everything here is yours.

And I should be very uneasy if you were not happy.

You are very obliging, answered beauty.

I own I am pleased with your kindness.

And when I consider that your deformity scarce appears.

Yes, said the beast, my heart is.

Good, but still I am a monster.

Among mankind, says beauty, there are many that deserve that name more than you.

And I prefer you just as you are to those who, under a human form, hide a treacherous, corrupt, and ungrateful heart.

If I had sense enough, replied the beast, I would make a fine compliment to thank you.

But I am so dull that I can only say I am greatly obliged to you.

Beauty ate a hearty supper and had almost conquered her dread of the monster.

But she had liked to have fainted away when he said to her, beauty.

Will you be my wife?

She was some time before she durst answer, for she was afraid of making him angry if she refused.

At last, however, she said, trembling, no, beast.

Immediately the poor monster began to sigh and hissed so frightfully that the whole palace echoed.

The Beauty soon recovered her fright, for beast, having said in a mournful voice, then, farewell.

Beauty left to the room.

And only turned back now and then to look at her as he went out.

When Beauty was alone, she felt a great deal of compassion for poor beast.

Alas, said she, tis a thousand pities.

Anything so good natured should be so ugly.

Beauty spent three months very contentedly in the palace.

Every evening, Beast paid her a visit.

And talked to her during supper.

Very rationally, with plain good common sense, but never with what the world calls wit.

And Beauty daily discovered some valuable qualifications in the monster.

And seeing him often had so accustomed her to his deformity.

Not far from dreading the time of his visit, she would often look on her watch to see when it would be nine.

For the beast never missed coming at that hour.

There was but one thing that gave beauty any concern.

Which was that every night before she went to bed.

The monster always asked her if she would be his wife.

One day she said to him, beast, you make me very uneasy.

I wish I could consent to marry you.

But I am too sincere to make you believe that will ever happen.

I shall always esteem you as my friend.

Endeavor to be satisfied with this.

I must, said the beast, for, alas, I know too well my own misfortune.

But then I love you with the tenderest affection.

However, I ought to think myself happy that you will stay here.

Promise me never to leave me.

Beauty blushed at these words.

She had seen in her glass that her father had pined himself sick for the loss of her, and she longed to see him again.

I could, answered she, indeed promise never to leave you entirely.

But I have so great a desire to see my father that I shall fret to death if you refuse me that satisfaction.

I'd rather die myself, said the monster, than give you the least uneasiness.

I will send you to your father.

You shall remain with him, and poor beast will die with grief.

No, said beauty, weeping, I love you too well to be the cause of your death.

I give you my promise to return in a week.

You have shown me that my sisters are married, and my brother's gone to the army.

Only let me stay awake with my father as he is alone.

You shall be there tomorrow morning, said the beast.

But remember your promise.

You need only lay your ring on the table before you go to bed, when you have a mind to come back.

Farewell, Beauty.

Beast sighed as usual, bidding her good night, and Beauty went to bed, very sad at seeing him so afflicted.

When she waked the next morning, she found herself at her father's, and having rang a little bell that was by her bedside, she saw the maid come, who, the moment she saw her, gave a loud shriek, at which the good man ran upstairs and thought he should have died with joy to see his dear daughter again.

He held her fast, locked in his arms above a quarter of an hour.

As soon as the first transports were over, Beauty began to think of rising, and was afraid she had no clothes to put on.

But the maid told her that she had just found in the next room a large trunk full of gowns covered with gold and diamonds.

Beauty thanked good beast for his kind care, and taking one of the plainest of them, she intended to make a present of the others to her sisters.

She scarcely said so.

When the trunk disappeared, her father told her that Beast insisted on her keeping them herself, and immediately both gowns and trunk came back again.

Beauty dressed herself, and in the meantime they sent to her sisters, who hastened thither with their husbands.

They were, both of them very unhappy.

The oldest had married a gentleman, extremely handsome indeed, but so fond of his own person that he was full of nothing but his own dear self and neglected his wife.

Ii had married a man of wit, but he only made use of it to plague and torment everybody and his wife.

Most of all.

Beauty's sisters sickened with envy.

When they saw her dressed like a princess.

And more beautiful than ever.

Nor could all her obliging, affectionate behavior stifle their jealousy, which was ready to burst when she told them how happy she was.

They went down into the garden, vented in tears.

And said one to the other, in what is this little creature better than us, that she should be so much happier?

Sister?

Said the eldest, a thought just strikes my mind.

Let us endeavor to detain her above a week.

And perhaps a silly monster will be so enraged at her for breaking her word.

That he will devour her.

Right, sister, answered the other.

Therefore we must show her as much kindness as possible.

After they had taken this resolution, they went up and behaved so affectionately to their sister.

That poor beauty wept for joy.

When the week was expired.

They cried and tore their hair.

And seemed so sorry to part with her that she promised to stay a week longer.

In the meantime, beauty could not help reflecting on herself.

For the uneasiness she was likely to cause poor beast, whom she sincerely loved and really longed to see again.

The 10th night she spent at her father's.

She dreamed she was in the palace garden.

And that she saw beast extended on the grass plot.

Who seemed just expiring.

And in a dying voice approached her with her ingratitude.

Beauty started out of her sleep and bursting into tears.

Am not I very wicked, said she, to act so unkindly to beast.

That he has studied so much to please me in everything?

Is it his fault that he is so ugly and has so little sense?

He is kind and good, and that is sufficient.

Why did I refuse to marry him?

I should be happier with the monster.

Than my sisters are with their husbands.

It is neither wit nor a fine person in a husband that makes a woman happy.

But virtue, sweetness of temper and complacence.

And beast has all these valuable qualifications.

It is true, I do not feel the tenderness of affection for him.

But I find I have the highest gratitude, esteem and friendship.

And I will not make him miserable.

Were I to be so ungrateful, I should never forgive myself.

Beauty having said this, rose put her ring on the table and then lay down again.

Scarce was she in bed before she fell asleep.

And when she waked the next morning.

She was overjoyed to find herself in the beast's palace.

She put on one of her richest suits to please him.

And waited for evening with the utmost impatience.

At last, the wished.

For hour came the clock struck nine.

Yet no beast appeared.

Beauty then feared she had been the cause of his death.

She ran crying and wringing her hands all about the palace, like one in despair.

After having sought for him everywhere.

She recollected her dream and flew to the canal in the garden, where she dreamed that she saw him.

There she found poor beast stretched out quite senseless.

And, as she imagined, dead.

She threw herself upon him without any dread.

And finding his heartbeat still, she fetched some water from the canal and poured it on his head.

Beast opened his eyes and said to.

Beauty, you forgot your promise.

And I was so afflicted for having lost you that I resolved to starve myself.

But since I have the happiness of seeing you once more, I'd I satisfied.

No, dear beast, said beauty, you must not die.

Live to be my husband.

From this moment, I give you my hand and swear to be none but yours.

Alas, I thought I had only a friendship for you.

The grief I now feel convinces me that I cannot live without you.

Beauty scarcely had pronounced these words.

When she saw the palace sparkle with light and fireworks, instruments of music.

Everything seemed to give notice of some great event.

But nothing could fix her attention.

She turned to her dear beast, for whom she trembled with fear.

But how great was her surprise.

Beast had disappeared.

And she saw at her feet one of the loveliest princes that I ever beheld.

Who returned her thanks for having put an end to the charm under which he had so long resembled a beast.

Though this prince was worthy of all her attention, she could not forbear asking where beast was.

You see him at your feet, said the prince.

A wicked fairy had condemned me to remain under that shape.

Till a beautiful virgin should consent to marry me.

The fairy likewise enjoined me to conceal my understanding.

There was only you in the world generous enough to be won by the goodness of my temper.

And in offering you my crown.

I can't discharge the obligations I have to you.

Beauty, agreeably surprised, gave the charming prince her hands to rise.

They went together into the castle.

And beauty was overjoyed to find in the great hall her father and his whole family.

Whom the beautiful lady that appeared to her in her dream had conveyed thither.

Beauty, said this lady, come and receive the reward of your judicious choice.

You have preferred virtue before either wit or beauty.

And deserve to find a person in whom all these qualifications are united.

You are going to be a great queen.

I hope the throne will not lessen your virtue or make you forget yourself.

As to you ladies, said the fairy to Beauty's two sisters.

I know your hearts and all the malice they contain, become two statues.

But under this transformation, still retain your reason.

You shall stand before your sister's palace gate and be it your punishment to behold her happiness.

And it will not be in your power to return to your former state till you own your faults.

But I am very much afraid that you will always remain statues.

Pride, anger, gluttony, and idleness are sometimes conquered, but the conversion of a malicious and envious mind is kind of a miracle.

Immediately, the fairy gave a stroke with her wand, and in a moment, all that were in the hall were transported into the prince's palace.

His subjects received him with joy.

He married beauty and lived with her many years, and their happiness, as it was founded on virtue, was complete.

Thank you for joining Freya's fairy tales.

This has been our final episode for some time, as I take some time to focus on other things.

I hope this isn't forever, but I thank you all for being here's.