C.A. Morley – Author

Let me tell you about my tagline.

Most authors have a tagline. It describes the type of stories they write in the least amount of words. My tagline is “fusing fantasy with the familiar.” I’m a sucker for alliteration and my stories are set in Veriida, a make-believe medieval world that’s similar to ours. As such, I weave life experience and historical research into Wayfinders.

When I was a kid living in Germany, I fell into a patch of stinging nettles, and Amity in The Novice gets pushed into them. I’ve also eaten foods around the world. In India, I was with a group and we were served curry on banana leaves. On a game drive in South Africa, I learned about elephant’s ear named for its leaves. And in my Wayfinders series, there’s a made-up plant named mouse ear named after its round leaves. Geraint in The Novice finds ripening mouse ear berries to eat and makes a medicinal pulp from its leaves, and Princess Anwen uses mouse ear soap.

The difficulty with creating fantasy things with names is that sometimes (or often) these can be found in the real world. The mouse ear plant on Veriida isn’t like the common one on Earth. In Wayfinders, the mouse ear plant has so many uses it’s almost comical.

It’s not much different from rooibos (red bush) in South Africa, which is used for all sorts of things. You might be familiar with rooibos tea. As a drink, it’s supposed to help cure colic in infants, make you hungry, sleepy, etc. As a cream/soap, it’s supposed to be an excellent anti-oxidant for your skin and supposedly, you can rub a wet tea bag on a mosquito bite to help remove the itch. The list is pretty endless!

I’ll include three excerpts below where the mouse ear plant is mentioned from The Merchant’s Daughter, my work in progress. Did you know I’m posting one free chapter a month of my latest standalone Wayfinders story on Patreon?

Three Excerpts from The Merchant’s Daughter:

1. Papa stopped spreading preserves on his flaky bread roll. “Now, Livi, that’s not how you speak to your mother.” It was his favorite preserve, the mouse ear berry one, but it was too tart for Livi’s tastes.
2. Riding alongside the last luggage wagon at the rear of the caravan, Dur did his best to shake off his dark mood. He recalculated the pay he expected from this job and how much remained of his debt. He was almost positive – perhaps after another job or two – he’d be in the clear by the end of the year. Maybe he could surprise his ma at Midwinter! Overcome with excitement and happiness, he sat back in his saddle and began thinking about presents and holiday food. Ma’s mouse ear berry pudding! Home felt so close that he could almost smell his ma’s kitchen.
3. Even breakfast couldn’t cheer [Dur] up, and it was a good one, consisting of fresh bread and mouse ear berry jam, served with cheese, sausages, and ham bought from a trusted butcher and its neighboring bakery on the bustling road nearby. Dur had known what was going to be served as he’d helped Cook and his assistant unload it all from the pretty little pony cart that had delivered it. He’d been impressed. The cart had been spotless, painted a dark green with the names of the shops carefully lettered on the sides in fancy white letters and the grey pony pulling it had practically sparkled he’d been so clean. But even the anticipation of such a sumptuous breakfast hadn’t brought him pleasure like it normally would. Lost in his own thoughts and emotional turmoil, he hardly noticed the rich aromas and delicious flavors as he shoveled the food into his mouth.

If you enjoy medieval fantasy with a touch of magic and romance, then you’ll love The Merchant’s Daughter! You can subscribe to my Patreon and become a free member to receive notifications when the next chapter is live.