As most Timeless Fairy Tales Champions have guessed, the series has a large, shared plot that will involve all the volumes in the series. The countries and characters have an impact on one another–although each story reveals a different viewpoint. In example, in The Wild Swans, Elise’s money-managing abilities are viewed as a good thing. In Cinderella it is placed in a less positive light.
There are country politics (like the discord that brewed between Loire and Arcainia) and wars (Erlauf taking over Trieux) and a lot of name dropping. (Watch for the names of royalty. There’s a good chance they’ll be involved in future books.) Additionally, a lot of my future endevours are hinted at in already released books.
If you’ve read Cinderella you know that Rumpelstilskin will be my next Timeless Fairy Tale. It will take place in a country you are already familiar with: Verglas. The country is “visited” via The Wild Swans and Beauty and the Beast, but Rumpelstiltskin himself is briefly mentioned in The Wild Swans. (Take a good look at the name Rumpelstiltskin, and you may see the spot where his character came into play.) Besides Rumpelstilskin, a few of the other fairy tales I’ve hinted at are…
Puss in Boots: Who else besides the beautiful Gabrielle has a talking cat?
Sleeping Beauty: This book was first hinted at by Angelique in B&B when she mentioned she learned how to modify curses at a child’s christening.
Cinderella: Friedrich’s country–Erlauf–is mentioned by Angelique in The Wild Swans
Twelve Dancing Princesses: The 12 cursed sisters are mentioned by Friedrich and his friends.
Even The Wild Swans was vaguely hinted at in B&B. The King of Loire attempts to coerce Prince Lucien into marry Elise. (As you may recall, Stephen was not amused.) Besides the stories I’ve listed here, I’ve made tiny hints at quite a few future fairy tales. Does anyone care to throw out a guess? Here’s a hint: Verglas is an extremely active country. Rumpelstilskin and The Wild Swans are not the only fairy tales to visit that region.