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Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

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Fairies

One Week to Launch!

October 7, 2021 by admin

The Factory Girl and the Fey will finally come out October 14, one week from today! I am so excited to finally share Jane Thorburn with you.

The journey for this release has been a long one, six years in fact. Jane is loosely based on my great-great grandmother, and bringing her back into the family fold has punched every emotional button. I have done my best to pay tribute to her by creating a story worthy of her. Without her, I wouldn’t be here!

There were times I needed a break. I spent a year away from it nursing health problems. Other times, I struggled with the sense that I was grieving for all those in the family who never knew she existed (I won’t say why here, because it’s a big spoiler). There was also the challenge of taking the sparse facts of her life and turning them into an actual story.

I’m grateful to editors Rosie McCaffrey and Esther White, who helped me stay on track and stuck with me until it was done. I also send a shout-out to Lynne Hansen, who created the perfect cover.

Early reviews have been favorable, with some readers emotionally affected by it in the way I was, and that encourages me.

The most important review came from my mom, who pronounced it my best work yet! Since I wrote it for her, I am satisfied, whatever happens from here on out.

The journey to completion and the self-discovery along the way has made it an important and worthwhile endeavor. I hope you enjoy it, too!

Filed Under: books, Faeries, fiction Tagged With: 19thcentury, books, Fairies, fiction, historicalfantasy, Scotland, strongwomen, wondertale

Delight!

March 26, 2019 by admin

When the Fair Folk, the Fae, the Fairies, showed up in the manuscript for Factory Girl, my first impulse was to shoo them away. I had an idea of what the story was about, especially since it is based in part on an actual life.

But the magic of the Fae will not be denied. As with other stories I have written, the story that wants to be told will stomp its feet and hold its breath until I pay attention. Woe be to me when I do not!

As I have finally surrendered to this development, I have moved beyond researching Scottish folk tales and into the play of it. I ordered fairy houses and other delights for my new garden. I am enjoying The Faerie Handbook: An Enchanting Compendium of Literature, Lore, Art, Recipes, and Projects by the editors of Faerie Magazine (now called Enchanted Living). Yes, there is a magazine! Who knew? I’m also reading Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee, filled with art and essays about the Fair Folk.

These new activities are activating something unusual in my ordinarily serious nature: delight. At 60, it appears I am finally reclaiming the joy of childhood.

Yesterday I added some text to Factory Girl where Jane sprouts wings for the first time. It was an extraordinary moment for me. Jane’s life is filled with challenges, and Factory Girl takes a hard look at life in industrial 19th-century Scotland. The magic of Factory Girl does not diminish the harsh realities or even make them easier to bear. Rather, it is about the curious thing that happens in our lives when great sorrow and great joy coexist side by side with each other.

Delight is not about ignoring the suffering of the world. It is about finding that which is beautiful so ugliness does not consume us. It is about finding joy that resides within us even when life is hard. It appears I still have much to learn from the Fae. I’m so looking forward to share with you what they are sharing with me!

Filed Under: books, Faeries, writing Tagged With: fae, faeries, Fairies, fey, fiction, novels

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