Blog Tour: Audiobook The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan!

This is my stop during the blog tour for The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan by Steve Wiley. The blog tour runs from 13 till 26 March. You can see the tour schedule here.

Title: The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan

Author: Steve Wiley

Narrated by Sean Lenhart

Length: 6 hours and 12 minutes

Genre: Fantasy/Fairytale

Release Date Audiobook: March 1, 2017

Synopsis

In Chicago, a secret L train runs through the mythical East Side of the city. On that train, you’ll find a house-cat conductor, an alcoholic elf, a queen of the last city farm, the most curious wind, and an exceptional girl by the name of Francesca Finnegan. 

When we first encounter Richard K. Lyons, he is a man who has long forgotten the one night, when he was still a boy called Rich, when Francesca invited him aboard the secret L for an adventure through the East Side. The night was a mad epic, complete with gravity-defying first kisses, mermaid overdoses, and princess rescues. 

Unfortunately for Rich, the night ended like one of those elusive dreams forgotten the moment you wake. Now, Rich is all grown up and out of childish adventures, an adult whose life is on the verge of ruin. It will take the rediscovery of his exploits with Francesca, and a reacquaintance with the boy he once was, to save him.

Excerpt

Fairyism 

 There is magic in the city. When Rich Lyons was a little boy, he learned of the magic from an old, cockeyed, Captain Hook–looking magician. The old man sat alone at a table for two outside a neighborhood bar every summer day, all day, always with a glass of twinkling whiskey. 

 He said the twinkle had once been in his eye, but had blown out one windy day and splashed right into the whiskey. Rich liked how the twinkle twinkled in the whiskey. He liked it so much, he asked the old man if he could have it. 

 The man told Rich he didn’t need it, because he already had a twinkle of his own, and besides, that particular twinkling whiskey tasted like shit, worse than ört, if that’s possible. 

 “You be careful,” the old man warned, “because in the city of wind, a twinkle may blow out. The wind here, it twirls and sings like a music-box ballerina. 

 It plays tricks and tells stories like an old-man magician. Like me, like this …” And so, the old man performed tricks for Rich and regaled him with city folklore and fantasy.    

He said the Great Chicago Fire was arson, started by a fire-breathing dragon from the Fulton River District who was fed up with the cold winters. 

He said the Chicago River started flowing backward when a giant sea serpent sneezed so powerfully, it changed the direction of the current.

 He said the sky was purple (not black) above the city because a wicked witch had stolen all the black for her cats and bats and witch hats. 

 Rich’s favorite story was one about the L trains, and how each had come to be named for a color. old man said the colors arrived when the first skyscrapers did. Before then, all the trains were the same dull brown. 

 On the day the first skyscraper went up, a rainbow, unused to encountering buildings so high in the sky, accidentally crashed into it. When the rainbow crashed, each of its individual colors went splattering in all directions. 

 Some landed on the L trains and stained them. The only train to miss a color was the Brown Line, because, the old man said, it was offline for repairs. 

 Disgusting alcoholic spirit, occupied by the evil spirit of a bootlegger, who was bootlegged himself.

 Available only in Chicago. The old man also said there was one line, a secret line, that got a splash of lavender. 

 One day, Rich asked the old man if he could use his magic to tell fortunes. The old man said, well, hell, of course he could, it was a matter of simple city magic. 

 Rich asked if he might hear his own fortune. He wanted to know what he would be when he grew up. 

 The old man told Rich there wasn’t much he wouldn’t be when he grew up. He would be a father, a husband, an uncle, a brother, a friend. 

He would be a ghost in the graveyard. He would be a vice president of something. He would be a pisser in the pancake batter. He would be a reveler-adventurer. 

He would be a hider and seeker. He would be a rocket man. A businessman. And, he would be a rich man.  

Purchase Links

Audiobook Sample

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here on Soundcloud or below:

Reviews

“Filled with clever rhymes and plays on words, the prose itself is pure fun. Witty, humorous, and at times profound, the tone is true to its fairytale style. And like all good fairytales, it teaches a lesson—one that older readers are sure to benefit from.” ~ Indie Reader, full review...

“There are just enough obscenities uttered to ensure this book is never shelved in the children’s or even young adult section. The story, though, is anything but vulgar, a sweet and uplifting tale as heartwarming as the ones it’s poking fun at.” ~Kirkus Reviews, full review...

“Twists on Chicago history and fantastical insights into uniquely Chicago phenomenon, such as the reason Malort tastes so bad, make for an entrancingly magical journey that's half Midwestern Miyazaki, half Mad Men, and all Windy City.” ~Windy City Reviews, full review...

“The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan is an imaginative, modern-day adventure-fantasy for readers of all ages. Offering a view askew of the mundane and the magical, The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan is a lighthearted joy to read, highly recommended!” ~ Midwest Book Review, full review...

Author Bio

Steve is a father, husband, uncle, brother, friend, and purveyor of fairy stories. He grew up in and around Chicagoland, where he still lives with his wife and two kids. 

He has been published in an array of strange and serious places, from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., to Crannóg magazine in Galway, Ireland. 

This is his first book. He has an undergraduate degree in something he has forgotten from Illinois State University and a graduate degree in something equally forgotten from DePaul University. 

Steve once passionately kissed a bronze seahorse in the middle of Buckingham Fountain.

Hosted By: