Stolen Mayfly Bride Releases Today!
When we first began dreaming up this series I had just finished writing Fly With the Arrow - a story already about a stolen bride. I'd loved writing it. That part - where Izolda is stolen by Bluebeard and carried off to the Wittenhame to be his bride - well, it had basically flown from my fingers to the page.
And now, here I was with my friends Angela and Emma and Sylvia, thinking of writing another Stolen Brides book. Sylvia had brought in a few more friends and Angela was ready to make a great website for the books (www.stolenbrides.com) and I was listening to the conversations as everyone began to discover what their story would be about.
I was going to publish last. Somehow, that both took the pressure off me and layered it on in equal measure. The last story in the series should be grand. It should take the theme and warm to it, fulfill it, stand it on its head. I knew all this, but how would I do it? How could I take such a common trope - and one that was going to have played out seven times before my turn - and give it what it was due?
I let that thought turn over in my mind again and again as the days passed. I was writing "Heart of Shadow" at the time and in love with the immediacy of the first person present narrative.
One day, as I was dreaming about this book, I had a mental vision of a girl - all pale and white - trapped in a black cage in the middle of a black sea. Tentacles twisted around the cage and everything smelled of ocean brine and ice and she was layered with mayflies, coating her whole body and hair.
And that was my story right there. A dreamy, fairytale love story. A story of daring and cunning and the careful orchestration of stealing a bride from a magical imprisonment.
I was in love.
Vidar came next and his cold fae heart - slowly melting year by year - won me over as I wrote. And now, I can't wait to share the story with you.
The cover is a beautiful design by Dominique Wesson, the audio version, narrated by Elise Hoffman, purrs beautifully - so much so that I listened to it twice while I cleaned out our carport. At the request of my readers, it's also available in paperback and hardback.
Stolen Mayfly Bride is a short novel. But it stands alone utterly - in its own world, with its own story arc. You won't be missing a single thing you need to enjoy the story - no backstory, no nuance, no tie ins that will make you feel lost or like you're not "in on it" because it does not tie into my other series (though if you like it, you'll certainly love "Fly With the Arrow" and "Heart of Shadow."
It's my offering to the world of Fantasy Romance this summer - my tribute to the kinds of stories I love to read.
I hope that you'll enjoy it. I know that I certainly do.
Sarah