How about the emphasis on connection rather than violence? (That basis makes me think of Under Hollow Hills, a game about a fairy travelling circus. That is explicitly based on the Le Guin guote in Q4.) Do your games feature romance and connection? Could they? Should they?

Related is the role of "conflict" in the story. Prompted by this quote:

Modernist manuals of writing often conflate story with conflict. This reductionism reflects a culture that inflates aggression and competition while cultivating ignorance of other behavioral options. No narrative of any complexity can be built on or reduced to a single element. Conflict is one kind of behavior. There are others, equally important in any human life, such as relating, finding, losing, bearing, discovering, parting, changing. Change is the universal aspect of all these sources of story. Story is something moving, something happening, something or somebody changing.

Ursula K. Le Guin

Do you think this story was an example of these other kinds of behaviour? Was it a good example? What can you draw from the book about how to base a story around relating, finding, discovering, and so on?

How about Gisele and Mal as characters in their own rights? Are they believable, sympathetic, and rich enough for the story?

This could be another feature of the comfortable nature of the book. Having easily-relatable characters helps bring in the reader and keep them comfortable.

But, is that the actual fantasy being portrayed here?

There are hints of economy (buying in food, hiring domestic staff) but no-one has any sort of money concerns. Everyone has a comfortable life. No-one worries about the next meal, the roof over their heads, medical bankrupcy.

Is this a book about what life could be like for middle-class Americans without the crushing weight of late-stage capitalism? About how everyone could be happy with a bit of security and freedom from immediate worry?

But that's not the only reason for reading. My wife recommended this book. She generally reads for a short time in bed, as a way of unwinding before going to sleep. She wants something light and gentle to help her relax. Other people will read while commuting or doing chores, again to relax or feel good.

Which leads to three questions for you.

First, did you enjoy the book? Not our usual fare, but did it pass the time pleasantly? What did you like about it?

Second, the commercial aspect. What do you feel about this style of book and its place in the publishing world?

Third, is this art? Do books like have "artistic" merit?

Go to ajlancaster.com/details if you're a reader who prefers to know certain details about my books upfront (such as sexual content, violence levels, and presence of common triggers).

A spectacularly cosy fantasy which reimagines the Rumpelstiltskin story – where the havoc of an unpaid debt leads to an unlikely romance.

Princess Gisele has spent her life waiting for an evil fae sorcerer to claim her. It was the price of her mother’s crown – her first-born child for the ability to spin straw into gold. But it’s been decades, and he still hasn’t shown up. Now, the magic has curdled into a curse.

So Gisele marches into the fae realm to hunt down her ‘Malediction’. Yet instead of a monster, she finds a scholarly, cat-eared sorcerer and his meddling, sentient house. And he wants nothing to do with the angry, knife-wielding princess on his doorstep. Unfortunately, the magic that binds them won’t let them go that easily. And in a house that rearranges itself to keep them together, Gisele discovers that the man who ruined her life might just steal her heart.

She came to end him, but she might stay to save him.

Readers love this book:

'I absolutely adored the characters, their connection and their story. I laughed and smiled so hard through the whole book. 100% recommend'

'This felt like Howl’s Moving Castle meets Emily Wilde. There’s a talking cat, a magical house, a curse and a romance'

'I LOVE this book! It's really soft and lovely'

'Loved it, absolutely perfect escapism, all aspects are brilliantly balanced, the magic, the stakes, the humour, the romance'

'Funny, fresh and binge-read worthy'