Tuesday, June 21, 2016

International Fairy Day and a Free Fairy eBook!

At a recent book festival, an older lady came to my table and looked through my middle-grade mystery fairy story. When she handed the book to me for signing, I asked, “Is it a present for your grandkids?” She shook her head. “I’m going to add it to my fairy book collection.”  (Apparently I’m not the only one with a collection of fairy books!)

Another woman at the festival saw my fairy book and started talking about a fairy movie she’d seen. “You mean, that documentary where they interview people who’ve seen fairies?” I asked. Her face lit up. “That’s it!” We started chatting about the film, The Fairy Faith, which is about real children seeing fairies in the woods. But as these kids grow up, most of them stop seeing the fairies, or forget they ever did.

I also told her about a woman I’d met, who’d witnessed colored orbs floating in the air around her house in the woods. (She never said they were fairies, but my imagination had other ideas…) Anyway, the fairy documentary and the memory of those orbs stayed in my mind for years, planting a little story seed in my mind. Someday, I decided, I would write about fairies…

Fast forward a few years…I was having a book cover designed for my short story, The Christmas Visitor, when I came across an illustration of a fairy tree. Ablaze with light, the tree had a cozy little door, snow-covered boughs, and old-fashioned windows tucked among the greenery. Without thinking twice, I bought the image, and told myself, Someday, I’m going to write about that tree…

Another year or two went by. While that beautiful fairy tree image sat neglected on my computer, I was working on other books. Then one fall day, I heard the buzz of chain saws, and the grinding of excavators. Loggers had moved into the deep woods near our home.

Before long, the tract of deep green woodlands about a third of a mile away was reduced to an unsightly snarl of dead trees and brush. Talking with other folks living close by, John and I found we’d all seen more wildlife out in the open since the forest came down: Owls, bear, even a mountain lion or two, and I’d recently laid eyes on the first skunk I’d ever seen here in the Foothills. I realized what happens when you take down a forest—the wild creatures must find new homes.

As Christmas approached, John and I watched another wonderful film, Fairy Tale: A True Story. (This movie is billed as fiction, but you never know…) Within days, my fairy story came together. I asked myself, “What if?” What if a band of woodland fairies live in a forest, and the trees get cut down?

This International Fairy Day, you can find out what happens…for free!  Morgan Carey and The Mystery of the Christmas Fairies will be a free ebook starting Wednesday, June 22 though the official Fairy Day, Friday, June 24. I hope you’ll take a look…and if you get a chance, share your fairy tales here!

Monday, June 13, 2016

Father's Day Freebie!

In honor of Father's Day, I'll be offering one of my Village of Ballydara short stories, The Secret Well, as a free ebook!  It's a mystical Irish tale set in a sleepy little village in County Galway, about the love between a father and his grown son...

Father's Day story!
In this luminous prequel to the short story "The Christmas Visitor," you'll meet the O'Donoghue family: Maeve, Declan, Nuala and Ava...and Frank, Maeve's husband. Frank is celebrating his retirement when his son Declan tells Frank his startling news. The next day, St. John's Eve, June 23rd, Frank heads for his favorite getaway, a secret well, to ponder how to help his son, and perhaps make a fresh start for his own marriage to Maeve. This serene, verdant little glen has always had a calming, even a bit of a magical effect on him. There, Frank has an extraordinary experience that leads him to re-examine his own life as a husband and father. 

This gentle, uplifting story, just right for a summer day, explores Frank O'Donoghue's unforgettable journey toward wisdom...And with a fairy thread in the storyline, The Secret Well makes a companion read for International Fairy Day, June 24.  

The Village of Ballydara series also includes the novels, It Only Takes Once, Mother Love, and The Hopeful Romantic. The Secret Well freebie begins Tuesday, June 14, and runs until June 18...and for all you dads out there, Happy Father's Day!