"American doctor Tara Moore wants to disappear. On the run from an abusive husband, she seeks shelter on a windswept Irish island and dismisses the villagers' speculation that she is descended from a selkie-a magical creature who is bewitching the island. But when a ghostly woman appears to her with a warning, Tara realizes it was more than chance that brought her to this island. Desperate to escape a dark and dangerous past, she struggles against a passionate attraction to handsome islander, Dominic O'Sullivan. But the enchantment of the island soon overpowers her and she falls helpless under its spell. Caught between magic and reality, Tara must find a way to wield both when a dangerous stranger from her past arrives, threatening to destroy the lives of everyone on the island."--page [4] of cover.
Irish islander Caitlin Conner has been in love with professor of Irish folklore Liam O'Sullivan for as long as she can remember. But just when he is starting to look at her as more than a friend, a mysterious woman arrives on Seal Island and captures his heart. As Caitlin discovers the truth behind the woman's lies, she realizes Liam is trapped in a dangerous enchantment and the only way to break the spell is to uncover a secret Irish fairy tale that has remained hidden for hundreds of years. But when the petals of a white rose grown in winter start to fall, the legend is set in motion, and Caitlin must find a way to change the ending before the last petal falls.
American detective Sam Holt has a knack for finding people who shouldn't be found. When his last case almost killed an innocent woman, he swore off detective work forever. But when this same woman asks him for one last investigation--to find her husband's long lost mother--Sam cannot refuse. Clairvoyant Irish artist Glenna McClure will do anything to stop Sam, even if it means teaming up with a powerful sorceress who she knows she cannot trust. But when the petals of a mysterious night-blooming rose begin to turn black, Glenna realizes that an even darker force is at work. To protect the people she loves, Glenna will have to face a terrible curse that has haunted her all her life before the final petal fades to ash.
The Lost Words by composer James Burton takes its inspiration and text from the award-winning 'cultural phenomenon' and book of the same name by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris: a book that was, in turn, a creative response to the removal of everyday nature words like acorn, newt and otter from a new edition of a widely used children's dictionary. Both the book and Burton's 32-minute work, which is written in 12 short movements for upper-voice choir in up to 3 voice parts (with either orchestral or piano accompaniment), celebrates each lost word with a beautiful poem or 'spell', magically brought to life in Burton's music. At its heart, the work delivers a powerful message about the need to close the gap between childhood and the natural world. Burton's piece was co-commissioned by the Hallé Concerts Society for the Hallé Children's Choir and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The piano accompaniment version was premiered at the Tanglewood Festival in 2019 by the Boston Symphony Children's Choir, of which Burton is founder and director. The Hallé Children's Choir will premiere the orchestral version of the full work in Manchester, UK, post-pandemic. Vocal Score Co-commission by Boston Symphony and Hallé Concerts Society for their respective Children's Choirs. Two versions - with orchestral or with piano accompaniment. The vocal score is the same for both versions. James Burton is a composer but also a conductor. He is conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and choral director of the Boston Symphony. The book The Lost Words, exquisitely designed, has won multiple awards and is an international best-seller. The vocal score includes Jackie Morris's beautiful imagery in its cover design.
Beth returns to the quaint seaside town of Grey Gallows in search of the mysterious, dark-haired youth who once rescued her from drowning there only to vanish into the mist, and finds instead a very human suitor who seems oddly familiar.
Selkie Bay is a place where the old legends seem very near, and eleven-year-old Cordelia believes that her secretive mother is a selkie who has returned to the sea--a belief that offers some hope as she struggles to care for her two younger sisters and help her scientist father makes ends meet in their home by the sea.
A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book of the Year An anthology featuring all-original tales of gaslamp fantasy from bestselling and award-winning authors including Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked. "Gaslamp Fantasy," or historical fantasy set in a magical version of the nineteenth century, has long been popular with readers and writers alike. A number of wonderful fantasy novels owe their inspiration to works by nineteenth-century writers ranging from Jane Austen, the Brontës, and George Meredith to Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and William Morris. And, of course, the entire steampunk genre and subculture owes more than a little to literature inspired by this period. Queen Victoria's Book of Spells is an anthology for everyone who loves these works of neo-Victorian fiction, and wishes to explore the wide variety of ways that modern fantasists are using nineteenth-century settings, characters, and themes. These approaches stretch from steampunk fiction to the Austen-and-Trollope inspired works that some critics call Fantasy of Manners, all of which fit under the larger umbrella of Gaslamp Fantasy. The result is eighteen stories by experts from the fantasy, horror, mainstream, and young adult fields, including both bestselling writers and exciting new talents, who present a bewitching vision of a nineteenth century invested (or cursed!) with magic. Includes short stories by Delia Sherman, Jeffrey Ford, Genevieve Valentine, Maureen McHugh, Kathe Koja, Elizabeth Wein, Elizabeth Bear, James P. Blaylock, Kaaron Warren, Leanna Renee Hieber, Dale Bailey, Veronica Schanoes, Catherynne M. Valente, Ellen Kushner and Caroline Stevermer, Jane Yolen, Gregory Maguire, Tanith Lee, Theodora Goss. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
A haunting, magical novel about joy, grief, courage and transformation from the international bestselling author of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. ‘On the afternoon that Esther Wilding drove homeward along the coast, a year after her sister had walked into the sea and disappeared, the light was painfully golden.’ The last time Esther Wilding’s beloved older sister Aura was seen, she was walking along the shore towards the sea. In the wake of Aura’s disappearance, Esther’s family struggles to live with their loss. To seek the truth about her sister’s death, Esther reluctantly travels from Lutruwita/Tasmania, to Copenhagen, and then to the Faroe Islands, following the trail of the stories Aura left behind: seven fairy tales about selkies, swans and women, alongside cryptic verses Aura wrote and had secretly tattooed on her body. The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding is a sweeping, deeply beautiful and profoundly moving novel about the far reaches of sisterly love, the power of wearing your heart on your skin and the ways life can transform when we find the courage to feel the fullness of both grief and joy.
“The Scottish myth of the selkie—a seal that can transform into human form—inspires a tale of life on the margins, forgiveness and redemption” (The Guardian). Donald, a young fisherman, is overwhelmed when he comes across a group of exotic women dancing on the shore beneath the moonlight. They are selkies—seals that shed their skin once a year and become human for a few hours. Overcome by their beauty and magic, Donald kidnaps one—a choice that will determine his future. Now, back home in his close-knit Scottish village, he must take responsibility for what he has done. Donald has been bullied and isolated all his life, but thanks to his mother and his stolen selkie wife, he finds the courage to question, then change the culture of the town that has been mired in the past for generations. Yet despite their mutual happiness, he can never truly forgive himself for the thoughtless act that brought his wife to him. This enchanting story works its way to a surprising yet satisfying ending. Based on a beloved Scottish legend, Sealskin is a timeless tale of the responsibilities of love—and the inner strength required to atone for terrible wrongs. “A haunting tale of family and consequences . . . The writing is sorrowful and lovely, with a well-earned, satisfying conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A powerful tale of love, learning and forgiveness, Sealskin is a bold and moving read that I was sad to put down.” —The Bookbag “Well-written and atmospheric . . . Bristow paints a vivid setting and knows how to tug on the heartstrings.” —Fantasy Literature
"Romantic, suspenseful, and witty all at once—Alice in Wonderland meets Neverwhere."—Claudia Gray, New York Times bestselling author of the Evernight series In Selkie's family, you don't celebrate birthdays. You don't talk about birthdays. And you never, ever reveal your birth date. Until now. On Selkie's seventeenth birthday, Selkie finally understands why. All she wanted a simple "Happy Birthday" from her secret crush, Ben. But the instant she blurts out the truth, her whole world shatters. Because the world she's known is only an elaborate enchantment designed to conceal the truth: Selkie is a half-faerie princess. And her mother wants her dead. The faerie court believes Selkie is a child of prophecy—fated to destroy the court's powerful grip on the supernatural world. And the only way for Selkie to survive...is to prove them right.
