Dan Mackmain’s mum is a dryad, so he knows asking someone from the supernatural world for a favour means there’ll be a price to pay, sooner or later. He’s been waiting for the Hunter, the antler-crowned guardian of predators and prey, to call in his debt.

He wasn’t expecting this to happen when he and his girlfriend Fin were planning to visit her sister Iris and her new husband Conn. Dan has prepared for this unknown challenge, reading up on Irish folklore. So far, he’s learned how different those who live in that unseen realm will be from anyone he’s encountered before – and that crossing them could be very dangerous.

Dan and Fin are off to Ireland this time around. I know a great many readers have been keen to see them take this trip. For me, this looked like a very good way to take Dan out of his comfort zone, and give him more a more complex challenge than simply a bigger, nastier monster.

It has been the interesting writing challenge that I hoped for. I’ve visited Ireland many times, so I can see people and places through Dan’s eyes, but visiting isn’t the same as living somewhere. To put it simply, I don’t know what I don’t know. Finding a way to tackle that was absolutely essential, as the Irish resident characters in this story have to be convincing – especially for Irish readers!

Thankfully, on my many visits to Irish SF&F conventions, since my first Octocon somewhere around the turn of this century, I have made lifelong friends whose generous assistance with that aspect of this particular book has been invaluable. (Any errors that remain are my responsibility, obviously.)