My first official new book release this year is the second book in my collection of fairy tales. Last summer, I released the the first, The Bald Princess and Other Tales, and now I'm excited to bring you the second, The Swamp Hag of Blackrock Fields and Other Tales. Currently, only the ebook version is available, but the paperback is in progress and should be ready soon.
As always, Patrons have already gotten their free copy! Click to become a patron!
I've had this book almost ready for months, but just now have had the time and energy to push it over the finish line.
This is my second collection of original fairy tales, all of them drafted during 2022. On my mind this year were thoughts of loneliness and isolation, dealing with grief, and building relationships as an adult. I also thought a great deal about responsibility, and how to find the balance between our responsibility to ourselves, our families, and our community, especially in a world that is rapidly becoming more and more integrated.
We moved into a new town and a new state early in 2021, and have noticed the difficulties of making friends as adults, especially in an area where the majority of the population has different values and beliefs than us.
The internet has offered a wonderful connection point for both my spouse and I, allowing us to connect with people who share our values and beliefs on Discord servers, Slack, and social media. But lacking that in-person connection can also be challenging and isolating.
The internet and in-person meet-ups aren’t the only way to find connection, however. Stories offer connection as well, and not just to others in our time—but connection to the past.
There’s nothing quite like holding a 300-year-old book and imagining how many people have held it in their hands, read the words on the page, or kept it stored on their bookshelf. And there’s nothing I love more than seeing scribbled notes or drawings on the pages that show someone not only read the book, but had a relationship with it.
For my anniversary gift this year (seven years!), my spouse bought me a piece of petrified pine—280 million years old. The thought of the time, species, history, cultures, civilizations, and people that existed during those years is mind-boggling. Just the thought that someone found this tree made from stone, decided to slice it up and polish it up, and shipped it off to the Smithsonian, where it could be purchased by me? Incredible.
These original fairy tales might never make it farther than a few e-readers and the platforms the book is available on. But, at the very least, it is an attempt, by me, to communicate with the future. To offer some sort of shared narrative. To say, “These are the feelings I felt, the thoughts I had, the stories I wrote. Perhaps they’ll mean something to you, too.”
And just for fun, I made some character art using MidJourney!
