| The rushes rasp in
ghost-fed breezes as seed-hungry finches chance
the thistle's fangs. The bracken has gone
gold and brown, the brambles heavy with plump
berries. The days, warm as brewed barley,
are etched with frost beneath a rusty moon.
Eerie effigies are set about to honor the
dead, whom, as the year decays, are wont to
roam the countryside.
The ways of old merge with
the magical and fantastic in this wondrous
world. Experience Westermead’s thaw
and awakening season by season, the lush
heat of summer's passion and the retreat
into winter’s desolate embrace. Come
celebrate and mourn with the people of Westermead
as they make their way through a world steeped
both in beauty and dread.
More than just a collection
of tales, Westermead brings to life
an enchanted country where the supernatural
is as natural as the sunrise. Follow the
intrepid documentarians, Purdy and Beech,
on their hunt for the fearsome Frost
Mare. Learn the secret of the stranger
whose life little Melly saved in Four
Bronze Sisters. Face The Mask of
Black Tears alongside Mullein Wick while
he fights for his sister's release from
servitude.
This new mythology is ripe
with unique characters, spiced with folkways
and mixed throughout with a deep respect
for all things natural. Given storytelling
this vibrant, it is both easy and thrilling
to get lost in Thomas’ unique landscape.
The story "Four Bronze Sisters" from Westermead received an honorable mention in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 2005.
What
People Are Saying About Westermead:
"Westermead is an enchanted peek into an older world where folktales come to life in sun-dappled woods and on moonlit nights, and this limited, expanded edition would be a lovely addition to any reader's shelf."
—The Harrow
"One of the happy surprises of the year. It's an odd but heady book reminiscent of the pastoral novels of Thomas Hardy, with perhaps a touch of M.R. James."
—Kelly Link, The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 2005
"Westermead,
a collection of tales by Scott Thomas (Shadows
of Flesh), depicts an inviting fantasy world
of both loveliness and horror through the
four seasons."
—Publishers
Weekly
"A little girl who sees
things others can't saves the life of a
stranger and unleashes a monster in "Four
Bronze Sisters," while an unnatural
beast haunts the countryside in "The
Frost Mare." Through these and other
tales, anecdotes, and bits of local lore,
Thomas (Cobwebs and Whispers) unfolds
the tale of Westermead, a rural country
populated with simple folk and steeped in
old magic. Thomas brings to life a strangely
magical land through its folk legends and
its intriguing inhabitants. This moody collection
of dark fantasy stories belongs in larger
libraries."
—Library Journal
"If you've missed reading
fables and tales from when you were growing
up, when stories had hidden meanings, eccentric
people, and intriguing settings you always
wished you could escape to, then you'll
thoroughly enjoy Westermead. Scott Thomas
shows immaculate talent with a collection
of nineteen riveting stories, full of beautiful
expression, breathtaking imagery, larger
than life characters, and suspense driven
ambiance."
—Midwest Book
Review
"...an excellent fantasy
setting, and there’s not an elf or
dragon in sight."
—Emerald City
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