Author's Note

Are you wearing green today?  Are you making plans to go out tonight to drink cheap beer gussied up with green food coloring?  Are you ready to claim to be Irish, even if you’re not?  This seems to be the way many Americans celebrate today, St. Patrick’s Day.  But my mind turns in a different direction…. 

Many of my stories are inspired by folklore and fairytale.  There are rich treasure troves of ideas in every culture around the world, just waiting to be mined for story ideas.  I’ve written about Baba Yaga from the Russian tradition, The Morrigan from Celtic tradition, and the Tooth Fairy, using bits and pieces from multiple world cultures (did you know the Tooth Fairy is connected to rodents in France?).  And yes, I have written about leprechauns of the Irish tradition.  A troop of proud leprechauns make an appearance in my short story “In the Town of Henry’s Fence” (as yet unpublished). 

One of the things that really fascinates me about these folk tales is that if you read the old versions, they often differ drastically from what we hear in our modern culture.  Quite often, the older tale is deeper, or more frightening, or just plain more interesting than the modern one.  Leprechauns of old wouldn’t be caught dead shilling for sugary children’s cereal or fresh smelling soap, and they aren’t just happy-go-lucky little men waiting to give you a pot of gold.  The leprechauns of old were solitary fairies, usually appearing as wizened old men, but only as tall as a child.  Leprechauns were cobblers, making or repairing shoes.  They are portrayed as mischievous spirits, and very fond of playing practical jokes.  Some of them did indeed have pots of money, but the old tales tell that the leprechauns recovered it from pots that humans had buried in times of war, and then either forgot about  or were unable to come fetch them.  But there’s nothing said about rainbows or forcing a leprechaun to reveal the location of his stash.  But the part that would probably sit most uncomfortably with modern American audiences is how leprechauns dress.  In virtually all the old tales, leprechauns did not wear green – they wore red. 

So this brings me about to my original point about my mind going in a different direction on St. Patrick’s Day.  I’m not thinking about corned beef and cabbage or green beer; I’m thinking about how I can place an old-fashioned leprechaun in a modern story, and how much fun it would be to watch the characters interact and have to change their preconceived views of each other as the story unfolds. 

While I’m working on that, you might enjoy some of my other tales -

Check out In the Land of Plenty under the Freebies tab on this site, OR

For an old-fashioned feel, try Hounds of Winter and Over the Hogmanay Threshold

For more modern stylings, try Tony Came Home and Frankie’s Diner

Happy Reading – and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!