Friday, November 23, 2018

A Half-Faerie, Half-Mortal Wildflower

Before I could even attempt an “in depth” blog series for Half Faerie similar to the one I wrote for Isolt’s Enchantment, I had to do a LOT of research. The books were written from a deep place of heart, and their creation was largely intuitive, so much so that it was not uncommon for me to “come up” from a writing session as if from a trance. Often going back to re-read and edit I would have the experience of “Who wrote that?” having no concrete memory of creating (what for me were some of the best!) story events, nuances and subtleties. To revisit those depths in an effort to articulate meaning has proved incredibly daunting and required an entirely new exploration of the latest scientific discoveries and my own understanding of life and experience.

The result: a remarkable paradigm shift within me; a new way of looking at the universe itself and my place within it. Which I will now share with you as we move through the Daughter of Light trilogy, chapter by chapter.

And so it begins …

If Melia — the central protagonist in Daughter of Light — is anything, she’s a wildflower.

children's  books with strong female characters
Let’s break that down.

Wildflower definition: a wild or uncultivated flowering plant.

Wild: living in a state of nature; not tamed or domesticated.

fictional female warriors
Uncultivated: not educated; not refined; not cultured.

Flowering:  to produce flowers; blossom; come to full bloom. Also to come out into full development; mature. (Melia shall surely do both, on her own terms … and in her own way!)

Native American Proverb:


May your life be like a wildflower, growing freely in the beauty and joy of each day.

coming of age fantasy books
William Blake:



To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wildflower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.

William Wordsworth:



I am already kindly disposed towards you. My friendship it is not in my power to give: this is a gift which no man can make, it is not in our own power: a sound and healthy friendship is the growth of time and circumstance, it will spring up and thrive like a wildflower when these favour, and when they do not, it is in vain to look for it.

girl power books for adults, girl power books for tweens

The final quote smacks of destiny and Melia’s journey will require the truest of friends, wildflowers themselves.

women's friendship in literature

I can think of no better opening for the Half Faerie installment of this adventure than Sarah Darling’s cover of Tom Petty’s Wildflowers:


"Wildflowers"

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
Sail away, kill off the hours
You belong somewhere you feel free

Run away, find you a lover
Go away somewhere all bright and new
I have seen no other
Who compares with you

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
You belong with your love on your arm
You belong somewhere you feel free

Run away, go find a lover
Run away, let your heart be your guide
You deserve the deepest of cover
You belong in that home by and by

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong somewhere close to me
Far away from your trouble and worry
You belong somewhere you feel free
You belong somewhere you feel free


As a half-faerie, Melia is an outcast in the enchanted world where she lives with her two sisters and full-blood faerie mother. The girls' father has been exiled to the mortal world for breaking his faerie troth. When a tragic accident destroys what's left of Melia's fractured family, her mother is unforgiving. The punishment she metes out will leave her daughter torn between guilt and ecstasy, challenge the bonds between three sisters, and complicate Melia's relationship with a young priest who’s come to the Realm of Faerie on a mission of his own.

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