I have a
couple of books written for an upcoming series I like to call "Tipsy Fairy
Tales". They're the story of Skye, who lost a bit of her soul while drunk,
playing a vampire in a live action roleplaying game. She survived the
experience, but was forever changed. She gained "second sight" – a
view into a magical dimension she thought of as fairyland. Wolf-boys on the
bus, a wicked horned huntress stealing her boyfriend, and blue fire sprites that
set her house on fire. The trouble with this second sight was that it only
worked when she'd had a drink or two. Or three.
Fortunately,
along with this double-edged "gift", Skye gained a friend. That
missing bit of her soul became its own being, a foot-tall mirror of Skye
herself in mock vampire form, complete with teeny tiny fangs. Skye called her
Minnie, of course. Minnie takes care of Skye, warning her of supernatural
dangers, acting as an unseen spy, and often as Skye's only voice of reason.
When RJ
Sullivan asked to use Skye (but not Minnie) for his novel Virtual Blue, I knew
I needed to have a solo adventure for little Minnie. The tiny pseudo-fae could
focus on something other than her other half – and maybe find herself a bit in
the process.
The
Chimerical World anthology seemed the perfect opportunity to tell Minnie's
story. She found herself alone in Bloomington, Indiana, and rather than helping
Skye get out of trouble, she met a Goose Girl and got tangled up in fairy
political infighting as she stood up to do the honorable thing.
But that
way lay spoilers, dear reader, so I'll clue you in on the origin of the other ingredients
of the story.
First
off, Bloomington, the home of Indiana University seemed to me to be the perfect place for the fae, full of chaos
and lore, artists and musicians, mischief and traditions. I used to live there, and if any place is the
focus of fairy celebrations, I figured it had to be Showalter Fountain, which features Venus and
fishlike "dolphin" sculptures. But Minnie being the odd little thing
she was, I needed her to start somewhere quieter, and I could think of no place
more Minnie than the small cemetery next to the Indiana Memorial Union, Dunn
Cemetery.
Why goose-people
as fairies? Believe it or not, the idea of a "mother goose" character
didn't occur to me until later in the process. A friend of mine refers to a
mated pair of geese in her apartment complex as "George and Gracie",
and the idea of a fairy wedding came from some roleplay with another friend in
Second Life. So, the ideas gelled for me, the geese pair became the fairy
people getting married. I named them Georgette and Grace at first, but the two
G names confused beta readers, so Georgette became Bernadette (a play on
Burns).
Once I
had these ingredients stirred together, the story seemed to write itself. It
was fun telling a tale from so low to the ground, and Minnie surprised me with
her resourcefulness and hidden powers. She managed to get along without Skye in
a foreign place, and learned a bit about herself in the process.
I
submitted the story, and was proud and delighted when Scott Sandridge let me
know that it had been accepted as part of the Seventh Star Press Seelie anthology!
If you'd like to read about Minnie's adventures, check out A Chimerical World:
Tales of the Seelie Court!
Eric
Garrison has a bad habit of making silly whiteboard drawings (especially on
Wednesdays!) depicting scenes from his stories. In this picture, we see fairy
goose girl, Bernadette Nutt, sketching statues in Dunn Cemetery.
A
close-up of Minnie dancing in front of Skye, from a picture done by artist by
Nell Williams
Eric Garrison is active in the
writing community in Indianapolis, Indiana. He lives in the Circle City with
his wife, step-daughter and a cabal of cats. He also enjoys gaming, home
brewing beer, and finding innovative uses for duct tape.
Eric’s novel, Reality Check,
is a science fiction adventure released by Hydra Publications.
Reality Check reached #1 in Science Fiction on Amazon.com during a promotion in
July 2013.
Eric can
be found at http://sillyhatbooks.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EricGarrisonAuthor
Author
photo credit: Kriss Morton
About the Editor: Scott M. Sandridge is a writer, editor, freedom fighter, and all-around
trouble-maker. His latest works as an editor include the Seventh Star Press
anthologies Hero’s Best Friend: An Anthology of Animal Companions, and the two
volumes of A Chimerical World, Tales of the Seelie Court and Tales of the
Unseelie Court.
Book Synopsis Tales of the Seelie Court: The Fey have been with us since the
beginning, sometimes to our great joy but often to our detriment. Usually
divided (at least by us silly humans) into two courts, the first volume of A
Chimerical World focuses on the Seelie Court: the court we humans seem to view
as the "good" faeries. But "good" and "evil" are
human concepts and as alien to the Fey as their mindsets are to us.
Inside you will find 19 stories that
delve into the world of the faeries of the Seelie Court, from authors both
established and new, including George S. Walker, Eric Garrison, and Alexandra
Christian.
But be warned: these faeries are
nothing like Tinker Bell.
Stories Included in Tales of the
Seelie Court:
"Extra-Ordinary" by BC
Brown
"Dead Fairy Doormat" by
George S. Walker
"Taggers" by Christine
Morgan
"Wormwood" by Alexandra
Christian
"The Harpist's Hand" by
Steven S. Long
"Sanae's Garden" by Chantal
Boudreau
"Mark of Ruins" by SD
Grimm.
"Birdie's Life at the School for
Distressed Young Ladies" by JH Fleming
"Cultivated Hope" by Jordan
Phelps
"Seelie Goose" by Eric
Garrison
"I Knocked Up My Fairy
Girlfriend" by Brandon Black
"The Body Electric" by
Sarah Madsen.
"The Last Mission" by Cindy
Koepp.
"The Beggar-Knight & the
Lady Perilous"
by Matthew A. Timmins.
"The Filigreed Lamp" by
Edward Ahern.
"Keys" by Michael M. Jones
"Like a Sister in the Proper
Court" by Lisa Hawkridge
"Gnome Games" by Saera
Corvin
"The Goat Man's Garden" by
Marten Hoyle
Be sure to also see A Chimerical
World: Tales of the Unseelie Court, for more tales of the Fey!
Book Synopsis Tales of the Unseelie Court: The Fey have been with us since the
beginning, sometimes to our great joy but often to our detriment. Usually
divided (at least by us silly humans) into two courts, the second volume of A
Chimerical World focuses on the Unseelie Court: the court we humans seem to
view as the "evil" faeries. But "good" and "evil"
are human concepts and as alien to the Fey as their mindsets are to us.
Inside you will find 19 stories that
delve into the world of the faeries of the Unseelie Court, from authors both
established and new, including Michael Shimek, Deedee Davies, and Nick Bryan.
But don't be surprised if these
faeries decide to play with their food.
Stories included in Tales of the
Unseelie Court:
"In Plain Sight" by Rebecca
Leo
"The Wunderhorn" by David
Turnbull
"Treehouse" by Kim Smith
"I'll Watch Over You" by
Angeline Trevena
"The Enemy of my Enemy" by
Deedee Davies.
"Maestro" by Nicholas
Paschall
"Prey of the Boggart" by
Rony Blechman.
"Fear of Little Men" by
Mike Pieloor..
"Faerie Stories and the Bean
Nighe" by Carmen Tudor..
"Gifts" by Michael Shimek..
"Djinn and Tonic" by S.
Clayton Rhodes
"The Bet" by Jodi
Ralston...
"The Fool and his Money" by
Nick Bryan
"The Yielding" by J. A.
Ironside.
"The Tamer of Beasts" by
Doug Blakeslee..
"The Last Sword of Barrow
Thorns" by Matthew A. Timmins
"The Rose and the Dragon"
by Steven S. Long
"The Brothers Doran" by
John A. McColley
"Wonderland" by Stephanie
Jessop
Be sure to also see A Chimerical
World: Tales of the Seelie Court, for more tales of the Fey!
Editor Links:
Twitter:
Facebook:
Website/Blog:
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5772749-scott-sandridge
Tour Schedule and Activities
5/18 Jorie
Loves a Story Review
5/20 Deal
Sharing Aunt Guest
Post
5/21 Armand
Rosamilia, Horror Author Guest
Post
5/21 Vampires,
Witches, and Me, Oh My! Guest
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5/21 Beauty
in Ruins Guest
Post
5/21 The
Bird's Word Interview
5/21 Book
in the Bag Interview
5/22 Bee's
Knees Reviews Guest
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5/22 Spellbindings Promo/Spotlight
5/22 I
Smell Sheep Guest
Post
5/23 The
Official Writing Blog of Deedee Davies Guest
Post
5/24 Heroic
Fantasy Writers Review
5/24 Sheila
Deeth Blog Guest
Post
5/25 Come
Selahway With Me Interview
Tour Page URL:
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Amazon Links for Tales of the Seelie
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Print Version
Kindle Version
Amazon Links for Tales of the
Unseelie Court
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4 comments:
It sounds like an amazing story and a wonderful analogy. I think geese are lovely (even if one did try to bite me once) and I'm thrilled they're getting a chance to be fairy people!
Thanks, Jen! Geese *are* lovely, but yes, they can have a vicious bite to them, which is one reason I chose them for this story, other than the obvious matriarchal avian included in this story about a fairy wedding gone wrong.
My son used to be scared of the geese on the lakes near us. They're certainly full of character and verve!
Sheila, I feel they are best watched from a distance, since I've been chased and bitten by a goose...
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