Charles De Lint

Bright lights, big city...magic spells, witchcraft, wizardry, fairies, devilry, and more. Urban living, at least in fantasy fiction, is full of both magical wonder and dark enchantment. Street kids may have supernatural beings to protect them or have such powers themselves. Brujería may be part of your way of life. Crimes can be caused (and solved) with occult arts and even a losing sports team's "curse" can be lifted with wizardry. And be careful of what cab you call — it might take you on a journey beyond belief! Some of the best stories of urban enchantment from the last few years gathered in one volume full of hex appeal and arcane arts.

Eithnie is a young painter who is acclaimed by the art world, until the critics start noticing that her work has lost the animating passion that had set her apart from the crowd. She returns to her cabin in Canada's remote woods, hoping to find a place where she can seek solitude and focus on her art.At first, Eithnie's muse remains elusive, but then beautiful and disturbing creatures start slipping into her sketches unbidden. The following days bring strange visitors bearing cryptic messages indicating that Eithnie may be bound by a promise made in a forgotten, magical childhood. The world of Faerie is clearly reaching out to her for help, and her ability to figure out what they need may mark the difference between their survival and their doom.

Juniper Wiles once starred as a plucky teen detective in the popular TV show, Nora Constantine. When the series ended seven years ago, Juniper made a decision to leave L.A. and return home to Newford where she joined friends at the artists' collective, Bramleyhaugh, the center of which is her pal, beloved faerie artist Jilly Coppercorn.Now, out of the blue, the fictional world of Nora Constantine is bleeding into Newford, starting with the inexplicable murder of a young man. Juniper may have wanted to leave her role as a detective behind, but when she's accosted by the ghost of that young man everything changes. To solve this crime will require all the skills she learned training for Nora Constantine. And the effervescent Jilly, always up for a new adventure, is ready to come along for the ride. "Charles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams, urban legend-all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. No one does it better."-Alice HoffmanI can never recapture the feeling of first arriving in Newford and meeting the people and seeing the sights as a newcomer. However, part of the beauty of Newford is the sense that it has always been there, that de Lint is a reporter who occasionally files stories from a reality stranger and more beautiful than ours. De Lint also manages to keep each new Newford story fresh and captivating because he is so generous and loving in his depiction of the characters. Yes, there are a group of core characters whose stories recur most often, but a city like Newford has so many intriguing people in it, so many diverse stories to tell, so much pain and triumph to chronicle.-Challenging Destiny"De Lint creates an entirely organic mythology that seems as real as the folklore from which it draws."-Publishers Weekly, starred review"De Lint is a romantic; he believes in the great things, faith, hope, and charity (especially if love is included in that last), but he also believes in the power of magic-or at least the magic of fiction-to open our eyes to a larger world."-Edmonton Journal"It's hard not to feel encouraged to be a better person after reading a book by Ottawa's Charles de Lint."-Halifax Chronicle HeraldIf Ottawa-area author Charles de Lint didn't create the contemporary fantasy, he certainly defined it. ...writer-musician-artist-folklorist de Lint has lifted our accepted reality and tipped it just enough sideways to show the possibilities that lie beneath the surface... Unlike most fantasy writers who deal with battles between ultimate good and evil, de Lint concentrates on smaller, very personal conflicts. Perhaps this is what makes him accessible to the non-fantasy audience as well as the hard-core fans. Perhaps it's just damned fine writing. -Quill & QuireIn de Lint's capable hands, modern fantasy becomes something other than escapism. It becomes folk song, the stuff of urban myth.―The Phoenix GazetteCharles de Lint shows that, far from being escapism, contemporary fantasy can be the deep mythic literature of our time.―The Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionMaybe you find it hard to believe that the dirty, smelly, crowded modern-day city can have any sort of mystique or magic to it, but believe me, there's a lot more than what meets the eye. Legends stalk the slums, ghosts haunt the cobblestoned streets, goblins dwell in the buried part of the city, and nightmares share the roads. The city itself possesses character, spirit, and an identity.-Green Man Review

The great songs and folktales of the English, Irish, and Scottish tradition reimagined in comic book form by some of the most famous fantasy and science fiction authors of the 20th century, including Neil Gaiman (Sandman), Charles de Lint (Widdershins, The Onion Girl), Jane Yolen (Lost Girls, Briar Rose), Sharyn McCrumb (The Ballad of Frankie Silver), Jeff Smith (Bone), and more.

De Lint's first adult fantasy novel in 8 years weaves a rich tapestry of story with classic CdL elegance. Young Thomas Corn Eyes sees into the otherworld, but all he wants to do is get off the rez. Steve Cole escaped from his rock star life to disappear into the desert and mountains. Fifteen-year-old barrio kid Sadie Higgins has been discarded once too often. Blogger Leah Hardin needs to leave Newford, come to terms with the loss of her best friend, and actually engage with her life. When these lives collide in the Hierro Maderas Mountains, they must struggle to escape their messy pasts and find a way to carve a future for themselves.They don't just have to learn how to survive. They have to learn how to fly.

"The Crow Girls and their kind, once seen, are impossible to forget. Wild, but curiously childlike; wise and yet playful; existing outside the confines of conventional morality, and yet bringing hope and clarity to everyone whose lives they touch."-Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat, from her introduction to this book. Charles de Lint's readers have been asking him to put together story collections featuring their favourite Newford characters. The crow girls are among his best-loved characters, so de Lint obliged by gathering their stories all under one roof, so to speak. Some other members of the Newford repertory company show up here, but at the forefront of each story are these two little wild girls with their big personalities. This book features an introduction by Joanne Harris and an afterword by the de Lint.Cover art by Tara Larsen Chang (www.taralarsenchang.com).These stories have all been published before. "Crow Girls" is also available in The Very Best of Charles de Lint and in Moonlight and Vines; "Twa Corbies" in Moonlight and Vines; "The Buffalo Man" in Tapping the Dream Tree; and "A Crow Girls' Christmas" in Muse and Reverie. "Make a Joyful Noise," published in a limited edition by Subterranean Press, has not appeared in any of his previous collections."Nobody does urban fantasy better than Charles de Lint. He has a gift for creating engaging, fully realized characters, totally believable dialogue, and a feeling that magic is just around the corner ... He can make you believe 'as many as six impossible things before breakfast.' " -Amazon.com Editorial Review"De Lint's elegant prose and effective storytelling continue to transform the mundane into the magical at every turn. Highly recommended."-Library Journal, Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. "In many hands, the urban fantasy plot involving strange beings just around the corner fails dismally. It does not in the hands of the reliable, the inimitable de Lint ... -Booklist" de Lint...clearly has no equal as an urban fantasist and very few equals among fantasists as a folklorist."-BooklistCharles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams, urban legend-all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. No one does it better.- Alice HoffmanCharles de Lint writes like a magician. He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories that feel more real than we are when we read them. He is, simply put, the best.- Holly BlackUnlike most fantasy writers who deal with battles between ultimate good and evil, de Lint concentrates on smaller, very personal conflicts. Perhaps this is what makes him accessible to the non-fantasy audience as well as the hard-core fans. Perhaps it's just damned fine writing. -Quill & Quire

A charming novella about one of Newford's best-loved characters: artist and dreamer Sophie Etoile. Lured by mystical Native American flute-player Kokopelli, Sophie opens a door in her dreams only to find herself in the wild Sonoran desert, her way back vanished. In her quest to return she gets sidetracked by Coyote, up to his usual mischief. A poignant tale touching on loss, hope and community. First published in Worlds of Fantasy and Horror #2, Fall, 1994. Cover art by Stephanie Lostimolo (http: //www.nethersphere.com/art.html). Charles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams, urban legend-all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. No one does it better. - Alice Hoffman Charles de Lint writes like a magician. He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories that feel more real than we are when we read them. He is, simply put, the best. - Holly Black De Lint is probably the finest contemporary author of fantasy - Booklist, American Library Association Unlike most fantasy writers who deal with battles between ultimate good and evil, de Lint concentrates on smaller, very personal conflicts. Perhaps this is what makes him accessible to the non-fantasy audience as well as the hard-core fans. Perhaps it's just damned fine writing. - Quill & Quire De Lint's evocative images, both ordinary and fantastic, jolt the imagination. - Publishers Weekly It is hard to imagine urban fantasy done with greater skill - Booklist, American Library Association

The heart-pounding conclusion to the thrilling Wildlings trilogy. At the end of Over My Head, Josh has propelled himself into the Otherworld where he believes his former girlfriend Elzie is in imminent danger. He leaves behind his closest friends: Marina, whose fledgling romance with Theo is increasingly complicated by her undeniable feelings for Josh, and Des, who is trying to figure out his own role amongst his Wildling friends. In this unpredictable world a side-step from our own, Josh discovers more about the awesome power he holds within as he deals with hostility from certain animal clans and elders. Back in Santa Feliz his friends are facing a huge anti-Wildling rally that threatens all Wildling teens with segregation and incarceration. In the most tense and perilous of circumstances in both worlds, Josh and his friends must rely on each other's love, ingenuity and loyalty just to survive."Charles de Lint writes like a magician. He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories that feel more real than we are when we read them. He is, simply put, the best."- Holly Black"Charles de Lint's greatest strength...is his obvious love for his characters, and empathy for people generally. ...he is showing us people living up to their potential, rather than down to it. And that is what makes de Lint's books rewarding."- Locus Magazine"De Lint's evocative images, both ordinary and fantastic, jolt the imagination."- Publishers Weekly"Unlike most fantasy writers who deal with battles between ultimate good and evil, de Lint concentrates on smaller, very personal conflicts. Perhaps this is what makes him accessible to the non-fantasy audience as well as the hard-core fans. Perhaps it's just damned fine writing." - Quill & Quire

An anthology of science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories, each with a bookstore at its core. Stories by Ramsey Campbell, Charles de Lint, Harlan Ellison, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jack Williamson, Gene Wolfe, and more, with an introduction by Neil Gaiman.

From one of the world's leading fantasists comes an exhilarating new series that will thrill teen and adult readers alike.For the past six months, something has been happening to young people in Santa Feliz. Week after week, there's news of another teen changing shape, transforming from human to wild animal and back again. The federal government has stepped in, running public service announcements calling for affected youth to turn themselves in for "orientation and training." Josh Saunders has seen the news reports, but he is still unprepared when it happens to him. One minute he's arguing with his mother's boyfriend and the next, he is looming over the man, blood dripping from his claws-he has transformed into a mountain lion. When he switches back to his human body, he knows his life has changed forever. He has become a Wildling. Trusting only his best friends Des and Marina with his secret, Josh tries to return to regular living. But an encounter with Elzie, another Wildling, brings him unwanted attention from the authorities. And when an accidental betrayal reveals Josh's secret, his carefully constructed cover is ripped apart, forcing his friends to intervene. They must grudgingly put their trust in others, including other Wildlings-and, most challenging, in each other- if they ever hope to save him.

From the master of contemporary urban fantasy, a new collection of "Newford" stories The city of Newford could be any city in North America, bursting with music, commerce, art, love, hate, and, of course magic. Magic in the sidewalk cracks, myth at the foundations of its great buildings, enchantment in the spaces between its people. In novels like Moonheart, Forests of the Heart, The Onion Girl, and The Mystery of Grace, and in a series of story collections, urban fantasy master Charles de Lint has explored that magic and those spaces, bringing to life a tapestry of people from all walks of life, each looking for a spark of the miraculous to shape their lives and transform their fate. In Muse and Reverie, the fifth of the story collections, we reencounter old friends such as Jilly, Sophie, and the Crow Girls. We breathe in intimations of the world beyond death, and of magic beyond time. Longtime readers and newcomers alike will find themselves under Charles de Lint's unique spell.

At the heart of Tamson House is the Wood. And in that Wood is the MysteryTamson House, in modern, urban Ottawa, is a rambling, eccentric curiosity of a house and a place of hidden Power. Built at a point where the leylines meet, upon land that was once a sacred site, it is the gateway to a spirit world where Celtic and Native American magicks mingle and leak into our own.In the overgrown garden of Tamson House, a Coyote Man waits, green children walk, and music rises to greet the moon. From the garden, a vast and primal wood is just one spirit-step away... and in that wood is something that threatens the very existence of Tamson House, and all who dwell within.Charles de Lint returns to the spirit-world of his bestselling Moonheart in a splendid work of urban fantasy, bringing myth, music, and magic into our modern world."

On the Day of the Dead, the Solona Music Hall is jumping. That's where Altagracia Quintero meets John Burns, just two weeks too late. Altagracia - her friends call her Grace - has a tattoo of Nuestra Se ora de Altagracia on her shoulder, she's got a Ford Motor Company tattoo running down her leg, and she has grease worked so deep into her hands that it'll never wash out. Grace works at Sanchez Motorworks, customizing hot rods. Finding the line in a classic car is her calling. Now Grace has to find the line in her own life. A few blocks around the Alverson Arms is all her world -- from the little grocery store where she buys beans, tamales, and cigarettes ("cigarettes can kill you," they tell her, but she smokes them anyway) to the record shop, to the library where Henry, a black man confined to a wheelchair, researches the mystery of life in death - but she's got unfinished business keeping her close to home. Grace loves John, and John loves her, and that would be wonderful, except that John, like Grace, has unfinished business - he's haunted by the childhood death of his younger brother. He's never stopped feeling responsible. Like Grace in her way, John is an artist, and before their relationship can find its resolution, the two of them will have to teach each other about life and love, about hot rods and Elvis Presley, and about why it's necessary to let some things go.

Among Charles de Lint's most beloved creations is the northern city of Newford, a place touched by deep magic and the setting for novels like "The Onion Girl" and story collections like "Dreams Underfoot." Now, with the Orb publication of "The Ivory and the Horn," all four of the Newford story collections are returned to print. Here, on the streets of Newford, is the magic that hovers at the edge of everyday life."

In Widdershins, fantasy author Charles de Lint has delivered one of his most accessible and moving works of his career.Jilly Coppercorn and Geordie Riddell. Since they were introduced in the first Newford story, "Timeskip," back in 1989, their friends and readers alike have been waiting for them to realize what everybody else already knows: that they belong together. But they've been more clueless about how they feel for each other than the characters in When Harry Met Sally. Now in Widdershins, a stand-alone novel of fairy courts set in shopping malls and the Bohemian street scene of Newford's Crowsea area, Jilly and Geordie's story is finally being told. Before it's over, we'll find ourselves plunged into the rancorous and sometimes violent conflict between the magical North American "animal people" and the more newly-arrived fairy folk. We'll watch as Jilly is held captive in a sinister world based on her own worst memories--and Geordie, attempting to help, is sent someplace even worse. And we'll be captivated by the power of love and determination to redeem ancient hatreds and heal old magics gone sour. To walk "widdershins" is to walk counterclockwise or backwards around something. It's a classic pathway into the fairy realm. It's also the way people often back slowly into the relationships that matter, the real ones that make for a life. A June 2006 Book Sense Pick

Isabelle Copley's visionary art frees ancient spirits. As the young student of the cruel, brilliant artist Vincent Rushkin, she discovered she could paint images so vividly real they brought her wildest fantasies to life. But when the forces she unleashed brought tragedy to those she loved, she turned her back on her talent and on her dreams. Now, twenty years later, Isabelle must come to terms with the shattering memories she has long denied, and unlock the slumbering power of her brush. And, in a dark reckoning with her old master, she must find the courage to live out her dreams and bring the magic back to life."

A third collection of stories set in Newford, a gritty urban town swirling with a hidden magic perceptible to only a few, offers tales that walk the enchanting line between the real and the unreal, between necromancy and the mundane. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.