Once Upon a Tarot Card
Contemporary magical realism provides a backdrop for the tale about a young girl who comes to rely upon the wisdom of a deck of cards a gift which is often the only confidant available to her.
Thanks to their assistance, she copes with a traumatic childhood, navigates step-sibling rivalries, and survives as an impoverished art student in 1990s London... and makes life-long friendships with people she meets along the way.
However, when it comes to romance the guidance of the cards is just as often ignored as it is heeded - which of course leads to more problems.
When she consults the deck on how to heal those inner wounds which continue to trouble her, the cards reply with a disturbing answer. Is the journey they advise a risk she should take a chance on, or is it a danger to be avoided at all cost?
Her Tarot readings are illustrated with images of the Rider Waite Smith cards, designed by Pamela Colman Smith in 1909.
After acquiring a Tarot deck at a young age, Jaelen embarked upon a life-long fascination with the cards - but her dream was to work with horses. However, after being tossed over too many jumps and failing her dressage tests, (she was never destined for the Olympics) she rethought these career goals and switched to studying art.
Painting horses was preferable to falling off them, and several of her sculptures and woodcarvings were accepted by the British Society of Equestrian Artists for their exhibitions. Following graduation she worked in a bookshop, which rekindled an interest in writing - and completing Once Upon a Tarot Card came with an excuse to paint yet another horse... but this time, to illustrate the cover of her own book. Jaelen resides in North London.
