It's release day for AWAKENED!

AWAKENED is finally here!

It’s been 22 years since I started writing my first book, and 15 years since the first draft of this story. In honor of AWAKENED’s official birthday, I thought I’d share the official book trailer, and some fun facts!

(I commissioned these images on Fiverr, and own the license to the music. Special effects are from Capcut Premium).

• The idea for the book was inspired by Florence + the Machine's song Blinding! I talk about this in more detail in the Author's Note.

• In the first draft, Rose wakes up having lost ALL her memories. In the final version, she remembers everything up until meeting the prince for the first time. But why??? Read to find out!

• The drafting title was ROSES OF ASH, then in collaboration with my agent we settled on A CURSE OF ROSE AND SNOW, and the story was briefly even THE ROSE CURSE before I settleed on AWAKENED: A CURSE OF ROSE AND SNOW. I just couldn’t leave that subtitle alone, even if it is a cliche this days ;-)

• The characters of Ferras and Rowan both have the names of materials used to ward off the fae--Rowan wood and Ferrous materials, AKA iron.

• As far as I can tell, 'erdwitches' are my own invention, but they combine several popular fantasy tropes. Can you guess them all??

• I wanted to use the original fairytale name for the villainess--Carabosse--but a friend at the time was using it in a story and expressed discomfort if I used it, too, so I went with Silaine.

• Funnily enough, that same friend wanted our writer group to all use the name Soren, as a sort of inside joke, so that's how he got his name! It turns out the meaning of the name was PERFECT for the character and his story.

• Obviously I thought a lot about the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty while drafting, as that's the version most prominently in the public consciousness, but I also wanted to honor the original fairytale. To those ends, Rose's birth name is Talia (like the fairytale), and her birth father is named Stefan (like the movie). I didn't want to use 'Phillip' for the prince because it seemed too overt of a reference, so I eventually settled on Halen.

• My favorite sequence is the flashback chapter!

• I'm not a big crier, so if a book can make me cry I really treasure it. This is the only book I've personally written that made me cry at the end.

• After finishing this book, Rose's story wouldn't leave me alone. I ended up plotting the entire sequel and writing 30k for it. If there's enough interest in the sequel I'll finish writing it for you!

Order from: Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or get Signed Hardcovers at Blue Apple Books.

Can’t wait for the book signing at Blue Apple Books in Madison, AL on June 27th from 3pm to 5pm!

<3,

Savannah