Blackwood: a fairy tale

By Stephen Gallagher

Chapbook, novella, 69 pages

Back in 1912, a rural valley somewhere in England was flooded to create a new reservoir. Three villages and an ancient woodland disappeared beneath the waters and a new, man-made forest was planted on the banks of the lake. Now it's a leisure park supervised by Forest Ranger Damien Ryan with backup from his semi-retired father, Donald.

Five generations of the Ryan family have served this valley. Their traditional duties have included managing the woodland, policing the area, looking after the public... and dealing in a matter-of-fact way with the occasional rogue nature spirit or elemental that may need capturing and returning to its habitat. They do this quickly and discreetly, ensuring that the existence of these relatively harmless 'hidden folk' remains unnoticed by the general public.

But when globetrotting academic and anthropologist Ariane Ryan returns to the family home, she finds her father and brother preparing to take on an unusual challenge. The lake's been partly drained and, for the first time in a century, the ancient woodland has re-emerged.

Its Elementals, trapped in darkness and slow decay for all that time, have been set loose. And for at least one of them, there's an old score to be settled....

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0CNRLQZ11
• ISBN13: 9798868308147
• Release Date: November 2023
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 70 Pages
• Weight: 0.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.3" x 8.0"