I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the spaces in between. Those physical and mental barriers, where we are neither in one place nor the other. We stayed as a family, recently, near the border of England and Wales. Chester, to be precise. Near the other end of the Welsh border, a few miles from Chepstow, was where my grandparents lived for many years. Just in England, despite the dominance of their Welsh spirits. I’ve spoken before about the feeling of hiraeth, the sense of loss for a place, a home that perhaps never quite existed. It’s of no great surprise that such thoughts spring to the forefront when close to such a precise, yet invisible, border. The decisions, the historic battles, the arbitrary nature of change that leads one place to exist whilst another is lost to the mists of time.
The time of year, too, calls to those thoughts of change and loss and new beginnings. The barriers that mark the end of one time and the beginning of another. The summer solstice is upon us, despite the weather here in the UK refusing to accept that we have yet left the winter months. This is a time when magic is at its strongest and spirits and fairies can cross into the human world at will. If you believe, of course.
Feasts and flowers and spells and dancing. Or a barbecue in the pouring rain. However you choose to mark the longest day - or shortest, for our southern hemisphere friends - there’s undeniably a sense of occasion in the air. Sacred spaces visited by believers. Families and friends gathering to enjoy time with one another in this moment of transition. Or to cheer on their preferred team in the Euros, at least.
It’s a time for reflection. I’ve taken a pause from my writing as I focus on sending out queries to agents, and learning a whole new programming language. A house sale is in progress, with the end either close in sight, or about to collapse and the whole process to restart. The children are nearing the end of a school year, bringing freedom and chaos for the summer. And the illness of one of my dearest friends is never far from my mind.
Others might carry out this process in the New Year, but for me, the solstice feels like a good time to take stock and reassess. Perhaps having been in academia for so many years trained me into considering June the time of endings and beginnings. Or maybe it’s the magic in the air. Either way, I’m looking to the future with as optimistic an eye as my cynical self can muster. I’m enjoying immersing myself in studies right now, but secretly can’t wait to return to writing the sequel of A Quartz Storm… I have some pretty strong ideas of where the characters will be heading to next, unless they disagree! The boundaries of good and evil are blurred, and Safiya has some pretty big decisions to make. As do I… starting with the intention that if I haven’t secured an agent by the time the second book is complete, I intend to look into self-publishing more seriously. I love my characters, and I want to share them with the world in whatever way I can.
How do you celebrate the solstice? Or does it pass you by? And what are your hopes and dreams for the coming year? Just remember, never make a bargain with a fae to achieve your goals, it never ends well.