While we often feature books that are related to themes of church life and Christian living, this area of the newsletter is supposed to be an opportunity to share all of what your pastors are reading. What I want to recommend to you this month is a series of books that I recently finished reading (not Harry Potter – I finished that ages ago!) – a series of five novels based on classic fairy tales by Saguaro-related author Dennis McKiernan. Dennis is the husband of quilter and cookie-maker extraordinaire Martha Lee McKiernan, and is a well known author in the fantasy genre (and Martha Lee, I’m told, has shown up in various guises in some of his books!).

Once Upon a Winter’s Night was the first of a series of five novels where Dennis explores the classic fairy tales of our culture, in an extended novel setting. These books slip back and forth between our world and an alternative world; in the first novel, Prince Alain becomes a bear during each day because of a curse placed upon him. Alain, prince of Summerwood in the land of fairy, courts Camille from the mortal realm, and in winning her love, and she persevering on her quest, helps to break the curse that has bound him.

The series of five novels uses the princes and princesses of the four seasons (and their parents) to explore some of the classic fairy tales of our culture. As Dennis mentions in the introduction to each book, he has used the imagination of a troubadour to flesh out the short stories that we now find in children’s books into quests, adventures, and love stories that can keep all ages involved in an exciting story.

The Fairy series by Dennis McKiernan:
Once Upon a Winter’s Night
Once Upon a Summer Day
Once Upon an Autumn Eve
Once Upon a Spring Morn
Once Upon a Dreadful Time