Back of Beyond

You are alone in an empty house and something moves in the corner of your vision, but when you turn to look, nothing is there. A cold chill brushes by your neck, even though the windows are closed. You are alone in the room and you hear someone whisper your name. What — or who– are these things, and where do they come from? In this set of twelve short stories ordinary people catch a glimpse of a world they never know existed — a world that might lie at the heart of everyday reality.

Where did this book come from?
These stories grew out of my deep interest in fairies and fairy belief. What is it about humans that makes us create alternative worlds, with their own landscapes and creatures? Where do beliefs in changelings and boggarts and selkies come from? And how would those creatures present themselves in our world?

What do readers think?

A dozen brief, riveting tales that take readers to the edge of reality

-School Library Journal (a starred review)

With her matter-of-fact descriptions of faeries and changelings, selkies and secret gardens, one could almost begin to believe that the suburbs have magic in them.

-Voice of Youth Advocates

No smoke and mirrors here, only the pure transcendant magic of words.

-Quill and Quire (a starred review)

Back of Beyond won the Sheila A. Egoff Award and was on the School Library Journal’s list of Best Books of the Year.