Forty-five-year-old Imogen has at all times struggled to slot in, by no means discovering her ardour in life. And whereas that will embody having chilly toes in her impending nuptials, that doesn’t imply she’s able to ditch planet Earth—and her complete life—utterly.
When Imogen is kidnapped by an alien prince in disguise, there’s nothing she will be able to do to cease him. He’s sidhe—a being with highly effective skills—and he’s grown up used to getting what he desires. The prince is satisfied Imogen will fall in love with him, and that her new powers, as soon as she’s turned sidhe, will assist his nation win a centuries-old feud.
With the assistance of the prince’s far more tolerable brother, Imogen begins to get her toes again below her, however even he can’t defend her from those that would use her for her powers. If Imogen can’t discover a technique to struggle for herself, she’ll turn into a pawn in a world that has already determined what she’s going to be.
As cool because it might sound, getting kidnapped from Earth isn’t all it’s cracked as much as be.
I did an ARC giveaway for A Dagger of Lightning lately. To enter, you needed to reply one query, “Would you wish to be kidnapped from Earth?” The overwhelming response was, “Sure, get me out of right here.” Nonetheless, my protagonist, Imogen can let you know, it’s something however enjoyable. Her autonomy is totally stripped, for one. She doesn’t get to say goodbye, her complete household possible assumes the worst, and the alien prince who kidnapped her retains blithely reassuring her that she’ll recover from it. To not point out, the nation he’s at odds with retains making an attempt to abduct her for their very own functions. Thankfully, his extra empathetic brother is round to assist her get her footing.
Persons are truly actually excited about a middle-aged “chosen one.”
Once I first obtained the concept for Dagger, I used to be involved that nobody could be excited about an older protagonist, however I couldn’t cease writing it. I lastly confirmed the primary few pages to a buddy, eliciting guarantees of honesty if this idea was a waste of time. “It’s not silly. I feel you need to write it,” she mentioned. I wrote the primary draft in twenty-eight days, which is insane and has by no means occurred once more. After all, there have been quite a lot of beta reads and rewrites through the years earlier than it offered. One factor remained constant, nonetheless, folks liked a fierce, fully-adult lady foremost character. The early evaluations have additionally been overwhelmingly constructive on this regard.
Coming of age tales don’t have an age restrict.
Not one facet of an individual freezes the second they flip twenty-one. No less than it shouldn’t. Private development ought to be steady. I’ve reinvented myself professionally no less than 4 occasions throughout my life, and I’ve skilled my share of inside development spurts as effectively. Creating Imogen as she learns to struggle for what she desires whereas slowly permitting herself to turn into emotionally weak was among the finest components of scripting this guide.
Generally not getting what you need is the most effective factor for you.
To start with, all Imogen desires is to get again to her life on Earth. Though change is foisted upon her within the worst method potential, she finds one thing value preventing for in her new life and grows in methods she by no means would have on Earth. Likewise, A Dagger of Lightning grew despite my frustration—I needed the guide to promote straight away—I continued to rewrite Dagger after every failed pitch. The guide that comes into the world on April 1st is identical at its core, however it’s so far more vibrant and nuanced than the unique inception. Simply as Imogen fails to get what she initially needed so desperately; every rejection pushed me to make this guide the most effective model of itself.
It’s okay to have enjoyable.
Coming off my first guide, Ghost Tamer—the place, sure, there may be humor, however it’s inserted deliberately to offset the exploration of grief, loss, and shifting on—writing A Dagger of Lightning was actually a pleasure. Once I began writing, my intention was merely to discover what it will be wish to be yanked from mortality and a standard life at center age, I didn’t have any intentions to go deeper. The feedback on misogyny, friendship, self-growth and so forth emerged on their very own. Largely, I simply needed to have a great time and I feel readers need that, too. However we are able to have a great time whereas raging in opposition to misogyny and the abuse of privilege. A part of the reader’s catharsis is watching Imogen set up a way of self whereas preventing in opposition to a system that desires to make use of her and pressure her submission. Similar to in life, the struggle isn’t over with the ultimate pages, there’s at all times room to develop and extra battles to win.
Meredith grew up in New Orleans, accumulating two levels from Louisiana State College earlier than working away to Chicago to be an actor. In between performs, she obtained her black belt and made martial arts and yoga her full-time day job. She fought within the Chicago Golden Gloves, ran the Chicago Marathon, and competed for crew USA within the Savate World Championships in Paris. Regardless of doing every of this stuff twice, she couldn’t keep heat and relocated to Nashville. She owns a number of swords, however lives a non-violent life, saving all swashbuckling for the web page, knitting scarves, gardening, visiting espresso retailers, and cuddling along with her husband and two panther-sized cats. Her first novel Ghost Tamer is an Amazon Editor’s Choose for Greatest SciFi Fantasy, an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Gold Winner for Greatest SciFi Fantasy, an IPPY Award Winner for Greatest First Guide, and a Silver Falchion Winner for Greatest Guide of 2023 and Greatest Supernatural. A Dagger of Lighting releases April 1, 2025, each with CamCat Books.
Meredith Lyons: Web site | Instagram | Threads
A Dagger of Lightning: Bookshop.org | Camcat Books
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