One consequence of writing a book has been that I’m is forced to explain my work to people who are unlikely to ever read it. This issue provides a difficulty at the best of times and a harrowing social interaction at the worst. In my infinite wisdom, I decided to name my debut novel The Wind from Faerie so as to thoroughly confuse the uninitiated. The problem is that people who are unfamiliar with fantasy rarely understand the concept of “Faerie”. I’ve found that even those familiar with the genre often require a refresher on the subject, so I’m here to provide a brief breakdown.
Faerie as it is used in American English is another term for the Fay Realm, the place in which the fay, faeries, or fairies reside. The spelling “faerie” is generally used over “fairy” to divorce the subject from the Victorian concept of what is essentially a magical butterfly (e.g. Tinkerbell). Faeries are beings of mystery and power, most easily compared to the Tuatha Dé Dannan of Irish mythology or the elves of Germanic mythology. The realm of Faerie is where these beings dwell. It is a land of magic and mystery but is intimately tied to the cycles of nature. Faerie is the antithesis to civilization. There nothing is tamed, nothing fully understood. Whenever a mortal stumbles through Faerie, they will never return home the same, if they return at all. Faerie is dangerous to humans because of both its supernatural joys and terrors. Either one might kill, or leave the unlucky soul eternally ensnared. For a more in depth discussion of Faerie and fairytales, I highly recommend On Fairy-Stories by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Faerie is not a concept directly addressed in The Wind from Faerie. The Fay Wood has many of the characteristics of Faerie but cannot be said to fully embody that realm; it is a local outpost of a larger concept. Faerie in my book plays a similar role to William’s Broceliande: it is a realm of potential. Faerie is the embodiment of all the magic of the natural world and anything is likely to come out of it. In this case, a wind is blowing from Faerie. That wind, carrying the wonderful potential of the Faerie realm, is a harbinger of change in the real world. This wind coincides with Kellan’s propulsion into a larger world, leaving us with a burning question: what role does he have to play? He certainly doesn’t know.
The Sensiahd word of the week is cos meaning forest. Example sentence: Eth cos ys sen. The forest is old.