The Case of the Wayward Fae by H.L. Stephens

When evidence of faerie mischief begins to intertwine among the deceased, Sir Happy strikes out on his own to dig up the truth. As the bodies pile up in what the local authorities are calling 'unfortunate accidents,' the detective duo begins to suspect there is much more to these mishaps than meets the eye. The most miraculous thing happened as I once again looked upon the written words that represented in some small measure the spirit of my boy……his voice once again came alive in my head.At the Hanover country estate, as Mister Marmee and Sir Happy Heart take a much needed respite from the rigors of London life, they discover the wicked never go on holiday.

For it to end would be like losing my Happydog all over again. I need more than anything for his story to continue. I am still working on the ending of the Case of the Wayward Fae, and I need to finish it for Happydog. This weekend however, I dared to try…to face what I feared the most….the unbearable silence of my boy’s stories. For a time, I feared his voice would be silent forever, buried beneath a grief I could not overcome. For Happydog, there is a special sense of emptiness for he gave life to the stories I love to write so much. He was another glorious dog who left me way too soon. I know in part it is magnified by the loss of my beautiful Jessie Bess in November of last year, just three short months ago. I did not know I could feel such pain as this. Now that my Happydog is gone, there is a void in my spirit that defies description. He would have been 15 years old February 22. On Tuesday, February 19, 2013, the real Sir Happy Heart – the inspiration for the Sir Happy Heart in the Chronicles of Mister Marmee series – died. It is a love I cannot and will not ever forget. It is a love story that will forever shape and influence me no matter where my life may lead me. To read The Chronicles of Mister Marmee will reveal much about me and my heart, for it is a tribute to one of the greatest love stories of my life.

Whether it be a writer’s love of the history so artfully woven into a historical novel or a striking resemblance of a villain to a writer’s own real-life nemesis, reading an author’s stories will tell you something about them, no matter how insignificant the revelation may be. Somewhere between the layers of fiction and fantasy….amid the fanciful scenery and unknown realms….wrapped inside the quirky habits and eccentricities of the characters that draw the reader ever deeper into the story they enjoy lays some truth about the writer’s heart. The same may be said for every story conceived by the heart of man. There is a saying that behind every myth or legend is a grain of truth no matter how small the grain may be.

The Case of the Wayward Fae by H.L. Stephens