Posted by Emily Exton on 01/19/2012 at 2:09 PM News

The Popdust Files: books, chris colfer, glee

With all of Glee‘s uncertainties and fluctuating game plans in the last year, it’s no surprise Chris Colfer has been keeping busy with side projects. The 21-year-old best known for playing fashion forward Kurt Hummel previously wrote a screenplay for the film Struck by Lightning, which is planned for a release this year. But did you know he’s also a children’s author? The Land of Stories, out July 17, is Colfer’s first publication in a two-book deal with Little Brown. With illustrations by Brandon Dorman, Colfer’s book tells the magical tale of two twins who leave home for a fantasy land filled with adventures, witches and trolls.

It’s not Glee-related, yes, but the connection between a traditional fairy tale and our strange little Lima world isn’t that much of a stretch. In lieu of a new episode this coming Tuesday, we’ve taken a moment to imagine Colfer’s children’s book as that much talked about spin-off Ryan Murphy has apparently squashed. A rough draft of the front cover:

Though not blood related, Rachel and Kurt are closest thing to soulmates New Directions has, sharing an unwavering determination and an obsession for all things Barbra Streisand. Their slide from top-billing on the McKinley stage to the cold, cruel reality of New York’s auditioning scene is a rough welcoming to an unknown world. Once there, they come across familiar showbiz hopefuls Santana and Quinn, who appear to have their backs, but have been through too much personal trauma to fully show empathy for others. Temptations in the big city abound, namely from the devilishly handsome yet mysterious lone wolf called Sebastian. A guy like this lingers outside audition rooms and subway stops, threatening to rip everything out from each of them, with his genetically gifted face and utter lack of morals. It’s his personal goal not to let these two get what they want, after McKinley burned Dalton at Regionals, and he intends to do whatever it takes to succeed. In The Land of Stories, Kurt and Rachel face all the professional and personal challenges that come with living in a fantasy world. Yet as they’re chasing their dreams, they’re unaware that Finn is hopping around town in hopes to find those French restaurants that have removed frog legs from their menus, just like his girlfriend (or fiancé?) was telling him about.