Guest Post and Exclusive Excerpt: A Dandelion for Tulip by R. Cooper

In the world of Being(s) in Love, magical creatures like fairies and werewolves live alongside humans—although like many other groups, they have mostly been scorned by mainstream society. Magical creatures don’t abide by human rules. They love who they love, and they don’t understand why humans would deny things that feel right. Fairies in particular are regarded as both ridiculous sluts and cruel heartbreakers because they love indiscriminately, and they are outsiders as much as many humans are.

That’s probably why I write them, and the other beings. People ask that sometimes, why I write the beings, and I don’t have an exact answer. But I love the beings. I love their hope and their struggles. They are within society and bound by its rules, but they are not a part of it. They’ve lost a lot of their history, and have few, if any, positive role models for themselves in the media, and in every single story of the beings, they are explicitly linked to queer human identities. And I get to give them happy, fairy tale endings, and I love every second of it. Because everyone deserves a happy ending.

So, with the fairies, you have these creatures who are beautiful, and live a long time, and don’t get sick, and have magic. The assumption is that they must be happy, or that nothing bad touches them. But the reality is, they are confused and hopeful and sometimes afraid. Some of them are jerks, and some fall in love or want what they can’t have—the same as anyone else. The ideas about them actually hurt them, because no one believes they are as “real” as humans. And is the case in this book, you can see that some fairies have started to believe it too.

That is painful, although very real. And maybe that’s another reason I write the beings; I like the idea of slowly deconstructing this, for the fairies, and all the beings, and anyone else who might feel that way.

About the Book

Series: Being(s) in Love
Release Date: 24 June 2016
Length: 200 Pages
Category: High Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond
Purchase Link: Dreamspinner Press
Blurb: David is in love with Tulip, a kind and unusually quiet fairy in his social circle. But everyone knows Tulip doesn’t date humans. David tells himself he is happy to be Tulip’s friend, because he doesn’t believe a fairy could love him and Tulip has never tried to “keep him”—as fairies refer to relationships with humans.

Fairies are drawn to David, describing his great “shine,” but David knows only too well how quickly fairies can forget humans, and thinks he’s destined to be alone. He can’t see his own brilliance or understand how desperately Tulip wants him, even if Tulip believes David can do better.

But exhausted and more than a little tipsy at a Christmas party, David makes his feelings too obvious for Tulip to deny any longer. Because of a past heartbreak involving a human, Tulip is convinced someone as shiny as David could never want a “silly, stupid fairy” in his life. Now, if he wants to keep David, he’ll have to be as brave as his shiny, careful human.

Excerpt

David’s face was numb from all the liquor, but he thought he pulled off a convincingly rueful grin. “I haven’t even had much time to sleep in the past three weeks, all for a field of study no one but me seems to care about. I’m hardly a catch for anyone, but thank you for the encouragement.”

Tulip swept forward, wings open, sparkles blazing furiously. David fell back a step and shut his mouth so hard he almost bit his tongue.

“Do not say that again.” Tulip pronounced the words in a fierce whisper. “To say it makes it so. Promise me, David MacKenzie. Promise me you will not speak of yourself that way.”

Fairies could curse. People forgot that. They were more than candy and sex. They were capable of wrath and vengeance. David had witnessed it once, from Flor’s mother. He’d never seen a hint of that kind of power from Tulip.

He swallowed and nodded before showing his hands, palms out. “Please, Tu. It’s all right. Don’t worry about it. I’m not really heartbroken. I’m exhausted and a little sad. Nothing new, I swear. Look at my colors. There’s nothing there that hasn’t always been there when you look at me, right?” With every word, the dark cloud he sensed around Tulip lightened. Tulip’s breathing calmed. He looked like the pretty man who read stories to little kids at his local library, and not a furious wild prince.

“You’re sweet to fuss over me,” David continued, and wondered how long he had stared at Tulip in silence, and how much had shone from him while he had. “You deserve your happiness too,” he added, though Tulip in love with someone else would kill him a little bit. Fairies showed love and concern so openly, and Tulip was someone with so much love to share. “I hope you get it.”

Once again, Tulip was a beautiful spirit of gold wings and a multicolored scarf. He let his wings flutter madly for a few moments. “And you will rest?” he asked softly. “Humans can be so fragile.”

David didn’t want to rouse Tulip’s anger again. He kept his voice equally soft. “Some people say that about fairies.”

“They do.” Tulip watched him intently. “Do you think so?”

David slowly shook his head. “I know better.”

Tulip’s gaze sharpened.

David shook his head again. He hadn’t meant it as an insult. “No need to fret, Tu. I’ll take care of myself.”

About the Author

R. Cooper is a socially awkward, closet romantic, who identifies so hard with fictional monsters and magical creatures. She cries over her own stories, and falls in love with her characters, but tries not to do it in public at least.

She is a Northern California girl, born and raised, and would honestly not know what to do with herself if she ever moved far from the foggy, gray coastline. She loves random messages about her characters. Feel free to contact her.

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