TITLE: Esperance (Esperance Trilogy #1)
GENRE: NA Fantasy Romance
RELEASE DAY: November 18, 2022
BLURB:
Twelve strangers. Six marriages. One year in Esperance.
Amryn has many reasons to hate the empire. Her latest is her forced marriage to General Carver Vincetti, better known as the Butcher. If he learns even one of her secrets, he will kill her. And Amryn has many secrets. Not only is she an empath with forbidden magic, she’s also a newly recruited rebel intent on destroying the empire—starting at Esperance.
Carver knows the rebels have infiltrated the remote temple of Esperance. His job is to hunt them down before they can wreck the emperor’s new peace. Despite the demons that haunt him, Carver is intent on his mission—but he’s not prepared for Amryn. From her fiery red hair to her surprising wit, his new wife has captured his attention. The attraction that flares between them is undeniable. Now he just has to determine if she’s the enemy.
When the newly married couples become targets in a violent game, Esperance becomes more dangerous than anyone anticipated. Carver and Amryn are about to discover that no one is exactly who they appear to be—especially each other.
Esperance is book one in a New Adult fantasy romance series by Amazon bestselling author Heather Frost. If you love enemies-to-lovers romance, forbidden magic, and an action-packed story you can’t put down, you’ll love Esperance!
Interview:
- What inspired this series and the characters?
The actual seed came during a writer’s conference. I’d finished doing a panel and slipped into another presentation about generating story ideas, ironically enough. One of the presenters mentioned that old traditions could inspire ideas. He gave some examples, but one was arranged marriages among nobles to create peace. I really latched onto that idea, because we hear stories about royals having to marry, but this was a new angle to explore.
I spent the rest of the panel jotting down the first ideas for Esperance and the characters I knew were part of this story. The angst, the enemies-to-lovers vibes—even Amryn’s empathic ability and Carver’s military background—instantly sprang to life. I also knew I wanted to have a fairly large cast of characters all involved in these marriages, and all forced to live in the same place for an extended period of time. This made it a perfect setting for murder, mystery, hidden agendas, and, of course, romance.
- How do you get inspiration to write?
I get inspiration from pretty much everywhere, haha! Song lyrics, a melody, a movie, a book, a folktale, a news story, some historical fact, a picture, a sculpture, a conversation I overheard from strangers—literally anything can spark my imagination. What keeps me writing, even when it’s hard, is the characters. I fall in love with them and I’m desperate to know and share their story.
- Plotter or pantser?
I am a mix of both, though I lean more to the pantster side. I like having a general outline, but I also give my characters some free reign to take the story to places I never would have expected.
- While writing Esperance, was there anything that surprised you to discover about the characters or story?
Some of the twists (which I obviously can’t go into here, *wink, wink*) actually caught me off-guard, and that’s always fun. As for characters, many of them surprised me for sure! The one who surprised me the most was definitely Ivan. I basically created him because I needed another body, but from his first moment “on-screen”, I loved him. He’s been a favorite among early readers as well, so I guess I’m not alone. I can’t imagine the story without him now!
- What was something you loved getting to include in the story?
I loved being able to work in the empathic magic, because it’s not something I’ve really seen before in books—at least not the way I did it. It was fascinating to see how Amryn views the world—and people—because she literally feels everything those around her are feeling. It was fun to write scenes from her perspective, because it did create a unique challenge. When she is faced with an enemy, how does she hurt them when she’ll feel that pain? So, naturally, I decided to throw her in the fire by forcing her into an arranged marriage with Carver Vincetti. She hates him by reputation alone; he’s a general who fights for the empire that conquered her kingdom. But once she’s around him, she is forced to confront who he really is and reconcile what she feels from him.
- Words of wisdom for those who are just starting out on the writing path?
Probably the best advice I can give is to keep going. No matter what doubts may arise, no matter how challenging it can feel, no matter how overwhelming the whole process can be. Just keep writing. Keep dreaming. Keep working to get your story out in the world, because no one else can.
- What first inspired or gave you the “spark” to write? What books and/or authors have influenced your writing?
I have always loved stories, in any form, but especially books. I wrote simple stories when I was little, and I often told stories to my younger siblings. My aunt challenged me to write a story once, and I absolutely loved doing that, but it wasn’t until I was 12 that I decided to write a novel. This was mostly because I’d read all the books at the small-town library, and I was desperate for another story to lose myself in. I reasoned that I knew what made a good book—at least one I’d enjoy—so I threw all those tropes and settings into my book and completely fell in love with writing. It’s my passion, and I could never stop doing it.
As for books/authors who influenced me, I’d definitely say J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series was a huge one for me. I grew up with those books, and I feel like they taught me a lot about pacing, weaving complex storylines together—often across multiple books—foreshadowing, balancing lots characters and their story arcs, and weaving in history and mythology in an interesting and relevant way.
LINKS:
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDK388D6?ref
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Esperance-Heather-Frost/dp/1959122010
***Paperback Available on Amazon Now – Available Everywhere Soon!***
Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62591427-esperance
Add on BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/esperance-by-heather-frost
BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE:
https://www.heatherfrost.com/post/esperance-media-tour-schedule
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Heather’s Website:
Instagram:
@Heather.Frost.Author
https://www.instagram.com/heather.frost.author/
Facebook:
@AuthorHeatherFrost
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHeatherFrost
Twitter: @HeatherFrost
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4983261.Heather_Frost
BookBub:
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-frost
Join Heather’s Mailing List:
https://www.heatherfrost.com/contact
PRE-ORDER GIFT
Pre-order ESPERANCE on Kindle (or buy the paperback on or before November 18th) then fill out the form below to receive a bookmark! Open internationally.
https://forms.gle/g24KSM7Yyr6U8yMA8
Thank you for pre-ordering!
HEATHER’S BIO:
Heather Frost is an #1 Amazon bestselling author of YA/NA fantasy romance. Her books have been Whitney Award and Swoony Award Finalists, and Royal Decoy was a 2022 semifinalist in The Best In Indie Awards. She has a BS in Creative Writing and a minor in Folklore, which means she got to read fairy tales and ghost stories and call it homework. Heather lives in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains in northern Utah. To learn more about Heather and her books, visit her website: www.HeatherFrost.com.
Books Less Travelled 
One Comment
Comments are closed.