What is your book all about?
My book is a blend of many genres, mostly new adult, coming of age, historical fantasy, and sea stories. Maylie is a nineteen-year-old girl who lives in a strict patriarchal society and is forced to find a husband when her family’s secret is revealed to her town. She knows that if she finds the husband her family wants for her, she’ll be tied to her kingdom unable to ever leave. So she flees her colony, searching a husband for her family’s sake but one that won’t tie her down, and adventure for her sake. What she does find is mermaids, magic, marauders, and a wicked ploy to destroy her family. She must figure out the power within her and conquer all if she hopes to save not only her family but herself.
The Lightning Bride is available Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Bride-Kingdom-Isles-Book-ebook/dp/B08L239R93/
What inspired you to write the book?
This book actually started as a forum on an app called High School Hero. A group of friends and I would log on after (ironically) high school and create stories, mostly stolen from Pirates of the Caribbean, with our own original characters. I don’t remember when exactly, but I decided one day that I could take inspiration from all our tomfoolery and make it into a novel. There are many things that are vastly different from our shenanigans, but I also stayed true to some really good original scenes.
What is your target audience for the book?
My target audience, primarily, is New Adult as I believe that genre is too small and unknown, much like myself as an indie author. I originally wrote this to be Young Adult (YA) before I realized that technically only extends to 18-year-old main characters and mine is 19. I was still reading YA when I was in college because I didn’t know NA existed. Though honestly I don’t like labels, if you can’t tell from my many genres, so this book is really for anyone who wants to read a story about a female character who discovers she’s strong, with adventure and some mystery in the background. That can range from middle school, high school, college, or beyond. I replaced all the swearing with a made up language, so it’s safe for any age.
What do you hope readers could get out from your book?
I hope readers get that you aren’t who your parents decide you are or want you to be, and that you are free to follow your own dreams and find your own passions. I hope they get that many things like freedom are only achieved if you work for it, and nothing satisfying is just handed to you. I hope they understand that just because something is the cultural norm doesn’t make it right. I hope they find their strength and voice like Maylie seeks to find hers. Those are things that I got from writing it, but when I originally wrote the first draft, I just wanted to tell tales of adventure, but it morphed into such a beautiful story where each reader receives a personal message that they need to hear.
What are your future goals/plans for the book?
Oh goodness, I have so many! With this book specifically, I have two novellas and two more novels in the Kingdom Isles series. I plan to release the first novella early next year, then Book 2, then Novella 2, and finally Book 3 to wrap up the series. However, while I will tie loose ends, I do plan to leave it moderately open in case I want to come back to it and write another adventure.
And something more about yourself.
I live in my head more than I live in reality, and I’m so thrilled to be able to put all of my dreams and schemes into something tangible. The Lightning Bride is my debut novel, and the first of many. I mean many! I am constantly writing, be that mentally, physically on a sticker-covered notebook, or digitally on my laptop. I have so many other series planned, including a YA paranormal romance, a steampunk paranormal fantasy, and a Greek-inspired epic fantasy.
You can follow my writing journey at
https://www.instagram.com/dm_sonntag/
Thank you ReadersMagnet – Author’s Lounge for allowing me to reach others about my debut novel! Without those like you supporting me, I couldn’t follow my dreams. I hope all those who read The Lightning Bride enjoy it! And please leave a rating on Amazon and/or Goodreads. It helps indie authors like me be found.
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