From the Back Cover:
It was expected that a flower faerie like Clematise should lead a faerie tale life, flitting about with her long, silky blonde hair and perky pixie body. Her days were spent in frolicsome dance with other pretty faeries and caring for the flowering Clematis vines for which she was named. But one day while tending her flowers, Clematise found a vine she would rather climb…

Fenodoree was a disgraced Elvish prince who had been cursed for falling in love with a mortal girl. He had become a servant of mankind as a Brownie, losing his fortune and his good looks. Fenodoree now spent his time working in the farmer's fields; accepting only milk or cream as payment, nursing his wounded heart and pining for love.

He was not the sort a faerie like Clematise should ever consort with, and the other flower faeries would be horrified to find her contemplating romance with such a being. Yet his rough manner, the coarse, dark hair covering him, the large, hard muscles built from long days of sweaty labor – all intrigued and excited her.

It was also known that Brownies in general and Fenodoree in particular was known to shun clothing of any kind, which might or might not be a disadvantage should she take the forbidden step of consoling him for his broken heart…

Excerpt
Slowly he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace. His lips softly met her neck and the rasp of his stubbled chin sent a thrill all through her so that her translucent wings quivered and glittered in the filtered sunlight of the glade. Clematise reached up to run her fingers through his bushy mane, to tickle the rich brown tufts of hair in his ears. An inarticulate groan escaped Fenodoree as he looked longingly up at the enchanting faerie who was stealing his heart…and his soul.

The Creative Process: Painted in watercolor, outlined in archival ink. Wings enhanced with iridescent acrylic paint.

I did a lot of different sketches on the bodice ripper theme, and from the beginning I knew I wanted something unexpected; perhaps a couple of monsters in love, or mismatched lovers like a purebred Persian cat and a rough alley cat embracing. Eventually I went with one of my earliest ideas, of a "pretty" faerie and one of the rougher characters from ancient faerie lore. I was really taken by the plight of Fenodoree, who has been known to vanish is offered any clothing at all and is thought to be somewhat dim-witted. A perfect hero!