There’s something irresistible about a story that takes the familiar and flips it on its head. In Fablenoir, author Vic Sinclair does exactly that, weaving together the nostalgia of classic fairy tales with the grit, danger, and moral ambiguity of noir storytelling. The result is a world that feels both hauntingly recognizable and completely new, where beloved characters are reimagined in ways you won’t see coming.
In this interview, we dive into the inspiration behind Fablenoir, the art of crafting flawed and compelling characters, and the process of building a dark, immersive world that blurs the line between magic and menace. Whether you’re a fan of twisted retellings, crime-driven narratives, or stories that challenge expectations, this conversation offers a deeper look into the mind behind the mayhem.
Fablenoir takes familiar fairy tale characters and throws them into a gritty noir world. What sparked the idea to “break” these classic stories in such a dark way?
The idea actually came about as far back as 2015 when I saw some artwork depicting classic fairy tale characters as criminals having their mugshot taken. Peak Tumblr content! Around the same time, I read a short story that combined your classic noir tropes with fairy tale elements and I thought this should really be more of a thing. Fablenoir was initially going to be a small anthology of short stories, but then I realised it had the potential to be something a lot bigger and deeper than that.
Jack Slade is a messy, flawed protagonist. What do you love most about writing characters who are far from perfect?
I’m not sure that I could write a character any other way! With the Fablenoir series, I want to write a powerful, huge, entertaining story, but it’s also vital for me that it reflects the darkness of the world we live in. I love the idea of a flawed, almost hopeless character kicking off the events of the book and finally finding some kind of meaning. If Jack himself wasn’t flawed, he’d probably last about twelve pages into the series.
If readers could step into Fablenoir for one day, what part of the city would you warn them to stay away from?
Stay away from Swan Lake, because if you upset them, the swans that live there will devour you alive. Also avoid Papa Bear’s manor… And unassuming warehouses, and the nightclubs, and Dr Hatter’s basement. Maybe just avoid the whole damn place. Look for Wonderland or Neverland instead.
Goldilocks is definitely not the version we grew up with. Was she always meant to be this dangerous, or did she evolve as you wrote?
Goldilocks is my second favourite character out of both mainline Fablenoir books I’ve written, as well as the spin-offs I have in the works – you’ll meet my favourite in Book 2 (hint: pumpkins and mice). Jess ‘Goldilocks’ Robicheaux has always been an extremely dangerous and chaotic character in my head. She’s also one of the most complex. I’ve called her the vicious beating heart of Fablenoir, and that’s exactly what she is. She’s been on the receiving end of horrors at the hands of the world around her, and her response is to fight back without subtlety. She’s not a bad person, but she doesn’t believe in limits when it comes to seeking revenge. She was always going to be dangerous, but she’s only just started to get her hands dirty.
The concept of “magick beans” is such a cool twist. How did you come up with that—and what rules did you set around their power?
Magick beans serve as Jack’s main anchor to his mysterious origins. Even though they aid him, they’re also detrimental to his health, practically eating away at him from the inside. The beans represent Jack’s willingness to go all the way in getting to the bottom of what he’s uncovered. Of course, the entities that grant him the beans absolutely want something in return, and that’s something Jack’s going to have to face in the future.
Which reimagined character was the most fun for you to twist into something darker?
Probably Goldilocks. Goldilocks in the fairy tale is, like most fables, very straightforward, and on the surface she may seem that way in Fablenoir, but her volatile nature comes from something a lot more complex than she lets on. She’s carrying guilt from working for Papa Bear for so long. She’s carrying a lot of family trauma. At times she’s carrying sheer rage and hatred but a lot of the time she doesn’t know what to do with it. As she always has, Goldilocks trespasses to get what she wants, and consequences aren’t something she pays much mind to.
Fablenoir blends crime noir with fantasy. Did you draw more inspiration from detective stories or fairy tales when building the world?
The bones of fairy tales and mythology are very much there, and absolutely serve their purpose, but the detective stories and the human stories I’ve consumed over time have inspired a lot of what the Fablenoir series is about. The works of writers like Raymond Chandler, Jim Butcher and Nic Pizzolatto definitely helped guide me early on, but as I’ve continued to write in my head and on the page I’ve taken inspiration from so many amazing works. Film has been so important in helping me shape the ‘look’ of Fablenoir in my head, so the works of people like Christopher Nolan, Bong Joon Ho, Denis Villeneuve, Michael Mann, Kitty Green, and Robert Eggers, just to name a few, have been very influential.
The book explores corruption, addiction, and moral gray areas. Was there a theme you felt most compelled to highlight?
How powerful people and institutions get away with such insane levels of corruption and depraved behaviour while so few people bat an eye has been something that’s fascinated and horrified me since as long as I can remember. That theme is absolutely the engine of Fablenoir, and the worse things get in the world, the more I’ll want to write. Of course there’s a playfulness with the series, but the themes I’m trying to explore are very real.
If Fablenoir were adapted into a movie or series, what would be your dream casting or overall vibe? (Think Sin City meets fairy tales 👀)
‘Casting’ my characters in my head has been instrumental in helping me figure out who these weird people in my head are – how they move, how they speak, their little quirks and mannerisms. I guess I’ve come at the writing of Fablenoir from a pretty cinematic place, so casting and music have been huge driving forces for me (my character playlists are just insanely long). So ‘casting’ Goldilocks for example – I don’t think there’s an actor alive who could capture her raw intensity better than Anya Taylor-Joy, especially with what the character’s going to get up to in the future of the series. I think someone like Boyd Holbrook would embody Jack’s exhausted fighting spirit perfectly, but if the studio felt like going a little higher with the budget then I’d be interested to see what Robert Pattinson would do as Jack. I would say this, but I think Fablenoir is perfect for adapting into a show (Apple TV, HBO, hit me up pls).
Without spoilers… what can readers expect from the next book in the series? Bigger stakes? Darker twists? More chaos?
Book 2 of the series, Rose Red Undead, is a big step up in my opinion, not only in quality but massively in scope and worldbuilding. We’ll rejoin Jack and Goldilocks but also meet the reluctant ‘chosen one’ in Elizabeth Snow, who is dragged into the chaos against her will. The sequel is going to answer some of the questions that Fablenoir asked, but it’s also going to erupt, tagging in a bunch of new characters and plotlines and setting the epic tone for the rest of the series. Expect anything from big bad wolves to undead goddesses, to a guardian angel called Lucifer (that Lucifer) to Cinderella if she was an Australian, foul-mouthed socialite, and there’s even a little romance along the way (I heard this thing called ‘romantasy’ or something is really popular?). It’s going to be a heavy, wild ride that’ll probably give you a headache by the end of it, but it’ll be so worth it.
