So Fey - A GLBTQ Short Story Anthology

Edited by Steve Berman
Published in 2007 by Haworth Positronic, and by Lethe Press in 2009

So Fey is really for the grown-up who misses reading fairy tales. Each story delves into a different fairy world, leaving you feeling enchanted. Some stories are haunting and tragic while others are fun and clever. Each one has a strong GLBTQ storyline and most often a beautiful romance.


A Faun’s Tale by Tom Cardamone
A faun, Christopher, anxiously leaves his home in Union Square to find ‘The Ramble.’ On his way he encounters werewolves and two frolicking fauns.


A Scent of Roses by Catherine Lundoff
Janet is bored with her dreary farm life. Every day she attends to her lazy former hero of a husband, Tam. One day, the Queen of the Faeries, who once was with Tam, visits Janet and tantalizes her with the exciting life of the Faeries. When Tam goes off to fight, Janet realizes who she really wants to be with: The Queen.


The Wand’s Boy by Richard Bowes
Jack is a half-fey and is able to block out the mind-reading talents of the ‘Wands’, a special fey guard. This talent comes especially useful when he is spending time with his lover, the Prince Cal. But when Jack rebels against his Fey father, one of the Wands, he must run away with Cal in tow.


A Bird of Ice by Craig Laurance Gidney
Ryuichi is a Japanese monk who is visited by a swan and a monkey. In his dreams he learns that the two animals were actually one being and that spirit is in love with him. But it's up to Ryuichi to determine for himself what is reality.


Charming, a Tale of True Love by Ruby deBrazier and Cassandra Clare
Ivy, a faery princess who prefers pants to pretty dresses and would rather dance around with faeries than get married, is forced to host a competition to find her future husband. All of the suitors are drab, except for Lord Blythe who may not be what he (or she) seems.


Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland by Sarah Monette
Violet’s husband, Philip, finds secret love letters hidden in her room. But, what he really suspects is actually far from the truth, for Violet’s lover is neither mortal nor a man.


The Kings of Oak and Holly by Kenneth D. Woods
Danny meets Jack at a local coffee shop and immediately there is an attraction between them. When Danny gets confused as to why Jack is, at times, distant, he follows Jack into the park and discovers that his lover is actually a Fey and the Oak King. The only problem is that it is forbidden for Feys and humans to make love. But Jack soon discovers that it is worth the risk. Advisory: this story is, at times, graphic.


Detox by Elspeth Potter
Maria, a 51 year old, uses her brownie to make her look younger and hotter for picking up girls at clubs. But Maria soon starts to realize that going out isn’t as enticing as it used to be. This story would also be considered erotica.


From Asphalt to Emeralds to Moonlight by Aynjel Kaye
Tara, who has just been fired from her job at a production company, is being hunted by siblings Fionn and Aine who are vying for the dying queen’s crown. However once the three of them are all at the faerie court, Fionn and Aine’s incestuous relationship becomes apparent, as does Tara and Ainn’s love, but who will get the crown?


The Price of Glamour by Steve Berman
Tupp Smatterpit is in serious need of some glamour, a magical dust that can disguise Feys as humans. The only problem is that Tupp is in debt to the spriggan Bluebottle. Tupp does not know what to do and thinks that he will be forever in debt to Bluebottle, that is until Lind, a master robber and human, comes around and helps Tupp.


The Coat of Stars by Holly Black
Every night Rafael and Lyle would sneak out to a mattress in the woods and make love, despite Lyle’s grandmother’s warnings about the faeries living there. One day Lyle tells Rafael that he has actually seen the faeries, but just as the two boys are about to run off to New York, Lyle is discovered dead. Rafael moves to New York and becomes a successful tailor, but still can’t get over his loss. On one of his trips home to New Jersey, Rafael discovers that Lyle is actually with the faeries and he could bring him back with his tailoring talents. This story is also in Holly Black’s short story collection Poison Eaters.


How the Ocean Loved Margie by Laurie J. Marks
Margie, a lesbian English teacher, decides to have a baby by artificial insemination. After she is impregnated she has this strong urge to go to a small island off the coast of Maine called Skerry Island. There she camps out and meets the mysterious island woman Gayle, a former olympic swimmer, but as it turns out, Margie’s baby and Gayle share some prominent similarities.


Isis in Darkness by Christopher Barzak
Iris, nicknamed Isis, has nowhere to go until she finds a group of Orphyns, led by Rem. Each of Isis’s new friends, including herself, has a special power and Rem uses his to help Isis to remember her real past. However, tragedy strikes as a powerless man who Rem tried to love seeks revenge.


Touch by M. Kate Havas
When dared to kiss a tree on a camping trip, Trinny is shocked when she realizes that the tree kisses her back. Trinny is then taken to a magical faerie world where she meets her mistress. But when Trinny tries to show her best friend (and crush), Chelsea, this world, she is doubted and their friendship may never be the same.


Attracting Opposites by Carl Vaughn Frick
This witty story is about a faerie named Theodore Winkle who was raised by humans and has a talent for cosmetology and a predilection for the taste of flowers. One day his friend Barry Tone brings him to an actual faerie gathering at which Theodore feels extremely out of place, that is until be meets the charming faerie Morning Glory.


The Faerie Cony-Catcher by Delia Sherman
Nick Cantier is a young apprentice for a jeweler who leaves town with his one prized possession: a beautiful jewel that he made in the shape of a woman. In his journey he encounters a beautiful woman named Peasecod, but little does he realize that Peasecod is not at all what she seems to be.


Exiles by Sean Meriwether
Stories told in second person are rare but powerful. This one is told through the eyes of a man who after visiting his new boyfriend, becomes a victim to gay-bashing. With the help of his friend Jake, this man slowly recovers after losing the use of his eyes. He cannot see anything until a bright green light appears to him and leads him to the destroyed underworld of the elves.


Laura Left a Rotten Apple and Came Not to Regret the Cold of the Yukon by Lynne Jamneck
Laura, a famous New York writer, leaves the Big Apple to live in a small town in the Yukon, much to the dismay of her sophisticated New York editor. There she meets Gwen, a mystifying sergeant at the local police station. Unfortunately on their first date they have an ill-fated run-in with some poachers, but their romance still continues. This story is extremely clever and fun to read.


Mr. Seeley by Melissa Scott
Tully is a local devilery boy in Irish Mountain in the time of prohibition. One day he goes to his lover and employer, Joe’s house only to be confronted by a hunchback man who has a mission for Tully from a mysterious Mr. Seeley. Tully must deliver alcohol to the rich man’s home in order to find Joe. But Tully soon discovers that Mr. Seeley is actually a king of the faeries.


Year of the Fox by Eugie Foster
Mei and Jin are two fox spirits whose mother was killed at the hands of a fox-hunter. The two make a vow to wreak havoc on humans - by breaking hearts as humans. Mei comes across a young woman named Lian and falls in love with her. But when Jin catches wind of this, Mei must choose between her brother and her love.


Ever So Much More Than Twenty by Joshua Lewis
Michael and his partner George adopted Jane, but as life wore on and they grew old, George became increasingly vain and youth-obsessed. A year after George left them, Michael and the 17 year old Jane go to live in Michael’s childhood summer house where he had his great love: a faery named Piaras. Jane begins to disappear and spends all of her time in the forest, which leads Michael to believe that Piaras has fallen for her, but is it really Jane that Piaras is trying to contact?


Mr. Grimm’s Fairy Tale by Eric Andrews-Katz
William Grimm, an unemployment officer, is confronted with Miss Mary Weather, a fairy grandmother straight out of a Disney movie, looking for a job. With the help of Mr. Anderson, William is able to find this fairy an occupation.


-- Posted by Hannah