Forest Tales

I was getting ready to write about what I've been playing with recently when it comes to poetry, when I realized I'll have to do that some other time because I still haven't posted about Forest Tales! 

(Cover of Forest Tales by LK Nesse. A tunnel through a forest formed by trees. The title is in letters that have simple shapes with just a touch of fairy tale flair.)

Super short summary: Six short stories that give glimpses of daily life in an enchanted forest. You can get it here or through my ko-fi  in both epub and pdf formats.

Summary too short? I'm happy to tell you more!

I started writing these stories just for the sake of writing them, sharing them on a Substack I closed earlier this year. There was no planning or schedule for it. I think I only wrote three before I shut things down over there, and it took well over a year for me to do even that. Editing what I already had and adding to it was one of the first things I thought of when I decided to start selling my work. 

The stories aren't told in a linear order. The only character to show up in more than one story (so far) is Auntie Rheinae. A couple of the stories are written as letters, and one is written as historical documention. I decided the Forest has a library and the reader has found their way in to look through everything that is documented and preserved there. It is my intention to write more of the stories in the future, so we will make more than one trip to the Forest.

I'll give you some quick introductions to characters you meet in Forest Tales.

The Rabbit - Whatever this creature is, they are probably not a rabbit! The real question is whether they are a protector of the Forest, or just a threat to anyone from outside who is foolish enough to cross the boundary.

Auntie Rheinae - Witches in the Forest are known as Aunties and Grammas. Auntie Rheinae shows up in a Royal Knight's report about a strange incident in the Forest, and shows up again to grieve with another Auntie after the death of a Gramma.

Sir Bellydd - The knight who meets Auntie Rheinae. The Queen of the Land - and, by extension, her knights - have no authority in the Forest. The Forest and all the inhabits are well aware of this.

The Golden King - His story provides some of the history of the relationship between the Land and whiever wears the crown, as well as how the Land and the Forest separated.

The Werewolf - Is a werewolf who is unable to shift into wolf form truly a werewolf? This was a very emotional story to write, and the last line of this werewolf's letter may be my favorite part of all of the stories. 

Effynia - A necromancer who has summoned the spirit of her mother to have one last argument. Healing doesn't always happen the way one wants it to. 

I'm amazed that I hadn't written about Forest Tales here yet because I love these stories! Editing and rewriting was where all the work was. Each story's first draft just poured out once I got an idea and started writing. I look forward to working out how the Forest will grow in future stories.