What happens when the Queen of Nightmares discovers that even nightmares can have secrets?
Mab has ruled the darker corners of the immortal world for so long that fear has become almost routine. But when something begins to disturb the carefully maintained boundaries between dreams, nightmares and reality, the Queen of Nightmares finds herself facing a mystery that may be far more dangerous than anything she can conjure herself.
Queen of Nightmares is a darkly atmospheric fantasy set in the Faerie Mythos, blending Celtic mythology, immortal intrigue and supernatural danger with a story about power, secrets and the things that lurk just beyond the edge of sleep.
Scroll down for book club questions, an excerpt, behind-the-scenes insights, and everything you need to step into Mab’s world.
📚 Series: Irascible Immortals
🌙 Genre: Mythic Dark Fantasy
✨ Features: Celtic Mythology, Immortals, Nightmares, Supernatural Intrigue
👥 Recommended for readers who enjoy: mythology retellings, dark fantasy, immortal characters and stories that take ancient legends somewhere unexpected
About Queen of Nightmares
Mab, Queen of Dreams and Nightmares, is bored.
After centuries of creating dreams for mortals, even dancing unicorns have lost their charm.
A Halloween getaway to New Orleans seems like the perfect escape.
Until her nightmares discover she’s gone.
Now creatures of fear are running wild, ancient enemies are causing chaos, and Mab must reclaim her realm before terror spreads across the world.
A humorous mythological fantasy where faerie magic meets nightmares, mayhem, and one very annoyed queen.
Watch the Book Trailer
Read an Excerpt
There comes a moment in every woman’s life that she needs to take a break. Mab was no different. True, she was the one that gave mortals dreams. But any job could get tiresome. Even creating dreams of ridiculously colourful dancing unicorns was meh. And her subjects haven’t set a toe out of line in centuries. Not that she wanted the nightmares to roam the world again, but… Argh! Boredom was making her irritable.
‘But how will they dream without you?’ her assistant asked when she announced her intention of going on holiday.
‘They can use their imagination. They use it enough during waking hours to dream up horrors…’
‘What about the Festival? It is drawing near. You have to preside over –’
Mab held up her hand for silence. Just thinking of the upcoming festival of Samhain held at Tara was enough to make her gag. She was in no mood to attend the annual evening of fae festivities. No. She wanted something new, something fun, something mortal.
‘I’m sure you can hold the fort while I’m gone.’
Ignoring her assistant’s protests, she jumped on the back of a hornet and took to the sky – and New Orleans.
It took no time, but more than she wanted, to reach her destination. It was already Halloween when the hornet landed on a street sign. Rue Bourbon. Mab grinned and hopped off. She took a deep breath and nearly toppled over. The Quarter was alive with magic, imagination and the fantastical.
Skeletons leered at her from doorways, balconies, and windows. Cobwebs hung from every surface. Ghoulies, real and imagined, were present, immortalised in plastic for a holiday the mortals scarcely understood the significance of.
She sat on the iron sign, ignoring the sting of it, and watched the mortals around her.
Ripples of dark power washed over her, making her shiver. The energy in the French Quarter was much different from what she was used to in Dublin. Oh, the Irish respected the old ways, but they didn’t revere magic and all it entails like those in New Orleans did – even if they were mostly unaware.
She had heard others speak of the pleasures to be had in this city so far from her seat of power. And she was ready to indulge.
Mab stepped off the street sign and donned a human glamour, shedding her rose petal dress, diaphanous wings and tiny size. She stood out like a sore thumb among the dressed-to-scare mortals in her jeans and T-shirt.
‘Come, darlin’, you need a costume,’ a woman dressed as a zombie said, hooking her arm through Mab’s. ‘This is New Orleans – we love our holidays.’
Queen of Nightmares, Ronel Janse van Vuuren
Queen of Nightmares Book club questions
- How did you like Mab’s life before her vacation?
- Did you see the similarities between actual work practices and the story?
- What do you think of Mab?
- What do you think about the people in New Orleans?
- What do you think about the fact that everything went to hell the moment she took some time for herself?
- How do you think the story continues?
The Inspiration Behind Queen of Nightmares
Some stories arrive with a very clear point of origin. Others seem to creep in through the cracks.
I remember that Queen of Nightmares was written for Grumpy Old Gods Vol. 3, and I remember the central idea: Mab, Queen of Nightmares, deserved a holiday. Naturally, giving an immortal goddess a holiday turned out to be a terrible idea.
Beyond that, the details of exactly where the story began have become a little hazy—which feels strangely appropriate for a story about dreams and nightmares.
I do remember one particularly important piece of the puzzle: music.
The old Russian folk song “Dark Eyes” found its way into the story, specifically this wonderfully atmospheric version performed by 8 Dice Cloth on Royal Street in New Orleans. There was something about the sound of it that belonged to Mab and to the strange, shadowy world I was building around her.
And perhaps that is where the pieces started coming together: an ancient goddess, a much-needed escape, New Orleans, old mythology, and music that feels as though it has wandered in from somewhere slightly beyond the waking world.
Queen of Nightmares became my chance to take Mab out of her usual realm and see what happened when the Queen of Nightmares went on holiday.
As it turns out, hell followed her.
The story first appeared in Grumpy Old Gods Vol. 3, alongside a collection of other modern, sometimes cranky, sometimes ridiculous interpretations of ancient gods and goddesses.
And somewhere along the way, that Russian folk song became part of Mab’s story too—which is one of those wonderfully strange things that happens when a story takes on a life of its own.
Meet Mab, the heroine of Queen of Nightmares
Archive Note: Mab is the Queen of Nightmares, an ancient power who has spent an eternity knowing exactly what she is — and exactly what everyone else expects her to be. But even a goddess of nightmares deserves a holiday now and then. Her story begins with an escape from the familiar, a taste of freedom, and the uncomfortable discovery that some nightmares don’t stay behind when you leave home.
Mab has spent millennia as the Queen of Nightmares: feared, powerful and entirely accustomed to being the most unsettling presence in the room. She knows what people expect from her, and she’s perfectly capable of giving it to them. But beneath the title and the ancient reputation is an immortal who is tired of being defined by the role she’s played for so long.
A holiday seems like the obvious solution.
As Mab steps away from her usual realm and into unfamiliar territory, she gets a chance to experience something she rarely has: freedom from expectations. Unfortunately, being the Queen of Nightmares doesn’t come with an off switch. Old powers, strange encounters and the things that follow her into the waking world have other ideas about how her holiday should go.
Although Mab is very much at the centre of the story, it’s the people she encounters along the way who begin to reveal the woman behind the nightmare queen. Away from her throne and the mythology surrounding her, Mab has to navigate relationships, unexpected complications and the uncomfortable realisation that even an immortal who rules nightmares can’t always control what happens next.
And perhaps that’s the real problem with taking a holiday: you can leave your kingdom behind, but you can’t necessarily leave yourself behind with it.
Explore the Folklore
Where old legends dream in the dark.
Mab may be the Queen of Nightmares, but she isn’t the only piece of ancient folklore lurking beneath Queen of Nightmares. Explore the Celtic legends, supernatural beings and old stories that helped shape Mab’s world — and discover what happens when those old myths refuse to stay where they belong.
Voices from Readers
Mab may be the Queen of Nightmares, but apparently even an immortal goddess can’t take a holiday without consequences.
“Women in power never get to take a break without paying for it later. Love the descriptions in this one.”
— Toi Thomas
Queen of Nightmares originally appeared in the Grumpy Old Gods Vol. 3 anthology before becoming part of the Irascible Immortals series. Another reader described it as:
“A short, pacey, wryly funny jaunt into the Immortals world, and you’ll probably need more by the time you finish.” — Jemima Pett
Which is probably the appropriate warning for anyone considering a holiday with Mab.
Buy Queen of Nightmares
Beyond the Archive
Explore the Audiobook Library ✦ Browse the Lore Archive ✦ Discover the Faerie Mythos Books ✦ Join the Mythmaker’s Circle
Your Turn
Have you already explored the various pantheons, or are you planning your first visit? I’d love to hear from you! Which character, creature or discussion question caught your imagination? Share your thoughts in the comments below. If you’d like to discover more artwork, folklore and inspiration from Breaking the Habit, continue your journey on the Irascible Immortals Pinterest board.
Part of the Faerie Mythos
Also available in Afrikaans ✦ Christi & Saphira universe (coming soon) ✦ All stories archive
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