BY KRISTEN CAVEN
Ashley St. Helens realizes she’s lived a Cinderella story in this colorful crossover novel about a middle-American teen struggling with her self-esteem in a dysfunctional family. The story comes alive with funny fairytale twists, fresh character interpretations, emotionally resonant plot points, and laugh-out-loud allusions. The Souls of Her Feet can inspire conversations about responsibility, being passive or assertive, morality, waste, life choices, gender expression, and most importantly, cleaning house.
Caven’s postmodern, self-aware emotional fantasy gives the fairy godmother a meaningful family relationship with Ashley’s lost parents. Inspired by a closeted gay family member who helped her find her own way, Caven’s drag queen uncle figure’s aesthetic sensibilities validate Ashley’s need for authenticity, and offer her a glamorous alternative to a world of tacky clutter and inane materialism. When she finally gets to the prom, wearing just the right shoes, the transformed Ashley finally feels seen. Soul-love and assisted self-rescue make her fairytale a reality.
This new (4th) edition contains bonus materials such as essays by the main characters and songs from the musical.
156 pages (English) 
ISBN: 978-1950282494
6×9″ • $13.99
Editions: Blook > Little Pig Productions > Uplift Press (2015, 2019)
Sell Sheet | Hi-Res Cover | Full EPK
“A joy to read. I felt young again, and excited about love after reading. It inspired me to create a clown show based on the book so enough said there. Watch out world for this talented woman!”Tristan Cunningham, Actor & Clown
Connect:
- Website: thesoulsofherfeet.com
- FB Page: The Souls of Her Feet & Shoes, a Mirror and a Big Pink Rose
- FB Group: SHOE & TELL!
- Twitter: @shoesmirrorrose
Author Interviews:
“I loved the psychological nuances. Clearly she knows about stepfamilies.”Ani Liggett, therapist, Endings. Beginnings…
Media
- The Good Men Project: Eight Reasons I Wrote a Male Fairy Godmother
- Medium: Cinderella as a Stoic Philosopher
“The Souls of Her Feet by Kristen Caven is a clever, fun read—loaded with vintage shoe detail and a bit of shoe philosophy, to boot!”Moya Stone, Overdressed for Life
Author Appearances
- Literary Foolery Salon, Alley Cat Books, San Francisco, May 2014, “Feminsm and Fairytales” show
- Laurel Bookstore, Oakland, May 4, 2016
- SoleSpace, Oakland, March 19th, 2016
- Simply Green Day Spa, June, 2013
- California Writer’s Club, Oakland, June 2013
- Lake Merritt Read-in, May 2013
“Get me a ticket to Broadway so I can be the first to see this in the theater! Kristen Caven has magically combined all of the elements of being a teenage girl on the cusp of discovering and living her strengths with the true meaning of internal and external beauty. A contemporary Cinderella renewing the universal message to girls about the ability to overcome life’s obstacles and how to make the most of the fabulous power of different. Bravo.”Sheryl J. Bize Boutte, A Dollar Five
Videos
More Reviews
“This was such a fun read! I just loved it. It’s a perfectly unique and modern twist on the Cinderella story. One of my favorite escapes as a child was piling into my mother’s closet where we stored the sleeping bags and reading my seemingly never-ending book of fairy tales, and Kristen Caven took me right back there. She has the skilled hand that it takes to retell a fairy tale without coming off clichéd or overly sentimental. Strong voice, great characters, and upbeat pacing drive this story through to the very end. I identified so much with the cleaning-as-therapy that Ashley begins. I dearly, dearly love Harry! But my absolute favorite part is the ‘glass slipper.'”J.M. Randolph, “The Accidental Stepmom”
“I first read The Souls of Her Feet as a “blook“— a book published as a series of blog posts (a modern twist on the Charles Dickens-style serial stories-turned-novels). But when I bought the book, I found myself reading and reading and reading (“just one more chapter then I’ll stop… ok, just one more… ok now REALLY just one more…”) The author has created well-imagined yet recognizable characters that are funny and real, and a little over-the-top, but human and likable (even the rude ones).Of course we all know the story of Cinderella, with its plethora of incarnations and permutations. And we know the good guys will prevail but we like hearing the story play out anyway. And we like the feel of that budding romance. And we want Ashley to have a loving home. But we loooove that her fairy godmother is a “hairy god-whatever” that shares her shoe size and fortunately is a cross-dresser so he can provide her with the perfect pair of heels for the ball! This fresh and new Cinderella gives hope to the underdogs of the world.”Pam Consear
From Kids
“I would give this book a five if it didn’t have swearing words. It had a lot of detail and made me cry.”Amazon reviewer
More…
Blog posts about The Souls of Her Feet on the author’s website
This novella is based on the musical by Kristen Caven and friends, and available in three enticing versions including an enhanced ebook with embedded music and videos.
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