"One of the most captivating and magical books I've read"  ~  Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune "If you love Chicago, this is a great read - you just might find yourself in a couple of these chapters"   ~ Spike O'Dell, WGN Radio "Often bringing to mind the adventures of Alice during her travels through Wonderland"  ~ Chicago Literati There is an L train in Chicago that few ever see — a line that runs not through space, but through memory, along the unseen rails of what was and what might have been. On an autumn night long ago, a peculiar girl named Francesca Finnegan invited a not-at-all-peculiar boy named Richard aboard that secret train. What followed was a night stitched with the surreal: spectral whiskey poured in the Green Mill, the ghostly laughter of Riverview Park, and a gravity-defying first kiss. Unfortunately for Richard, the night ended like one of those elusive dreams, forgotten the moment you wake.  Years later, Richard has grown up and out of childish adventures into a humdrum adult whose life is on the verge of ruin. It will take the rediscovery of the hidden train, and a reacquaintance with the boy he once was, to save him. A bizarre, beguiling journey through Chicago's secret soul,  The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan  is a modern mythology unlike any other. "Lovely imagery and interesting notions. It's a pastiche of Chicago characters and history, painted with a folkloric brush." ~ Third Coast Review "Entrancingly magical journey that's half Midwestern Miyazaki, half Mad Men, and all Windy City." ~ Windy City Reviews "A novel that quite ingeniously incorporates all manner of actual local landmarks and legends then blows them up to the level of high fantasy. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this short, fast-reading novel soon." ~ Chicago Center for Literature and Photography (CCLaP) "One of the most amazing, compelling, and magical books I've ever read." ~ Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune "If you love Chicago, this is a great read - you just might find yourself in a couple of these chapters." ~ Spike O'Dell, WGN Radio "A deeply imaginative and wondrous fairytale for adults who are still young at heart." ~ Indie Reader "There are just enough obscenities uttered to ensure this book is never shelved in the children's or even YA section. The story, though, is anything but vulgar, a sweet and uplifting tale as heartwarming as the ones it's poking fun at." ~ Kirkus Reviews "This is a book for intelligent adult readers who love a playful escape into teenage fantasies." ~ Publishers Weekly "There is an adventurous and unpredictable tone to every chapter of this book, making it very difficult to put down." ~ SPR Reviews "An imaginative, modern-day adventure-fantasy for readers of all ages. Offering a view askew of the mundane and the magical, The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan is a lighthearted joy to read, highly recommended!" ~ Midwest Book Review "Often bringing to mind the adventures of Alice during her travels through Wonderland. Rich's travels through the city via the Lavender Line are just as colorful and filled with even more bizarre and baffling characters." ~ Chicago Literati See fairytalechicago.com for more information Steven Wiley's The Fairytale Chicago offers the type of urban fantasy that the genre is sorely lacking. It pulls a few pages from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland with a dash of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, both of which are referenced by the eponymous, blue-haired Francesca Finnegan. Filled with clever rhymes and plays on words, the prose itself is pure fun. Witty, humorous, and at times profound, the tone is true to its fairytale style. And like all good fairytales, it teaches a lesson--one that older readers are sure to benefit from. Swept up on a wonderfully strange adventure alongside Rich and Francesca, one finds magic at every turn. The Lavender Line L train evokes magic in its name right from the start, then weaves through a curious, inexplicable hidden world within the city. Vignettes from other characters who reside in this world further enrich its creation. A drunken elf recounts actual ghostly spirits who give alcoholic spirits their flavor. The infamous Chicago wind becomes personified and settles as a regular presence throughout the night. Francesca's father enlightens the audience with the real story behind the Great Chicago Fire. Straddling that hazy space between dreams and reality, one doesn't exactly know what's real and what isn't, which is part of the true magic in The Fairytale Chicago . The only disappointment is that eventually the night ends and one must step off the Lavender Line. The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan is a deeply imaginative and wondrous fairytale for adults who are still young at heart. ~Jessica Thomas for IndieReader Steve is a writer from in and around Chicagoland, where he still lives with his wife and two kids. Publishers Weekly called h