Guest Post & #Giveaway: The White Deer of Kildare (The Castle in Kilkenny: Fairy Tales #2) by Christy Matheson
- Archaeolibrarian
- 14 hours ago
- 6 min read
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A Winter Solstice fairy tale adventure
All Maura wants is a peaceful winter holidays in her Irish castle, but her ex is threatening her with family court, and her second grader has invited a strange—completely unclothed—friend, to spend the holidays with them. Oh. And the friend’s dog, which is not actually a dog but probably one of the white deer of Celtic myth.
Maura distracts herself from her husband’s threats by trying to discover why a Fae deer is in her kitchen, when the two accidentally end up in the Ireland of ancient myth. The White Deer was the human queen of this castle, but she has husband trouble too. Can Maura help her new friend, and will she ever make it home to her children?
This Winter Solstice novella is perfect for one or two reading sessions. It will appeal to readers who enjoy cozy fantasy, ancient history, Irish folklore, and uplifting stories about motherhood and found family.
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Just think, you shall be at Dún Ailline and see your father soon,” Maeve suggests.
“No, I shan’t!” Saba bursts into speech. “That’s what Fionn told me while we were walking. He’s not taking me home after all.”
That’s too bad of Fionn, to disappoint his wife so soon after returning! And he went on about how he loved her more than the moon and stars.
“Where are we going?” Ailbe asks quietly.
“That’s the other trouble.” Saba squeezes Ailbe’s hand. “Most of you are staying here. Fionn wants to travel quickly, and is only allowing me one of my ladies to care for my needs.”
My heart swoops in fear. If Saba leaves me behind, I will be sickeningly alone in a strange land. And what about the best druids in the south of Ireland—they were going to help me return to my children.
The six ladies in waiting exchange looks, and all turn to me.
“You must take Maura, of course,” Maeve says.
“Of course,” the others murmur, eyes cast down.
Or perhaps I should stay with my own castle, and hope that one day I just walk through a door into my own rooms?
“There is something about the way she came to us,” Ailbe says. “I believe there might be a reason for her presence just now.”
“Besides”—Maeve drops her voice so only Saba and I can hear—“Maura is a mother herself, and our queen might need the advice of a married woman.”
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Offices of Grant, Kowalski, Harmon, et al.
For internal use only
Client: Roy RobinsonCase type: divorce
Profile of key player: Maura Robinson
Role: Current wife (2nd wife)
Status: Served with papers. Not contesting.
Roy Robinson’s notes for the team:
Appearance:
Dark hair, blue eyes. Kind of fat. The kind of face that used to be really pretty, like a woodland nymph, but now just looks like an ordinary mom. She hasn’t used beauty products in years, and it shows. You can tell who she is because there’s cheerios stuck to her dress, haha.
Just for clarity—are we even talking about the same woman? The person I thought was Maura Robinson wasn’t fat at all, and she was perfectly well put together. —CS
Yeah, but she doesn’t fit in Givinchyany more. Get used to the way these people think, Chris, or you’ll never get that promotion. —LL
Assets MR brought to marriage:
Big fat nothing. No money, no property, no relatives died and left her anything. She never even held a job during our marriage. Everything we have is mine.
What about the kids? Don’t we give her credit for the kids? They’re priceless. —CS
She doesn’t get financial credit for the kids. But what Robinson doesn’t realize is this gives her more rights in divorce court, not less. —LL
Yeah, but it still rubs me wrong. How about cinnamon rolls? Can we put those on her balance sheet? —CS
Probably not. But I’ve never had a plaintiff bring homemade cinnamon rolls to the lawyers on the opposition before. They were good. —LL
Notes on MR family, likelihood to counter-sue?
Ha! Her family probably couldn’t read the signs to get into a law office. Her dad is a plumber or something like that. Never could manage to carry on a conversation with him. Besides, they’re all the way in Boston.
Wasn’t Maura in a super exclusive PhD program? Usually total idiots don’t raise first-rate scholars. —CS
Let’s focus on the part about them living on the other coast. —LL
Parenting style? Anything we should bring up to get improved custody arrangement?
Hey, I give credit where credit is due. Maura is a really great mom. She doesn’t even want a nanny to help out. Her food is really good, too. I probably gained 15 pounds while we lived together, even though I go to the gym every day.
Since she’s such a great mom, I think it might be pointless to refuse her request for full custody. The judge is never going to think I deserve equal custody, especially since I have to work so much, and the new baby is going to take a lot of my time. We could just let her have this one.
In other words, he doesn’t want to bother with his own kids? —CS
No comment. —LL
Notes on family condo. MR is still living there (with children), Client is only name on deed.
Of course Maura deserves a place to live, and of course I want our kids to have somewhere comfortable. But this condo is in a really nice area, and the HOA fees are over $1k/month.
Besides, my new girlfriend wants it.
Attached: Deed to condo. Client owns outright, Maura’s name not on paperwork.NB: Poor thing needed a lawyer years ago. —CS
What assets is Client willing to cede, to encourage MR to concede to his terms in divorce?
Maura was a pretty nice gal, really. And I do want the best for those kids. So I don’t mind being generous—except of course my brother and my first wife are already contesting a bunch of assets. And I need to provide for my girlfriend (soon to be wife) and our family.
So can we manage to pay Maura off with something liquid? She doesn’t even know she has stock in the Robinson business, can we just sell her shares and give her the money? I’ll even give her more money if she doesn’t contest anything.
Maybe she’d be happier living somewhere else. Somewhere kind of far away. Somewhere that she’s not ever going to bump into my new wife at the coffee shop. Or me. It’s kind of embarrassing, you know? I’d be happy to liquidate some assets if Maura would move far, far away.
Attached: list of stock options in Maura Robinson’s name
NB: They were part of her original marriage contract. Why doesn’t she know about them?
NB2: Sometimes I hate this job. —CS
Hey, I’ve heard worse ideas than this. We’ll just suggest to her lawyer that she asks him to buy her a house really far away. A really expensive house. —LL
What do you bet there’s going to be a Wife #4 in a few years? —CS
This doesn’t count as billable hours, Chris. —LL
Christy Matheson writes award-winning fiction about friends, family, and finding one’s place in an ever-changing world.
She is the author of "The Castle in Kilkenny: Fairy Tales" novella series. Each one sets a traditional Irish fairy tale within a modern blended family, perfect for readers wanting a cozy family adventure.
Christy's regular historical work (sans fantasy elements) can be found in the award-winning "Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women," of which she is also an editor. Her Regency novels are represented by Kristina Sutton-Lennon and have won pre-publication awards for women’s fiction.
Christy is also an embroidery artist, classically trained pianist, and sews all of her own clothes. She lives in Oregon, on a country property that fondly reminds her of a Regency estate (except with a swing set instead of faux Greek ruins), with her husband, five children, three Shelties, one bunny, and an improbable quantity of art supplies.
Website: https://christymatheson.com
Newsletter: https://sendfox.com/ChristyMatheson
Tour hosted by: Goddess Fish Promotions
I liked the excerpt.
Thank you for sharing. Sounds really good.
Thank you for featuring me and "The White Deer" today! I hope you enjoy the book, and this tongue-in-cheek introduction to the main character.