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A number of SF and Fantasy authors are noted for their rock and roll sub-texts -- Lucius Shepherd and Elizabeth Hand come immediately to mind, and recently Gwyneth Jones began a new fantasy series steeped in the ethos of rock music. But perhaps no one else consistently weaves musical references into the underpinnings of their tales like Charles de Lint, which is perhaps attributable in part to his also being a performing musician. In response to reader requests for more about the tunes that inspire him, de Lint has begun making it a practice to include a preface to his novels listing what he's been listening to lately. Even the musically astute might find this handy if they didn't make the immediate connection that the title is taken from a song performed by fellow Canadian Holly Cole. Particularly intriguing is de Lint's suggestion that Cole consider covering Fred Eaglesmith (another Canuck who sings bent country western) whose song "It Was You" plays a part in the narrative. If you don't have a clue who either of these relatively obscure (at least in pop terms) artists are, the first thing you should do is invest in a couple of their CDs. While you don't really have to be familiar with them to get into de Lint's novel, it's all part of the experience.

Besides music of the Celtic and alt-country variety, the de Lint experience is rooted in the so-called urban fantasy setting usually populated by musicians, sketchers, writers, and other artistes in which "normal" life somehow quite naturally becomes interchangeable with faerie realms. The fictional town of Newford and its cast of recurring characters exemplify this motif. As the latest volume in the Newford series, The Onion Girl effectively pairs the whimsy of a reflecting fairie spirit world with the horrific lingering damage done to victims of childhood sexual abuse.

The adults in question are Jilly Coppercorn, a former street person turned painter (who has appeared in previous Newford tales) and Raylene, the sister Jilly left behind to escape their brother's sexual assaults. Unfortunately, the assaults don't stop when Jilly leaves, they simply switch to Raylene -- leaving the younger sister extremely bitter over her abandonment. Bitter enough to seek revenge when the opportunity presents itself.

Jilly is the Onion Girl:

"Pull back the layers of my life, and you won't find anything at the core. Just a broken child. A hollow girl."

David Soyka is a former journalist and college teacher who writes the occasional short story and freelance article. He makes a living writing corporate marketing communications, which is a kind of fiction without the art.