Now that I’ve finished the first draft of my next book (!), I finally had a moment to write up this gift guide, probably few weeks too late to be of any real use. If you’re still hoping to buy yourself or a loved one an Allison Saft novel this year, I hope this helps narrow it down! If nothing else, this was a nice excuse to talk about my older books. Putting this together really let it sink in that I have five books out, with three more on the way. That’s due to your incredible support over the years. I appreciate you all more than I can say, and I hope you have a restful, lovely end of the year. <3 You may hear from me one last time in 2025 for a reflection on my reading this year, depending on how quickly I can put the finishing touches on this draft. It’s been a surprising book in a lot of ways; I never expected to write something like it, or for it to come so easily to me. I’m very much looking forward to when I can tell you more about it.
Down Comes the Night is my debut novel—and probably the one you haven’t heard of it if you’re newer around here. This is the book that taught me how to revise and the one that helped me find my writing community. It means a lot to me!
In the world of Down Comes the Night, two nations are at war. Wren Southerland is a talented combat medic whose impulsivity and kind heart keep landing her in trouble with her superiors. Hal Cavendish is a notorious soldier from the enemy nation, known widely among Wren’s people as the Reaper of Vesria due to his rare and deadly magic. Wren faced him on the battlefield once; she hopes to never see him again. After Wren is dismissed from her position for insubordination, a reclusive lord invites Wren to his estate, where a mysterious illness has devastated his staff. He asks her to save the life of his favorite servant. When she arrives, she finds that her new patient is none other than Hal.
It’s maybe my favorite ‘meet-cute’ I’ve written. Wren—torn between her hatred and her dedication to the fantasy Hippocratic oath—debates whether to kill Hal, delirious with fever, on his sickbed. I love, love, loved writing their relationship. Their loathing and mistrust for each other gradually gives way into love and understanding. Both of them are searching for redemption in their own ways; both of them are seeking to create a better world than the one they inherited; both of their searches have led them to this Crimson Peak-esque manor.
I wanted to write a spin on the classic dark & brooding YA love interest. Hal is indeed tortured and guilt-ridden, but any menacing aura he might have is kind of ruined by being very sickly and completely dependent on a girl who wants him dead. There is a scene where Wren feeds him soup. Romance!
Sometime last year, I was at an event signing books when someone approached my table. She told me that she was listening to the audiobook of A Far Wilder Magic, and that she was liking it fine; the hunt hadn’t started yet, but she was only 25% in and the plot will pick up, probably, surely. I said, “ha, ha!! You will be waiting a very long time for the hunt to begin!” Many years ago, a lady who claimed she worked in film walked to the front of my very empty festival signing line. She asked me to pitch my debut to her and seemed very delighted with what I’d said. “What else do you have?” she asked, and then I described to her A Far Wilder Magic. I watched her face fall as I spoke. “No,” she said. “No, maybe not that one.”
According to the copy on the jacket, A Far Wilder Magic is about a deadly magical fox hunt and a dangerous, forbidden magic that the characters uncover. Really, A Far Wilder Magic is about two very lonely teenagers who slowly fall in love while cohabitating in a very lonely house. In the lead-up to the hunt, they take a sledgehammer to each other’s emotional walls. They antagonize the other residents of a quiet seaside town (mostly unintentionally but sometimes very intentionally, in the case of one fascist-punching scene). They pursue and question their dreams. They reassess their relationship to their families. For maybe 10 pages, sometime around the 90% mark, the promised fox hunt occurs. The character development is the plot here.
If you’ve followed me for long enough, then you already know A Far Wilder Magic is my favorite of my books. It’s also the book of mine with the most staying power. Most likely it’s because I bother to promote it from time to time. I also like to believe it’s because Wes and Margaret’s journey speaks to those who need it. If you need further convincing or dissuasion: in the audiobook, Wes has a Boston accent.
Although my books tend to change a lot from concept to execution, there are usually a few core elements that survive every iteration. From the beginning, I knew that A Fragile Enchantment would be about a very stressful and very disastrous wedding (I was in the midst of planning my own wedding). I knew that it would have a very soft, whimsical atmosphere. I knew that it would focus on what it was like to be a chronically ill artist and a people pleaser. Perhaps most importantly, I knew that I would write one of my favorite character archetypes: the tsundere.
Kit Carmine is (understandably) the most polarizing of my love interests. He has no idea how to express his emotions, so everything comes out as some variant of ‘hostile.’ He always says the first thing that comes to mind. He expresses affection by needling, fussing, nagging, and worrying, all while claiming he definitely doesn’t care, how dare you even suggest he has a heart, deep down? I love him dearly for all of those reasons. Almost every line of his dialogue made me laugh, and his dynamic with Niamh always felt effortless to write. They both would give anything and everything for the few people they love. They both believe that are doomed to hurt anyone who gets close to them. Neither of them can accept that they deserve happiness. Of course, by the end, they find it in one another. Thinking about them makes me feel very squishy.
So yes, if you love hot-and-cold love interests who are easily flustered, prickly, and completely, hopelessly in love with the protagonist: Kit is for you. There is kind of a kabedon moment?
I often talk about the ways in which this book was difficult to write. It might shock you to learn, then, that there were parts of A Dark and Drowning Tide that came easily to me! Of course, I always had a clear sense of Lorelei’s acerbic wit, Sylvia’s bloviating and gallant charm, and the way their romance would unfold. Beyond our romantic leads, though, I had a lot of fun with the folklore. Lorelei associates each member of the cast with a fairytale; I loved finding the perfect one to assign each character and tweaking the details to incorporate worldbuilding elements. I loved exploring Lorelei’s uneasy relationship to these stories. Most of all, I loved researching all the different folkloric creatures and integrating them into the plot.
The book grapples with the role of folklore in romantic nationalism. Despite its heavier themes and self-loathing protagonist, I don’t think it takes itself too seriously. There is an alp who wants nothing more than to drink coffee. There is a woman in town who sells erdhenne eggs and a bar with wolpertinger horns mounted on the walls. Sylvia and Lorelei cart an injured person to safety on the back of a nightmare horse who would steal your soul if you take your eye off it. I was always enchanted by the dark whimsy of this world, which is far more magical than the people who inhabit it.
Did Secret of the Wings break your heart as a child? Did you spend hours on the Pixie Hollow MMORPG? Have you always wanted to know the origin of Queen Clarion and Lord Milori’s star-crossed love? Do you have no exposure whatsoever to the Pixie Hollow franchise but enjoy fairies, whimsy, or crying at the end of books? Wings of Starlight might be for you!
For those of you who missed out on the purple Barnes & Noble exclusive edition, you are in luck! You may be able to snag one in stores—or online. These editions are very limited, and they are signed. I doodled snowflakes or stars in some of them. :)
Did you know that there is a YouTube wrapped feature? I did not, until it foisted upon me a sort of slideshow and reminded me that I went through a period where I genuinely enjoyed watching people play League of Legends. I don’t want to talk about it. Alongside esports and ballet tutorials, I watched a ton of chess content. I have distilled everything that delights me about chess, its players, its history, and its culture into this book. You don’t need to play or understand much about chess to enjoy Immortal Game. If you liked The Queen’s Gambit or Check & Mate, you will be happy. But if you are a real chess head, there are many inside jokes for you.
Beyond that, I wanted to try my hand at a Wizard Howl-coded love interest. Ciara of Bri Leith—dramatic, vain, conflict-avoidant, with excellent taste in coats—is my homage to him. She is a faerie princess and one of the best chess players in the world. She is completely obsessed with a mortal girl who defeated her in a game one time, and her greatest ambition in life is to gain free passage to the mortal realm so that she might obtain a blue raspberry Icee from a gas station convenience store. She has a playfully malicious streak, a sighthound who also happens to be her cousin, and an electric guitar she has no idea how to play. I really, really cannot wait for you to meet her. It would, in fact, be a holiday gift to ME if you preordered Immortal Game.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.