First published 1992
Foley shapes clay into tourist trinkets while his partner Moss handles the business side of their plaster pixie operation in Lanruan, Cornwall. The village feeds off visitors seeking authentic charm, though the authenticity runs thin. Foley dreams of creating real art beyond garden ornaments and cherub lamps. Moss, who bankrolled their venture, seems content with quiet efficiency at the workshop. Their world includes Graham, a local artist working in primitive styles, Bailey, a brash newcomer from the North chasing profit, and Barbara, the village's resident troublemaker. Then Gwendoline arrives. She upends the delicate balance between the two men without meaning to. As hidden wants surface and unacknowledged bonds strain, the partnership that built their small success begins to crack. The tourist trade continues, the pixies keep selling, but something fundamental shifts between Foley and Moss in ways neither anticipated.
Genres: fiction, romance, literary-fiction, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, found-family, slow-burn
Setting: Cornwall, Lanruan
216 pages · Paperback · Phoenix