rolanni | About the Carousel Books (Reply)

So, I've had some Questions about the Carousel books (by Sharon Lee) and, more particularly, about the Archers Beach chapbooks. Follows an attempt to bring everybody up to speed.

NOTE: There are links embedded for the titles discussed.

In 2010, Baen Books published Carousel Tides, a small-town contemporary fantasy set in the fictional town of Archers Beach, Maine. Tides was supposed to have been a one-off, but -- I blame my brain, which eventually produced two more books in the series, Carousel Sun, and Carousel Seas, published by Baen in 2014 and 2015.

My brain also obligingly produced some short stories in the Archers Beach universe, which I eventually collected into three chapbooks.

Surfside, published in 2013, contained short story "Emancipated Child," dealing with the town of Surfside, just next door to Archers Beach, which had long been without a Guardian; and very short story "How Nathan Archer Came to be a Prince in the Land of the Flowers (by Kate Archer as told to Sharon Lee)" dealing with -- well. What it says.

The Gift of Magic was published in 2015, collecting two stories that had originally been published on Baen.com, "The Gift of Music," and "The night don't seem so lonely." The first story talks about the healing power of music, in 1920s Archers Beach. The second story is set in 1969, and deals with finding your home and your heart-family. It offended some delicate sensibilities when it was published, so, yanno: Good on you, Past Me.

Spell Bound was published in 2016. It collected two longish stories first published on Splinter Universe: "Will-o'-the-Wisp," and "The Wolf's Bride." The first story again has to do with families of the heart, as well as the nature of truth. "Bride" is set in Sempeki, the Land of the Flowers, and it's the origin story of Cael the Wolf, who appears in the novels.

Coming up, on February 20 (no link yet, because it's still a-building) is Doors Into Change, which includes three short stories: "The Road to Pomona's," "The Vestals of Midnight," and "Wolf in the Wind." "Pomona" was first published on Splinter Universe, and then collected in Horror for the Throne. It's a precursor to Archers Beach, dealing with the danger of being able to see into the wyrd. "Midnight," first appeared in Release the Virgins, and pits Kate Archer (the lead of the novels, and Guardian of Archers Beach) against the power that inhabits what is possibly the strangest corner of her land. "Wolf" is a slice of life from Archers Beach, where we find that some folks just aren't meant to settle down. The introductory chapters were posted on Splinter Universe; the chapbook includes the complete novelette.

Now, the Carousel books did not sell all that well, but they don't seem to be as much of a surprise to people as the chapbooks, which sold even less well. I hope that the above clarifies matters for everyone.