Genres
SPACE OPERA for sure. It’s got so much potential. Especially for a clever cat. ~ Arielle
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN – Cats were a big thing in Ancient Egypt, and I just really, really need a historical fiction or historical fantasy retelling. ~ Arielle
CONTEMPORARY FANTASY ROYALTY – We have tons of modern royals stories about the reluctant prince or princess who falls in love with a commoner and thus becomes reconciled to their duty as throne heir. But what about a contemporary fantasy (or non-fantasy) retelling of this tale where Puss is the one who manages everything so neatly that the king is just amaaazed and thrilled in the end. ~ Arielle
And, of course, REGENCY. ~ Arielle
URBAN FANTASY – A story about a sassy talking cat just screams urban fantasy. I don’t even know what I’d want the plot to be—there are so many possibilities! The whole setup would fit so well in a world of shapeshifters and werewolves and talking animals and what-have-you. ~ Christine Smith
CONTEMPORARY FANTASY – A tale about a poor boy inheriting a talking cat who helps him gain his fortune could honestly fit in so many eras and instances. I think a contemporary take on it could be really interesting! ~ Christie Smith
GENDERBENT REGENCY FANTASY – This is an oddly specific one, but I have an image of this no-nonsense, magical lady and her feline out causing all sorts of mischief amidst high society. There could be so much fun here! ~ Christine Smith
HISTORICAL FICTION MYSTERY – I’m not sure what time period I’d want this, probably anywhere between 1920 – 1950. But I think a murder mystery in which the miller’s son character gets blamed and it’s up to his talking cat to help him clear his name. Except the young man can’t tell anyone he has a talking cat because that’s not NORMAL and would just make people suspect him of insanity all the more. And maybe even he wonders if he’s insane and is imagining the cat talking. There could be a lot of fun twists here! ~ Christine Smith
MIDDLE-GRADE FANTASY – Due to the humorous and lighthearted nature of this fairy tale, I could absolutely see it being a truly delightful middle-grade read! Maybe even with the story being close to the original fairy tale, but with plenty more antics and substance. ~ Christine Smith
SPACE FANTASY. Because it just feels right to have a talking cat in space. Going on adventures. Defeating aliens like the evil Ogres. And helping his master marry a beautiful alien princess. ~ Faith White
CLOCKPUNK/ROCOCOPUNK. Basically steampunk but in the late baroque period. The 2011 Three Musketeers movie is a good example of this. I think this fairytale would be great in a French Baroque period story but with airships and other impossible “tech”! ~ Faith White
TIME TRAVEL/FANTASY/GENDERBENT. A girl and her cat accidentally time travel back to the medieval age and suddenly her cat TALKS. And not only talks, but is very intelligent. Together she and her cat change the face of the kingdom (and the girl marries a prince *grins*). ~ Faith White
ROYAL INTRIGUE – wouldn’t a talking cat make a good spy? I can easily picture a hero (or heroine) being suddenly thrust in a vicious court setting and floundering so badly that they end up getting help from a mysterious cat… ~ Hayden Wand
HISTORICAL – I LOVE Kiri’s idea of a Huck Finn-esque retelling! It’s such a different setting from the original, but somehow it just FITS. ~ Hayden Wand
REGENCY. (And to be fair, I thought of this before I read Christine’s ideas.) A young lady of a good name (or a mysterious background) receives a cat as a gift — much to her chagrin. She hates cats and everything starts going miserably wrong as soon as she gets it. When it stubbornly climbs a tree and refuses to come down, she ventures after it and falls ungracefully into some body of water below, ruining her clothes. It doesn’t help matters AT ALL when a handsome gentleman rescues her from her fall, and it’s only a slap in the face when her cat is always running off to spend time with him, like the poor beastie prefers the gentleman’s company to her own. This would be genderswapped, but I think a young man could be easily followed within this adventure if one preferred a more traditional take on the tale. ~ Kirsten Fichter
HISTORICAL. For some reason, parts of Puss in Boots makes me think of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Like, two young boys running amuck and creating havoc wherever they go. I could easily picture this in either a Wild West/orphan train setting, OR true Mark Twain style on the mid-1800s Mississippi River. ~ Kirsten Fichter
MAFIA. Has the mafia shown up in every Story Wish List this year? Ha, yeah, probably. Well, here it is, again. It’s SO HARD for me to read certain versions of Puss in Boots without reading Puss as the villain. Think about it. He’s manipulative, deceptive, murderous. The poor boy who inherits him obeys without question, even when he has no idea what’s going on. In one version of Puss in Boots, instead of tricking an ogre, the cat straight up kills an old nobleman and his wife to provide his master with a castle. If you start with this murder, it could make a great mystery for the the poor boy to unravel. ~ Kirsten Fichter
ALL THE FANTASY. In three parts. (1) Christine’s idea for a shapeshifting cat. PLEASE. Someone write this. (2) A fantastical swap much like Baker and Disney did with the Frog Prince: Have the hero turn into a cat. Maybe he has to get himself a castle, a wife, and all before he can break the curse and turn back into a human. And (3) Puss in Seven-League Boots. Why hasn’t this been a thing yet?? ~ Kirsten Fichter
SPACE OPERA. Puss in space. *dies laughing* ~ Kirsten Fichter
Authors
H. LEIGHTON DICKSON – She just does anthropomorphic big cats so well. She’d make a delicious retelling of this. ~ Arielle
EMMA SAVANT – Look, you guys need to read her Glimmers series. And then you’ll see why I want a retelling of Puss in Boots from her. ~ Arielle
LAUREN RICHARD – Have you seen her incredible art? I need her to do a webtoon retelling of this. And then make it a graphic novel. Yep. ~ Arielle
JENNIFER FREITAG – The other day, we were laughing over how catlike she and I both are. And now I need to see her write one. This one, to be precise. ~ Arielle
VIVIAN VANDE VELDE – I’m honestly surprised she hasn’t done a retelling of this one. This story just feels like one she’d tackle with her tongue-in-cheek humor! I’d love to see her take this one on in the style of Frogged. ~ Christine Smith
GAIL CARSON LEVINE – Again, this feels like a story this author would re-imagine I would love to see what sort of humorous spin she’d make of it! ~ Christine Smith
PATRICIA C. WREDE – Because she absolutely excels in humor and poking some good fun at fairy tale tropes. Actually, can I volunteer her for my Regency Fantasy idea because YES. ~ Christine Smith
GAIL CARSON LEVINE. I’m chiming in because Levine would be perfect for this! ~ Faith White
LISA T. BERGREN. So she’s already done time traveling stories before but that’s why she’d be perfect for this! ~ Faith White
KYLE ROBERT SHULTZ, GAIL CARSON LEVINE, and SHANNON HALE. ~ Hayden Wand
GAIL CARSON LEVINE. I’m with Christine on this one. I’d love to see a hilarious Levine twist on this fairytale. ~ Kirsten Fichter
E.J. KITCHENS. So, what? I’m obsessed with her ever since I read Wrought of Silver and Ravens. THE THINGS she could do with Puss in Boots! And keep a good bit of humor in tact, thankyouverymuch. ~ Kirsten Fichter
A.G. MARSHALL. Ummm, HELLO? This fairytale has her name written all over it! I would even fall headlong for a short version of this. ~ Kirsten Fichter
And basically everyone else. Puss in Boots DESPERATELY needs more retellings. I know of a grand total of four. FOUR RETELLINGS ONLY, PEOPLE. C’mon! ~ Kirsten Fichter
Pre-Existing Story Worlds
FAIRY TALES ON THE MOON by Katherine S. Cole. I need this brilliant cat in her delicious space opera world. ~ Arielle
PAPER CROWNS by Mirriam Neal, because Puss either as a wysling himself or as a wysling’s companion would be hysterical. ~ Arielle
KYLE ROBERT SHULTZ’S THE AFTERVERSE – Shultz’s stories thrive on crazy characters and humor. The story of Puss in Boots would fit his style SO SO WELL. I’d be absolutely ecstatic to see it take a place in Shultz’s Afterverse fairy tale universe. (But let’s be real, I mainly just want to see Nick Beasley having to deal with a sassy talking cat. XD) ~ Christine Smith
LIESL SHURTLIFF’S (FAIRLY) TRUE TALES SERIES WORLD – This world probably has a name but, alas, I can’t remember if it does because I’ve only read one book in this series.but goodness me was it HILARIOUS. I think the story of Puss in Boots would fit so well in this hysterical middle-grade fairy tale series! ~ Christine Smith
ALLISON TEBO’S WORLD OF AMBIA – I could 100% see Puss in Boots playing a role in this absolutely delightful and hilarious lighthearted fairy tale series. And now I desperately want this. ~ Christine Smith
ALEX FLINN’S KENDRA CHRONICLES. I’d love to see some crazy contemporary twist on this story. ~ Faith White
MELANIE CELLIER’S FOUR KINGDOM SERIES. I’d love to see her take on this fairytale! ~ Faith White
Shultz’s AFTERVERSE would work so well with this one! ~ Hayden Wand
TRICIA MINGERINK’S BEYOND THE TALES. I think this would be a really fun take on the fairytale, and Puss could wreak so much confusion in the Applachian-fantasy setting. ~ Kirsten Fichter
KYLE ROBERT SHULTZ’S THE AFTERVERSE. Yeah, basically what Christine said. ~ Kirsten Fichter
SHANNON HALE’S BOOKS OF BAYERN. For some reason, I feel like this fairytale would work really well in the world Hale set up in The Goose Girl and other books. The magic, the setting, all of it. ~ Kirsten Fichter
Movies / TV
And I’dd like to see Faith’s clockpunk idea in a movie. I adore that version of The Three Musketeers, and fairy tale retellings like that? AbsoLUTEly. ~ Arielle
I think Disney could make a really adorable animated film based on the story! It’s just such a funny tale. I know Dreamworks already took the fairy tale and ran with it, but I’d very much like to see what Disney would cook up! And a more traditional take on the fairy tale would be nice… ~ Christine Smith
I also could see this having the same style of the Jack the Giant Slayer movie—just a fun, family-friendly, and rather humorous fairy tale film. I would LOVE to see the people who did that movie do a rendition of this tale! ~ Christine Smith + Faith White
And I still very, very much want my idea from our live-action dreamcast, where it’s a TV series much in the same vein of BBC’s Merlin in which a shapeshifting cat-servant drags his oblivious master into all sorts of hijinks! (I want this so bad, guys. Seriously.) ~ Christine Smith + Arielle, Faith White, Hayden Wand
All of them. Anything and definitely something more true to the original fairytale than Dreamworks’s Puss in Boots (which was basically a conglomeration of too many fairytales). Whether it’s a comedic animated film or a movie in the style of Jack the Giant Slayer (like Christine already mentioned), we needs them, precious. ~ Kirsten Fichter
Intuitive Writing Guide 