Unlocking the Plot: The Foll Stones

Brigid Huey

I’ve talked about the writing process, and I’ve celebrated with you when The Foll Stones was accepted, but just what is this story about? It’s my favorite so far, so brace yourself for adventure and romance.

Picture a world where the sun hardly ever shines, a world where it drizzles most of the time, where two adjoining nations are at war. This world is filled with ancient forests, marsh lands, oceans, and mountains. Interesting beasts you have never seen before roam the woods, and magical creatures of unknown form hide in the marshes. The people of this world have dark, mysterious eyes and glistening skin. This is Terratalam.

Now picture a recent high school graduate living a quiet life in Vermont. She lives with her mother, hangs out constantly with her best friend, and dreams about a future full of adventures overseas. This is Cleona.

And next is Cleona’s best friend. He is steadfast, loyal, and tired of being in the friendzone. He dreams of a future with Cleona. This is Brian.

Now envision a tree, a massive, magical tree that spreads its branches high and wide. This tree brings balance to Terratalam, until it is destroyed. Those that would steal its power kill the tree, but are confounded by what is left behind: four magical stones.

Cleona and Brian are whisked away to Terratalam, and must find a way to unite the four stones, or risk being trapped in Terratalm forever.

The Foll Stones is an upcoming young adult fantasy romance that will be released Summer 2023.

Music To Write By – The Foll Stones

Brigid Huey

Music is so important to my writing process. In fact, many of my stories have been directly inspired by a song; Fidelity blossomed from Biplane by Andrew Lockington, a wonderful piece of music from the soundtrack to The Space Between Us.

My novel The Foll Stones was recently accepted by Meryton Press (!!) and I’m currently in the editing stage. Folx, I’ve had The Foll Stones in my head since before 2010, but when I listen to a track from my playlist, I’m instantly transported to Terratalam; I can see Brian and Cleona as if they were in the room with me. That’s how magical music is.

The list of songs I’ve added to The Foll Stones playlist is long, but I wanted to share some standouts. First up is Injection by the magnificent Hans Zimmer. This piece is from Mission Impossible 2, which I guess makes it vintage at this point. The combination of vocal music and strings in this piece is dramatic and mysterious, and I just love it. It inspired a very important scene in The Foll Stones, and so deserves a place here. Listen and imagine!

Next up we have Heavy Rain from the score to the Heavy Rain video game from Quantic Dream. The music was composed by Normand Corbeil. It’s a haunting, sad piece of music that has served as the underscore for all of Terratalam. You’ll understand more once you read it, but for now, listen and be entranced.

Time Flies When You’re Having Kids

Brigid Huey
An hourglass sits on a table surrounded by clocks.
Photo by Jordan Benton on Pexels.com

I have a theory that as soon as you start having children, time moves twice as fast. Remember when you were small and stretches of time seemed to last forever? You wanted to grow up, be finished with school, do what you wanted to do.

Then you graduate high school, and time gets a little faster, but not much. You graduate and get a job. The days drag on and you seem to have time to spare.

Then you have kids. Zoom! Time goes by at twice it’s normal rate, and with every passing year it seems to get faster still.

I started writing The Foll Stones before my daughter was born. She’ll be thirteen in a few short months. (Pause for deep, calming breaths.)

My publisher has shown interest in a sequel to The Foll Stones, so I have returned to Terratalam (the land in which The Foll Stones takes place) and begun again. I’m seeing it all with different eyes now. These eyes have seen much more than those of thirteen years ago. I am hoping it brings more depth to my work (and not stodginess!), but time – ahem – will tell.

As life speeds by me, through me, around me, I try to stop and breath it all in. As someone once said, the days are long, but the years are short.

Take care, dear reader. XX

Coming Soon….!

Brigid Huey

I am so excited to share that my young adult fantasy romance has been accepted for publication by Meryton Press! I have been working on this story for so long, I can’t really believe that it’s truly going to be shared at last!

Here’s the back cover copy as it stands now. It’s sure to be edited, because writing back cover copy is not a strength of mine!

Terratalam is a world out of balance. It rains nearly every day, the crops barely produce, and kingdoms wage war. The Great Tree was destroyed so long ago that all that remains are myths and legends. 


Cleona Willow is more than ready for college. It means leaving her best friend Brian behind, which is harder than she’d like to admit. But studying in Ireland is her dream, and Cleona is excited to reconnect with her roots.


The two worlds collide when the necklace left to Cleona by her grandmother pulls her and Brian to Terratalam. There they must navigate the secrets of the past and their growing feelings for each other in order to unite the mythical Foll Stones and heal the land. If they don’t, they risk being trapped in Terratalam forever.

from The Foll Stones by Brigid Huey

A rose by any other name…

Brigid Huey
Photo by Jovana Nesic on Pexels.com

Pen names. They’re a tricky business, in my opinion. Should I use one? If yes, how do I choose a name? When I began publishing my work with Meryton Press, I chose to use my own name, Brigid Huey. The way Janet Taylor makes my name look on the covers she designs is magical, and it’s still thrilling to see my name on a book cover.

The thing is, I write across a variety of genres. All romance, because I adore romance. But my latest work is set in the future and features technology, explosions, and evil villains; it’s a work that is vastly different from my Meryton Press work.

And so, Molly Magennis was born. Who is she, and what does she write? Molly Magennis is a bit more mysterious than Brigid Huey. She might be a tad younger, in spirit at least. She retains the power of her matriarchal heritage (watch out for those Magennis women) and artfully wields her pen to create worlds of fantasy, adventure, and romance, always romance.

Check her out at mollymagennis.com. There’s even a newsletter you can sign up for!

xx

Fidelity Update

Brigid Huey
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

Fidelity is currently in the editing phase! I am so excited to be working with Sarah at Lopt & Croft Editing. We’ve been hard at work polishing my story, and it’s almost ready to go.

The editing process is always bittersweet. There is inevitably some part that needs to go, even though you love it. Fidelity originally had two epilogues. Yep, two. Hey, I figured if Eloisa James could do it, so could I! Except that *ahem* I am not Eloisa James.

My original goal was to have Fidelity published by the end of 2021. But then there was moving, and a new job, and pandemic stuff. So the new timeline is Spring of 2022!

Music to Write By – New Finds

Brigid Huey
A black and white photo of a piano keyboard.
Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

Every once and a while a song will come up on Spotify that makes me reach for my phone and click that little heart button. I’ve got two new favorites today. Listening to them makes me realize how much I love two seemingly incongruous things in music: lush, sweeping violins, and minimalism.

First, the sweeping. This piece is called My Love and… and is from the Netlfix series The King Eternal Monarch and was composed by Park Jung-Hwan.

I just…I love it so much! It’s just sooo gooood. So sweepy and romantic.

And now for the minimalism. Okay, music folx may criticize me here cause I’m using the term minimalism, and I’m not entirely sure that I have that right. I love this piece just as much as the sweeping lushness of My Love and… even though it’s totally different.

Threads by Vanbur is so simple, but it catches my mind every time and fills it with images. Which for a writer, is pretty much what you want.

Take care, dear readers. xx

A Hidden Gem

Brigid Huey
A panoramic view of the Italian countryside.
Photo by Aliona & Pasha on Pexels.com

Oh, hello 2022. I was too busy getting over Covid to notice your entrance. I was very lucky and had a mild breakthrough case that did no worse than rob me of my sense of smell and confine me to bed for a day or two.

I’m on the mend now, but I just had to share a lovely discovery I made while convalescing. In Love and War is a Hallmark movie (stay with me) that follows the story of a young Brit in Italy near the end of World War II.

There is adventure, intrigue, and of course romance. It’s a fairly realistic depiction of Italy towards the end of the war without being unbelievably depressing. Callum Blue is adorable and the Italian countryside is gorgeous. Plus, it’s based on a true story!

So, if you need a sweet romantic movie to watch, I highly recommend In Love and War. Go Hallmark, go.