A Welsh author has revealed some of the places that inspired her to write her new fantasy novel – and there are lots of familiar spots
Talya Honebeek Content Editor – Spare Time
02:00, 30 Aug 2025
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Anna Fiteni’s debut novel, The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire, was inspired by growing up in Wales(Image: Siria Ferrer)
A Welsh author has opened up about the inspiration behind her new romantasy novel. Anna Fiteni, who grew up in Cardiff, is the author of The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire, a dark fae romantasy, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black.
Inspired by Welsh mythology, the novel follows Sabrina Parry, a young girl living in a small Welsh mining town who must support her family by holding onto her job and attempting to marry her sickly sister Ceridwen off to a man rich enough to look after her. So when Ceridwen suddenly vanishes into the woods, Sabrina must venture into Eu Gwald, the fairyland, to bring her sister home.
Speaking to WalesOnline, Anna revealed how her Welsh upbringing inspired her to write the novel, which was published by Electric Monkey earlier this week.
“I think the foundations of this book were first laid way back in 2016 when I went to university and I was quickly informed that I pronounce tooth, Primark and saucepan ‘wrong’,” she explained. “It was my first personal experience of what I’d been told all my life; Wales and England are not the happiest of neighbours.”
Anna spent seven years on and off in England for university, during which time she made several attempts at writing books, “none of which went anywhere”. Then, in her final year, time spent reading fantasy books and reflecting on her childhood in Wales sparked the idea that would eventually go on to become The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire.
“I read a lot of recently published fantasy books, trying to recapture the joy I felt through reading when I was young,” she said. “In those books, I kept noticing Welsh mythology, loose interpretations of our history, and our language popping up everywhere. The writers were never Welsh, and I could always feel that from the text.
“No matter how well written these books were, they obviously lacked a connection to the stories and language they were using. I found this particularly irritating when it came to the use of the Welsh language, which is often taken out of context, and mashed up with Scots Gaelic and Gaeilge to make some pan-Celtic fantasy.
“Access to our own language within Wales has always been such a fraught topic, so seeing it treated like some made-up fairy language sat uncomfortably with me. It was both my love for fantasy and romantasy books, and my love for Wales and a desire to read a book that accurately reflected it, that made me want to write The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire, and add a Welsh voice to the genre.”
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Anna explained that while she has an A* in second language Welsh, she quickly realised she was going to need help in the form of a Welsh proofreader. “One thing I was way more confident about writing was the historical aspects of the book,” she said, adding that growing up in Cardiff and walking around the city (particularly Splott) with her dad helped her feel “rooted” and like she’s “a part of something permanent, and worth remembering”.
She explained: “I also spent many weekends, come rain or shine, in St Fagan’s. I based a lot of locations in the book on sites in St Fagan’s; I imagine the village the main character, Sabrina, lives in as the little town area with Gwalia Stores.
“I based her home on the miners’ cottages, the hag’s house is meant to look like that one really creepy house on its own at the very back of the park, the magical estate Sabrina visits is inspired by St Fagan’s Castle, particularly the grounds, and I learned about the Rebecca Riots, which is an important event in the start of the story, from the toll booth in the museum. I just really love St Fagan’s!”
The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire by Anna Fiteni is out now(Image: Electric Monkey)
On her hopes for the novel, she said: “I wrote The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire to share both our history, and my hopes for Wales’ future. Fingers crossed it doesn’t come across as too preachy or overbearing, as my other main motivation for writing it was to just write the sort of fun, fast-paced fantasy book with a romance subplot that I love reading, and have been reading my whole life.
“All I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember has been to write a book in the tradition of fantasy adventures led by a mouthy young woman with a sword, so to finally achieve that with a book that is so tied to Wales and my home and family is a dream come true.”
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