Hi, my fae friend!

Magical faerie realms are better when you can enjoy them with friends! If you love cozy fantasy, romance, and beautiful art, then check out my community. You’ll get The Lily Gate—my adorable Frog Prince retelling—and more stories, in a safe and welcoming haven for readers. I share art, updates, and new chapters as I write books, and it’s an amazing place to make new bookish friends.

Click the button below to see the membership options (you can find The Lily Gate in the $1 Jackalope Journals tier), or keep reading to learn more about me and why I’m so passionate about writing stories that feel like a warm hug.

I’m Hanna Sandvig, your friendly neighbourhood cozy fantasy author/illustrator and I’d love to share my short and sweet Frog Prince retelling, The Lily Gate with you.

I write and illustrate books with magic, banter, adorable (and sassy) animal sidekicks, and romances with just kisses (so you can buddy read with the teens and tweens in your life) that take place in a Celtic-inspired Faerie world. The only content warnings are that all the baking my characters do could make you need a snack.

Do you want to hear more about The Lily Gate first?

Some people take “cozy fantasy” to mean stories where nothing bad ever happens, but my favourite stories still have adventure and struggles for the characters. I just want a book that will make me feel hopeful instead of anxious. Less deadly peril, more humour, heart, and swoony romances.

The Lily Gate has all my favourite elements, wrapped up in the magically romantic tale of a princess who loves to bake, but is too practical for true love, and her new frog companion who offers to help her pick the best prince to marry in a competition for her hand.

But things aren’t always what they seem, and her perfect match might have been under her nose this whole time…

You can get The Lily Gate in the first tier of my cozy fantasy community for just $1! Just click the button below, or keep reading to hear what portals, cookies, and anxiety have in common 😉

Have you ever wished you could take a little break from your everyday life?

Just step through a portal and wander into a Faerie world where a racoon will make you a cup of tea, and some little faeries will make you a dress of butterfly wings? Where you could read in a enchanted library while eating pastries made by your princess bestie, or have a cat teach you spells in her magical tower by the fireplace?

I know I do. Not for forever, I love my family and my life, but sometimes my brain needs a little rest from the real world. Because my brain is not always on my side.

I’ve struggled with my mental health ever since I was little, but I didn’t realize what it was until I hit my thirties. The chronic insomnia, the yelling at my kids, the tightness in my chest, the spiraling thoughts about the fate of the world, had a name. Anxiety.

I can’t begin to explain how much it helped to understand what it was. It wasn’t that I was a terrible mother or that the world was literally going to end at any moment. My brain just needed more serotonin than it was able to produce.

I say just as though it’s a small thing, but if you struggle with your mental health, you know it’s a very big thing.

I take much better care of myself now. I have some supplements that help a lot (for my husband a couple rounds of meds were necessary). I take daily walks, and I prioritize my sleep. I tell that voice in my head spouting doom to just shhhhhh. And it’s made a world of difference. But I’ll always have anxiety. I’ll always have hard days.

That’s why I write cozy fantasy.

When I started writing, it wasn’t even a term people used, but I’ve always written stories in a world that I actually wanted to spend time in. Even when I was little, I remember telling my mom that I was going to write stories where nothing bad ever happened to the characters. She correctly pointed out that it would be a pretty boring story with no plot, but that feeling of wanting to immerse myself in a story that just made me feel good remained as I grew up.

When I published my first book, I almost felt embarrassed about how sweet it was in a world where everyone seemed to be gushing over angsty dark romance and gritty fantasy. But then I started to get emails from readers who were grateful for a safe and cozy escape from the world. I learned that many of my readers, just like me, have anxiety and want a book like a warm hug. Many of us are neurodivergent and long for a land where we don’t feel out of place.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized how appropriate it is that all my stories begin with the heroine finding a magical gate that transports her to another land, because that’s exactly what I hope the stories themselves do for everyone who reads them.

Our lives in the real world are precious, but just like a fresh baked cookie, or a beautiful song, stories can give us those moments of peace to help keep our brains healthy and our moods steady.

Cozy fantasy is self care 😉

What about you?

Do you wish you could spend a little more time in Faerie? I feel so strongly about this that I actually have a community on Patreon where I share my cozy fantasy art and stories with a group of amazing readers. It’s our own little portal to a corner of the internet where we can relax and enjoy the magic of books. Curious? Click the link below to find out more!

Or keep reading for my favourite mental health tip…

I have three daughters and my oldest two are now teenagers. They’ve inherited all sorts of amazing traits from my husband and I. They’re funny (I like to think that’s from us, haha), observant like him, artistic like me, and just good, kind kids.

Sadly, they also got some things we wouldn’t have chosen to pass on. My middle seems to have inherited my lactose intolerance, ADHD, and insomnia (I sometimes tell her that it would be okay for her to be a little less like me!) and they both got our anxiety. 

If only we could have just given them the pretty blue eyes and not the mental health issues!

But, unlike us, they live in a time where we understand a lot more about how these things work, so we can help them learn some ways to get their brains to behave.

My favourite is so simple: Look for the good things.

It sounds too easy to actually help, but it’s science! If you look for the things that are beautiful, and good, and bring you joy, you see more of the good in the world. I’ve heard them called “glimmers” which I love, and you can train your brain to find more glimmers and less gloom.

Okay, well what does that have to do with fairytales? Well, I try to fill my books with things that make me happy! With cookie-stealing baby dragons, friends who feel like family, sparkling dresses, and (swoon!) soft kisses.

You see, that’s the really amazing thing about being an author, I can share my “glimmers” with everyone who reads my books. 

What’s something that brings you joy? Books? Plants? Cookies? The beach? your kids or grandkids? Click the button if you want to see a video of my own sassy animal sidekick, my giant cat, Finnegan. I was trying to read aloud to my community members and I think you’ll agree that he’s the star of the show.

If you’re still reading, I hope it’s because you love cozy fantasy romances as much as I do. There’s only one complaint I have about them:

I’m so sad when they’re over and I have to go back to the real world! It’s scary out there. There’s things like: politics, family drama, and worst of all…laundry.

So, what if you could stay in Faerie for just a little while longer? What if you could hang out in a safe place with other readers and talk about books, and faeries, and chocolate chip cookies? Where you could read a new chapter of a fun story every week, and enjoy beautiful fantasy art?

Welcome to the Royal Library of Tir na Nog!

I couldn’t resist a magical library theme, haha! The Royal Library is the little corner of the internet that I’ve made on Patreon to hang out with my readers. We even have our own resident animal sidekick, the little jackalope snoozing on the librarian’s desk above.

The first tier, Jackalope Journals is only $1 a month, and grants you a library card that accesses a weekly update about my writing, artwork, and life in the beautiful mountains of BC, Canada. You also get access to all the story-time videos of The Lily Gate, as well as behind the scenes Q&A posts and videos about the story.

And that’s just the lowest tier, here’s a short look at what we do in the Patreon:

The Royal Library is truly a magical community, because I have the best, kindest readers, and I know that’s true for you as well! Click the button below to check out the Patreon page and see the membership tiers to see what would be the best fit for you.

And I have a little gift for you in the community, too: a printable bookmark featuring Cressie, the pet moat monster from The Lily Gate that you can color, or just enjoy in all her pen and ink glory.

Still not sure if my stories are what you’re looking for? Here’s chapter one of The Lily Gate!

If you ever meet a talking frog—any chatty amphibian, really—my advice would be to ignore it. That’s what I should have done, anyway.

It was the most important day of my life. My eighteenth birthday. I was beyond nervous, so I spent the morning in my papa’s industrial kitchen in France, making my birthday cake. Papa had been teaching me to make cream puffs, and for my birthday I created a towering croquembouche. I filled each little choux pastry with vanilla cream, then drizzled the whole tower with golden threads of caramel.

My mother had harassed me for taking the time to bake on such a busy day—especially when time runs slower in the human realm—but I didn’t want to whip all that cream by hand. I needed the KitchenAid.

My human father was happy in Faerie, but he still kept an apartment in Paris. It was in an old stone building with a balcony view of the Eiffel Tower. There were rooms for my parents and me, and a professional-grade kitchen with all the shiny copper pots and cooking gadgets you could dream of.

Sometimes we came to Paris for a holiday, or to do some shopping, but more often, Papa and I just snuck off to cook. It was our own little world in that kitchen.

I put the last spoon in the dishwasher and glanced at the enchanted clock on the wall that kept Faerie time. Oops, I was running late. I pulled off the apron covering my green spider-silk gown and slipped into my satin heels. I didn’t usually wear heels, but Mother insisted I look my best today.

“No one wants to see your bare toes, Tuala,” I muttered in my best impression of my mother. 

A glance in the mirror told me that pale pastry cream was smeared on my golden-brown cheek. I hurriedly scrubbed it clean and adjusted my golden tiara on my black curls. Good enough. Carefully, I lifted the platter holding the croquembouche and stepped through the pantry door that disguised a gate to the faerie realm.

Between one step and the next, the stainless-steel kitchen disappeared and I was back in the realm of Faerie, standing in front of the Lily Gate.

My kingdom’s faerie gate stood on a beautifully carved stone platform in the middle of the pond in front of the castle. Pale pink lilies floated in the water, and stepping stones shaped like lily pads led to the shore. A stone arch, carved with lilies and gilded with the gold that powered the gate’s spell, stood on the platform.

I heard the chatter from the party in the distance. Mother wasn’t going to be impressed with me. I hopped onto the first stepping stone and wobbled on my stupid heels. The platter wobbled. The towering croquembouche wobbled. A little cream puff, right at the top, broke free from the threads of caramel, bounced off my platter and landed on the stepping stone. 

I breathed a sigh of relief when the rest of the cream puffs stayed put. I had just gripped the platter more firmly and lifted my foot to step onto the next stone, when a little green frog jumped out of the pond and ate the cream puff in one bite. 

I stared at it in disbelief. 

“That was delicious! Could I have another one?” croaked the frog.

The frog was talking to me.

I stepped back in shock. Only there wasn’t anything to step back onto, and I tumbled into the pond.  

The pond was only waist-deep, but that was more than enough to soak me from my satin heels to my gold tiara before I managed to get my feet under me. I sputtered as my head broke the surface of the water. Little golden cream puffs floated around me and I heard a musical trill of laughter coming from a lily near me.

“Stop laughing, sheerie!” I hissed at the tiny faerie hiding in the flower. The laughter was smothered, but the lily still shook slightly. Of all the aos sidhe—the small folk—no one loved mischief like the twinkling sheerie. 

The frog leaped from the stepping-stone with a splash and began to swim around me, munching three more cream puffs before the little pastries became waterlogged and started to sink.

“You!” I pointed a dripping finger at the frog. “This is all your fault!”

“I hardly think that’s fair,” mumbled the frog around a mouthful of vanilla cream. “It’s not like I tripped you. Those shoes were an accident waiting to happen.”

“You’re still talking! Why are you talking?” I gaped at the obnoxious amphibian.

“I should think I’d be allowed to defend myself against your ridiculous accusations…”

“No, I mean, why can you speak at all?” I pushed a sopping curl out of my face. My hairpins were lost to the pond, and my thick hair was already springing back up into ringlets. “You’re a frog. Are you under a spell? Did you eat something magical? Anger a witch?”

“Well, Tuala, I—croak!” The frog shut his mouth in surprise. “Excuse me, what I meant to say was—ribbit! Hmm, it would seem I’m prevented from explaining.”

“Interesting.” I eyed the frog suspiciously. “And how do you know my name?”

“Croak.”

“That’s convenient.” I started slogging my way toward the bank. My bare feet collided with the sunken silver plate and I sighed and dunked under the water’s surface again to retrieve it. My shoes I left to rot at the bottom of the pond. The goldfish could have them.

“It’s hardly convenient for me,” said the frog, breast-stroking along beside me. “I’d much rather be able to explain myself.”

“And I’d much rather not show up to the start of the trials soaking wet and smelling like algae.” I reached the bank and pulled myself up onto the grass, collapsing in a heap of wet silk skirts. “Looks like neither of us gets what we want today.”

I eyed the billowing white canopies set up for the party. A row of low hedges stood between the courtyard and the pond. Maybe no one had seen my undignified dunking? 

“I really did want to make a good impression today,” I muttered, picking at my sodden dress.

“What’s so important about today that has you all dressed up?” The frog settled down beside me in the grass.

I sighed. “Today is my eighteenth birthday and the first day of the trials.”

“The trials?” 

I leaned back on my hands. “Okay, so when I was a baby, my parents threw a massive christening party. Standard princess stuff.”

The frog nodded encouragingly.

“And they invited all the heads of the Seelie Courts, and other important faeries, like Clíodhna, the elder fae. She came in disguise, of course, as she’s still in hiding from the Unseelie Queen. But she did arrive, and she agreed to be my godmother. She told my parents she would give me the gift of true love. She had looked in her enchanted mirror and seen that when I turned eighteen, they should hold a competition to find my future husband and co-ruler of the Lily Court. The winner would be my destined mate. My perfect match.”

The frog flicked out his tongue and snagged a fly. He looked a bit shocked as he started to munch it. “What did your parents think about that gift?”

“As a Seelie princess, my mother was raised with a great respect for Clíodhna and her wisdom. She was very pleased.”

“And your father? He’s human, not high fae. What did he think?”

“How do you know my father is human and not one of the Tuatha Dé Danann?” Was this frog a regular inhabitant of our grounds?

“Well, your skin is a clue, for starters. The Tuatha Dé Danann are all pale skinned and your skin is golden brown.”

I eyed my tawny hand and nodded. “But there are faeries from beyond Tír na nÓg.”

“True, but your ears are also much rounder than is usual for a high fae.”

“Fair enough, frog detective. Yes, my father is human, and yes, he was less impressed with Clíodhna’s announcement. She insisted she had foreseen it in her enchanted mirror, but he was still skeptical. In the end, my parents came up with a compromise. They would hold the competition, but the prize would be engagement only, not marriage. Papa wanted to make sure I had time to truly get to know the person, before binding myself to them for centuries.”

“Your father sounds like a wise man,” remarked the frog. 

“He is. He helped me come up with the challenges for the princes.” I struggled to get to my feet. The silk dress was much heavier when wet. “And now, dear frog, I need to get changed. My mother is going to have my head for this.”

“Really?” asked the frog.

“No, but she’ll say I told you so, which is nearly as bad.” I picked up the platter mournfully. “I do wish I hadn’t destroyed my croquembouche though. I wanted to start out on a good note.”

“But you’re the one who gets to choose,” pointed out the frog. “Shouldn’t the princes be the ones who are nervous?”

“Logically, yes. But I still kind of feel like puking at the thought of meeting them all. Prince Naven from the Juniper Court was my friend when we were little, but I haven’t seen him in almost two years. I’ve met one or two of the others at the high court, but I don’t really know them. And a few are from other parts of Faerie, altogether. I wish I knew more about them.”

“I see…” said the frog. “What you need is a—” 

“Document detailing all their interests and character traits? I am working on one, but I don’t have enough information yet.”

“Um.” The frog looked a bit taken aback. Not an unusual response when I started talking about research, but not an expression I’d ever seen a frog make. “No, I was going to say that you need an inside man. Well, amphibian.”

I picked up the frog and held him at eye level on my palm. “I’m listening.”

“I already have some knowledge of the Seelie princes because I—ribbit!” The frog grimaced. “And I could collect information on the foreign princes for you. No one would notice a frog.”

I considered his offer. I couldn’t deny I would feel a lot better with an ally to help me sort through the candidates. Even a small green one.

“Why would you help me?” I asked the frog. “What’s in it for you?”

The frog watched a small dragonfly dance past. “I don’t suppose you have any more pastries?” 

 I laughed. “It’s a deal. Now, if we’re going to be allies, I can’t keep calling you frog. What’s your name?”

The frog croaked at me, and then shrugged apologetically.

“Right, then. In French, you’d be a grenouille. I think I’ll call you Grenie.”

The frog sighed. “It’ll do, I suppose. Now let’s go meet those princes.”

I helped Grenie up onto my shoulder. Even with my heavy, sodden dress, having a friend put a spring in my step as I walked up to the castle to change.  

So, will you run off with me to Faerie? Hang out in a cozy fantasy world with some bookish friends? I hope to see you in the Royal Library soon!

Lots of Love, Hanna