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Fairytales With a Twist: Calonita Gives Disney’s Secondary Characters Their Own Stories

When Jen Calonita read fairy tales as a child, her mind always wandered beyond the surface of the plot. She longed for explanations of the origins and backgrounds of the extraordinary powers behind Disney’s magic makers. 

“We know so much about princesses and princes and the heroes and the villains, but we know nothing about the people who provide the magic in every Disney story,” Jen Calonita, BC ’96, said. “Who is the Fairy Godmother? How did Maui get his hook? Why did Tinker Bell connect with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys?”

From a young age, Calonita was most interested in Disney’s supporting characters—those who existed just outside the realm of the spotlight. 

“[In Cinderella], I always liked the Wicked Stepmother the best,” Calonita said. “And I remember my mom said, ‘Well this is Cinderella’s story. If you want to tell the Wicked Stepmother’s, you have to do that yourself.’” 

So, she did. 

Calonita has made a career out of writing books based on Disney fairytales. Her path, however, was not a simple one. At Boston College, she began her studies as a communications major with no intention of becoming an author. 

“I was torn on what direction of writing I wanted to go,” Calonita said. “I wasn’t thinking about being a novelist, so I thought ‘let’s explore everything’ and BC would give me the opportunity to do that.” 

After doing an internship at New York’s YM, a magazine for teen girls, Calonita was set on finding a job as a magazine writer. After graduation, she received an opportunity to work in magazine publishing, and eventually, Calonita worked her way up to becoming a senior editor at Teen People

The job gave her opportunities to sit down and interview countless celebrities, ranging from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to Will Ferrell to Reese Witherspoon.

Nicole Ward, a close friend of Calonita’s from BC, remembers a time when the two of them were out to lunch and Calonita received a call from the Olsen twins for a featured interview.

“I kind of lived vicariously through her, just through all the celebrities and fun things she got to do,” Ward said. “I’ve been following her career since then.”

But beyond all the exciting reporting opportunities the job offered Calonita, the L.A. glamour that she got to meet through Teen People ultimately inspired her first book.

Secrets of My Hollywood Life tells the story of a teenage girl stuck between choosing the lavish lifestyle of a celebrity or the ordinary life of a teenage girl. 

“My first book will always mean a lot to me because it was the first time I ever saw my name on a book,” Calonita said. “I proved to myself that I could come up with this idea and write it and get it out there in the world.” 

Ward recalled when Calonita’s first series got published and how much of an accomplishment it was for not only Calonita for those close to her as well.

“The main character in her first series was Kaitlin Burke, and I don’t know why, but [her book release date] is in my phone as ‘Kaitlin Burke’s Birthday,’ and every year, I text her when it pops up,” Ward said. 

Included in the bio of one of Calonita’s books from her series Fairy Tale Reform School is, “Jen would love to kick Cinderella out of the castle at Walt Disney World and move in.” Small as it may have been, Calonita said this one sentence changed everything. 

“An editor at Disney Publishing saw that, read the book, liked it, and called me and said, ‘How would you also like to write for us? Write some fairy tale twists for us?’” Calonita said. “I was like, ‘Really? you’re gonna let me do it?'”

In 2019, Calonita published a few books as a part of the A Twisted Tale series. This year, Fairy Godmother: An Enchanter’s Tale was released as the first piece to kick off a brand new young-adult collection titled The Enchanters. Each book in the series will focus on a different magic maker’s personal story.

(Photo Courtesy of Disney Books)

Fairy Godmother: An Enchanter’s Tale tells the story of a young teenage girl, Renée Dubois, before she became known as the Fairy Godmother. For those who have ever wondered about her magic powers, this book answers all the questions from the pumpkin to the glass slipper. 

“When I write for Disney, in my head, my idea is that there’s always magic everywhere if you just go look for it,” Calonita said. “That’s what I’m always trying to capture in those books.”

Currently, Calonita is working on three books, including another Enchanters Tale that will be released next fall. In addition to those her highly-anticipated Isle of Ever series is set to debut in March, telling the story of a girl who must break a curse to discover a secret fortune.

But Calonita said she has even more exciting plans that are not yet public. 

“And then this really cool book project came up from another publisher, and I can’t say what it is yet, it hasn’t been announced,” Calonita said. “They said ‘Would you like to write this?’ And I couldn’t say no, but it was a quick turnaround. I only had four weeks to write the first draft.”

Alyson Gerber, a friend and colleague of Calonita’s, emphasized that Calonita’s personality shapes her performance as an admirable writer. Just over the past few years, Gerber noticed how far Calonita has progressed in her career. 

“It is not an easy industry to be in, and it’s not an easy industry to sustain a 20-year career in,” Gerber said. “Jen has done it by being an amazing, generous person and a very talented storyteller who’s constantly trying to get better and pushing her crafts in every single way.” 

Ward works for the Department for Children, Youth, and Families for Albany County. While the job often has handling personnel or union issues, Ward is also involved with the homeless youth and children’s mental health programs in the department.

“Whenever we had kids or anything in there, she would always send me books for kids in the field that I work in,” Ward said. 

Even though she has been a teen and young-adult author for some time now, Calonita said she’d consider any opportunity that came her way—including writing for an adult audience or even stepping into the world of screenplay writing. 

Calonita said her biggest advice for aspiring writers would be to understand the importance of finishing their work, no matter how tough it gets. 

“When things get hard, you think, ‘I just don’t want to do this anymore,’” Calonita said. “I would say always finish whatever you’re working on. No one ever has to look at it, but you have to prove to yourself you can get to the end before you can go back and make it better.” 

According to Gerber, Calonita’s work ethic and inclination to follow through with her projects are a big part of her success. 

“Jen is so successful and such a beacon of information and just incredible,” Gerber said. “Jen is just a force of nature in publishing and otherwise. I have seen her succeed in every way.”

As a successful author, Calonita said the most rewarding part of her career is how her words make other people feel. With every book, she anticipates the reactions to her work, hoping they mean something special to someone and create an overall sense of joy for her readers.  

“When people connect with a story, that means so much to me because that’s who I’m writing them for,” Calonita said. “I’m hoping everybody can find themselves in a character, whether it’s my book or somebody else’s book.”

November 17, 2024

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