I have spent the past 19 blog posts discussing what people have written. Now I want to talk about what people have not written.

Anyway, without further ado, books that I think need to be written.

A Pride and Prejudice “circumquel” or “paraquel and sequel” (yes, those are real words, I looked them up)

For my Pride & Prejudice fans out there, I am sure the concept of another story written in the same universe with the same characters is something they would love (assuming it was done right). At least, this is something I would love. In the books, it is hinted that there is something beyond simple “being a child” that leads Kitty Bennet to act the way she does. Despite being two years older than her younger sister, she blindly follows her around, copying her every move, which is not something normal in any capacity. 

This begs the question of why. Why does she follow Lydia around the way she does? At the very end of the book, Austen seems to actually set up somewhat of a lead up to Kitty having her own story. For me, I would love to see some of the events that occur in the novel from someone other than Elizabeth. Kitty’s perspective of the events before, during, and in her new life after the events of the novel. After all, Kitty is someone who is obviously neglected by both her parents, looked down upon by so many because of a decision her sister made, been forced to cut contact with Lydia (her sister and best friend), and been removed from her parents’ house by her two older sisters. Something must have happened/been happening to Kitty that resulted in her demeanor, and I think a book about her trauma and subsequent healing would be an amazing read.

A Queer Aladdin Retelling

This one genuinely shocks me that one doesn’t exist. Trust me, I’ve looked. Despite the fact that it is one of the most interesting of the fairytales that Disney adapted and said adaptation is so perfectly suited for a queer retelling, no one has done it. Which is so disappointing to me. I don’t  believe that I am the only person who has thought of it, so the fact that no one has written it and had it published is weird. It is the perfect kind of story for being queer. A guy disguises himself so that he can go into the palace to marry the princess (admittedly, by tricking her into thinking he’s a prince, which is not the healthiest way to go about a relationship) and is eventually exposed as being the “street rat” the princess was in love with. Now make Aladdin a girl who disguises herself as a Prince to gain power, and the princess eventually begins to fall in love with her, before it becomes exposed that the Prince is actually the poor lover she had prior to the book. Or something along those lines. It would work so well.

I guess that what they say is true, if you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself. So yes, I have an outline of an Aladdin retelling. And yes, I have scenes planned out and even written. No, the plot is not the same as what I wrote up there, this was the plot that I started with in a delirious sleep deprived state a year ago before reforming it a lot. And no, it will never be published. My best friend will be the only other person to see this because I have neither the discipline nor the inclination (or, let’s be honest, the writing ability) to be a published author. Plus, I want it to stay a hobby and not become a job.

Honorable Mention: a Rapunzel retelling. 

They do exist, but they’re almost nonexistent. Plus, the ones that have been released have some absolutely terrible writing. I’d honestly think someone just wrote it on their phone and never reread it before hitting post, but considering they’re published, I don’t know.