The World of Casting Stones

Step inside a world born of the romance of fairy tales. There is comfort here, in the natural rhythms of a pre-industrial existence. It resonates with a part of us that remembers the sound of trees and the memories hidden in soil.   And oh yes, there's magic. There's satisfaction for yearning here, for the brand of real magic hiding just beyond reach. Intuition elucidates reality with surreal clarity and precision. The fantasies of untamed emotion at times wax literal. Characters partake in the ebb and flow of conversation with the natural world, unmuffled by the trappings of modernity. Is magic real, or is it that reality is magical? Either way, this world is full of both magic and reality.   For all of this that the world has to offer, however, there is a darker undercurrent. As readers, we sometimes seek worlds of escapism, and the quiet hope of magic. This speaks to the peace we inherently yearn for, as well as the reality of conflict, evil, and strife in the non-literary world we as readers exist in. It's a weight we often feel unprepared to face. At the end of a long day, when we curl up in our beds with a book and a mug of tea, we are often too fatigued by the ravages of life for heavy contemplation. In spite of this, we have a need to process our experiences with the world, and to wake up to the conditions of society we choose not to see. So, while this fictional world feels like fantasy to draw solace from, the manner of evil here takes on a modern and realistic character.