The Gold Worker

Fairy tales and myths are quintessential literary creations evoking the deepest human emotions. They require only a few essential details to flesh out their spare but irresistible storylines, and they beg to be repeated like a child's favorite bedtime readings, bearing endless nightly repetitions ahead of the vast all-enveloping void of slumber. In every case the author knows of, publishing fairy tales is a labor of love. Sabrina Bingham, editor of Curating Alexandria, has struggled successfully to publish while battling personal health problems. Clara O'Leary, curator of Fantasia Fairy Tales, puts it well about fairy tales: "They're often the first stories we hear and the ones that remain with us, deep in our subconscious. Princesses and princes, evil villains, dragons, hidden realms, mystical beings, battles between good and evil...these are the classic elements of fairy tales that are meant to suspend our imaginations in a world of fantasy and teach listeners to beware of the evils that lurk in the dark corners of our world." The tales in this collection by E. W. Farnsworth include three about dragons, two about unicorns, two about elves, five Chandra stories, and two singleton classics: the title story, 'The Gold Worker, ' and the final story about Ronaami and the winter lights. Some of the stories in this collection were written to answer calls for anthologies which were never published. For example, 'Elfin Forest, Sacred Grove' and 'The Other Elven War' were accepted for publication in Zimbell House's The Elven Wars anthology while 'Hunting the Unicorn' and 'Prince Valiant and the Unicorn' were slated for Chipper Press's The Unicorn anthology, which never appeared. Others like the Chandra stories, 'Icarus, ' 'Chandra's Initiation' and 'Winding Stair, ' were not included in the anthology in which their two companion tales, 'Name of the TOR' and 'Owls' Tower' were published. All these stories are original and mostly stem from Northern European or Nordic fairy tale traditions. Written for both adults and children, they are meant to be enjoyed before bedtime so their power can infuse the reader's dreams.