History: The Bad Fairy novel was completed in 2003, and it took me about five weeks to write. It was based on a short story of the same name, which I wrote in 2000. The novel version is expanded and changed so much that they're almost unrelated now. When I attempted to pursue publication on this novel, I got a lot of great responses from agents, but after a good prospect escalated through the submission process ("yes" on the query letter, "yes" on the partial, request for exclusive consideration and marketing questions from one agent), only to be shot down over its length, I decided to re-conceptualize this one as a trilogy. We'll see what happens. (I also based a Tarot deck on the book, as a gift for a friend.)

About Bad Fairy: This is the Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty story told from the point of view of an unlikely protagonist: The bad fairy herself.

Here's a modified blurb from one of my query letters:

What happened before Sleeping Beauty slept?

Delia Morningstar is a precocious and inquisitive half-fairy girl whose great talent and drive mark her for a promising future. But she has some peculiar interests: What is she learning when she dabbles in forbidden "dark" magick, and why does she have such an interest in the afterlife?

Shunned by popular society, she struggles to make her own living, but when one of her attempts to help her kingdom is misunderstood, she is ultimately held responsible for a curse on baby Aurora, her kingdom's beloved princess. Now forced into hiding, Delia must live in disguise as a typical fairy and continue to work toward a surprising goal: Saving the princess from death. While tweaking destiny from behind her mask, Delia discovers many unexpected aspects of both herself and her enemies. Though she ultimately succeeds in her original goal, she finds that dealing with who she's become is a battle she's only beginning.

This book tells the story of her life, literally from its beginning to the story's end. The book is divided into five sections. Each "book" is dedicated to some phase of her life. The sections are entitled "Beginning," "Learning," "Searching," "Hiding," and "Returning." If you would like to read the promotional two-page synopsis, go here. Otherwise, please try some excerpts.

• Excerpt 1 features Delia at age six, entering her fairy school for the first time and discovering she's different from her peers at a more fundamental level than she'd previously thought. Her human ancestry and young age set her apart, but on top of this, her magick operates differently. What's she going to do?

• Excerpt 2 takes place in Delia's circle class as the fairies prepare for their important transformation rituals. Delia's experiences with the other fairies' doubt and jealousy--and her own strengths and insecurities--are the subject of this excerpt.

• Excerpt 3 is the lead-up to Delia's involvement in royal affairs when she is much older. You get to follow her into the afterlife as she chooses a soul to align with and arranges for that soul to become the royal family's new daughter.