Looking forward to the week ahead, because… it is WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION 2023, my third year there, and I will be tuning into New Orleans from the comfort of my writing room. Really excited for so many inspiring panels, and conversations with readers and writers alike. And of course, I’m looking forward to being a panelist again, programmed on Friday’s, Just Who is the Villain panel. Buzzing – but more on that later.
In the meantime, October has been a mixed bag, with highs and lows and everything between. It was an unexpected and lovely honour to be asked to headline for a local live poetry night, sharing rhyming antics over a meandering feature slot. Inspiring as always to be among so many talented writers in the poetry scene of south west and beyond.
Last weekend, I had been looking forward to the annual BristolCon, but caught up in the Covid blues, I wasn’t able to make it. And so my newly-made banner is still waiting to make its first appearance.
Last year’s BristolCon was a buzz, with its bustling dealer’s room, and panels to inspire. This year I was looking forward to giving a reading from The Warder, opting for a nature inspired scene, as well as taking part in a panel to champion stand out reads this year. I have blogged about The Water Bailiff’s Daughter before, and it was an easy decision to root for it again. Here are just a few of the reasons why I love this book:
It is an unusual fantasy novel set against the atmospheric shores of Loch Duie on the western coast, steeped in Scottish folklore as we get the extraordinary tale of Helena Hailstanes, part witch, part otter, part human. As Helena comes to terms with her connection to the ancient race of shape-shifting otters, a connection she shares with her father, Sam, so begins her journey of self-discovery.
The story begins with Sam and his encounter with the sea witch, Megan, who has him chained up and held captive in her house boat. The sea witch of Ballaness seeks a mate to make a daughter every few years. Legend says the child is sent to the Fairie Isle, as tribute to the faeries who gave Megan her powers. Each year on May Day, her powers and youth are renewed by bathing in a headland spring that runs fresh from a lake in the Faerie Isle.
Folklore touching on the familiar, perhaps, although Megan is sure to surprise in oddly endearing ways. But for a while, weirdly familiar tropes seem to be at play.
Sam refuses Megan’s advances, and in turn is cursed to stay in human form. He runs, far from his life as a shore otter in Ballaness, and in a chance encounter, rescues a woman from drowning. The woman is Rose, attempting to drown herself and her unborn child, an illegitimate pregnancy – this is the 1920s/1930s. With Sam needing a new life and a fresh start, and Rose needing a husband and father for her child, they enter into marriage and form a family of convenience.
Meanwhile the sea witch Megan takes her revenge, finding Jeanette, Sam’s favourite mate, and cursing her to remain in otter form, thereby separating her from Sam. It’s a curse that extends to Jeanette’s pups, except that one child escapes the curse, and that is Helena Hailstanes. Destined to remain in human form, she ends up being raised by Rose and Sam, her true father. And so begins the weird and wonderful, as Sam and Helena attempt to refrain from their otter instincts.
An extraordinary tale with a wonderful cast of original, flawed and surprising characters all on their own path of self-discovery. Meghan, flawed from the outset since her life is built on secrets and lies of unreliable legends, spends most of her time trying to undo the chaos she creates. Deep down she cares, making for an oddly endearing antagonist. Sam, forgoing natural instincts to conform for those he grows to love, and Rose, willing to embrace what takes her firmly outside of her comfort zone. She brings an example of understated courage, willing to face her own past, and demons, to be able to acknowledge and support her step-daughter Helena. And Helena Hailstanes, navigating adolescence, utterly relatable, and a real demonstration of what it takes to face ourselves, our failings, our powers and potential. A real testament to how we can find respect, love and loyalty in the most unexpected places…
Keep reading, and wishing you a great week ahead…
