Christy Matheson | Updates

Which series fits your mood today?

Christy Matheson — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This week, I locked myself in my ivory tower and...

That's a joke. I don't have an ivory tower, I have children. However, I did lock myself out of my email and Facebook etc etc etc until I finished my manuscript. The exciting news.... IT'S DONE!!! Yay!!! I prioritized family and my son's graduation this spring, so I really had to stay up late and write until my fingers burned in order to meet my writing deadlines.

Many of you came to me through the promise of Magical Libraries or my readers-choice-favorite creepy-cozy novelette, The Horned Women, or even my fairy tale romance, The Boat on the Lake of Regret.

My new series coming out is Regency romance, and I thought I would introduce "The Bonnet Brigade" in the context of the fairy tales that so many of you already know and love.

Both series give you a similar emotional reading experience

These are the main things that so bring readers to my books:

Character driven (but with enough plot to keep things moving!)
Unique, immersive setting (I'm taking you to some new places with this series!)
Lovable characters. Always.

It's very important to know how much tea you're going to encounter in a book, isn't it? The answer: a lot. (My latest book has the most tea of all because it's set in Istanbul. Did you know the Turkish drink the most tea per capita in the world, approximately twice as much as #2 — who are the Irish?)

We also have Found Family high for both — my books are always about people coming together.

Friendship & Community — each book has a central friendship or family-love relationship that grounds and drives the story. If you want to know a secret 🤫... my secondary characters always get away from me and become more intense and three-dimensional than I planned. It's a good problem to have!

But there are some differences:

Cozy vs Grimdark

I deliberately wrote my Castle in Kilkenny: Fairy Tales as high-stakes cozy fantasy. So there's plenty of plot, but I was careful not to use curse words, describe battles, or show blood on the page. Sometimes it's important to pick up a book and know that there aren't going to be any startling images.

I would say that The Bonnet Brigade is one click over from that. It's still a happy, relaxing genre, but they're also rooted in history. These books do show glimpses of the gritty side of life.... because the point is to show how humans make it through, connect, and become better and stronger together.

However, I still promise that I'm not getting gory — and the dogs and the children are ALWAYS OKAY!!

Time Period

My Castle in Kilkenny books are set in the present day and Heroic Ireland. Some include a time slip, and one slips to 1531.

My Bonnet Brigade books are set starting in 1820. (Special interest obsession incoming...)

I find the extended Regency the most fascinating period (ever), on the cusp of a truly modern world. It was the beginning of industrialization, the beginning of empire-building, a monumental change in the role of the aristocracy and the middle class. There were waves of migration — from farms to cities, into America and Australia, and cultural mixing all around the globe as ships traveled farther and more efficiently. Advances in education, medicine, and the role of women changed the entire way society operated. I also find it fascinating how Regency society was more open-minded, creative, and flexible than the Victorians who came a few decades later.

I could go on and on. I have been studying 19th-century Europe since high school, spent most of my college years immersed in it, and kept studying through my adulthood.... liberally aided by well-researched novels, which are my absolute favorite type of education. (I had been reading Regency for decades before I found out that many people choose it for the clothes and the witty banter. Huh.)

Real World Vs Escapist World

The Castle in Kilkenny is definitely MORE escapist, because there are Fae — although it's still set in the real world.

But as a reader, I feel like historical fiction is also an escapist world, especially when it's nice and far back, but not so far that I've got to struggle to imagine how things would look. (See previous paragraph re: my life-long obsession with 19th century fiction.)

So I put those on two different places in the mid-range of that slider.

No Magic vs Complex Magic System

The Bonnet Brigade is not magical at all. Castle in Kilkenny has a light magic system, like magical realism.

Plot forward & high tropes vs Literary form & language

By pretty much all standards, I fall right in the middle. It's classic up-market fiction.

Sad tears & Nightmare vs Happily Ever After

My dear friends, I ALWAYS want to make you think, feel, and happy at the end of my books!

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Starred read for 2026: Taming of the Screws, by Jade Hendren

Christy Matheson — Fri, 5 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This Regency romance was unexpected, charming, creative, filled with characters you can root for the entire way through. I particularly enjoyed the hero, who was gentle and adoring the entire way through — and yet the second chance love story made complete sense. In fact, the reader can see why the ending the they secured for themselves is better than what they would have fallen into if the first chance worked out.

The characters were so well developed, which is always the most important thing to me as a reader. Chronic pain was woven into the FMC's experience and character, but never allowed to define her. I loved watching her growing bravery as she dares to push beyond the boundaries that have so carefully hemmed her in. The side characters and found family were dynamic, colorful, and essential to the plot. Details like bare feet and gilt wallpaper kept us grounded in the story world.

The interactions between the love story were consistently sweet, supportive, and heart-warming — this is the book for you if you're feeling exhausted by constant arguments and third-act breakups. However, both the external plot and the characters' internal journeys provided enough external momentum that the pace never felt slow and the answers were never obvious.

I absolutely love a romance with just enough external plot to let us sink into the characters, their conversations, their hopes, and their love story. This hit all the magic moments for me, and I highly recommend. One of my top reads of the year!

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What does a Leprechaun really look like?

Christy Matheson — Thu, 2 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Happy St Patrick's Day! As a novelist specializing in Irish fairy tales, I couldn't afford to miss sharing some LEPRECHAUN tidbits with you!

I've collected a few pictures, a few descriptions (they don't always match up).... and I've also turned one into a story! Click through to see several historical descriptions and illustrations.

Page 1: engraving c. 1900, Wikipedia
Page 2: Jack B. Yeats’s “Old Man and Leprechaun,” undated. Ink on paper. 6.5 x 9.3 in. (Photo: ArtNet)
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P 3-4: The black and white illustrations on from "Irish Wonders"
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Man in Elizabethan garb: Garb based on Don Juan of Austria
Photo of Luca Cistriani
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p 7: resource did not cite source
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Illustration, final page: A traditional leprechaun in red coat and breeches, one of Ireland’s most notorious tricksters. (Photo: Sybil Shearin / Children Story Tales)

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Ailbe and her wolfhounds are here!

Christy Matheson — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Little White Cat & the Dog Who Wasn't is now available on all major e-book retailers!

The Shelties invite you to join us in one of FIVE ways of celebrating....

🎉 #1: Buy and read Ailbe's story!!!

Some of you had this fly to your accounts around midnight, but now everyone can get their story about Ailbe (pronounced: Ava) and the dogs, cats, mice, sparrow-hawk, night heron, and otters whom she loves.

Malin promises to bark at any websites that have any glitches at all. So go ahead and click the links; you're protected by a very ferocious Sheltie.

Get my copy of The Little White Cat and the Dog Who Wasn't

Woof, woof! Let everyone get their book!

🎉 #2: Put it on your to-read shelf on your favorite reader app!

Even if you don't have space on your to-read pile right now, interacting with a book on reader sites increases its visibility. Your activity on GoodReads signals the Amazon algorithm to recommend Ailbe's story to other readers like you — who like folklore, Ireland, slow-burn romance, and emotionally compelling fantasy.

You can make a difference for my indie fairy tales! Just click through to your favorite reader app, and put the book on your "shelf," "like" other reviews, upvote the cover — any interaction is part of the celebration!

GoodReads

StoryGraph

BookBub

Leave a review on Amazon

🎉 #3: Share on your social media!

Do you know anyone who needs an reading escape — complete with sewing magic, tender romance, and so many fluffy and feathered animal friends?

Every link and mention helps internet visibility..... and besides, if you tag me, I'll share some cake. (TBD how I will get cake to you... I'm thinking about it!)

Adare and Inish are ready for cake cake cake cake

🎉 #4: Recommend in your reader groups!

Are you in groups where readers share new releases, cover reveals, or anticipated reads?

Online groups often discuss tropes, so here are some where you could say "hey, I know a book that does that!" And here's some tropes you can copy and paste. I've put the cover graphic below so you can use it anywhere!

🌿 Irish Folklore Retelling
🏰 Forced Proximity in Magical Castle
🪡 Servant Heroine with Hidden Strength
🌙 Transformation Romance
🐈 Talking Animals as Guides
💚 Found Family Among Warriors
⚔️ Touch her and die

Evil Sorcerer Villain Captive Heroine Who Refuses to Submit Heroine's Quest to Save Her Companion Love as a Healing Force Rival Suitor Subplot Fae Trickster Ally One Bed Magical Sewing and Crafts

🎉 #5: Request through your local library!

As of today, The Little White Cat should be available through OverDrive, BorrowBox, and CloudLibrary. Most of my books are on Hoopla, but their processing takes a while, so Ailbe probably isn't there yet.

As of this week, the paperback will be available from Amazon, Bookshop.org, and others. Since I'm a small author, I don't have marketing set up to libraries. But since their priority is their patrons, YOUR recommendation holds much more weight than mine. I basically grew up in the library, so my heart beats a happy dance whenever I see those library orders come in! 💒

Wait wait! We forgot the best-est celebration of all!

🎉 #6: Give your favorite furry friend a cuddle...

...and tell them how there's one more book in the world that celebrates love just like yours.

Yours in book-ish joy,

Christy & the Shelties

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