New Book: Heart Of A Kingdom

Heart of a Kingdom is a riveting tale of love, courage, loss, and survival set in the magical Kingdom of the Talking Tres, and the City of Belfast. Newly widowed Queen Libby must endure the devastating loss of her husband, do the impossible and regrow her heart, and defeat a dragon to protect her people. She has help, though, in the form of her loyal Knights and Ladies-In-Waiting, and an eclectic council of ghost advisors. (adult themes and language)

After losing my father and husband I started writing to work through my grief through poetry and blogging. This is where the seed of Heart of a Kingdom was planted. In my time spend in Belfast, Ireland, I wrote the bulk of it. I was inspired by the many widows in my life who remind me daily that there is strength, beauty, and grace to be found in the ugliness of our bereavement.Today I’m excited to announce the release of my first novel, Heart of a Kingdom (read more about it in this post)

Storyline

The Kingdom of the Talking Trees survives on the hearts of its rulers, Queen Libby and King Dale. Each has half the other’s heart grafted to theirs, and their magical kingdom is kept safe and separate from the Normals’ realm by this bond. The Kingdom has had two rulers bearing the burden for as long as they have known. When Dale is fatally wounded, the half of his heart within Libby dies as well. In order to stay alive and keep her kingdom safe, she must do the impossible and regrow her heart. Her weakened state brings trials and danger to her Kingdom, so Queen Libby travels with her loyal knights and advisors to defend her people. But will she be able to save her kingdom and herself amidst the devastating loss of her husband?

Excerpt

The following passage sums up both widowhood, and Libby, in a nutshell. The overwhelming sense of obligation to our family and friends is often in conflict with our personal desire to leave this agonizing life without the one we lost. And yet Libby does it because she must but forges her own way.

How am I? Well, it hurts to breathe. It causes me physical pain. It hurts to be alive. I’m exhausted. I can’t think straight. Trying to keep the force field up on my own is killing me. But if I don’t, my people will die. I’m supposed to fight a dragon, or my people will die. If I fail, two worlds will die. I love my people, but I want to die. I’m surrounded by people but have never felt lonelier in my life. I’m doing fucking fantastic. (p. 106)

In this scene, Queen Libby is responding to the question asking how she is doing. It was asked by one of her oldest and dearest friends, so she answered honestly, instead of the usual, “I’m fine” answer the bereaved tend to give.