Bidding Farewell to the Fairies of Appalachia: Alex Bledsoe Discusses Reaching the End of the Story of the Tufa
In the heart of Appalachia reside a people with deep traditions, magical tendencies, and a past lost to the mists of memory. The Tufa have always been a mystery, with clues to their past embedded in their songs.
After six books chronicling the numinous Tufa, in tales rich with folklore, music, and pure enchantment, Alex Bledsoe’s series reaches its conclusion in The Fairies of Sadieville. It’s a rewarding novel for those readers who have long awaited answers to the riddle of the Tufa’s origins, and welcoming enough to new readers—fans of Charles De Lint will enjoy this series, which with subtle magic evokes a people and world that seem as if they could have existed alongside our own.
I caught up with Alex Bledsoe to talk about coming to the end of the series, and to look back on the journey that began with The Hum and the Shiver.
The Fairies of Sadieville: The Final Tufa Novel
Hardcover $29.99
The Fairies of Sadieville: The Final Tufa Novel
By Alex Bledsoe
Hardcover $29.99
With The Fairies of Sadieville, the Tufa series is coming to an end. It’s been a long, emotional journey with these characters, in this universe. Can you talk about how it feels, to be launching the last book of the series?
It’s a little sad, obviously. And this is one of those things that makes writers sound incredibly self-involved, but it’s nonetheless true: I spent so much time writing about them that the characters grew to seem like real people. I could imagine so much of their lives that never made it into any of the books, so saying farewell is more like having friends leave than I expected. A lot of it, I’m sure, is because there’s so much of me tied up in it: it’s set in Tennessee (where I’m from), the characters share the socio-economic level that I had growing up, and for the most part, they all have my accent.
With The Fairies of Sadieville, the Tufa series is coming to an end. It’s been a long, emotional journey with these characters, in this universe. Can you talk about how it feels, to be launching the last book of the series?
It’s a little sad, obviously. And this is one of those things that makes writers sound incredibly self-involved, but it’s nonetheless true: I spent so much time writing about them that the characters grew to seem like real people. I could imagine so much of their lives that never made it into any of the books, so saying farewell is more like having friends leave than I expected. A lot of it, I’m sure, is because there’s so much of me tied up in it: it’s set in Tennessee (where I’m from), the characters share the socio-economic level that I had growing up, and for the most part, they all have my accent.
On the other hand, I’m ending the series with a strong story. As a reader and fan, I’ve seen many series keep going long past the point the author had anything new to bring to the table, and simply repeated the well-established tropes that worked in the past. I never wanted this to become one of those, and I don’t think it has. The Fairies of Sadieville is, I believe, a solid stand-alone novel first, and a solid series-ender second. That was my goal, at any rate.
Finally, like Sinatra, I’m ending it my way. The readers who’ve stuck with me this far deserve an ending that wraps up many of the threads running through the series, and does so in ways that feel right.
The Hum and the Shiver (Tufa Series #1)
Paperback $7.99
The Hum and the Shiver (Tufa Series #1)
By Alex Bledsoe
Paperback $7.99
When you began the series with The Hum and the Shiver, did you have any idea you’d be writing in this world for so long? Have there been surprises along the way?
I had no idea there would be six of them. None at all. The first one was written entirely on spec; honestly, if I had known there would be six, there are elements I’d have done differently. I set traps for myself without meaning to. But that challenge became part of the fun of writing them.
When you began the series with The Hum and the Shiver, did you have any idea you’d be writing in this world for so long? Have there been surprises along the way?
I had no idea there would be six of them. None at all. The first one was written entirely on spec; honestly, if I had known there would be six, there are elements I’d have done differently. I set traps for myself without meaning to. But that challenge became part of the fun of writing them.
One surprise was realizing I’d have to really work out a mythology. When I wrote the first book, I deliberately left many things ambiguous. To me, magic needs that; when you recite words from a book or wave a wand and get the same results every time, that’s science, not magic. Magic requires elements of mystery, where things never quite work out the way you think they will.
I was also surprised by which characters readers embraced. For example, I never would have imagined Bliss Overbay with an actual fan base, but there is one. Who knew?
But the biggest surprise was how many readers asked me if the Tufa, and Needsville, and Cloud County, were real (for the record, they’re not). I understand that wish, of course, but to realize other people responded to it was a very moving thing. You can’t ask for more than readers wanting to visit your fictional setting.
Wisp of a Thing (Tufa Series #2)
Paperback $15.99
Wisp of a Thing (Tufa Series #2)
By Alex Bledsoe
Paperback $15.99
The Tufa books have a deep relationship with music. I know some of the books are even based on real-life songs, or have had songs composed specially for them! Can you talk about this process, for the various books?
Way back at the end of the last century, when I was first pulling together ideas, I knew that if I set these stories in modern Appalachia, then I’d have to acknowledge the huge role music plays in the region. And not just music of the past, either; I wanted to connect with the music coming out of the mountains today. That was how I met singer-songwriter Jennifer Goree, who was kind enough to let me raid her songs for book titles. She finally gets an actual song used in the series, as The Fairies of Sadieville features her song, “Sadieville,” as a major plot point.
The Tufa books have a deep relationship with music. I know some of the books are even based on real-life songs, or have had songs composed specially for them! Can you talk about this process, for the various books?
Way back at the end of the last century, when I was first pulling together ideas, I knew that if I set these stories in modern Appalachia, then I’d have to acknowledge the huge role music plays in the region. And not just music of the past, either; I wanted to connect with the music coming out of the mountains today. That was how I met singer-songwriter Jennifer Goree, who was kind enough to let me raid her songs for book titles. She finally gets an actual song used in the series, as The Fairies of Sadieville features her song, “Sadieville,” as a major plot point.
Classic folk songs, with histories that go back hundreds of years, make up much of the featured music. But for the second book, Wisp of a Thing, I needed a modern song that could work as the key to a mystery, but in an oblique way. Thankfully, the amazing Kate Campbell allowed me to use “Wrought Iron Fences,” which elevated the whole book
Long Black Curl included two “real” songs. “Valiant and Fury Girls,” by Lou Buckingham, was recommended to me by a friend, and I found Alice Peacock’s “Paranoid” by going through dozens of YouTube videos. Gather Her Round featured the first song written specifically for the book: “Against the Black,” by the Lucky Nows.
But the most amazing music-related event had to be the band Tuatha Dea basing a whole album around the series. Tufa Tales: Appalachian Fae is terrific, and not because of anything to do with me.
What has been your favorite part of writing this series? Which characters do you expect to miss the most?
The most fun is always searching for the songs to be quoted or mentioned in the story. It entails the best kind of research: hours and hours of listening (and/or watching videos), then corresponding with musicians and songwriters (for the non-public-domain songs). I’m proud to say that no one’s ever turned me down.
The character I think I’ll miss the most is Bronwyn Chess. She was the first novel’s protagonist, and she’s shown up in various supporting roles throughout. The characters I wish I could’ve written more about are Janet and Ginny, two Tufa teens who, in the last two novels, function as a kind of stoner Greek chorus; man, do I wish I’d thought of them sooner.
Gather Her Round: A Novel of the Tufa
Hardcover $27.99
Gather Her Round: A Novel of the Tufa
By Alex Bledsoe
Hardcover $27.99
The Fairies of Sadieville unravels the mystery of the Tufa’s origins. Was this something you had always planned to do eventually, or did it take you by surprise (as our books sometimes do!).
I knew that eventually I’d need to reveal, if not quite everything, then at least a lot more, so I decided early on that this would be the book to do it. I mean, I’d written five books that danced around all those questions, dropping hints and vague clues. If I kept that up, readers would rightfully get impatient with me.
The Fairies of Sadieville unravels the mystery of the Tufa’s origins. Was this something you had always planned to do eventually, or did it take you by surprise (as our books sometimes do!).
I knew that eventually I’d need to reveal, if not quite everything, then at least a lot more, so I decided early on that this would be the book to do it. I mean, I’d written five books that danced around all those questions, dropping hints and vague clues. If I kept that up, readers would rightfully get impatient with me.
At the same time, I knew that if you give away the whole mystery, you lose the magic. So I present their history in such a way that I hope keeps some of the ambiguity alive. The last thing I want to do is kill the magic of all the prior novels.
If you had to pick a song for the end credits of the Tufa series, what would it be, and why?
“Wrought Iron Fences” by Kate Campbell, the final track on her Moonpie Dreams album. As I mentioned before, she was kind enough to let me use the lyrics in Wisp of a Thing, and its beautiful, elegiac chorus, in wonderful contrast to its jaunty tune, is the perfect farewell:
“I have seen hope and glory fade away
I’ve heard old folks talk of better days
All that’s left to guard the remains are
Wrought iron fences.”
Alex Bledsoe grew up in west Tennessee an hour north of Graceland (home of Elvis) and twenty minutes from Nutbush (birthplace of Tina Turner). He’s been a reporter, editor, photographer and door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman. He now lives in a Wisconsin town famous for trolls and tries to teach his three kids to act like they’ve been to town before. His latest novel is The Fairies of Sadieville.