Twisted Tales Books In Order

Publication Order of A Twisted Tale Books

Elizabeth Lim, Liz Braswell, and Jen Calonita came together to write “The Twisted tales,” a retelling of classic Disney movies with a twist. Liz Braswell who has written about half of the titles in the series had the typical introverted childhood that most authors have. She went to Brown University where she graduated with a degree in Egyptology. Once she graduated, she got a job producing video games, a job that she held for the better part of a decade. Braswell has always loved reading and writing and thought of becoming an author as an adult. Writing under the pseudonym of Tracy Lynn, she finally wrote her first novel in 2003. “Snow” was a twist of the original “Snow White” story. She then wrote “The Nine Lives of Chloe King” series as Liz Braswell. She has also written short fiction for “Who Done It” and “Geektastic” before she got the job of rewriting classic Disney movie stories titled “Twisted Tales.” Her first novel in the series was a retelling of a classic Aladdin story that she titled “A Whole New World” that was published in 2015. Braswell currently lives with her husband, children, cat, dog and three fish in Brooklyn New York.

Elizabeth Lim was brought up on a steady diet of songs, myths, and fairy tales. Her passion for telling stories was evident when she was a ten year old and started writing fan fiction for “Star Wars,” “Sweet Valley,” and “Sailor Moon” that she then posted online. Lim was elated to learn that people actually read her fan fiction and enjoyed them. However, one of her teachers in school told her that her essays had too much voice. Since she did not want to flunk her English class, she lay off the fan fiction to work on her English. However, Lim gravitated away from creative fiction as an adult as she went on to work as a video game and film composer and even got a Ph.D. in music composition. Nevertheless, she started missing her fiction and was soon penning short stories even as she was doing her doctorate. One day she set herself a goal to finish a full blown novel just for the fun of it. Her debut novel was “Spin the Dawn” that became the first of the “Blood of Stars” series. She was then approached to write the “Twisted Tales” and wrote the novel “Reflection” in 2018 and “So This is Love” in 2020. She currently lives with her husband in New York City and when she is not reading she loves classic films, baking, and cycling.

Jen Calonita is a young adult fiction author who asserts that she has been writing for as long as she can remember. As a fourth-grader, she put down three wishes to a genie; she wanted a speed boat, a pool, lake house, limo, and mansion; to buy all the Cabbage Patch Kids; and to become a young adult and children’s author. For many years, Jen worked in Hollywood as she interviewed everyone from Zac Efron to Reese Witherspoon. Her ten-year career in entertainment journalism saw her work as writer and editor for the likes of “Marie Claire,” “Teen People,” “Glamour” and “TV Guide.” Calonita says that she loves writing for teenagers though she believes that her novels while classified as a young adult can also be read by adults. Her first novel was “Secrets of My Hollywood Life” that was the first novel of the “Secrets of My Hollywood Life” that spawned five more novels. She is also the author of the “Sleepaway Girls” and the “Belles” series. She wrote her first novel of the “Twisted Tales” series titled “Mirror, Mirror” in 2019.

Liz Braswell’s “A Whole New World” is a daring and dark version of the classic Aladdin story that asks what would have happened had Jafar managed to summon the Genie first. Aladdin was born and raised in the streets of the city of Agrabah and has often been called a Street Rat. Being friends with the princess, he often goes with her for strolls out in town. But one-day things go wrong and they are attacked by men who want to cut off her hands. Aladdin rescues her and from the ordeal, the two become closer than ever as she tells him all her secrets. The princess tells him that plans to run away from home since she does not want to be married to someone she does not love. But then Aladdin is forced to get a magic lamp from a desert cave when he is taken away to a far land where he has to kowtow to Jafar. Jafar gets his lamp and Aladdin is fortunate enough to survive. But the evil Jafar now gets to make two wishes and what he wants most is to become the most powerful magician in the world and to be the sultan. Aladdin teams up with Jasmine and together they rally the people of Agrabah and the Street Rats to take back the city from Jafar. It is a much darker and compelling version of the Aladdin story.

Elizabeth Lim’s “Reflection” has a new twist in that Mulan travels to the underworld in Diyu when Shan Yu mortally wounds Captain Shang in battle. But the ruler of Diyu King Yama is not willing to let Shang go that easy. Now Mulan has to team up with Shishi who is the great lion guardian to Shang to find his friend’s spirit. They need to travel the breadth of Diyu and face harrowing obstacles to save Shang’s spirit which just like them is in danger of permanent imprisonment if they fail. It is even harder for Mulan who has yet to shed his disguise of Ping the soldier. He cannot dare reveal his identity as he does not know how his friend will react but she also cannot help but fear that she may lose him forever in the Underworld. Lim intertwines some of the best quotes and events of the original Disney movie to make for an incredible journey story. The lead character Mulan is a selfless and brave woman that is always ready to help and fight for her family and friends, which makes for a beautiful story.

Jen Calonita’s “Mirror, Mirror” is a twist on the classic “Snow White” tale that asks what would have happened if it was the prince that was poisoned by the Evil Queen. After the death of Snow White’s mother, the Kingdom is left to her evil stepmother. Snow tries her best to keep out of the way of the “Evil Queen” hoping not to get noticed. But everything changes for Snow White and they get new information on her parents’ death and a new plot being hatched against her. She embarks on a quest to take back her kingdom and stop the queen. She teams up with a mysterious stranger from the past and a bunch of dwarfs. However, the Evil Queen is determined to retain her power and seems to be always one step ahead of them and when things come to a head, she is willing to do anything including target anyone that Snow White loves. It is a great story of the power of kindness and love in the face of greed and evil.