All of the characters carry their own individual, yet believable quirks that easily meld together, giving a sense of deeply rooted relationships. The use of setting reads as authentic, and well suited to the developing plot and melting pot of mythological creatures. - Brie o'Reily
She cleverly couches her chapters with prefaces by Poe and Baudeliere to capture to aesthetic of those heady, Gothic times. From there, however, she launches off into a story which is completely modern (she doesn't write in Poe's style, thank Goodness!) but stepped in the ideas, imagery, and visions of an earlier world. It's a clever take on traditional fantasy, and a spellbinding story in its own right. - Joshua Grasso, "The Winged Turban" and "The Astrologer's Portrait"
The way you establish Stanley's world through your powerful descriptions is wonderful and captivating, it's the sort of mystical world I'd like to live in. - O A Guilfoyle
You had me at the quote by Yeats and it only got better as the story played out. Great narrative flow, terrific characters and clever plot that was well researched without being too heavy on the historical details. - Jill Hand, "Rosina and the Travel Agency."
The FAIRE CURIOSITIES
Chimehour
On May Day of 1901, Dublin falls. Dublin dies in the wake of a disease, dragging its victims back from the grave, mindless and very hungry. The people of Ireland flee in fear of plague, but Stanley knows better, and this is no plague; this is a curse.
Stanley Brigham only wants peace. Born a Chime Child, his second sight connecting him to England’s magical and supernatural, and long giving him grief as a secret world he shares with seldom few. The introverted British youth has only come to Ireland to introduce himself to his newly betrothed fiancée, but an outbreak of death and decay ruins the social call, unleashing a massacre on Dublin. Only Stanley hears the undead voices calling from the other side, and suspects something more magical is afoot.
His suspicions are confirmed by Maggie MacNamara, an eccentric-but-powerful spiritualist keen on saving her home. Though returned to England, a reluctant Stanley finds himself involved once more when Maggie approaches both himself and his inventive companion, Vincent Cammish. She proposes that he can use his ability against the curse. Someone is behind these undead, and she wants them found. Armed with little save for a folklore guide, Stanley ventures back to Dublin in search of the curse’s mastermind. He is soon drawn across The Veil, into another Ireland: one full with Druids, good folk, and all manner of magical kin. He finds an ally in a faerie named Willow, as charming as she is suspicious. An erratic practitioner comes on her heels, deeply involved in the curse and aiming to take the faerie away, but to what end? Stanley, Vincent, and Willow must work together to find out and unearth to cause of Dublin’s undead, soon unleashing a world of ancient magic and dark creatures the British Isles had long forgotten. And perhaps with good reason.
Available in paperback and e-book!
Book II: Beglamour
Winter closes its curtain on 1901, and six months following the Outbreak, life has settled back to normal for Stanley Brigham and company- mostly. He, Vincent, and Willow are now shadowed by Awen at every turn, the Druidic circle guarding in silence as the ripples of The Morrigan’s dark magic continue to settle. Death still manages to draw the strangest of folk though, and home becomes its latest sight when London is visited by Mozelle Braire, a French spiritualist from the Grand Guignol, on the rise since Ireland’s fall. Her presence becomes more than folly when Stanley realizes that she is a fellow Chime Child, hardly a charlatan in her connection with the undead, and with abilities unlike anything Stanley can accomplish. He reaches out in hopes an understanding ear, unaware of the dark shadows that just might creep along Mozelle’s path.
Mid-Quel Novella: Winter At Malahide
Across the water and newly returned to Ireland, Cecilia Prenderghast’s world is far from perfect. She had hoped that returning home would bring her peace, her dreams are dashed by way of her overbearing family, and the even more overbearing attention of Adam Foley, who has promised $15,000 pounds to her dowry if she can find a suitor within the next year. A simple task- he even presents a respected writer, Ashleigh Crowley, as a potential match. Now, if only Cecilia could sleep, suddenly haunted by vivid nightmares by night, and a horrible phantom in her waking hours… one that, if she didn’t know any better, sound very much like her deceased twin brother.
Book III: Devourer
Book IV: Harbinger
Series Novellas & Shorts
The Heretic's Dead Man:
A Faire Curiosities prequel. In 1688, young and sheltered witch, Helen McCafferty, lives a content life on the Isle of Man with her eccentric master, training in magic and preparing for the day she becomes a full witch. But superstition and fear drive a stake into the peace, sending both witch and warlock scattering to safety. Dark circumstance finds Helen alone in Ireland, full of new magic, and face to face with her first faerie, a dullahan. Available on Amazon now! In paperback and e-book! |
The Spectre and The Governess:
The prequel to "Chimehour" and first short story in The Faire Curiosities. Stanley Brigham and his family have moved to London, and his parents have decided to finally hire a governess for their unusual son. But as they settle into their new life, Stanley realizes the house may already be occupied. Available on Amazon now! In paperback and e-book! |
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