For my fairy tale lovers: A mix of Regency and Fantasy
I’ve created my own universe for this series of short stories, loosely built on the society norms of the Regency era but with an intermingling of fey and humans. And of course, what’s a fairy tale without a doorway to another realm? As of yet, there is no title to this series. I’m just calling it “Short.” Suggestions are welcome!
For those who wonder about the writing process, mine is very simple. I write whatever comes into my mind. Occasionally, I have an idea about where a story will end up, but I never use outlines. Many times, I see certain scenes in my head then I write the book around those scenes. For instance, in Diamonds are for Eden, I knew I would have a desert oasis scene with a waterfall and a deep pool of water that <spoiler> hid an entrance to the monastery.
Many authors polish their work as they go. I don’t. It slows me down. I just want to get the story recorded, which means I write the dialogue and interactions of characters. There is minimal scene development, almost like talking heads, unless the scene is the main focus, as in the oasis found in Diamonds are for Eden. I don’t worry about my repetitive word choices, so you will discover my “pet” words. You may find misspellings, poor grammar, optional word choices- which you are encouraged to comment upon, and any number of other mistakes. This is a rough draft that I’m sharing with my most devoted fans, people who can’t wait for whatever I write. If I ever decide to publish, all that will be revised many times over. Essentially, this is your “peek behind the wizard’s curtain.”
This series was sparked by a short story I read in 2016 (See how long I let ideas percolate?), written by my friend, W.R. Gingell, “The Shop at the Edge of the Hills of Faeryland.” I highly recommend Wendee as a clean fictional fantasy author. The romance in her books is very slow-building, and the plot is always character-driven, my fave. Wendee offers this story to her subscribers for free, but it is password protected. I’m going to attempt that as well. If you aren’t able to open the story, let me know.
Each week, I’ll offer a new chapter:
Chapter 1 here
Chapter 2 here
Chapter 3 here
Chapter 4 here
Chapter 5 here
Chapter 6 here
Chapter 7 here
Chapter 8 here
Chapter 9 here
Chapter 10 here
Chapter 11 here
Chapter 12 here
Chapter 13 here
Chapter 14 here
Chapter 15 here
Chapter 16 here
Chapter 17 here
Chapter 18 here
Chapter 19 here
Chapter 20 here
Chapter 21 here
Chapter 22 here
Chapter 23 here
Chapter 24 here
Chapter 25 here