They are all based on folk tales I have come across that piqued my interest. They are not strict retellings of the stories: bearing in mind there is rarely a definitive version anyway but I have tried to remain faithful to the main elements and the spirit of the tales. JRR Tolkiens essay On Fairy-Stories uses the analogy of folk tales and mythology being broth or stock in a huge cauldron that a storyteller as cook dips their ladle into, to select elements to use in their stories. Perhaps without realising it this is what I have been trying to do. I have used the theme of narrator, with a back story, sitting under the hawthorn tree, telling a remembered tale from their childhood both to provide a link to disparate tales and as a nod to their oral origins. The site has a section on each of the stories with links to sources of information on the original folk tales. I have also included a more bloggy section Hints, Tips and Thoughts which hopefully I can pass on some of my experience as an aspiring writer and my knowledge as a former librarian on sources of information and how to find them.