Bewitched and Beguiled: Poetry of Enchantment Proverse Publication Prize Recipient 2024

BEWITCHED AND BEGUILED is the winner of a Proverse Publication Prize. It is a collection of poetry drawing on the often tragic tales of the classical world, and concentrating on elements of resonance — poignancy, loneliness, revenge, incisiveness, martyrdom, venal power and temptation. Each poem is introduced with a poet’s note, discussing context and form. The collection opens with two intricately structured crowns of heroic sonnets in iambic pentameter,  drawing first on the sensuous spell-craft of Circe and then on the lucid intelligence of Athena.

Here, enchantment is disciplined and resonant, shaped by rhythm, sound, echoes and the cyclical architecture of the crown itself. The sequence deepens through poems centred on Prometheus and Pandora, where divine ambition and consequence fracture certainty. Form loosens. Tragedy unsettles order. Power reveals its cost. At the collection’s heart, a tonal shift begins.

In ‘If I Were a Mermaid’, existential doubt gives way to volition: the speaker moves from cold uncertainty toward a conscious choice of kindness and joy. What follows is a vibrant unfurling, rollicking, playful,  rich with colour – where goblins, giants, and joy-fairies inhabit a world reshaped not by domination, but by imaginative generosity.

Bewitched and Beguiled honours tradition while ultimately celebrating the liberating power of creative reinvention.The poems are wonderfully enhanced by moody black and whilte illustrations by Clive Solomon. 

Sample from sonnet iii of Circe

Her whispers ling’ring, echoes languid placed, vile creatures roar, but only for a time,

their heinous oaths by silence are replaced, though in their heads, their sins, unmuted, chime.

Behave as hogs, and hogs they shall become.  If men, all greed, with lust for flesh and vine

shall act like pigs, then Circe’s sties, in sum,  shall flow with swill - bold men transformed to swine.

Oh, subtle cruel are all of Circe’s charms, seductive soft as calm as summer breeze,

her teasing touch arrests all coy alarms as prone man lies, and she, on bended knees,

a building tide, as wild and wet as waves, cajoles and calls and passion washes wild,

her powers pooling, till at last enslaved, transformed is he to beast and she to child,

garbed in innocence sweet regained, but alas, alas - naught is e’er the same.

Florilegium: Semifinalist Proverse Prize 2025

What if history could be rewritten—not by kings or conquerors, but by those who understood the hidden language of scent, ink, and plants?

In Florilegium, Diana Banks-Morton inherits more than a journal—she inherits a secret. As her artistic talents awaken into a rare and powerful form of perception, she is drawn into a clandestine world of arcane practitioners who safeguard enchanted objects tied to Britain’s past.

Florilegium is a Regency fantasy of hidden knowledge, subtle power, and quietly subversive wit, told through the voice of Diana Banks—Morton, great niece of the real life Sarah Sophia Banks and the renowned botanist Sir Joseph Banks.  Banks voyaged with  Captain James Cook on the Endeavour and is credited with the discovery of  thousands of endemic species, collectively illustrated and posthumously published as The Florilegium.

Drawn by her aunt’s  journal, and a series of the enchanted botanical specimens, Diana discovers she possesses a rare sensitivity to scent, ink, and organic trace—an ability that brings her into contact with the Florilegium, a discreet network of practitioners who interpret and safeguard objects of historical and political significance. Here, her latent magical talent  is approached with care, collaboration, and a certain irreverent intelligence.

Among its members are the amusing  Fox — short for Foxglove—  whose perceptiveness is matched only by his teasing charm, the formidable Miss Yarrow,  and others whose talents blur the boundaries between science, art, and magic. Together, they navigate a landscape where influence is exercised in nuance: through what is preserved, what is revealed, and what is quietly redirected.

Yet the work of the Florilegium is not without complication. A royal marriage of delicate political consequence, the circulation of volatile artefacts, and the presence of a brilliant and unpredictable French operative—Fougère, by turns mischievous, disarming, and disconcertingly perceptive—introduce tensions that cannot be resolved by knowledge alone. Worse, there is a traitor within, a plot against the crown and a severe case of time sensitivity.

At its heart, Florilegium is a story of perception and agency: of learning to see beyond appearances, to trust one’s inner senses, and to claim authorship over one’s own life. Blending humour, romance. espionag, and intellectual intrigue, the novel explores how memory, artistry, and the natural world converge— how even the smallest detail, a scent or a brushstroke, may alter the course of history.

Cost and Consequence: A Jane Austen Sanditon Continuation. Semifinalist Proverse Prize 2025

Semi Finalist, International Proverse Prize 2025

Continuing Jane Austen’s unfinished Sanditon, this novel is set in a seaside town poised between ambition and fragility, where social aspiration and personal longing collide with characteristic irony and wit.

Charlotte Heywood’s arrival at the Parker household sets in motion a world of shifting loyalties, uncertain romance, and quietly transformative change. Set in the aftermath of Waterloo, Cost and Consequence explores a society in transition—where class boundaries soften, innovation emerges, and communities begin to reimagine themselves.

Alongside Charlotte’s emotional journey between Sidney Parker’s polished charm and Lennox Somerset’s quieter depth, Sanditon is alive with humour and eccentricity: Arthur Parker’s irrepressible delight in food gives rise to an unexpectedly tender culinary romance, while Sir Rupert Altringham’s flamboyant schemes meet their match in Miss Diana Parker’s formidable intelligence, culminating in a spirited rivalry played out between gambling tables and tea rooms.

Romance, intrigue, and social satire intertwine in a continuation that is both homage and independent novel—concerned as much with the cost of change as with the laughter that accompanies it.

Once upon a Fairer Time: Classic Tales Revised in Rhyme Proverse Publication Prize Recipient 2024

Once Upon a Fairer Time : Classic Tales Revised in Rhyme is a richly imaginative poetry collection that re-envisions classic fairy tales through a lens of compassion, wit, and poetic justice.

In these “fairer” tellings, familiar stories are gently but decisively reshaped: villains are reconsidered, consequences recalibrated, and endings transformed into something more humane, and often more hopeful. A wolf may be driven by hunger rather than malice; a witch, long unpunished, may finally meet a fate of her own making. Each poem offers not only a fresh narrative, but a thoughtful rebalancing of the moral world those tales inhabit.

The collection ranges widely in tone and form—from rollicking, playful verse alive with rhythm and humour to more reflective, lyrical pieces that explore loneliness, longing, and resilience. Throughout, Solomon’s command of voice and cadence brings both energy and emotional depth to each reimagining.

Accompanied by beautiful illustrations by Clive Solomon, the book is further enriched by contextual author’s notes for every poem, offering insight into the origins of each tale and the creative choices behind its transformation.

Both enchanting and incisive, Once Upon a Fairer Time invites readers to revisit the stories they thought they knew—and discover how they might unfold, if told with greater kindness, curiosity, and care. Tongue twisters abound, but that is part of the fun.

Here is a tiny excerpt of the  poetic justice awaiting  Malificent witch: 

And Maleficent witch?  In strange twist and a twitch,   a spellgone quite horribly wrong,

her magic has blistered, quite strangled and twisted, with the witch now carried along.

Mishap ‘pon mishap, bumble on stumble, weird looking spells, unquelled by each mumble.

Through  enchanted branch brambles, she ambles and ambles — she’s lost her way, and her wand....

Celestial Promise Proverse Publication Prize 2016

Celestial Promise is the winner of the International Proverse Prize 2016 Supplementary Prize.
In this collection of poetry, written over half a lifetime, Hayley Ann Solomon focuses primarily on the pursuit of excellence, immortality achieved through finite life, love in all its forms, and social justice. As it waxes and wanes, the collection cycles through sequences of lyrical ballads, sonnets, elegies, haiku, snippets of nonsensical verse; all blended with a substantial dose of existential philosophy and social comment.

The collection covers a full spectrum, from the darkest psycho-social moments, to zeniths of absolute joy. The liberal use of consonance, assonance, alliteration, echoes and half-echoes, rhyme and cross-rhyme make for a style rich in sound-play. This, together with strong metrical awareness – very often iambic or trochaic pentameter and tetrameter – evokes a flow that is quite typically euphonic. There is therefore a sense of lyricism despite a broad diversity of topics and moods.
The anthology evolves to become a promise of regeneration, in synchrony with the phases of the moon, from which it takes its celestial title.

In these poems Ms Solomon has recreated the world through her eyes.... [She] takes the reader on a safari through several manifestations of the human condition. ... [The] way ... is well lit ... by metaphorical moonlight along a lunar calendar which provides meticulous order to this meaningful journey.
— Randal A. Burd, Jr., M.Ed.

The poet is both romantic and scholar: inviting us to reflect on themes of transience and the cyclical nature of life: urging us to acknowledge the dark while reaching for the light.
—Viki Holmes, author of miss moon's class (Chameleon Press, 2008), Girls' Adventure Stories of Long Ago (Chameleon Press, 2017) and co-editor of Not A Muse (Haven, 2009).

A spirited collection of poems.
—Vaughan Rapatahana, Winner of the inaugural Proverse Poetry Prize.

Under the Shade of the Feijoa Trees and Other Stories Proverse Publication Prize Recipient 2018

Under the shade of the feijoa trees offers a representative sample of Hayley Ann Solomon’s

particular brand of high quality, emotionally resonant short stories.

The styles and intensities vary extensively, but the common denominator is humanity

in all its complexity, woven with philosophy. Some are autobiographical, some could be autobiographical, but are not – have fun trying to guess the difference – and some are magical.

Yes, there is fantasy in there, romance, philosophy, tragedy, heartbreak,

revenge, coming-of-age stories, stories written with a twinkle of the eye,

or with a sigh of wistfulness, or a sprinkle of whimsy.

Some stories border on the lyrical, others are just there to provide a snort of laughter, a gasp, 

or a definite roll of the eye.

All of them have a pinch of whimsy, a dash of the philosophical, a hint of what might have been,

what could have been or what is, in an alternative reality.

This eclectic and very personal collection of short stories by successful writer

of genre fiction and  poet, Hayley Ann Solomon, describes in lyrical detail widely

dispersed places and situations. The stories are well-constructed and intensely-felt

and the author’s joy in the sounds and sequencing of beautiful words is evident.—

Philip Chatting, Winner of the Proverse Prize 2014, author of "The Snow Bridge and Other Stories" (Proverse, 2015).

Incoronata Complete Manuscript, Current Work 2026

INCORONATA — Short Synopsis (~385 words)

Incoronata is an adult mythic fantasy in which Hannah—raised by a sentient cottage—finds herself on an unexpected path, collecting, as she goes, the odd experience, encounter, conversation and choice that positions her to be be in just the right place at just the right time. It is a haphazard journey toward self-belief, intentional magic, and the power of kindness. If Hannah eventually (and entirely accidentally) becomes High Queen of Faerie, this is purely incidental.

The cottage that raises its children teaches discipline, patience, and ethical magic. When Hannah turns twenty, the door closes behind her and sends her into the wider world—prepared, but unsure of her purpose. Warm-hearted, self-deprecating, and quietly determined, she sets out to discover what kind of mage she might become.

Her wandering leads her to The Whistle and Goat, an inn that appears to test magical ability. Instead, its trials measure character: integrity, restraint, and the ability to act ethically when rules are unclear. Hannah’s instinct for cooperation reveals her rare talent for integration—harmonising the powers of others rather than dominating them. She draws companions and their familiars to her almost magnetically, including her future partner, Parsley the hedgehog.

Identified as a polymage, Hannah is assigned to a cavern system beneath a mountain. (She is confused and not entirely pleased!)  There she encounters the Volanesque, a vast chamber containing the last Imperial Dragon Empress, ancient, brave, and dying, after centuries spent sustaining the dragon hive.

Her mentor is Conde, an impeccably precise, somewhat infuriating butler who has watched over the Empress for five hundred years. Service is his ethic. Hannah has no problem with that — she just is annoyed by his teaching method.  He doesn't teach — he provokes her into finding her strengths.  He speaks in ancient languages, makes snarky comments in Latin, mutters vital clues in Parsi — until, simply because she won't let him get the better of her — Hannah begins to comprehend. 

Her magic is intention driven, and she forges the pathways. Once she understands this, and a little of the tragic backstory of Conde and the dragon, antogonism changes to something more... a slow burn, mutual respect, shared purpose. Once a prince, Conde abandoned his roots after witnessing the corruption of Faerie’s monarchs. Now he protects the final imperial egg—for if an Empress dies without continuity, the entire dragon hive dies with her.

As the egg nears hatching, the monarchs of Faerie begin circling the mountain, hoping to seize the power of a newborn dragon.

 Hannah slowly learns to trust her abilities. When the butler risks his life trusting her to save him, she stops overthinking, wrapping her intention, her will and her magic in the vital enchantment of self belief.

Meanwhile, Hannah’s companions from The Whistle and Goat arrive beneath the mountain, bringing the elemental strengths needed to defend the egg. Together—earth, wind, fire, water, and intuition—they stand against the corrupt monarchs.

In the final assault, the Empress sacrifices herself, draining the monarchs’ magic and restoring balance to Faerie. In the quiet aftermath, the egg hatches.

The dragonette imprints on Hannah and Conde and speaks a single word: Incoronata. (This is a litte bit naughty and a little bit cheeky, and the dragonette knows this, since she is the incarnation of the previous empress and Conde and her have had a running argument about this  for centuries... and yet...)

Dragon-light crowns Conde High King of Faerie—to his profound irritation. He accepts only on the condition that he be known instead as High Butler of Faerie.

But Hannah, he calmly announces (with the trace of a smile) will be High Queen.

Hannah is still processing this development.

But Faerie, at last, is in steady hands.

Assorted Work

Historical Romance Primarily Published under the Zebra Regency Romance Label