Guest Blog by Mike Shevdon & Giveaway - March 18, 2011

Please welcome author Mike Shevdon to The Qwillery:

I was asked by Sally (Qwill) how 'Feyre' - as in the Courts of the Feyre - was pronounced. The answer is easy; I pronounce it the same way as 'fair', but you can pronounce it any way you want. But why Feyre? Why not Fae or Fey or Faerie? That question requires a longer answer.

It's been an issue of some controversy - several reviewers have commented that having the Courts of the Feyre wasn't true to mythology or consistent with other writers who wrote about faerie, fey, or fae, creatures. It seems like an obviously made up word and for some people that jars. There is even one notable rant on the subject on the web, though I suspect that is prompted by other motives related to the website owner's own work.

So why invent a word when other words already exist?

The idea for the Courts of the Feyre was prompted by a question. What if the creatures of English folklore really existed? A question like this prompts other questions: Why can't we see them, why don't we read about them in the newspapers? The answer to that is simple - they have magic that conceals them, but that sparks its own questions: What kind of magic? How does it work? It also spawns more subtle issues - what happens when these creatures die? Where is the evolutionary trail, the fossil record?

Some authors spend a huge amount of time world-building before they begin to write their stories. I guess they need a full picture of their world before they begin, but that's not how I approached it. I began with the ideas spawned by the questions and the rest of the world is consequences.

We can't see these creatures because they have magic.
If they have magic, why don't they rule the world?
There are too few, though they live a long time.
Why aren't there more of them?
Because they're dying out.
Why are they dying out?
Politics.

There are a number of authors who use Celtic mythology in their stories, some in very innovative ways, and Celtic mythology has it's own stories and cycles, but that's not my background and not my heritage. I'm English - about as English as it gets. My family tree disappears into Anglo-Saxon, possibly Viking immigrants (bloody Danes, coming over here, stealing our jobs, what's the ninth century coming to?) - at least as far as anyone knows. So when I created my world I wanted an English, not a Celtic, mythos.

I also wanted a modern world - if possible our world - the one where we go to work, eat burgers, have iPods and mobile phones, where there are police and CCTV. Again, it went back to a question - what if English folk-lore had a basis in truth - not the literal truth, but stories based on a reality that was only partly visible in the first place? What if the source of those stories was still there?

If you read enough English folklore there are themes that emerge. Time is not constant. A man meets a group of people on the road and they invite him to a party. The party is under a hill, but he goes with them and enjoys a fine night of feasting and entertainment. The next day he emerges to discover that everyone thinks he's dead. His wife has re-married and his children don't recognise him. Years have passed.

Children are a recurring theme. A baby is switched for a child that looks the same, but its eyes are knowing in a way that speaks of something far older. A search for the real baby ensues. A deal is made, a bargain to retrieve what was lost. The fascination with children and the concept of deals and bargains are threaded all through English folklore. These themes feed into the answers:

Why the fascination with children?
Because they don't have many children of their own.
Why not?
Infertility has crept in and they are no longer able to reproduce.
Why are they infertile?
They breed slowly because they live a long time.
That wouldn't make them infertile, though, would it?
It would if they've been selectively breeding themselves.
Why would they do that?
To reinforce the magic, to bring out the traits that leads to power.

But if they were selectively breeding themselves, then that would imply governance, or at least a societal pressure to conform. Where would such a pressure come from? And how do you explain that these creatures are all different? There are hobs and goblins, boggarts and brownies, trolls and nixies. Surely this isn't one race of creatures, but many?

What if they're all the same creature in different forms?
How would they get to be different forms?
A small change in DNA, a specific mutation, will result in differences in appearance.
Wouldn't that even out in a population over time?
It would, unless that population deliberately segmented itself based on appearance.
Why would it do that?
Because the outward appearance is related to the power that goes with it. Different appearance, different abilities.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, so if you had the power to change the world according to your will, wouldn't you eventually destroy yourselves? Isn't that what magic is - the power to change your world to suit yourself? But if many people have that power then surely they will come into conflict? There will be war, and that will destroy everyone.

Perhaps there was war, but so long ago that no-one remembers. They only remember what came from it, a division, a mechanism for peace and if not harmony, then separation. A population divided on their ability to manifest particular sorts of power, bent on strengthening and fostering that power, to the exclusion of all else. Seven Courts, established to provide peace and justice, and to prevent war.

For the name of these courts I looked first at Fey and Fae, but these words have connotations of flightiness and unreliability. My courts were about justice and judgement, and they made life and death decisions, so fae wasn't quite the right word. The idea of justice and judgement led to the phrase, The Fair Folk, a term used to describe faerie creatures, but the Courts of the Fair didn't quite work for my purposes, because they weren't always fair. Sometimes they were pragmatically unfair, even brutally so.

So I went back to the Middle English word 'fayerye', derived from the Old French 'faerie'. Not a pure French word, but one that was notably English in style and spelling. After all, no English dictionary existed until A Table Alphabeticall in 1604, produced by Robert Cawdrey: "A table alphabeticall conteyning and teaching the true writing, and vnderstanding of hard vsuall English wordes, borrowed from the Hebrew, Greeke, Latine, or French, &c.

From 'feyerye' I derive the Courts of the Feyre, a very English interpretation of mythical folklore in a modern setting. It's anachronistic, in the way that a creature that lives for a very long time would be.

In this world the themes from folklore are all there; lost children, deals and bargains, hidden worlds and lost time, but these are interpreted against a modern backdrop where ancient history is just below the surface and secrets and mysteries are hidden under our noses.

And for those who feel I have taken a liberty with the English language by creating a new word for creatures that have been part of English folklore for a very long time, I would ask your indulgence and for you to bear in mind that for the majority of that time, the spelling of words has been somewhat variable, and my spelling may not be as original as it seems.

 
About Mike's Books
 
Sixty-One Nails
Courts of the Feyre 1
(US - August 31, 2010)

There is a secret war raging beneath the streets of London. A dark magic will be unleashed by the Untained… unless a new hero can be found.
 
Neverwhere’s faster, smarter brother has arrived. The immense SIXTY-ONE NAILS follows Niall Petersen, from a suspected heart attack on the London Underground, into the hidden world of the Feyre, an uncanny place of legend that lurks just beyond the surface of everyday life. The Untainted, the darkest of the Seven Courts, have made their play for power, and unless Niall can recreate the ritual of the Sixty-One Nails, their dark dominion will enslave all of the Feyre, and all of humankind too.

FILE UNDER:
Urban Fantasy [Hidden War / Ancient Legend / Secret History / Deadly Duel]


The Road to Bedlam
Courts of the Feyre 2
(US - October 26, 2010)

There’s been an accident. It’s your daughter. These are the words no parent ever wants to hear.

Learning to cope with the loss of a child is only the beginning of the new challenges facing Niall Petersen. An old enemy has returned and Niall already knows it’s not a social call. As the new Warder of the Seven Courts he will be forced to choose between love and honour, duty and responsibility. Those choices will lead him to discover dark secrets at the core of the realm, where the people in power have their own designs.

FILE UNDER:
Urban Fantasy [Hidden War / Ancient Legend / Secret History / Deadly Duel]






About Mike

Photo courtesy of Mark Lewis Photography

Mike Shevdon lives in Bedfordshire, England with his wife and son, where he combines his various interests of writing, cookery and technology with the study of martial arts, particularly archery.

His blend of real history and folklore was launched on an unsuspecting world last year with his debut novel, Sixty-One Nails, published by Angry Robot Books. It interleaves forgotten legends and faerie tales with real history and ancient rituals that are still performed at the core of the realm to this day. A refreshingly different take on Urban Fantasy, The Courts of the Feyre is a series exploring humanity's relationship with the creatures that inspired the oldest of stories, weaving a modern faerie-tale into the fabric of reality. The sequel, The Road to Bedlam, was published in Autumn 2010, revealing more of the relationship between the everyday world and the secret world of magic and darkness beneath.

Mike's books are available in good bookshops around the world as well as online and as eBooks.


The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:   One commenter will win Mass Market Paperback copies of Sixty-One Nails and The Road to Bedlam by Mike Shevdon.

How:   Leave a comment answering this question: What do you imagine lurks beneath the surface of your city or town? Please remember - if you don't answer the question your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1) Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2) Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

3) Mentioning the giveaway on your on blog or website. It must be your own blog or website; not a website that belongs to someone else or a site where giveaways, contests, etc. are posted.

There are a total of 4 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry), Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry), and personal blog/website mention (+1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook, Twitter, or blog/website mentions. In addition please leave a way to contact you.

Who and When: The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Friday, March 25, 2011. Void where prohibited by law.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*

All views in guest blogs are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this blog or blog owner.