Charles de Lint, author of the 'Newford' novels.

Charles de Lint is an author of 54 novels, novellas and short stories. His novel by the name of Trader was the first one I ever read, and it was a part of the series that de Lint sets in the mythological town by the name of Newford.

Trader brings us the idea of a man who is in the body of another person, a not very much liked person, and how he deals with that dilemma. While not as involved in the various fairy worlds of European and Native American folklore, the very nature of someone waking up one morning in another man's body is not so untypical for a book coming from Charles de Lint. When you pick up a book by this author, you come to expect the unexpected, and for it to be delivered to you in a way that is believable, in a world, and with characters, who are believable, and who you could actually know in real life.

In other books in his Newford 'series', it is easy enough to pick any of them up out of order. Things that you can expect can range from trading bodies, to ghosts, fights between fairies from different countries, to men who turn into dogs, or deer, or birds. Some of his books are aimed towards young adults, and others towards adult readers. There's a broad range of fantasy and fairy tale stories covered in his books, and just a look at the back cover blurb will tell you all you need to know before turning over that first page. :)

Nikki Watson.