I'm working on a story now called, Twisted Tea of Coventry. Some of my characters are Ida Pear, an heiress, although penniless. Ida has the beginnings of dementia. One afternoon Ida discovers Milton Brown, a compulsive thief who is recently escaped convict from Rye Prison hiding in her garden among the hollyhocks. Mistakenly, Ida believes Mr. Brown is her long time entrusted cook. Luckily, Milton had been a cook during his stint in prison, giving him a perfect alibi for hiding out at Coventry Castle.
While preparing an afternoon pastry for Ida's friends, Nan and Mercy, Milton mistakenly concocted a six-inch blue-haired fairy creature, Wee Miss. Unlike a typical fairy, Wee Miss is brash and more than a wee bit mischievous. Much to Milton's chagrin, Wee Miss is his nemesis.
Oddly, no one can see or hear Wee Miss except Ida and Milton on a consistent basis. Nan notably drinks too much from time to time. While Nan is in intoxicated she sees Wee Miss and calls her," Mary the Queen of Scotch, my weary soul.” Mercy on the other hand is hypercritical of this bunch, and fears they have all lost their minds.
The mystery deepens as Ida opens her castle to her friends and to run a shelter for the socially outcasts in an effort to make money. Among the residents is Ray Ray Gann, who erroneously believes he is the late President Ronald Regan, a man ever fearful of communist take over. Ray Ray's best friend at Coventry is another deranged gentleman, known only as Chief Sitting Bull. Chief Sitting Bull is reportedly a genetic engineer forced into an early retirement, whose only words are, “Wild Buffalo Big.”
While Ray Ray and Chief Sitting Bull plot to make their escape, Milton tries desperately to shelter his secret, steal all he can while successfully eluding the police. Ida clings to her failing memory with advice from Wee Miss. Nan battles with her drinking problem, and Mercy learns how to be less judgmental.
All the while, in order for Wee Miss to be able return to her street beat on Yonder Cove Corner, she must put these misfits back on a path for some degree of normalcy. Only after the arrival of the teenage twins, Winny and Filly can the residents of Coventry Castle begin to methodically dismantle their dysfunctional behaviors.
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