THE STORY (SO FAR)...

"Once Upon a Time, there was a Little Fairy.  She was not like the elegant fairies you have perhaps read about in other books.  She was not at all willowy with large, colorful, silky butterfly-like wings, and she didn't glow like the other fairies, in hues of vivid purple, or bright pink, or lustrous green, or sparkling blue.

Instead, she was small, round, and ruddy brown and she had furred moth-like wings that barely carried her through the air.  And instead of emitting an intense  jewel colored light, her glow was very pale yellow and faint, like a faraway star..."

So begins my original fairy tale I wrote for children of all ages all over the world.  The Little Bayou Fairy is a neo-classic "hero journey" of an unlikely little heroine who sets out on a quest..  Her journey begins at the tip top of the Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana, where she resides with her fairy tribe and her dilemma is that everything that fairies are expected to do and excel at feel foreign to her: she can't fly very well, and she doesn't enjoy dancing or drinking flower nectar.  And yet everything that brings her joy and happiness like swimming and getting to know the animals that live underwater is frowned upon within her tight knit fairy community.  But with some encouragement from her marshmallow-ingesting catfish best friend, the unconditional support of her loving fairy family, and at the gentle urging of her real Fairy Godmother, she sets out on her quest, determined to find her place in this big ol' wobbly world.  

Her guide to her heart's desire is the Atchafalaya River itself and along the way, she encounters all of the wildlife you would expect to see there: alligators, egrets, nutria, blue cranes and egrets, crawfish, garfish, bullfrogs and river spiders.  And even some new fun creatures that the Little Fairy has never seen before... 

This is considered an "early reader" chapter book, but my intention as Author and Illustrator, is to make the book enjoyable for any and all ages.  

Richly illustrated with both rustic sepia tinted sketches that adorn the Chapter titles and text, along with full color full page illustrations, there is also a glossary of French/Cajun/Creole terms in the back, a bonus section of excerpts from "Daisy Nettlebee's Fairy Etiquette Compendium", and a letter from the Little Bayou Fairy's Godmother that explains the treasure hunt aspect of the book and how a human child person no older than 12 years can try and find the hidden talisman. (See the section below titled "WHAT IS THIS TALISMAN TREASURE HUNT I KEEP HEARING ABOUT?") 

 I also share an excerpt of my next book, due out in 4Q of 2021, "FREE UNICORN", which has a crossing reference within this book.

All in all, I really hope our World's Small Human readers enjoy this book because I wrote it for a child who loved to read, but earnestly wished for more different types of fairies.  I selfishly penned it for her pleasure and my own joy, but now it's time to release it so that hopefully, others can have the same experience.