May 1st is the feast of Bealtaine, or May Day, an ancient seasonal festival signally the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere, a time of fires and fertility rites. It is the day of the May Queen, the mythical figure who presages the arrival of summer and an important element in my novel The Treachery of Beautiful Things.

Folklore suggests that after the most beautiful girl in the village had been picked to be Queen of the May, she was dressed in white, a garland of white flowers placed her head, she was paraded through the village, taken to the forest and sacrificed to the trees.

Jenny, in the Treachery of Beautiful Things is forced to take on the mantel of May Queen, but makes herself stronger than a tradition, so matter how old it might be.

I’m now the type of person who can’t look at pictures of a May Pole without a little shudder, even if it is made by Sylvanian Families (true story – I was toy shopping and had to leave before I made a little scene with hysterical giggles.)

Research into the folklore which underpins our traditions is a great way of adding richness to stories, to developing a depth of meaning. That meaning might not be apparent to many, it might upset some, but the sense of the old lurking behind new words, in between the leaves and blossoms of the May Tree, makes stories resonate for the reader.

~~~May Day Competition Time~~~

For a chance to win a copy of The Treachery of Beautiful Things in hardback, please leave a comment below telling me about your favorite bit of folklore or fairytale. The competition will run for a week, until the 8th of May when I’ll pick the winner.

The paperback edition of The Treachery of Beautiful Things is now available for pre-order and will be out on the 1st August (Lughnasadh, another Celtic fire festival, this time for Harvest. Let’s hope that’s a sign.) Check your local bookshop or  Indiebound, Powells, Book Depository, Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com

You may have noticed the sparkly loveliness in my sidebar, counting down until the 16th of August, 2012.

This is because it is now 100 days until The Treachery of Beautiful Things launches in the US.  *Throws confetti*

To celebrate, it’s giveaway time. To win one of the last ARCs I have, leave a comment below telling me something beautiful and something treacherous. The winner will be picked in an extremely subjective manner — maybe by asking a kid, maybe by asking the Patchwork Cat, maybe by selecting random number.

Remember you can find out more about Treachery and read an exclusive preview on this site.

It’s available for pre-order in all these shiny places –

Indiebound |  Book Depository | Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk | Barnes & Noble | Powells

Please spread the word, tell your friends, RT, Tumbl (is that a word? It is NOW) and let’s make this as much fun as possible. The competition is open from now until the 15th May 2012, a whole week. Remember, one post each – something beautiful and something treacherous. It can even be both.

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fireworks by Dreamstime.com