PHOTO: Author Fran Laniado blends the emotional resonance of theatre with the transformative magic of literature in her debut novel.
A Journey Through Belonging Magic And Redemption
Author Fran Laniado delves into reimagined fairy tales, the emotional depth of fantasy, and the universal longing for connection in her richly layered debut novel Beautiful.
Fran Laniado has always found herself most at home within the pages of a story. From childhood, books were not only an escape but also a compass—a way of making sense of the world and her place in it. Though the stage once called to her with its flicker of possibility, it was always the written word that lingered longest. Her journey as a writer has not been linear, but it has been constant. Before Beautiful: A Tale of Beauties and Beasts came into the world, there were countless “practice novels,” quiet hours spent writing, refining, and imagining. This devotion to craft is evident in every line she writes.
In Beautiful, Fran reimagines a familiar fairy tale, not by reshaping its bones, but by illuminating the emotional truth that pulses beneath it. Eimear and Finn are not merely characters placed within a fantasy setting—they are two souls in search of belonging, redemption, and understanding. What makes her storytelling resonate is the way magic is used not to dazzle, but to reveal—each fantastical element deepening the human truths at the story’s heart.
Drawing inspiration from both literature and theatre, Fran approaches her narratives with a blend of introspection and dramatic instinct. She understands the rhythm of dialogue, the visual tension of a scene, the inner music of transformation. Her characters are flawed, her worlds richly textured, and her themes achingly human. Whether writing fiction or nonfiction, she remains rooted in her lifelong love of story—its power to heal, to reflect, and to connect.
What inspired you to reimagine the “Beauty and the Beast” tale in Beautiful, and how did you develop the characters of Eimear and Finn?
I know that “Beauty and the Beast” is a popular fairy tale to retell: there are already a lot of different reimaginings out there. But I felt like it was one that I had a lot to say about. In the fairy tale, both characters are outsiders, in different ways. I think that’s very true of Eimear and Finn as well. Even though they have very different backgrounds, they also have more in common than they think. Initially, I knew that I wanted both of them to have elements of “Beauty” and elements of “the Beast.” I wanted them to be on equal ground throughout the story, and find a way to relate to one another from that place.
Eimear is a faerie living in a world without magic—what drew you to explore the theme of belonging through her story?
Eimear doesn’t feel like she belongs in Faerie, the world she was born into. She thinks, based on her knowledge of our world, that she’ll fit in better here. As it turns out, she’s also an outsider here, but in a different way. Finn is also a character who has struggled with belonging for different reasons. I think that’s something most people can relate to on some level, because most of us have felt like that at one time or another. I know I have!
Beautiful intertwines fantasy and emotional growth—how do you balance the magical elements with deep character development?
I’ve always seen fantasy as a way of serving character development in the same way that mystery, romance, or coming of age does. The genre is the “fun stuff” which supports the character growth, which is the crux of any story. In the case of Beautiful, I was inspired by the “Beauty and the Beast” fairy tale, which I love because it is, at its core, a story of learning, growing, and changing. I felt like all of that was there in the inspiration, and I just had to carry it through my story.
How has your background in theatre and love for books influenced your writing style and storytelling?
I think that loving theater has allowed me to consider storytelling from a different point of view. I’m not naturally the most visual thinker, but when I am stuck on how to describe something, I try to think of how it would look on stage. What choices would a director make? How would the actors move around the set? What would the set look like? How would elements like costuming supplement the material?
Ultimately, I see my love of books and my love of theatre as coming from the same place: a love of stories.
What challenges did you face in getting your debut novel published, and how did you overcome them?
As I was finishing the writing process, I started looking into what was involved in getting an agent and the publishing process from there. It seemed to me that I could spend years looking for an agent, and time from there looking for a publisher. Even if (big “if!”) it was published within five years, most publishers won’t invest much in marketing new authors. I decided to publish independently so that I could get it out faster and retain more creative control. It still took a while to publish, because I wanted to produce something of quality. That meant lots of beta-readers, editors, proofreaders, cover designs, etc.
You’ve published both fiction and nonfiction—how does your approach differ between the two forms?
Good question. In some ways, I think nonfiction feels a little more natural to me. It’s a matter of saying what’s on my mind, and then making it flow. Actually, there’s probably a lot more to it, but that’s what it often feels like. Fiction feels more challenging to me. I start by just writing down all my ideas, but then I have to work those ideas into a coherent story structure, with fully realized character arcs. There’s an art to both, but I think I’m more aware of the effort involved in the art of good fiction.
What do you hope readers take away from Eimear and Finn’s journey, especially regarding transformation and redemption?
I’d like them to take away the idea that it’s always possible to change and learn. Also, when people behave in a hurtful way, they’re usually coming from a place of pain themselves. That doesn’t excuse the harm they inflict: both Eimear and Finn are at fault for the mistakes they make, and they both make mistakes. But it does allow us to regard them with more compassion than we might otherwise.
What advice would you give to other writers working on their first novel, particularly in the fantasy genre?
One thing that’s important to remember about the fantasy genre is that, in a sense, anything goes: you can make up the wildest thing you can imagine. But in another sense, you have to be careful. That freedom can sometimes make it easy to forget that even fantasy worlds have to have consistency. You can’t break your own “rules” and your characters need to behave in ways that readers can recognize, even if the characters themselves aren’t human.
