Happy Tuesday everyone!
Heart of Xion releases today! I'm so excited to finally get to share this book with the world!
This release has been a bit more lowkey than my others. I've been so busy the past few months that I feel like I haven't poured into sharing about Heart of Xion and spreading the word about it as much as I should have. But, nonetheless, its out now!
Like Desert Flower, this book means a lot to me. I channeled a lot of my own experiences into it. I wanted a book that talked about broken friendship, unrequited love and the fact that your first love/crush doesn't always end up being "the one." We don't see that enough in stories. We see friends to lovers and couples falling head over heels for each other, even in a slow burn there's always that undertone that that person is "the one." There's not enough stories about heartbreak and getting over someone you were deeply invested in. I wanted a story that reminded me that there is hope. That there is someone out there for me. I wrote this near the end of last year (I think for Nanowrimo?), hoping I'd find my Kadin one day. And then in June of the following year I did. The funny thing is, I feel like I may have poured more of myself into Laurel than I thought I did. I can relate to the way she struggles to trust her feelings and let herself be happy with someone new. That's what I love about writing so much. We can pour ourselves into the words and the characters, let out pent up feelings and even feelings we didn't know we had.
Over all of that, though, Heart of Xion is about how messy relationships can be, whether it be romantic, platonic or familial.
I also wanted to write an arranged marriage trope for a while now, but one that's clean and unique. From the minute I brought up Kadin in Desert Flower, I knew he needed his story told and I knew it was going to be an arranged/forced marriage trope. I think I put my own twist on it and I hope others like it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
About Heart of Xion:
The plan is simple: marry the king, kill him on their wedding night, and take back the kingdom that was stolen from her family years ago. Laurel Aurelius won’t let herself be hurt again. After the pain of a ruined friendship and crushed unrequited love, Laurel is determined to have a heart of steel as she agrees to marry King Kadin and finish the coup her father started years ago.
King Kadin is dying. The sickness that has been ravaging his kingdom has sunk its teeth into him and as a last-ditch effort, Kadin is willing to marry the daughter of the man who killed his parents. His hope is that if he unites their two families, the Heart of the Jungle that has spread decay and sickness throughout Xion will be cured and his sickness healed.
But as Laurel and Kadin’s lives converge, things don’t go exactly as planned. They’re both forced to face the pain of their pasts and struggle to find a way to mend not only the jungle, but their own broken hearts.
Heart of Xion is a standalone set in the Triadic Kingdoms world and a spin-off of Desert Flower full of the arranged marriage trope, healing from past traumas, unrequited love and finding second love.
You can find the ebook and paperback on Amazon here: Read Heart of Xion Here!
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