Next WIP : Celtic Fantasy?

So, I'm back from visiting the haunts of my youth on the Isle of Man. Lovely time, thanks.

As ever when I go back there I find myself thinking about the myths and legends the place is so rich in. And then how I could bring some of them back to life via fiction. As you may recall, a work of Celtic/Manx fantasy fiction of mine has just been published by Mirror Dance. But that story is set firmly in ye olde fantasye days, and I've been thinking what I'd really, really like to do is bring some of these gods, monsters and characters back to life and place them in a modern, maybe urban setting.

There's so much scope. Manx mythology is perhaps closest to the Irish, but it has figures all of its own - for example the Phynoderee, the Buggaine and  the fearsome Moddey Doo. Then there's Manannan himself, the god after whom the island is (probably) named. What would he be like now? What would he make of the modern world? What would he be up to?

These are all just vague ideas at the moment, but this is definitely something I'd like to work on. It's a novel-length project and that's a slight problem because I'm well into the first draft of another novel right now (Engn, which I must tell you about some time). But I do love urban fantasy - the idea of these mythical beings walking our streets - and I do love these old Manx stories, which are so evocative.

Meanwhile, here's a snap of the Fairy Bridge, which sits on one of the main roads on the island. No self-respecting Manxperson would dare go past without giving the fairies there a friendly greeting. It's a sign of the effect the place has on me that I - sceptical rationalist that I am - always do precisely that. After all, they can be such mischievous little creatures ...