Once there was a Postman who fell in love with a Raven. So begins the tale of a postman who encounters a fledgling raven while on the edge of his route and decides to bring her home. The unlikely couple falls in love and conceives a child—an extraordinary raven girl trapped in a human body.

I was approached by Trisha Hammer about a possible collaboration. Trisha is the designer and binder for Sherwin Beach Press. I’ve always admired their books so I eagerly agreed. She was interested in a 1901 book with the intriguing title Poisonous Plants in Field and Garden, by the Reverend Professor G. Henslow.

Ophile, Clothilde and Bettine are sisters who live together in a large house by the sea. One night their neighbor, the Lighthouse Keeper, is killed by lightning during a terrible storm. His son, Paris, returns to take his father’s place at the lighthouse. Ophile and Bettine fall in love with Paris, and he returns Bettine’s affections. Terrible rivalries ensue. A peculiar baby is born. Havoc and revenge result. Eventually some people die and others are reconciled.

It’s spring and a young woman is feeling down. It rains constantly. She buys shoes, finds a kitten, writes a story featuring a character called Mr. Rain. Somehow none of this makes her feel any better.

A young woman admires an apple. When she eventually eats it, it has turned to mush, but she consumes it anyway, with appreciation.

The Adventuress is born in a laboratory, she is the result of alchemical experiments in early 19th century France. She is kidnapped and forced to marry a lascivious baron, but escapes by turning herself into a moth and flying into the gardens of Napoleon Bonaparte. She and Bonaparte become lovers and she gives birth to a cat. Although all ends tragically, there is forgiveness and transcendence in the end.