Introducing The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles, Plus A Giveaway

Fairies, pixies and Celtic mythology meld together magically in the glorious childrens' tales of The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles by Scott Butcher.

Today I'm thrilled to introduce this Canadian-Australian author and his enchanting tales that traverse the globe from the southern hemisphere, through the Canada Place, to find illusory answers in the most mystical of all islands, the Emerald Isle.

Morning Rain Publishing is sponsoring a giveaway, so don't forget to enter for a chance to win at the end of this post.

But first let me hand you over to Scott, to introduce you to Stillwart, an intriguing pixie on a mission ...

Table of Contents

Introducing Stillwart

Stillwart was a pixie foundling. She was rescued as a young grain by Fionnabhair, the once great queen of the Southern Fairies.

Fionnabhair, Fiona for short, was very old at the time – her eyesight was waning, so perhaps she didn’t realize that the little grain was dull and shriveled, not sparkly and vibrant like a fairy grain.

Stillwart was something different. When she was born, she was ugly and brown, not glittery and golden. For a long time she was the only pixie in the Great Southland.

But where had she come from? The Southern Fairies were descended from the last remnant of their kind. Fiona had been the only adult fairy to have survived when the humans cut down the white thorn tree more than two hundred years before.

Fiona had come from Ireland in search of the last grains of her people, and her quest had led her to the far off southern shore of Australia. There she found the grain of her sister, Bell, and together they founded the Southern Fairies.

The Southern Fairies

So, the Southern Fairies were descended from Ireland, and Irish lore. But what of the pixie foundling, Stillwart?

For many years she had no idea where she had come from, then, long after she had given up ever knowing, her Irish ancestry was revealed to her, and a new adventure began.

The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles - Volume Two

The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles are a series of six short stories detailing the life and adventures of Stillwart the Pixie and her adopted fairy family.

The stories capture the Southern Land Fairy folklore by bringing to life their world, hierarchy, and the challenges they face to keep their race and magic alive.

Blog Tour Clues

The answer from yesterday's Clue #3 is "Fairies Don't Exist".

And for anyone searching for Clue #5 check out Cass McMain's blog tomorrow.

Scott Butcher's Irish Inspiration

For me, an Irish descended author born in Australia to an Irish-Canadian mother, even though I was more than 150 years removed from Ireland, Stillwart always had to be Irish.

My family on my mother’s side lived in the northern wilderness of Ontario and on the planes of Saskatchewan, but had remained a part of the Irish communities there.

There is fairy lore from other countries, but I had always been interested in the Irish stories and in their origins from the Celtic tales of a strange semi-legendary people called the Tuatha Dé Danann, recorded in the Lebor Gabála Érenn or The Book of The Taking of Ireland.

So, in The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles, you’ll see a strong Irish influence. Many of the fairy queens have Celtic names: Fionnabhair, Flóraidh, Etain, Eithne.

The ancient lore of the white thorn tree is maintained and is given an important part in the chronicles, while other Celtic creatures, such as selkies and banshees, come to light.

Celtic places in Wales and Cornwall also become part of the story. Tintagel, from where Uther Penn Dragon rode the dragon’s breath to sire his son King Arthur, as it turns out, is a sacred site to the pixies.

My own name, Scott, was my mother’s maiden name and is a name descended from some of the earliest of arrivals in Ireland. The Romans recognized the Scotti as a tribe of Irish sea pirates, while Scota was a mythical ancestress of the Gaels who took Ireland in an early Iron Age invasion. Here, in The Chronicles, the name is used again.

The Celtic mythology’s of ‘fairy people’ would, at times, put a Grimm’s fairy tale to shame, but in The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles, the lighter, ‘child-friendly’ side of pixie tales is provided for middle grade readers. I’m sure they’ll enjoy them.

A glimpse of future Pixie Tales by Scott Butcher.

The Giveaway

Simply fill out your e-mail or log in using Facebook on the Rafflecopter widget below to be entered into this giveaway. If you follow the Rafflecopter instructions you can earn some extra entries. Best of luck to all the entrants.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Coupon For Purchasing The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles

Morning Rain Publishing has provided a 20% discount code for orders of The Fairly Stillwart Chronicles placed on August 27th through 29th, 2015.

Thank You

I’m extremely grateful to Scott Butcher and Morning Rain Publishing for providing this wonderful guest post and images for me to share with you today. Those pixie drawings are simply fabulous, and that mystical map just stirred my imagination. Wishing them every success with this installment of these magical chronicles.

Don't forget to visit Cass McMain's blog next on August 24th for the next blog tour stop.

Here are some more ramblings you might enjoy:

The Many Names for Ireland

What Is A Limerick?

The Fairy Wood of Corkagh Park