2 ways to write a Cinderella Assassin – Part 1: An Interview with K.M. Robinson, author of Cindrill

I’ve been thrilled with the reception Striking Midnight is getting now that it’s out in the world. But did you know there’s another Cinderella assassin story out there?

I’m excited to feature a special treat for you all today. After reading and enjoying Cindrill by K.M. Robinson, I reached out to the author herself and interviewed her about her version of a Cinderella assassin.

2 ways to write a Cinderella Assassin – Part 1: An Interview with K.M. Robinson, author of Cindrill

Besides the fun twist of an assassin Cinderella, what makes Cindrill a unique Cinderella retelling?

Cindrill involves technology. To make sure the prince doesn’t recognize her after the assassination attempt at his engagement party, she wears a nano bot mask that changes her physical appearance so she looks like a totally different woman. When she flees after the botched murder attempt, she’s in trouble with her master for messing up the plan, so when she runs into the prince on his search for the would-be assassin and he forces her to help him, she uses it as an opportunity to redeem herself. She and the prince go on a mission together, and at one point, she actually kidnaps the prince, removing him from his guards before he turns the tables and brings her into the palace, unknowingly allowing her to complete her assignment.

We get to start at the ball—which is the pivotal scene in any Cinderella story where they first meet—but then we get to travel with them, seeing both Cindrill and Davian’s point of views, as they hunt down the murderess that is actually standing right next to the prince the entire time. Unlike the original, it doesn’t end when they discover who Cindrill is, but rather launch into what happens in the aftermath of that realization and deception as the assassination attempt moves forward, returning to the palace for the chaos Cindrill has left in her wake.

Which hallmarks of the original Cinderella tale are present in Cindrill?

I wanted to make sure my Cinderella was recognizable and had most of the main staples of the original story but with a twist on them, so while a shoe is still involved, the prince isn’t just looking for a girl that the shoe fits—he’s searching for the would-be assassin woman with a cut on her foot that matches the outline of the shoe from where he slashed her open the previous night as she was escaping the assassination attempt.

Likewise, there’s a ball, but it’s not for the prince to find a bride. It’s an engagement party for him and foreign princess that Cindrill and her master interrupt to murder the king and prince. I kept the presence of the ever-important midnight time frame, but it plays into the story differently. Cinderella’s fancy dress also comes into play.

I also wanted to make sure the prince didn’t recognize her, but I wanted a plausible reason. I kept the mask that ends up in so many versions of Cinderella, but this one is made out of nano bots that can change the structure of her physical appearance, giving him a believable reason to have no clue who she is when he literally runs into her the next day.

Many of the characters are similar, but with twists as well. Cindrill’s version of an evil step mother is the master assassin that she apprentices under, and her fairy godmother is actually a tech genius named Claude who makes all of her assassin gadgets and wardrobe.

What’s the relationship like between your Prince Charming and your Cinderella character?

My prince and Cinderella don’t actually like each other. Cindrill is sent to assassinate Prince Davian and his father, but when the attempt goes sideways, she barely escapes Davian while fleeing the palace. When they run into each other the next morning, Davian is on a mission to find the woman who nearly killed him and his father, and locked his fiancée in a closet. His ONLY thought is about how to catch the assassin, and when he sees Cindrill can not only take care of herself and subdue potentially dangerous situation, but also has other skills that might be valuable to him, he forces her to work for him in his search for the assassin, setting off a rather antagonistic partnership. Cindrill doesn’t like it, but she sees an opportunity to complete her mission and she takes it, playing a dangerous game that nearly gets everyone involved killed, including herself. There’s definitely no insta-love in this one, and when everything is uncovered, it might not necessarily end so nicely, wink wink.

Where did your inspiration come from for an assassin Cinderella?

I write a lot of retellings in my author life, but I don’t touch the super well-known ones unless I have a really good twist on it, so Cinderella hadn’t been on my list until a Cinderella anthology popped up on my radar. The anthology didn’t end up happening, but I still wanted to write a twisted Cinderella tale, so I started exploring other reasons for Cinderella to run away from the prince. More than that, I really wanted a strong explanation as to why he wouldn’t recognize her, and why, in an entire kingdom of people, did this special shoe only fit one woman.

My first thought was to create a mask out of nano bots that allowed her to literally look like a different person. Then I concluded that it was a fancy shoe with a unique edge to it, so when she was injured, the cut marks would fit perfectly around the unique shoe line. If she was injured, there needed to be a reason, and what better than to have the prince himself cause the injury and as he fell to the ground and watched her skin literally peel off her face as she ran, not having seen nano bots before? The image of a horrified prince crashing to the ground, knife in hand, watching a woman’s face rip off as a shoe bounced on the ground in her wake inspired the entire thing and gave me permission to take a rather helpless and passive character, and turn her into one to be feared and wary of—we never really know where her true motives lie during the story. I love that she holds the power and strength in this retelling and she has to decide for herself what to do with the upperhand.