If you’ve been around lately, you know that I’ve been teasing this for a bit! This podcast is a readthrough of In Sleep You Know, one chapter at a time, by me in my cozy and magical bedroom/workspace. I’ve got a short intro to check out before the chapters start, if you’re interested.
This podcast, like Magic All Around, is available on both YouTube and Spotify.
Transcript:
Welcome to In Sleep You Know, chapter by chapter! I’ll be reading aloud one chapter per episode with the goal to eventually compile as a self-released audiobook in the future.
I’m Christiane Knight, the author and creator of the urban fantasy slash contemporary fantasy series Stories of the Eleriannan. In Sleep You Know is the first book, followed by Cast a Shadow of Doubt, which is a sequel but can work as a standalone. A Third Kind of Madness, the third book in the series and also a standalone, will be out in 2024. The books are set in a version of Baltimore MD USA – my hometown – where there are a few divergences from the one I live in. A few of the streets have different names, and there are places in one version that aren’t in the other. They both share some of the same quirky aspects and serious challenges.
Oh, and the city in the books has magical beings living amongst us.
I should clarify that with “as far as I know” because who knows what actually hides in the unexamined corners of the Baltimore where I live? Of course, that’s the premise I worked from when writing In Sleep You Know. Our main guy Merrick is an unfocused musician with no real drive to do anything with his life. He’s got imagination and wits but no vision – not until he stumbles into a party, uninvited. That’s a poor choice when it’s thrown by Fae and on Halloween.
He quickly makes friends and enemies, and finds himself swept up by this small Fae court – The Eleriannan – as their hope to revive their house and reconnect with the world of mortals. Only one problem: they have to convince a recalcitrant Merrick to fully get with the plan. And if they can manage to bring him into their fold, there will be even more challenges to face, including magical foes that no one thought to warn him about.
This story features references -both subtle and not – to classic stories about Faerie, faerie lore, and Child Ballads. I also create some of my own Fae creatures, like the delightful dancing trees called the Ffyn, the much more unpleasant ArDonnath, and the downright creepy trio of sisters known as The Ladies, always seen together and ready to dig around inside your brain to see what makes you tick.
Music is very important in the Eleriannan world and in my stories, too. It builds atmosphere, brings people together, and sets scenes. It’s a specific kind of magic in both my tales and in my life and I make it obvious! Each chapter has a song for chapter title and they’re compiled together in a Spotify soundtrack for you. I’ll make sure to include each song through a snippet when possible and a link to the track. Studying the lyrics will give clues about why that particular song is connected with that chapter.
I don’t want to give away too much before I start reading, because I think the beauty in reading or listening to a story is discovering it as it progresses, but I do want to tell you that there’s something I call the Fae Directory available on my website – it’s under the books dropdown at christianeknight.com and it lists characters, places, and magical objects with a little background and pronunciation guide as needed.
I’ll also have a discussion going on discord with anyone who is interested in talking about inspiration, references, and so on in the story. If you’d like to join – it’s just getting going, so you’d be one of the founding members! – you can get the link at bio dot link slash xiane. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that url is available in comments for you.
Chapter readings will start in October, which is appropriate as that’s when In Sleep You Know also starts! I hope you join me for Chapter One and all the chapters to come!
You can also subscribe/listen on Spotify and take the podcast on the go – find all episodes [this one and future ‘casts] at:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/insleepyouknow
