As some of you know, I have been working on a new novel
forever for the last four or five months. This one followed a different pattern than most of my previous manuscripts, with more complicated use of language (which made the writing go more slowly) and numerous revisions based on feedback from my first readers and my agent, Elaine Spencer.
From the very beginning, Elaine and I were both
really excited about this one; it was an idea no one had come up with yet (that we could find, anyway), and yet fit beautifully with the popular trend of modern fairy tales and fantasy romances. So I have been pretty secretive about the book, not wanting someone else to say, "Hey! What a cool idea! I'll write one of those." (Not that a book by someone else would be anything like a book by me, but still...)
Now, however, the book is going out on submission (meaning it is being sent to editors at the various publishing companies), and I think it is finally safe for me to share with you...
DRUM ROLL PLEASE....
The Baba Yaga
For those of you who aren't familiar with the name, Baba Yaga is a figure from Russian fairy tales--usually portrayed as the "wicked witch" kind of witch, but also sometimes as a guide, or even a goddess figure. I took the character and updated her, making her into a not-quite-human kick-ass modern heroine.
Here is the "blurb" (like what you'd find on the back of the book) for The Baba Yaga:
Baba
Yaga
Blurb
You may think you know about Baba Yaga: the wicked witch of
Russian fairy tales who lives in a hut that moved about on chicken legs, rides
in a mortar and pestle, and eats small children if they misbehave. But you’d be
wrong. For Baba Yaga is not one woman, but rather, a title carried by a chosen
few whose job it is to guard the borders between our world and the Otherworld
and keep the balance of nature.
Barbara Yager is a Baba Yaga; trained since childhood by the
previous holder of the title. Older than she looks, powerful beyond measure,
and so far removed from the life of normal mortals, she has little in common with
the human life she was born to. She travels through the country in an Airstream
trailer, riding a classic BMW motorcycle and masquerading as an herbalist and
researcher while she fulfills her duties. When she is summoned by a woman who
is desperate to find her missing child, Barbara finds herself tangled in a web
of lies and deceit, battling human enemies and Otherworld creatures, and most
unexpectedly, her own heart.
Liam McClellan is the Sheriff of rural Clearwater County.
Since a tragedy tore his life to pieces years before, he has dedicated himself
to his job; protecting and serving the people who look to him to enforce the
law. But after five children disappear in four months, without a trace or clue,
Liam is beginning to wonder if he should hang up his badge. The sudden
appearance of a beautiful woman with a dubious background and a curious habit
of turning up where he least expects her makes him place her at the top of his
suspect list, despite her uncanny gift for helping those in need. But as the
danger mounts, and weird and inexplicable occurrences beset Liam and those he
vowed to keep safe, he has to wonder if Barbara Yager is his enemy—or his only
chance to save the lives of innocents in a world he no longer recognizes.
Natural gas drilling, political shenanigans, grieving
parents, three mysterious motorcycle riders, twisted beasts out of nightmares,
and yes, there are dragons. Because when Baba Yaga comes to town, nothing will
ever be the same again.
You have probably heard of Baba Yaga—the archetypal wicked witch of
Russian tales who lived in a log hut that walked about on chicken legs, rode
through the forests in a giant mortar that she steered with a pestle, and ate
small children if they didn’t behave. According to legend, Baba Yaga usually
appeared as an ugly old crone, although she also wore other faces, and
sometimes gave aid to a worthy seeker, if such a one could pass her tests.
You probably think you know who Baba Yaga is. But you’d be wrong.
Because I am Baba Yaga, and this is my story.
What do you think?
Anyway, wish me luck as my baby goes out into the world. And don't forget to enter the contest (found on the previous blog post) to win a Llewellyn Witches' Calender with my work in it.
Posts
