There's a deer sorting Christmas decorations in Maura's kitchen...
All Maura wants is a peaceful winter holidays in her dilapidated Irish castle, but her ex is threatening her with family court, and her second grader has invited a strange--completely unclothed--friend, to spend the holidays with them. Oh. And the friend’s dog, which is not actually a dog but probably one of the white deer of Celtic myth.
Maura distracts herself from her husband’s threats by trying to discover why a Fae deer is in her kitchen, when the two women accidentally end up in the Ireland of ancient myth. The White Deer was the human queen of this castle, but it appears she has husband trouble too. Perhaps...the deadly sort of trouble.
Can Maura rescue her new friend — or is Maura herself so tangled in the White Deer's fate that she won't make it home to her children alive?
This novella will appeal to readers who enjoy cozy fantasy, ancient history, Irish folklore, and uplifting stories about motherhood and found family.
Human Saba is slightly taller than I am, very upright, her eyes very round and brown. Her skin is white—not a euphemistic “white” like mine, but white like a piece of paper or bleached linen. It is startling; slightly inhuman. Glancing around the room, a couple of the others have a complexion like hers, a few are fair and blond in the Saxon style, and most are either Black like OisÃn, or olive-skinned and black-haired. As a historian, I am fascinated; I suppose this is a period when the different waves of migration are all present.
As a mother…this is not good. Not good at all. Still holding Saba’s hand, I twist and look all around both of us, but Kaylee’s pompom garland is nowhere to be found. I sip my tea. It tastes like the Mandarin Orange Spice I was drinking before, but it does not transport me back to the 21st-century.
“Saba?” My voice comes out half-choked.
She turns to me, her face lighting up with a smile. “Maura, dear! Aren’t you excited? My husband and his men will be back in time for the Solstice!”
I understand her, and I am vastly relieved. Whatever language they are speaking here, it is just as clear to me as Saba’s grasp of everything we said in modern English.
“Do you remember me?” I ask. “Do you remember why we are here?”
Christy Matheson writes award-winning fiction about friends, family, and finding one’s place in an ever-changing world.
She is the author of "The Castle in Kilkenny: Fairy Tales" novella series. Each one sets a traditional Irish fairy tale within a modern blended family, perfect for readers wanting a cozy family adventure.
Christy's regular historical work (sans fantasy elements) can be found in the award-winning "Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women," of which she is also an editor. Her Regency novels are represented by Kristina Sutton-Lennon and have won pre-publication awards for women’s fiction.
Christy is also an embroidery artist, classically trained pianist, and sews all of her own clothes. She lives in Oregon, on a country property that fondly reminds her of a Regency estate (except with a swing set instead of faux Greek ruins), with her husband, five children, three Shelties, one bunny, and an improbable quantity of art supplies.
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We appreciate you featuring THE WHITE DEER OF KILDARE.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fascinating read.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading this book. Thanks for sharing.
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