In continuing my blog series all about my different story realms, today I’m excited to talk about the Darkly Fae series. If you’ve ever wondered what inspired these stories, where the series stands, and what I have planned for the future, read on.
Or watch the video version here:
About the Series
If you don’t know anything about the series, here’s a quick summary:
The Darkly Fae series is about a magical realm beyond the edge of human sight, protected by dark forces that drive away the uninvited, where the clans of unseelie fae are on the brink of war.
The Inspiration
Several years ago I was invited to participate in an anthology about “dark fae and the humans who love them.” I was super excited to be part of an anthology, but I had no idea what to write. I wrote about Greek mythology and mermaids, not fairies.
So I did research. I found Andrew Lang’s fairy books and started reading.
As soon as I read the opening line of “Rosanella” in The Green Fairy Book I knew I had my inspiration.
Everybody knows that though the fairies live hundreds of years they do sometimes die, and especially as they are obliged to pass one day in every week under the form of some animal, when of course they are liable to accident.
(Pssst. You can read the entire story on Project Gutenberg.)
I loved the idea that fairies, while otherwise pretty much immortal, had to regularly spend a day in animal form in order to preserve their magic. And on that day, in that form, they are vulnerable.
The anthology eventually fell apart and I decided to turn the short story into a longer one. During that process, I sent it to one of my critique partners (the historical romance author Shana Galen) who asked the all-important question: “Prince Cathair seems like a pretty good guy. What makes him dark?”
That’s when I came up with the idea that the unseelie fae are dark not because they’re evil but because of how they feed their magic. Dark fae draw power from negative human emotions, like pain, grief, and sadness. Light fae, on the other hand, draw power from positive human emotions, like joy, awe, and wonder.
From those two ideas, the Darkly Fae series was born.
The Books
The Darkly Fae realm is divided into many different clans, and the series is organized in groups of novellas set in those clans. Each group, called a cycle, focuses on a different clan.
(Grab this free infographic to see all of the unseelie clans.)
The first (and so far only) cycle is The Moraine Cycle, which consists of five stories.
When Magic Sleeps — Winnie Price visits another world in her dreams, one she thought was pure imagination until she sees an owl transform into a fae prince on midsummer’s eve. With his clan on the brink of war, Cathair O Cuana knows his feelings for the human girl can never be more than fantasy. In a world where dreams, magic, and war collide, they must risk everything for a chance at happily ever after.
When Magic Dares — Tragedy thrust Princess Arianne of the Deachair into the role of ruler as a young girl. Duty dictates that Morainian soldier Tearloch Donne must pursue his clan’s traitor at any cost. With the fate of two dying clans depending on their success, a proud princess with dangerous secrets and a loyal warrior bent on revenge must embark on a journey that could save them all… or destroy them both.
When Magic Burns — Fae guard Regan McCrae eats, sleeps, and breathes duty, but dreams of capturing a royal heart. Cheeky seer guard Peter Duncan wants to do more in life than stand watch. As danger and destruction loom at the edge of the fae realm, a faithful warrior with a secret longing and a human who never takes things too seriously must attempt an impossible task where failure means unimaginable consequences.
When Magic Falls — Mel Ackerman thought magic was only for fairy tales, until she learns the fairy tales are real and she is the daughter of a fae god. Liam MacNeill must teach her to use her dormant magic against the maniacal traitor who wants to kill her, even if it means putting himself in the path of temptation. With the fate of the fae realm in the balance, they face a battle for their lives … and their hearts.
When Magic Wakes — Bree Duncan isn’t interested in babysitting a spoiled royal, but she can’t turn down a special assignment. After being taken captive and tortured, Aedan O Cuana is determined to get stronger—both physically and magically—at any cost. A human girl strong enough to stand up to the darkness and a broken prince who can’t escape his nightmares might find that together they can chase the shadows away.
These stories really should be read in order, because there is an overarching story that runs through all five novellas.
If you want to have them all in one pretty package, you can get Darkly Fae: The Moraine Cycle.
I also have a couple of bonus stories you can read for free on my website.
The Trial — A recounting of the trial of Daegus O Cuana, High Prince of the Clan Moraine, as written by Winnie Price of When Magic Sleeps.
Mel’s POV Scene — Chapter One of When Magic Sleeps, as told by Winnie’s friend Mel.
The Future
As for my future plans for this series, they are BIG. If you download the unseelie clans infographic, you’ll know that there are a dozen dark fae clans. There are just as many light fae clans, too.
Which means there are more than twenty clans for me to tell stories about. I hope one day to have told stories of them all.
The very next cycle I’m planning to work on is the Deachair cycle. You meet some of these characters in the Moraine cycle (especially in When Magic Dares).
Then, after that… more clans. And more clans. And I’ll have to find another series title when I switch to the light fae clans because they can’t exactly be called darkly fae, can they?
I’m also thinking about writing a collection of stories by Winnie Price, one of the stars of When Magic Sleeps. She’s a writer and has been writing stories about the fae realm for most of her life. I think it would be fun to publish a collection of these stories, from her storytelling perspective.
And I might also do some other short story collections from the fae realm, like Fairy Tales of the Darkly Fae or something. Someday…
So that’s everything I know about the Darkly Fae series at the moment. I hope you love reading about these characters and this world as much as I love writing about them!
If you want to try this series for FREE, you can grab a copy of When Magic Sleeps RIGHT HERE!
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