Ad Hoc Magic
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Hello friends, Folklore tells us of magical cities and villages that appear out of nowhere, and disappear again. I like to think that these stories are rooted in real events and real communities. I myself, have found magic in such places, time and time again. Last week, I was off grid at a lovely camping event in a small valley surrounded by tree filled mountains. There was a creek, and on the forest paths, some community members had planted ceramic toadstools, squirrels embracing acorns, and a wide variety of gnomes. This was temporary magic, both the ephemeral tent city with waving banners, and the stone and ceramic creatures that lined the woodland paths leading to burbling water. All that magic is gone now, but will reappear next year. There is another magical space that happens in my city each week. It’s a free community store. There are two of these free stores, actually, one of which is consistently harassed by law enforcement. The conveners don’t care. They keep showing up, regardless, because community matters more than restrictive laws. Yesterday, I rode my bicycle to the free store closest to my neighborhood, which so far seems able to exist in peace. My basket carried pre-loaded neck cooling scarves and some electrolyte packets to beat the heat. And there, just past the confluence of a bike corridor, a freeway, and a busy street, stood an oasis in a shady spot. Folks were setting up racks of clothing, back packs, books, and food, all to give away. “Here it is,” I thought. “Brigadoon.” Community magic is my favorite kind. We are artists who can make things appear and disappear. We are compassionate beings who make magic to delight and help each other. This is why so many of my books feature found and chosen family. We all need places to belong, however temporarily. We greet each other, and recognize our humanity and our place in this world. Together, we make the magic that we choose. Best wishes — Thorn Want some fiction? There's still time to get this limited-time, sliding scale, Unusual Heroes StoryBundle!
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, Years ago, writer Starhawk penned a novel in which city neighborhoods had fruit trees growing on the sidewalks, so anyone who was hungry could partake. It was a beautiful vision of a world we could live in, if we chose to. I now live in a city neighborhood with fruit trees growing on the sidewalk. Pear. Apple. Plum. Fig. Cherry. But, more often than not, the fruit falls and rots on the concrete in the sun. This happens unless the person who lives in the home near the tree...
“I’m always writing about the same thing, which is the human condition.” — Terry Brooks, fantasy author, WorldCon 2025 Hello friends, I’m writing this from WorldCon—the World Science Fiction and Fantasy convention—in Seattle Washington. I’ve listened to some interesting panels and talks so far: on Indigenous futures, on Afrofuturism, on the unsung heroes of the space program and magical systems in fantasy, plus some indie publishing business panels. I’ve talked with writers and readers both,...
Hello friends, On a walk the other day, I encountered a big metal sign covered in layers of peeling stickers. One read “Don’t look back! You are not going that way!” I snapped a photo and headed forward. But, as intended, the old sticker got me thinking. First, it reminded me of an old card I kept in my office for years. A Mary Engelbreit print, it wasn’t my usual style, but the message was clear. It was a person at a crossroads and the street sign read “Your life,” in one direction and “No...