With 5 parts posted so far, “Enter Three Witches” is the beginning of a dark fairy tale.  Hesper, Purvis and Maleen are poor sisters living with their father, who has been drunk ever since their mother died.  They depend on Hesper’s skill with herbs and Purvis’ spinning for money.  One morning they all wake with the uneasy feeling that Destiny is hanging over them.  Meanwhile, a small child has been stolen and a changeling left in its place.

The story actually starts with the child being stolen by a tiny man who isn’t human.  He leaves a clay doll that will sicken and die within a few days.  Then he takes his “pet” back home to the fairy court.  The story then switches to the three sisters as they begin their day.  When Aggie, their neighbour, comes to them for help because her youngest child is acting strangely, Hesper realizes that herb lore won’t be enough to help her. 

The writing is solid and the three sisters are distinct characters.  The author describes Hesper as “an unpleasant introvert” who would rather pick herbs in the woods, but she’s the one the villagers come to when someone is sick.  She’s also the one some of them call “witch”, at least partially because of her temper.  Purvis is the practical one who spins, takes care of their alcoholic father, and tries to keep peace within the family.  Maleen is the beauty and she takes care of the cooking and cleaning. 

So far not much has happened as the writing moves at a steady, sedate pace.  The author sets the scene with commonplace details that are often left out of fairy tales, like breakfast, sagging roofs and chamber pots.  There is an overhanging mood of worry and getting by for now.  This contrasts with the fairy court where magical creatures wait on their Majesties.

“Enter Three Witches” is a solid beginning for what promises to be a dark, earthy fairy tale.  It’s not light and fluffy, or dark and erotic, but I think it will be interesting to see what Destiny has in store for the three sisters.  I’ll be keeping an eye on this story to see how it develops.

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"The minutes after midnight are the darkest and most dangerous. In these precious moments milk is curdled in the cellar, expensive knick-knacks fall off their shelves, and sometimes babes breathe their last breaths."

What an awesome opening paragraph! I almost squealed with joy; I love creepy fairy tale based stories and [more . . .]

Enter Three Witches starts out like a very typical fairy tale, with three overworked, unappreciated sisters living in the woods, with a sense of destiny hanging over their lives. From there, it begins a long, slow slide sideways into weirdness, of a kind that can only happen in fairy tales. And I mean that in the best possible way.

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I like Enter Three Witches.  I read the backlog in a day, which is unusual for me, and I wasn’t expecting to do that.  I have a weakness for updated, reworked, or combined fairy tales, and ETW is right up that alley.  I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys some good ol’ fashioned fairy tales with a twist.

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This story is a nice turn of events on classic fairy tales that can keep older children, teens, and adults coming back for more. The three sisters live in the ‘real’ world. Times are hard, the house is falling apart and even though they have a father they might well be better off without. Though they have it rough, they [more . . .]