Fantasyland: The Art of Making People Believe

And a Special Ruins Red Dog Announcement

Welcome, dear reader, to a special essay on storytellers. Read to the end for a new Ruins announcement.

And please consider becoming a member of The Ruins community by taking out a paid subscription. As Substack grows (have you noticed how it’s going mainstream?) to embrace the whole world of creators, remind yourself about what matters…

Authenticity. Real people writing real things. Risk takers making a living from thin air.

My mother invented a place that didn’t exist. And then she found the tools to convince her people that it was real.

A rule the storytellers know; crown the ordinary with uncommon titles. She put a name to her place.

FantasyLand.

Grapevine huts replaced the chaotic kitchen of her parents. Ironweed brooms swept clean the pain of bitter family cycles. Wildflower crowns for the Princess Morning Star. Mudlarking in the crick. A chair for the princess up on the hill above the Tarzan swing. A bent tree in the form of a seat that she would sit on and look over her lan…