Fablehouse is a magical adventure story set in 1954 in Somerset (English countryside). Fablehouse is a children's home unlike any other -- set amongst acres of moorlands and heathlands, including a nearby cairn (mysterious tower of stones) which overlooks the sea. Heather hasn't been at Fablehouse long and she's determined to keep herself to herself, but soon finds this impossible since Lloyd, Arlene and Nat have other ideas!
One day, whilst playing at the cairn, the four children (who call themselves the 'roamers') find a dishevelled man with no memory of who he is or where he's from. The children are determined to help Pal and when his memory returns, he warns them of a fae plot to take over their world. Heather and her friends must battle to save the only home they've ever cared about.
The original idea for the project came from Jasmine Richards at Storymix. She told me that Fablehouse was based on a real place called Holnicote House which was home to many 'brown babies', children born to white women and Black American GIs, after the second world war. I had no idea about this part of history! Having come from a care background myself, I was excited to dive into the research around Holnicote House aswell as the Arthurian myths and legends which underpin the story. There were many influences for me: the real-life history, the landscape (I visited Somerset on a walking holiday) and the exciting myths and legends of King Arthur and fae worlds.
Adventurous, exciting, friendship.
It's vital that books have a wide representation of all children because we live in a diverse society. Our books and stories ought to reflect that. If children don't see themselves represented, then they can start to believe that they're not important. They might even go off reading altogether -- why would you read stories if you never see yourself in the pages? We all are important and everyone deserves to be the hero!
I love The Dark is Rising for the atmospheric descriptions and settings.
That you can find family wherever you are, especially if you don't have your own. That friendship IS magic, and everyone has special qualities -- gifts -- inside them.
