Between the Covers - Book Review #12

Well, another hospital visit for continued health issues has led to more bed rest, pain meds, and me falling further behind in my blogging. I have Godzilla size stack of books to review and while my eyes are half-open tonight, I think I'll get one of these installments out for you, my constant demon hunter/reader.  These three selections are all good, so choose and enjoy!

1) Herb Magic for Beginners: Down-to-Earth-Enchantment by Ellen Dugan was not as good as her other books I've read, but still one for the witchy library. I wish the book had gone into a little more detail on a few topics, but it did broadly cover herbs for beginner magical purposes. And what I really liked -- the herbs she discussed are very common and easy to grow or find at your local health store/metaphysical shop. She uses her by now familiar humorous and conversational tone to discuss herb growing, proper tools and gathering times, and a slew of herbal spells for any practical situation. If you're looking for an in depth read, though, skip this one. But if you're looking for a non stuffy beginner primer, than this one's for you!

2) Naked City is one of Ellen Datlow's latest urban fantasy short story collections. As usual, an entertaining read with lots of my faves in the business, including Holly Black, Patricia Briggs, and Kit Reed. This collection breathes new life into the Fair Folk and I discovered some new authors. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good fairy story, the urban fantasy genre, or is looking for something new.

3) Hedgewitch: Spells, Crafts, & Rituals for Natural Magick by Silver Ravenwolf is written in the same style as her classic To Ride a Silver Broomstick. However, I found this one more conversational and approachable -- basically, less stuffy. The book is intended to be used as a course over two short weeks, but you can pace yourself and take as long as you need. I just read the book. I haven't actually participated, yet, but all the materials needed are easily attainable and not too expensive. This book is also in my opinion, less about ceremony and more about getting in touch with your own witchy self and the earth around you, which I liked. You could easily adapt this for a coven or a grove as well, if you are not a solitary practitioner. It also makes great research for any fantasy writer.

4) The Fairy Godmother, the first Five Hundred Kingdoms fantasy novel, by Mercedes Lackey does not disappoint. I will be reading every single book in the series. The great thing about is this series is that the books stand alone; you can read them out of order and you don't really miss integral plot points. This first one explains how all the fairy godmothers in the kingdoms are selected and trained. There's romance and intrigue and everything a great fantasy novel should have. I recommend it for a good escape. Better yet, it sets gender stereotypes on their head and gives feminine power more oomph!

As always, happy reading and happy writing!

To the Waters and the Wild, With a Fairy Hand in Hand

That is a quote from William Butler Yeats's The Stolen Child. I spent a lot of time on vacation photographing my mother's flowers. When I think of my mother, I think of her gardens, which are her pride and joy. They burst with cool, green leaves and vibrant flowers with soft petals silky beneath your fingertips and the allure of scents so sweet and potent they will make your heart leap with joy. I spent many hours in the summer as a child watching my mother dig in her gardens, transplanting irises and other flowers, planting annuals, and watering them. I remember the hot rubber smell of the water hose and the quiet burbling it made as the thirsty earth drank up the water. I remember the feel of red clay beneath my fingertips and the moist, damp smell of dirt. And I remember fairies.

I knew the fairies loved my mother's gardens, even though I spent all summer unsuccessfully waiting to catch a glimpse of them. My next door neighbor had given me a popup alphabet book of fairies for my birthday and I read and read that book, studying the flower fairies and imagining them cantering through my mother's pinks and asters. Positive they could not resist the enchanting call of my backyard, I even left a brand new shiny copper penny amongst the wild violets near my favorite pine tree. I pleaded for them to show me their faces and accept my gift, but I never heard them singing or saw a blade of grass stir. And yet, in my child's imagination, I knew they were there. They existed in the call of the wind and the rattling of the windmill. They lived in the shadows beneath the cement pagoda in the rock garden. They slept upon the soft mounds of moss growing at the base of the cedars. They rode on the backs of the red winged blackbirds and jousted with the robins seeking worms after a warm rain in the summer.

I ran out early every morning with the dew fresh upon my toes to check and see if the copper penny was still there. I worried my dad would pick it up and the fairies would be mad I took back my gift. But it sat there and eventually, the wild violets grew taller, hiding its shiny face from passersby, until one day I could only see the very edge of the coin poking up from the dirt. I left the penny there hoping the fairies would find it someday.

I was positive they would come and dance under the light of the full moon. They would accept my gift and one day soon, I would awake to find a tiny face peering in at me from my bedroom window. Maybe, it would be a girl fairy wearing a tiny rose petal for a hat and clothed in the shiny green leaves of my mother's roses. Maybe, it would be a boy fairy sporting a jaunty acorn hat and carrying a sewing needle as a sword attached to the piece of string he used as a belt. It didn't matter. I knew they would come.

And then one day, I stopped checking for fairies in my mother's gardens and I went to school and forgot about the copper penny. Now as an adult, when I walk through my mother's flowers, smell their sweet nectar, and listen to the crickets softly chirping and the birds rustling in the trees above, I wonder if I would find that penny in the backyard or if I went digging, would it simply have vanished. I like to think it disappeared. I still like to believe in the fairies, even though I can't see them. It's too alluring to be out in nature and not have the spark of my writer's imagination flare, reminding me of the child within.

They're out there. How could they resist such beautiful gardens? I can't

As always, happy writing and happy reading to all!

More on My Snow Faery Short Story

I'm still on vacation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where there's snow. It reminded me of the snow faery short story I am revising for submissions soon. A sister and brother find a small faery in the snow outside their house. He's been wounded by a cat. The sister, Nell, wants to help him, while her older brother, Natty, wants to hold him hostage until he grants him a pot of gold. Originally, the title of the story was The Snow Faery, but that seemed to lack punch. As the plot progressed, I realized that the snow faery was going to seek revenge for the abuse he suffers at Natty's hands. In order to do that, I had to make him more than just a faery. He had to be the biggest mythological character there is -- Jack Frost. Now the story is titled: Fool's Gold because of Natty's obsession with obtaining riches from the faery. Obviously, he's uneducated about faeries in the story or he would know not to piss them off! Of course, then I wouldn't have a very interesting story, would I? *winks*

I had some time this afternoon to walk around and take some photos outdoors, one of my favorite relaxing hobbies. These photos I snapped reminded me of Jack and the story I am completing, which will be up on Critters for critique as soon I can get it there! I will post when it's up for review and then you can all read my work in progress in its entirety. Here are my photos. Maybe, they'll inspire you to write something. If not, at least they're pretty.

You can read the opening scene from Fool's Gold in my previous blog entry:

http://norabpeevy.blogspot.com/2011/02/there-are-no-snow-days-in-writing.html

As always, happy writing and happy reading to all!