The

The Welcome to Spirits podcast to boosy dive into mythology, legends, and folklore. Every week we pour a drink and learn about a new story from around the world. I'm Amanda. And I'm Julia.

We are joined today by debut author of The Scald Crow. It's Grace Daily. Grace, welcome to the show.

Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm thrilled to be here. We are thrilled to have you as well,

and we were so glad when you reached out. We're so excited to talk to you about such a not only mythology-inspired book, but also

something that we're really passionate about on the show, which is a disability as well.

So, Grace, to get us started, can you tell our audience a little bit about yourself and then a

little bit about the Skulled Crow. As you said,

my name's Grace Daly. I am a horror author who is born and bred from the Midwest. I live in

Chicago land and have lived in Illinois my entire life. I am disabled myself. I have what's called

an invisible disability or invisible chronic illness,

where I most of the time look, air quotes, normal, or the phrase that I prefer is I look able-bodied.

But I am disabled to the point where I can't have a, you know, a normal full-time job. I had to

stop my full-time employment due to my disability

and due to my medical conditions. And the Skald Crow is about folklore. It has very strong

Irish folklore themes. But the main character throughout the novel is herself struggling with

her own invisible disability and with chronic pain. And it is central to the plot of the book.

One thing that's very important to me in disability representation is that it matters more

than the phrase I like to use is the character having red hair.

It is foundational to the plot of the book and to our main character, Brege's lived experience and her perception of the world and how she moves through the world.

I would love to talk a bit about the mythological inspirations for the book. So first of all, it's called the Skald Crow.

So I think anybody, if it's a bit of a, if you know, you know. So talk to me, how did you choose this fabulous motif theme image for the story?

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