Story spotlight: “Honeysuckle and Blue” by Karen L. Abrahamson, in Stolen by the Fae

“Honeysuckle and Blue,” by Karen L. Abrahamson, appears in Stolen by the Fae, the 6th volume in the anthology series A Procession of Faeries.

Excerpt

I should have paid more attention to what Posey said, but at the time I was just so relieved to find her.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over! How did you get out here?” The common room door had been locked when I came out.

Posey didn’t even look up. Warm sunlight filled the garden courtyard the air, so thick with honeysuckle it was like syrup. The riot of perfumed vines wound through wisteria and together they climbed a wooden trellis and garlanded the building eaves in purple and rose gold. Peonies bobbed their heavy white-and-pink heads on a breeze filled with the buzz of happy bees. Posey knelt in a patch of sun-warmed loamy soil amidst a riot of apricot and peach ranunculus, her palm outstretched and seemingly filled with sun.

She was a small woman, barely more than fine skin stretched over bird bones. The kind of thin you might see on a ballet dancer in their youth, but on the aged only screamed that their days were numbered. Some of the residents struggled against the inevitable as they wasted away. Others simply smiled as bits of them escaped with their memories. Posey was one of those. She always had a happy smile and the clearest blue eyes you could imagine. Incongruously, she had a luxurious head of white hair that the other care aides despaired of because of the amount of care that it required. They’d tried to convince Posey to let them cut it off, but she screamed when anyone came near her with a set of scissors. So, every morning we pulled her hair back into a braid and sometime during the day Posey would manage to release it.

Like now. The cascade of white hair tumbled down her narrow shoulders to pool around her hips and knees like a silver gown. Of course, the hair elastic was nowhere to be seen. In a way, she reminded me of my daughter—when she was five.

In a hurry to get her back to her unit, I crossed the courtyard pavers—and stopped.

“Posey, honey… what are you doing?”

By all rights she should have been in her room like everyone else was until they were called for lunch, but her upright palm held three bumble bees, that buzzed and—danced?

—from “Honeysuckle and Blue,” by Karen L. Abrahamson, in Stolen by the Fae

About Karen

Author of the century-spanning Cartographer Series, Karen L. Abrahamson writes fantasy, romance and mystery. Her short fiction has been short listed for the Derringers and Canadian Crime Writer’s Best Short Story. She lives in British Columbia, Canada with bears, bald eagles and the ocean for neighbours.

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A Procession of Faeries

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August 15, 2023

Story spotlight: “Hunter by Night” by Annie Reed, in Stolen by the Fae

“Hunter by Night,” by Annie Reed, appears in Stolen by the Fae, the 6th volume in the anthology series A Procession of Faeries.

Excerpt

This particular pizzeria didn’t have wait staff. Probably one of the reasons the food was so reasonably priced. When your order was ready, the pizza chef called out your name and you went to the counter to pick up your slices.

The woman, whose name must have been Eliza—at least that’s the name the pizza chef called out for her order—left the little girl sitting at the table when she went to get their food. By this time the little girl’s hair was back in a bun and she didn’t look that much different from any other little kid waiting for her mom to bring back dinner.

Except for her somber expression.

Her mother had just picked up a large silver tray with two slices of pizza from the counter when a different woman, someone Colton had barely noticed, darted from her table so fast that her chair clattered to the floor behind her. She moved faster than she should have been able to, given her bent and overly solid middle-aged frame, and snatched the little girl from her chair.

The little girl screamed. Her mother screamed. But the woman who’d snatched the child just smiled, a horrible, self-satisfied smile that pulled her face into an expression no human could match.

A changeling, and Colton had never even noticed her.

Before the little girl’s mother—or Colton—could react, the changeling fled with the screaming child through the front door of the pizzeria and disappeared into the night.

—from “Hunter by Night,” by Annie Reed, in Stolen by the Fae

About Annie

A prolific and versatile writer, Annie’s a frequent contributor to both Fiction River and Pulphouse Fiction Magazine. Her recent work includes the near-future science fiction short novel In Dreams, the gritty urban fantasy novel Iris & Ivy, and the superhero novel Faster. Annie’s stories appear regularly on Tangent Online’s recommended reading lists, and “The Color of Guilt,” originally published in Fiction River: Hidden in Crime, was selected as one of The Best Crime and Mystery Stories 2016. She’s even had a story selected for inclusion in study materials for Japanese college entrance exams.

Annie also writes sweet romance under the name Liz McKnight, and is a founding member and contributor to the innovative Uncollected Anthology series of themed urban and contemporary fantasy anthologies.

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August 12, 2023

Interview: DeAnna Knippling, author of “Estimated Value” in Stolen by the Fae

“Estimated Value,” by DeAnna Knippling, appears in Stolen by the Fae, the 6th volume in the anthology series A Procession of Faeries.

The Interview

Why do you think the mythology of the changeling, in which the Fae steal a human and replace it with one of their own kind, is so intriguing to people?

I think the stories about changelings are generally intriguing for some dark reasons.

On the one hand, people have been looking for explanations about why their kids aren’t like them for a long, long time. We put a lot of our hopes, rather unfairly, on children, expecting them to be and do better than their own parents! The story of the changeling helps put words to those taboo feelings of “this wasn’t the baby I was promised.” The story also serves as a cautionary tale: if you don’t love and watch over your child, the fae will take them away, usually both the human child and (eventually) the fae one, which either dies or disappears, leaving the parents with nothing.

—And yet on the other hand, a lot of us have a sneaking suspicion that we don’t belong with our families of birth. We don’t fit in; we make each other uncomfortable; we are treated in ways that aren’t acceptable. I think a lot of stories about “secretly, the main character was adopted” touch on this, too.

Changeling stories hit a nerve about feeling like we don’t belong. Sometimes that nerve gets too ugly to talk about directly. Fortunately, we can tell stories to help release or process those feelings.

Is there a recurring theme that appears in your writing? If so, what is it, and why do you think it keeps appearing?

I write a lot about bullies and about systems that bully. I usually don’t set out to write about that theme; it just comes up. My story in Stolen by the Fae, “Estimated Value,” isn’t really about that theme, but about a new theme that’s been coming up lately, about faith.

Not religious faith, but believing that you have to do the right thing, whether you think it’s going to work or not. Never looking directly at one’s hopes, but following them out of the corner of your eye, as it were.

Is there a fairy tale that you really enjoy, or which has stuck with you? If so, which one—and what do you find compelling about this particular story?

Today the one that sticks in my mind is “The Seven Swans,” about the girl who has to be silent for six years while sewing shirts for her brothers, who have been changed into swans by a witch. While alone in the forest sewing her brothers’s shirts, the girl is claimed by a king and has two children by him, who are whisked away by the king’s mother. The mother pretends that the new queen has eaten the children; the new queen refuses to defend herself and keeps sewing.

Finally the shirts are almost done; the swans appear just as the new queen is about to be burned at the stake. She throws the shirts over her brothers, who change back into humans, and then defends herself against the evil mother.

I like the story, but it sticks with me for a couple of reasons:

–How did she choose between her brothers and her children?

–Why didn’t she find a way to cheat?

A lot of fairy tales feature protagonists who are clever, tricky enough to find a way around a problem instead of trying to stubborn their way through it. This story, though, is about pure, bloody-minded determination. The virtue of stubbornness and holding to one’s purpose, even when other people use it against you. I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side, though.

What aspect do you like most about your story in Stolen by the Fae, and why?

I’m used to writing darker stories where the characters have to give their all, whether they succeed or fail. For all that the main character is this direct, blunt kind of guy, he also has a subtle delicacy about him that I really liked. I feel like he was saying, “Follow your instincts, but follow them quietly, so you don’t get caught and stopped.”

What are you working on now, and what’s fun about what you’re writing?

I’m working on a massive drama/romance/spy thriller episodic series called Blind Date with Death. It’s about bullies and faith, I suppose. The really fun part is going, “I can’t write that!” and the characters going, “You wi-illll.” I feel like the characters are in charge, not me. Which is good; they’re smarter than I am.

While there aren’t any truly supernatural elements to the story, I’m working on a section now that’s full of girls who have become changelings or “lost girls” of a sort, separated from their birth families but refusing to return home again. They hoped to find a better life, or at least a less restrictive one, got sucked into a horrific system, and kind of feel like it would be pointless to go back. They no longer fit. I’m not sure how things will work out for them (I’m not plotting ahead of time), but they’re both poignant and a lot of fun to write about.

About DeAnna

DeAnna Knippling is always tempted to lie on her bios. Her favorite musician is Tom Waits, and her favorite author is Lewis Carroll. Her favorite monster is zombies. Her life goal is to remake her house in the image of the House on the Rock, or at least Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. You should buy her books. She promises that she’ll use the money wisely on bookshelves and secret doors. She lives in Florida and is the author of The House Without a Summer: A Gothic Novel, and other books like The Clockwork Alice, A Murder of Crows: Seventeen Tales of Monsters & the Macabre, and more.

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A Procession of Faeries

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July 22, 2023

Interview: Thea Hutcheson, author of “Two Pies out of One Pan” in Stolen by the Fae

“Two Pies out of One Pan,” by Thea Hutcheson, appears in Stolen by the Fae, the 6th volume in the anthology series A Procession of Faeries.

The Interview

Why do you think the mythology of the changeling, in which the Fae steal a human and replace it with one of their own kind, is so intriguing to people?

I think clearly it relates to kids who have problems. It’s an answer to the why things happen situation. I hate to say it, but we were brutish back then, in the face of ignorance of illness and physiological issues and superstition and fear of the unknown or different. Saying that these kids were not people, opened the door to all the terrible things they did to those “changelings”. “We had to get rid of it,” was the common refrain. “It wasn’t a human baby (It was a fae baby or an ancient fae wanting to be cared for in their sunset years). They stole our baby. We will make this fake one pay.”

Is there a recurring theme that appears in your writing? If so, what is it, and why do you think it keeps appearing?

I blank on these kinds of questions because I am not consciously aware of themes when I write. I just write the story. I let readers find themes in what I write. I will say I am against hatred, ignorance, and violence, so I was very happy when I found the tale that formed the basis for this story and I was able to utilize it to reflect my personal arc toward love, acceptance, and inclusivity.

Is there a fairy tale that you really enjoy, or which has stuck with you? If so, which one—and what do you find compelling about this particular story?

I love Puss in Boots. He is such a scammer and he uses the miller’s son to get what he wants, getting the miller’s son a pretty good deal in the bargain. No body really gets hurt and the Miller’s son, who was pretty smart, but just needed some direction, got a leg up.

What aspect do you like most about your story in Stolen by the Fae, and why?

I have touched on it above. Carol wanted a baby and she stepped outside of her society’s conventions to get it. She protected her child fiercely, even against her own husband. She didn’t do it for a reward or anything. She did it because he was her child and that is what mothers do. Or should do. She is a strong woman who had desires and worked to get them, but didn’t compromise her ethics or morals to do it. I suppose, when I think about it, if I have a theme, it’s women working toward what they want and need and suffering through the epiphanies and the costs those wants and needs entail.

What are you working on now, and what’s fun about what you’re writing?

I am writing a series of urban fairy tales. There are six novels set in Denver starting just after World War II. They have rich world building and wide ranging magical practices. Each fairy tale has a spicy romantic subtheme and features straight, menage a trois, gay, and lesbian characters. I love working out how the fairy tale fits into the general arc of the community and how the characters deal with the tropes they discover they are working through. Each novel has a follow on bonus short story that showcases a character. These are fun to do because they won’t always behave and be short stories. I end up with extra novels and still have to write the follow on short story. The next one, I am pretty sure, is going to be another novel given the story kernel, which means, I will still have to write a short story in that super fun magical community after I finish it. Darn it!

About Thea

Thea Hutcheson’s story in Realms of Fantasy’s 100th issue prompted Lois Tilton of Locus to say her work “is sensual, fertile, with seed quickening on every page. Well done…” She has appeared in such publications as Hot Blood XI, Fatal Attractions, Baen’s Universe Issue 4, Vol. 1, Amazing Monster Tales: It Came From Outer Space, Nuns with Guns, Water Faeries, and several of the critically acclaimed Fiction River anthologies.

She lives in an unscenic, nearly historic small city in Colorado with a thousand books, four rescued cats and one understanding housemate. When she’s not working diligently as a Planning Commissioner to change that, she writes, and fills the time between bouts at the computer as a factotum and an event planner.

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A Procession of Faeries

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July 20, 2023

Story spotlight: “The Destroyer” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, in Stolen by the Fae

“The Destroyer,” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, appears in Stolen by the Fae, the 6th volume in the anthology series A Procession of Faeries.

Excerpt

I discovered the house during one of my last crazy full moons. Nestled in the trees at the very edge of my twenty-acre territory, the house was small, white, with big windows and a large porch. In the back, a barn no longer used by cows, but still smelling of them, and to the side, a garage for a single car that seemed to be the only vehicle that used the dirt road.

I collapsed in old straw in that barn, beneath rotting eaves, and slept off wounds from my inadvertent partying. I was terrified by my own lack of control; I knew if I didn’t stop fighting over females, I would end up like the old black tom that I repeatedly chased off the hill. He had only one ear, no fur on that side of his head, and a white orb in place of his eye that occasionally oozed. He could still fight—and did, every full moon—but afterwards, he never seemed to recover.

He was in that barn too. Normally, just coming off the full-moon crazies, I would have killed him, but I was too tired. Besides, when I was myself, I rather liked him. That night, we actually talked like equals—alphas who worried about their prides. He confessed he had only seen two more summers than I had, that once he’d been as strong and powerful and terrifying as I was.

And then he said the thing that changed it all. He said, had he to do it again, he would take the Bargain.

The Bargain—offered, they say, only to what the humans call “feral” cats, not to the pampered indoor variety. Once a year, cats of a certain age—no less than two, no more than four—got to try being another creature for 24 hours. The easiest to become were the ones we knew: dogs, horses, cattle.

Human.

Only no feral cat chose human. Except the old black tom.

—from “The Destroyer,” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, in Stolen by the Fae

About Kris

New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes in almost every genre. Generally, she uses her real name (Rusch) for most of her writing. Under that name, she publishes bestselling science fiction and fantasy, award-winning mysteries, acclaimed mainstream fiction, controversial nonfiction, and the occasional romance. Her novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short fiction has appeared in eighteen best of the year collections. She has won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov’s Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award.

Publications from The Chicago Tribune to Booklist have included her Kris Nelscott mystery novels in their top-ten-best mystery novels of the year. The Nelscott books have received nominations for almost every award in the mystery field, including the best novel Edgar Award, and the Shamus Award.

She writes goofy romance novels as award-winner Kristine Grayson.

She also edits. Beginning with work at the innovative publishing company, Pulphouse, followed by her award-winning tenure at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, she took fifteen years off before returning to editing with the original anthology series Fiction River, published by WMG Publishing. She acts as series editor with her husband, writer Dean Wesley Smith.

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July 17, 2023July 17, 2023

Interview: Ron Collins, author of “The Replacement” in Stolen by the Fae

“The Replacement,” by Ron Collins, appears in Stolen by the Fae, the 6th volume in the anthology series A Procession of Faeries.

The Interview

Why do you think the mythology of the changeling, in which the Fae steal a human and replace it with one of their own kind, is so intriguing to people?

There’s a lot tied into that question, not the least is that the answer has probably changed of the centuries. Today, I think people can get trapped in the routine of their daily grind, and that sense of claustrophobia can make us yearning for something extraordinary to exist. The idea of the changeling says something bigger exists. It carries a sense of adventure and hidden realms that I kind of like. To be selected in that world means something, too.

I don’t know, really. Humans are weird, right?

The idea of being essentially kidnapped, but then taken to a place of wonder, magic, and beauty that exists kind of under the skin of our lived existence has this amazing dichotomy to it. There is something dangerous to fae magic. But we are drawn to danger, too.

Is there a recurring theme that appears in your writing? If so, what is it, and why do you think it keeps appearing?

Looking at my work, I think it often revolves around the idea of ordinary, working level people who live in complex worlds that they don’t have any real power to change, but who still strive to do what they can. Not every story, of course. But a scan of my titles says that this idea comes embedded in a lot of them. “The Replacements” has that feel to it, too. Bron, the protagonist, understands a lot of his life—but not all of it. He’s not in control of a lot of it. But he’s found purpose in his own way. And then, of course, things happen.

Is there a fairy tale that you really enjoy, or which has stuck with you? If so, which one—and what do you find compelling about this particular story?

I didn’t grow up with fairy tales deeply ingrained in my life, so I can’t say that I latched onto a single tale at any particular time. I really came to them more fully when my daughter was born and I would read them with her, or see her absorbing them. At that point, my writer-brain kicked in and I started trying to understand them better. So, I think for me the idea of full existence and purpose of fairy tales as a whole is more important than any specific one.

I like thinking about what fairy tales mean inside cultures, and how that meaning has changed over time. I “like” seeing the Disneyfication of stories—if “like” is the right word. I like overlaying modern retellings with the darker undertones of fairy tales centuries past. I find modern day retellings interesting because of what those retellings are able to say about our world today. Our culture’s reactions to them—everything from story choices to casting decisions (of movies) says something about us.

And mashups, too.

Disney’s Enchanted is a mind-bending mix of sampling in a self-referential parody of everything that is commercial telling of fairy tales over the past hundred years or so. I don’t know if that’s good, bad, or indifferent, but I liked it—both because in the moment it was fun, and because when you look at it more deeply you can walk away thinking about a lot of the influences of fairy tales on how we live today. Again, for better or for worse.

So, yeah. Right. What was the question? (grin)

What aspect do you like most about your story in Stolen by the Fae, and why?

“The Replacement” was one of those stories that came to me as it came. Meaning I wrote the first sentence, then the second, and just let the stream play out. I knew a few things about Bron, but I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen or why he was where he was.

Sometimes I do that and the story never resolves for me, which is really frustrating. But in his case, things came together, and when it did it came to me with a tide of emotions about life and love, and what it means to be part of a community, and a few other undertones that made me happy.

I love it when that happens.

What are you working on now, and what’s fun about what you’re writing?

Oh, my. I’m working on too many things right now! I’m collaborating with my brother on a fun series of mooks that will mash his music in with my prose. That’s a lot of fun, though the work is slow due to our geographic separation and the need to come together sometimes.

Probably more appropriate for this audience is the Fairies and Fastballs series I’m working on with my daughter, Brigid. The first book, Home Run Enchanted, is already out, and the second, Curve Ball Cursed, is nearing completion. They are stories that I know I would never have come up with on my own, and it’s a lot of fun to write with Brigid. It’s a lot of work, too, of course. We’re very different writers, so seeing things so directly from her view is a real learning experience.

Folks can find links to Home Run Enchanted on my website.

We’re hoping to have Curve Ball Cursed out by MLB’s mid-July All-Star break, but we’ll see what happens!

About Ron

Ron Collins is a best-selling Science Fiction and Dark Fantasy author who writes across the spectrum of speculative fiction. With his daughter, Brigid, he edited the anthology Face the Strange.

His short fiction has received a Writers of the Future prize. His short story “The White Game” was nominated for the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s 2016 Derringer Award.

He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and has worked to develop avionics systems, electronics, and information technology before chucking it all to write full-time.

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A Procession of Faeries

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July 8, 2023

Story spotlight: “Fairy Traps” by Leah R. Cutter, in Stolen by the Fae

“Fairy Traps,” by Leah R. Cutter, appears in Stolen by the Fae, the 6th volume in the anthology series A Procession of Faeries.

Excerpt

With a determined flit, Terrance flew over the tops of the lilacs and into Old Fairy Smithers’ yard.

Instantly, the odd shaped box in the center of the yard was clear.

It was a baby! A human baby! In one of those carriers they had to protect their young. Terrance thought it might be called a car seat, but he wasn’t sure. Fairies didn’t drive cars, didn’t need them—they could just fly or use magic to get wherever they needed to go.

Terrance flew over to the baby. Stupid thing grabbed at him with its chubby hands. He probably just appeared as a shiny golden light to it.

It had rosy cheeks and pale white skin. It tracked his movements with wide, blue-gray eyes. Soft wisps of red-gold hair covered its head. Black belts kept it strapped into the carrier, probably so it wouldn’t get into any mischief. It smelled of sweet milk and some sort of perfume that the humans used.

It kicked with its fat legs and waved its arms, then giggled again.

At least it was a happy baby and not screaming at the top of its lungs, unlike the babies he’d read about in the latest Encounters magazine, which was filled with fictional accounts of human-fairy interactions, many of them lurid or impossible.

But what was a baby doing here? Why did Old Fairy Smithers have a child, a human child, in the middle of her pristine backyard? Nestled neatly between the purple hyacinths and the creeping red sedum?

—from “Fairy Traps,” by Leah R. Cutter, in Stolen by the Fae

About Leah

Leah R. Cutter writes page-turning fiction in exotic locations, such as a magical New Orleans, the ancient Orient, Hungary, the Oregon coast, rural Kentucky, Seattle, Minneapolis, and many others.

She writes literary, fantasy, mystery, science fiction, and horror fiction. Her short fiction has been published in magazines like Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Talebones, anthologies like Fiction River, and on the web. Her long fiction has been published both by New York publishers as well as small presses.

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July 5, 2023

Story spotlight: “The Bonds of, Like, Sisterhood or Whatever” by Brigid Collins, in Stolen by the Fae

“The Bonds of, Like, Sisterhood or Whatever,” by Brigid Collins, appears in Stolen by the Fae, the 6th volume in the anthology series A Procession of Faeries.

Excerpt

From my trips by the high school this summer on my way to and from my swim class, I’m like a million percent certain that the portal I’ve been feeling is somewhere in the building. And from my little stop outside the auditorium earlier today to hit that sweet BotB signup sheet posted outside, I’m maybe a thousand percent sure it’s in the auditorium.

And man, when I tell that to Linn after we finish up dinner—totally burgers, score—her face just splits in this gleeful grin.

“It’s like serendipity,” she says as she fishes around in her guitar bag. When she straightens up again, she’s got her fingers curled around her key ring so it won’t jingle. “Over winter break last year, Tom snatched Mr. Schultz’s keys and made copies of the band room key for all of us. Sometimes they break in and hang out, but I’ve never used mine, yet.”

Then I’m the one wearing the face-splitting grin.

Our night of crime is so on.

We wait until Mom and Dad turn their lights out, then we enact the escape plan that’s been the most successful after years of refining. Climb out the bedroom window, shimmy down the corner of the house into the backyard garden. Leave the bikes in the garage because getting them out makes too much noise.

Walk in the free air of the night, baby!

Yeah, we’ve done this a whole bunch. I just like being out at night, Linn likes breaking the rules and getting away with it. Win-win!

The tingling under my shoes—tennis shoes now, since flip-flops are so impractical for covert ops—gets stronger as we move towards Roseville High. My heart is pounding, too, which, weird, because that hasn’t happened on any other nighttime excursions.

Then again, none of our other extra-legal activities have had the end-goal of me getting myself and my sister into the Fairy Realm, not to mention meeting our long-lost, kidnapped sister.

—from “The Bonds of, Like, Sisterhood or Whatever,” by Brigid Collins, in Stolen by the Fae

About Brigid

Brigid Collins is a fantasy and science fiction writer living in Michigan. Her fantasy series The Songbird River Chronicles and Winter’s Consort, her fun middle grade hijinks series The Sugimori Sisters, and her dark fairy tale novella Thorn and Thimble are available wherever books are sold. Her short stories have appeared in Fiction River, Feyland Tales, and Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar anthologies.

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A Procession of Faeries

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July 1, 2023

Interview: Olivia Wylie, author of “Hybrid Vigor” in Stolen by the Fae

“Hybrid Vigor,” by Olivia Wylie, appears in Stolen by the Fae, the 6th volume in the anthology series A Procession of Faeries.

The Interview

Why do you think the mythology of the changeling, in which the Fae steal a human and replace it with one of their own kind, is so intriguing to people?

From what I understand based on my studies into mythology, the changeling story began as an emotional and societal coping mechanism. When a child became sick unexpectedly, parents could tell themselves that they hadn’t done anything wrong; the faeries had been at work. And when a child died without warning, the self-recrimination that’s so agonizing for a parent could be eased by the idea that their real, living child was having a wonderful life in fairyland. They weren’t dead; they just weren’t here.

We want to believe that there are reasons for things. And even more, we want to believe that we are not the reason bad things happen. Those two emotional impulses are, to me, the root of the stories that tell of children taken away to fairyland.

This myth had a particular poignance for me as a young person. I am biracial, and I am also a technical contractor’s kid who moved a great deal in my childhood. No matter where I was, I was out of place. I felt unfit, alien and out of sorts. One of the books that gave me something to hold onto in those raw and tender years was ‘The Moorchild’, a story about a little girl with a fairy mother and a human father who didn’t fit anywhere. She called herself a changeling, and she ended up finding a way to live a good life. From the age of ten to the age of fourteen, I told myself I was a changeling. When other kids or adults made me feel bad, I told myself it wasn’t because of who I was, but what I was: it wasn’t that I was bad, or that other kids didn’t like me. I was lonely because I didn’t belong among them, and one day I’d find my way to somewhere I did.

This sounds like a silly thing for a kid to believe, but I can tell you that it saved my self-esteem at that age. Now I’m in my thirties, and I have found that place where I belong. Believing in my changeling story as a child let me find my way to a good adulthood. Believing the story got me through.

Is there a recurring theme that appears in your writing? If so, what is it, and why do you think it keeps appearing?

There are three through-lines in my work: the importance of working together regardless of our differences, the power of good music, and the truth that we are all worth something. As Liveantreach says in the story, ‘we are nothing without each other’. Whether I’m writing science fiction, steampunk, urban fantasy or nonfiction, these are the themes my stories revolve around.

Is there a fairy tale that you really enjoy, or which has stuck with you? If so, which one—and what do you find compelling about this particular story?

For me there are three great stories. The first is the Irish story of the Hazel Pool, which is a personal touchstone of a story telling us how all the joys of knowledge and storytelling came to be through one being’s refusal to be miserly. I’m tattooed for this story, that’s how much it means to me!

The second has to be Tam Lin, the story of a young woman who broke every rule to save the boy she loved. And right in line behind them is the book ‘The Moorchild’.

What aspect do you like most about your story in Stolen by the Fae, and why?

I loved writing a character who bridged worlds between the fae and the human; we need more cultural bridges in the world. I particularly liked the idea of a character whose power is the emotion brought out through music finding rock and roll to be an absolutely excellent tool for her craft!

What are you working on now, and what’s fun about what you’re writing?

Right now I am working on a couple things:

A music-themed anthology for Club Q called We Came To Dance. We’re Kickstarting it to raise money for Club Q over at We Came to Dance: Stories of Queer Joy in Support of Club Q
I’m working on the eighth and final book of the hopeful queer sci-fi series I co-author under the name O.E. Tearmann. This one is sex,drones, and rock’n’roll against a future-Colorado backdrop. Check the series out at oetearmann.com
And I’m finally beginning work on a full-length series starring Liveantreach! This one is due out in early 2025. Check out a sneak peek at the cover!

About Olivia

Olivia Wylie is a professional horticulturist, business owner, and bard who specializes in the restoration of neglected gardens. When the weather keeps her indoors, she enjoys exploring the plant world and the complexities of being human in writing. Under her shared pen-name of O.E. Tearmann, she writes the hopeful queer cyberpunk series Aces High, Jokers Wild. Her solo work focuses on illustrated works of ethnobotany, intended to make the intersection of human history, storytelling, and plant evolution accessible to a wider audience. She lives in Colorado with a very patient husband and a rather impatient cat.

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A Procession of Faeries

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June 27, 2023

Story spotlight: “Estimated Value” by DeAnna Knippling, in Stolen by the Fae

“Estimated Value,” by DeAnna Knippling, appears in Stolen by the Fae, the 6th volume in the anthology series A Procession of Faeries.

Excerpt

“You said something last night after we went to sleep,” he said.

“I did not!”

“You talk in your sleep,” he pointed out.

“I do not!”

“You said, and you’re gonna want to take credit for this, that the fairies took the girl away. I gotta agree with you on this one. You said, ‘Fairies is old magic.’ I have never known you to lie while you’re talking in your sleep. So that’s what I think.”

“You don’t believe in fairies! You don’t even believe in ghosts!”

“I believe in ghosts,” he said, through a mouthful of eggs and sausage. He drank the coffee, then made a face. “Ghosts just don’t believe in me. Where’s the sugar?”

Marianne rolled her eyes as she got up and found, then refilled, the sugar bowl, a shimmering piece of carnival glass with grapes on it. “So now you believe in fairies. But they don’t believe in you.”

“That’s right,” Butler said. “Nothin’ weird ever happens to me personally. But it happens around the edges all the time. Peripheral-like. If you know what that word means,” he added, to stir her up.

She snorted. “I know what peripheral means.” She leaned back in her seat and rubbed the pad of her thumb over her fingernails.

“You going to the salon today?” he asked. “You stripped the varnish off your claws last night.”

She looked down at them. “Sure did, didn’t I? I don’t remember it. So let’s say the little girl went with the fairies, maybe she’s still with them, and she’s going to appear a hundred years later, no idea that any time passed at all. What good does that do anybody? Her mother will be dead. We’ll be dead. Nobody will find out what happened at all.”

—from “Estimated Value,” by DeAnna Knippling, in Stolen by the Fae

About DeAnna

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A Procession of Faeries

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