I’m thrilled to welcome friend and fellow poet Colleen Chesebro to talk about her latest book, “Fairies, Myths, & Magic 2.” Here’s my review: LINK
Thank you, Denise for the opportunity to share the news of my new book, just in time for the winter solstice and Yule.
You and I love fairies, Denise. However, in Fairies, Myths, & Magic II, I embraced the darker side of fairies. Not too dark, but just enough to show the difference between the two fairy courts. There must always be a balance between the light and the darkness.
From Scottish folklore, we’re introduced to the Seelie Court, and the Unseelie Court. Representing the Summer Solstice, the Seelie Court signifies a blessed time of the year. However, it is during the darkness of winter, the Unseelie Court of fairies makes its appearance.
It is the Unseelie who are most associated with the belief in witches. They are a malevolent bunch. It’s thought that if members of this court grew fond of a human who was respectful to them, they’d likely chose them to become their pet. Think bogies, boggarts, brownies, and other dark creatures of the night.
Here’s a little story I wrote especially for Denise to illustrate the darker nature of fairies. This story is not found in the new book but keep your eyes out for Tomte. He’s the Swedish version of the Russian Domovoi.
The Domovoi
The minute she opened the door, Danica felt the presence of the Domovoi in the kitchen. Flour covered the floor and the table.
“Did you make this mess?”
“Da,” a small voice answered.
“Don’t you want to celebrate the winter solstice with me?
Dusa was her home’s guardian, and he often helped her with household chores.
“I was afraid you forgot me.”
“I never forget you. Come, have some honey cakes. I’ll leave them on the table for you. They will sweeten your mood.”
Danica set the plate of honey cakes on the table. She hurried into the other room to prepare for her winter solstice celebration.
As soon as she left, Dusa gobbled up the treats. With a snap of his fingers, the mess disappeared.
Danica smiled. She added honey cakes to her shopping list. She could never have enough with a house fairy in residence.
~~~
So, the moral of the story is to always remember to take care of your house fairy and not neglect them. Especially during the holidays.
The Domovoi is a Slavic gnome-like house spirit that attaches themselves to a family. As benevolent spirits, they often protect the home and family from harm. Their primary purpose is to take care of the family. But they can be a handful to have around.
You don’t see them, but some people can sense their presence. In fact, from everything I’ve read… you don’t want to see them! It’s considered bad luck to see your Domovoi.
They are sensitive little beings who if ignored, will cause mischief. It’s always best to not piss-off the fairies. Seriously!
It’s customary to leave treats (always the best from your celebration) such as milk, honey, beer, wine, cake, cookies, etc. which will let the Domovoi know that you appreciate them.
About the Book:
In this second book in the Fairies, Myths, & Magic series, step into a world where dark fairies, and other magical beings converge in a collection of poetry and short stories inspired by winter and the celebration of the winter solstice.
From Autumn’s scary fairies to the forgotten female characters of Yule, prepare to embrace the magical winter solstice myths from around the world. Meet Frau Holle in the Wild Hunt, Befana—the Christmas Witch of Italy, and the Japanese goddess Ameratasu who controls the springtime. Prepare to embrace the Scottish trows, The Irish Goddess of Winter—the Cailleach Béara, and Snegurochka—the Snow Girl.
Learn how to make Yuletide rituals part of your celebration by embracing the symbols of Yule by decorating with evergreens and crystals.
Fairies, Myths, & Magic II Links
Colleen’s Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Colleen-M-Chesebro/e/B01N9MV2RX
Amazon Universal Link: https://mybook.to/FairiesMythsMagicII
About the Author:
An avid reader, Colleen M. Chesebro rekindled her love of writing poetry after years spent working in the accounting industry. These days, she loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction.
In addition to poetry books, Chesebro’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of her writing community on Word Craft Poetry.com by organizing and sponsoring a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called #TankaTuesday, where participants experiment with traditional and current forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry.
Chesebro is an assistant editor of The Congress of the Rough Writers Flash Fiction Anthology & Gitty Up Press, a micro-press founded by Charli Mills and Carrot Ranch.
In January 2022, Colleen founded Unicorn Cats Publishing Services to assist poets and authors in creating eBooks and print books for publication. In addition, she creates affordable book covers for Kindle and print books.
Chesebro lives in the house of her dreams in mid-Michigan surrounded by the Great Lakes with her husband and two (unicorn) cats, Chloe & Sophie.
Find Colleen here:
Word Craft Poetry: https://wordcraftpoetry.com
Colleen M. Chesebro, Author, Poet & Unicorn Cats Publishing Services: https://colleenmchesebro.com
Facebook Page: Colleen M. Chesebro, Poet & Author: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085941528913
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/colleen-m-chesebro-6b856b237
