I asked fellow Tales from The Hanging Tree anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so will be appearing here for the next week or so.
Each entry gives a taste of their contribution, a little about them, how to contact them, how their story came about, and definitely a link to Tales from The Hanging Tree (which you should purchase because it would make each and every one of us happy.
you do want to make us happy, don’t you?
i mean, considering what we wrote, you want us to know you’re a good person, right?).
Sylva’s contribution is The Devil’s Mark. Here’s the opening:
The rope tightened and all hope of being saved disappeared as the last tortured breaths drifted on the cool night breeze. Then silence.
***“Mother is sick, do you hear, girl? Go to her at once!” Thomas slapped the maid as she scurried past, leaving a red welt across her cheek.
Mother’s coughing fits were becoming more frequent, violent hacking coughs that left her frailer and weaker each day. He couldn’t bear to watch her lying listless, her breath rattling, and her skin the pallor of gruel. I doubt she’ll last the winter out if she succumbs to another bout of influenza, he worried, and that damned maid is useless!
Upon finishing his morning read, Thomas headed back to Mother’s room; he didn’t trust that skinny little maid, Jane, to care for his mother properly. The stench hit his nostrils before he got through the door—an acrid mix of vomit and excrement. He paused, holding his handkerchief to his nose to mask the foul odour.
How the story came about:
I’m an author from the north of England and my maiden name is Jan Southworth. I grew up hearing tales of my ancestors, who once lived in the local stately home, Salmesbury Hall. They were tales of aristocracy, great wealth won and lost, religious feuds, murder and witchcraft. One of my ancestors, Jane Southworth, was tried for witchcraft in the Lancashire Witch Trials – though not one of the famous Pendle witches, she was tried at the same time. When I was asked by Kaye Lynne Booth to submit a story for Tales From The Hanging Tree, I sought inspiration from the old stories and picked witchcraft as my theme. Although my story is completely fictional, I incorporated details from the real stories of my family’s past.
About Sylva Fae:
Sylva Fae is a married mum of three girls from the north of England. Sylva and her family own a wood and escape there at every opportunity. Adventures in their own enchanted woodland, hunting for fairies and stomping in puddles, originally inspired Sylva to write stories to entertain her girls. She still finds inspiration either sitting at the campfire or wandering through the trees.
Sylva published her first children’s book Rainbow Monsters, in 2017, and many of her books have won awards.
You can find her on Amazon and Facebook.
See all Tales from The Hanging Tree stories here.