The Story That Inspired The Raven and the Wolf

This isn't a generic recommendation. This is the book that directly inspired me to write The Raven and the Wolf.

Stableshoes is an MM romance that is a retelling of Cinderella. An orphan is brought to work in the stables of a prince's manor. The prince and the boy get a childhood crush on each other, but before anything can come of it, the prince is sent away for training until he is an adult.

This book had me hooked right from the beginning. Joe has a great authorial voice, with writing that captures the personalities of the characters. It's rare for me to find indie authors who can do this, and but Jo knows how.

I've always been obsessed with retold fairy tales. Something about seeing a classic myth told in a new way always draws me in. The first version of The Raven and the Wolf, originally titled Golden Hair, was written somewhere around twenty years ago, my first full-length story. And then, it just sat there, happy, never fully forgotten, but just a remnant of my early writing journey.

Then I read Stableshoes. It was the first MM romance I read after realizing I'm bigender and identify as gay. I saw it posted on Reddit and couldn't help but look it up. The sample caught my attention immediately, and I didn't hesitate to pick it up.

The story is definitely a "retelling", following enough of the same beats as the original story that you can tell it's a direct inspiration - the servant, the ball, the cruel family member. But it also deals with forced marriages and the struggle of two people who want to be together but aren't supposed to. Amusingly, it kind of has two Cinderella characters stand-ins, each with a different aspect of the original fairy tale.

I reached out to Jo personally this month, just to say thank you for the story and to tell them what it means to me. I wasn't expecting much more than maybe a "thank you for letting me know", but I got a warm reply that lead to another email, then another. They're a genuinely kind person, who let me ramble on a little about my journey and told me about theirs as well. They gave me a copy of their newest book, Scars & Honey, without me asking.

When I asked them if they had anything to say about their process for writing the story, they told me:

Stableshoes includes a very special self-insert from my life: my dear Cocoa, the black mare, my first horse in childhood. When I asked my sister what my hero horse should be called, she said, “There is only one answer.” So, Cocoa she is, immortal! She had just as much attitude as the horse in the book, and then some. I could tell so many true horse stories!

I can't recommend this book enough if you enjoy fairy tale retold stories. It's a beautiful childhood-sweethearts-to-lovers story that earns its HEA.

Stableshoes, by Jo Morgan Sloan on Amazon.

Jo's Author Website (and newsletter, if you want to know about their other books. I've also read The Key and Scars & Honey. Also solid reads.)