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Following the Unexpected Trail: An Exclusive Guest Post from Rebecca Ross, Author of A River Enchanted, Our November Speculative Fiction Pick

By Rebecca Ross / November 1, 2022 at 4:07 am

Paperback $19.99

A River Enchanted (Elements of Cadence Series #1)

Paperback $19.99

Magic and nature spirits run wild in this vividly imagined fantasy filled with lyrical prose and lush world-building. It’s beautiful and mysterious and steeped in Scottish-inspired myth and lore. With multiple character perspectives that help to shape a brilliant portrait of an otherworldly isle, this atmospheric read will leave you utterly enchanted. Keep reading to find out from Rebecca Ross about how she pivoted from YA novels to adult with A River Enchanted.

When I first started writing A River Enchanted, I didn’t know what to expect from the story. It felt reminiscent of following a winding trail in fog-laced woods, or perhaps breaking ground in an overgrown garden. I could see the trees and the briars around me — a true discovery writer at heart who inwardly yearns to be a plotte r— but as I ventured deeper into the forest and dug further into the loam, I swiftly realized that I was not writing a young adult novel as I had once thought I had been.

Of course, this revelation came as a shock, but in a good way. My background in writing thus far had been YA. I had three published novels beneath my belt, ranging from my Renaissance fantasy The Queen’s Rising duology to my Greek-inspired standalone Sisters of Sword & Song. But I was eager to challenge myself and my craft.

Writing YA was familiar to me; it was what I knew and there is always comfort in returning to something that you love as well as something that knows the shape of you. And yet when I caught my first glimpse of the misty, enchanted Isle of Cadence one winter night, I had to rekindle my courage to chase this vision and ask what it meant. Who were the people who lived on this island? What were their stories?

Where, indeed, would this idea lead me?

I found a deer trail in the woods; I uncovered deep roots in the ground. I remembered the rhythm of storytelling, and how sometimes it is best to simply lean into it. To let the magic that flows hand in hand with intuition take over. Chapter by chapter, A River Enchanted grew into a novel until I had to acknowledge the fact that I was keen to write about older characters. I wanted to write about topics and themes that I had not touched on in my YA.

The first draft was for me. I wrote a book that I wanted to read. But the second draft and onwards was when my true work began. I revised the manuscript multiple times with feedback that was trusted and invaluable. Again, and again, I rewrote scenes and added new ones and cut old ones and the process was brutal. There were some moments when I wondered if I was ready for this task, but sometimes it’s best to do as Ray Bradbury once said: “Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall.”

It took courage to take that leap, but A River Enchanted found a home in the adult market. It has also connected me to more readers than I ever thought possible, reaching a new audience as well as delighting the readers who have been with me from the beginning. All in all, a humbling yet thrilling unfolding of wings.

When I reflect on my influences as a writer, three authors are beacons on my journey. I still vividly remember the first time I read Jane Eyre. I was fourteen and enthralled by Charlotte Brontë’s writing. How she wove language and mystery together as if by spell. I also remember the first time I read Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier, whose Celtic historical fantasies are ones to savor. Lastly, Melina Marchetta’s epic Lumatere Chronicles. A trilogy that had me weeping over secondary characters and left a hole in my heart when the story was over, because I wished it would never end.

I still carry pieces of those books with me years later, and I’m thankful for the authors who have fed me when I was hungry, and inspired me when I felt empty, and sharpened me when I needed it most. There are more stories that I long to tell, some that I have faint glimmers of and some that I have yet to discover. But as A River Enchanted showed me … I simply need to be ready to explore that unexpected trail in the woods when it appears.