Bloom and Bough

Stories that explore the secret language of flowers and the mystery of the elementals. Here is quiet magic, wild places, and the lives lived beneath leaf and wing. Here, insects dream, animals speak, and fairies whisper from the roots of ancient trees. These are the fables of the natural world—soft, strange, and full of wonder.

When the Trees Listen: A Bloom & Bough Snippet

The little girl giggled and patted Needle’s trunk. “I think the tree heard me.”

Louisa Blackthorne

Jun 182 min read

A Butterfly’s Breath: A Fairy Fable Snippet

Up and up and up the butterfly went, until it reached the very tippy tops of the trees.

Louisa Blackthorne

Jun 112 min read

A Soldier’s Keepsake: A Fireside Conversation with Mr. James Calloway and Miss Sarah Whitmore

They welcomed me kindly—Mr. James Calloway with his firm handshake and steady eyes, and Miss Sarah Whitmore (soon to be Mrs. Calloway) with a smile warm enough to outshine the fading sun. We spoke in their modest sitting room where a kettle simmered and the shadows grew long across the floorboards.

Louisa Blackthorne

Jun 24 min read

Elspeth and the Whispering Tree

“You are a listener too, child. The tree chose you for that.” Elspeth blinked. “Chose me?” “You hear what others forget. You believe in what breathes beneath the bark and behind the veil.”

Louisa Blackthorne

Jun 18 min read

Betrayal in Bloom

An audible gasp escaped several nearby matrons. Juliet accepted the bouquet with trembling hands, conscious of the sudden silence that fell around her. Yellow roses—the flower of betrayal and broken promises. To receive such a gift at a public gathering was tantamount to social ruin.

Louisa Blackthorne

Jun 16 min read

Corinne and the Fox

"Foxes don't talk," she said automatically,...The fox's whiskers twitched in what might have been amusement. "And humans don't lose their shadows—unless the fair folk steal them."

Louisa Blackthorne

May 288 min read

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