A Real Life Fairy Tale...

or should we say Dragon Tale?

Once upon a time Leslie D'Allesandro Hill had a small, local following for her 'fantasy landscapes,' which were woodsy scenes reminiscent of her favorite childhood book, The Giant Golden Book of Elves and Fairies. People loved her close attention to detail and intricate magical habitats of fairies and enchanted woodlands.

Every year she showed her work, colored pencil illustrations, at two local art fairs in Midland, Texas when Steve and Patty Ucytil, a couple interested in her fantasy landscapes, suggested she contact Dragon Tales Fantasy Art Card Co. Leslie hesitated because of previous bad experience with a card company, but gave them a promotional package to pass along. She wasn't expecting to hear anything more about it when out of the blue, Howard Leap of Dragon Tales called. "We handle the biggest names in science fiction fantasy art,' he began. "Michael Whelan, Alicia Austin, James Christensen, Real Musgrave..."

Science fiction? Leslie thought to herself. "I didn't get it. To me science fiction was planets, rocket ships and outer space. I drew fairies, trees... magic stuff. Why was this sci-fi guy interested in my art?" Howard explained, "Think of science fiction fantasy as a continuum, science fiction on one end, fantasy on the other. He went on to explain that Dragon Tales already represented 12 artists and didn't really need any more, but wanted to make an exception in her case. "My wife Gladys and I think you are extremely talented and we want to invest in you. When can I come to your studio?" At this point Leslie was doing proverbial cartwheels at the prospect. After 17 years as an artist she knew that nothing might come of it, but she gave herself that moment of pure joy anyway.

So, in true fairy tale style, something did come of it. Howard and Gladys Leap commissioned and bought several originals to be published as greeting cards for their company. Her work was shown in their catalog and marketed alongside the biggest names in the science fiction fantasy art world. "Sometimes I still can't believe it!"

Leslie's fairies began to gain exposure about the same time that angels became so recently popular. Her fairies, because they have wings, began to be regularly mistaken for angels. While Leslie was pleased with the oft' heard compliment, "You draw such lovely angels," the fairies were really irritated. "I started to hear their pestering voices saying, 'We're not angels. We're not even remotely like angels. We don't act like angels and we don't want to be called angels!' It all got her thinking, Okay, what are fairies like? She sat down with a pen and a list of characteristics jumped onto her paper as fast as she could write them. They're mischievous, self-centered, and bossy... why they're just like me." She came up with a list of 'fairyisms' humorous one liners about fairies that reflected her own human nature. After a good laugh at herself she sent the list to Gladys and Howard at Dragon Tales. They too, thought it was funny and asked Leslie if she'd like to make it into a book. Then those pesty fairy voices set her on a course for several months illustrating their book. The result, Fairies have Wings, but they're not Angels, is a hardbound book of 52 one line 'fairyisms' with beautiful, full-page color illustrations. The cover is a self-portrait of Leslie Hill as a fairy.

"In essence the book is about me, but everyone relates to it. Fairies are a wonderful vehicle to expose our human foibles. Angels, on the other hand, aren't supposed to make mistakes or be less than perfect." In Leslie's fairyisms everyone can see something of themselves. Fairyisms are humorous, delightful way of looking at our own imperfections. Here is a sampling of the insights shared in the book. "Fairies sleep well at night, unless there's chocolate in the house," "Fairies are always right, except when they're wrong," and, "Fairies like their houses neat, but fairies don't dust."

However, this is hardly the place to end this fairy tale, er... dragon tale--the tale continues, and happily so--The enthusiasm generated by Fairies have Wings, but they're not Angels, has led to Leslie's second book (publication date: late 1998) Dragons Aren't Afraid of the Dark, But They Like a Night Light is Leslie's attempt to "single-handedly dispel all the negative myths that have surrounded dragons for centuries." Like the title suggests, the 'dragonisms' or one-liners in this book, are meant to be expanded on. "They are mind-opening and totally thought provoking." Leslie's words and images awaken memories and ask questions about what humans believe. "Contrary to popular belief, dragons don't breathe fire, they breathe air" and "Dragons invented toys," and, "Dragons live to be very old, because they celebrate birthdays whenever they get the chance" are a preview.

Both books are filled with enchanting illustrations speaking to the child in all of us, holding something for everyone. "These books have turned out to be a lot deeper than I intended. Above all they are humorous. If a reader finds them funny, that's great! If the books pick their imagination, then that is the biggest thrill of all."

About the author of the article:

Cynthia Cameron is a freelance writer residing in Tucson, Az. She welcomes your comments and questions. You may write to her in care of Chivalry Sports or e-mail: highlandpeacock@theriver.com

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This page was last updated Tuesday, 27-May-2003 13:20:40 EDT