Local author Melissa Poett's book The Enemy's Daughter was picked up by HarperCollins in a six-figure book deal.
The story is inspired by the Celtic legend of Tristan and Isolde, which has always been one of Poett's favourites.
"The story is essentially a single point of view reimagining of Tristan and Isolde set in a dystopian world woven with magic. It is about two people on opposite sides of a decades-long war who go through a series of circumstances to become magically connected."
"I knew that if I was going to go for it, the story needed to have the potential to have every aspect that I wanted to put into it, romance, action, political intrigue, and fantasy, and I just went for it," Poett said.
The book is filled with different themes that cover a range of emotions, Poett said.
"My greatest goal is to make people feel something."
When it came to getting picked up by HarperCollins in both North America and the UK, having a literary agent was a must.
"To have any entry into any of the big five publishers, you have to have a literary agent. So for many years I did query with literary agents, and then I signed with one a couple of years ago based out of the UK," Poett said.
"We worked together to polish my book, and then we went on to the submission process, and it sold very quickly."
The book is a standalone, however, the publisher enjoyed that it was a 12th-century medieval legend and has asked for another, Poett said.
"So the next book is in the same world, with the same magic system, but focuses on a different legend and different characters.
A great deal of research went into writing the book, Poett added.
"This story is essentially post-apocalyptic, so there was a lot of research going into what the world would look like without certain amenities. The world also reverted to more of a medieval setting with swords and bows and arrows, so I had to research a lot about weaponry."
To celebrate the release of the book, a book launch party will be held on May 6 on the third floor of the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre in Red Deer.
The book launch party will feature a discussion between Poett, and fellow Albertan author Emily Varga, who wrote a Count of Monte Cristo retelling called For She is Wrath, a signing, a photo booth, snacks, and more.
"The heroine makes tea in the book, so at the event, there is going to be a tea vendor," Poett said.
Tickets for the event can be found on Eventbrite.
Copies of the book can be pre-ordered wherever books are sold, and the recommended reading age is for readers 14 and up.
To find out more about Poett and to continue following her writing journey, individuals can follow her Instagram, @melissawritesya, or go to her website, melissapoett.com.
