Want to have an advanced review copy of the prequel novella to A Tale of Scorched Ash and Elm? Sign up and get your copy Feb 1!
About The Sea and the Stag Horn
Anya, daughter of Alfheim’s regent king, is bound in an arranged marriage to her childhood friend, Rathuell, to protect the royal line. But as duty reshapes everything between them, the newlywed pair must shoulder a dangerous diplomacy: journeying to Jötunheim to settle the wergild owed to Gymir for the death of his son, Beli, slain by the god Freyr. In a hall steeped in grief and old grudges, the sea brings more than salt and storm; the dead begin to stir, stalking the shore and testing the living with hunger and hate. As Anya’s seidr and Rathuell’s steadiness strain under mounting supernatural threat, they must decide what justice truly costs… and what they’re willing to claim for themselves when the gods and kings demand their due.
If you’re interested, I’d love to send you a copy (PDF/ePub) and hear your thoughts on Goodreads. Release Date: March 3rd, asking for ARC feedback any time before then. Novella length: 161 pages. Let me know if you’d like to join this ARC round!
This novella’s tropes are
Friends to lovers
- Arranged marriage/marriage of convenience
- Slow burn
- Only one bed
- Forced proximity
- Protective MMC (who falls first)
- Touch her and die
- High-stakes political intrigue
- Mythology-inspired fantasy (Norse/Viking vibes)
Trigger Warning:
- Graphic violence / battle aftermath
- Threats from undead / death imagery (draugr)
- Animal sacrifice (horse)
- Blood / ritual elements (seiðr, curses/wards)
- Sexual content (on-page intimacy)
- Grief / bereavement (loss of an adult child)
- Coercive political pressure around marriage/heirs