Guest Column by Sylvia Mercedes

Sylvia Mercedes makes her home in the idyllic North Carolina countryside with her handsome husband, numerous small children, and a menagerie of rescue cats and dogs. When she’s not writing she’s . . . okay, let’s be honest. When she’s not writing, she’s running around after her littles, cleaning up glitter, trying to plan healthy-ish meals, and wondering where she left her phone. In between, she reads a steady diet of fantasy novels. But mostly she’s writing. You can visit her online at www.sylviamercedesbooks.com and learn about her 20-plus bestselling romantasy novels.

It all started with a vision. Quite literally.

I had been feeling a little . . . let’s say stagnant in my writing career. I had been writing and publishing for several years and making steady progress. I had a backlist of four complete series and numerous stand-alone project and was on the cusp of completing the Bride of the Shadow King trilogy, which was my most popular work thus far after finding so many enthusiastic new readers on TikTok.

But I couldn’t shake this feeling that things were bottling up inside me. That I was thinking too small, that I was missing something. I was so grateful for the opportunities which had come my way, and especially grateful for the way readers were responding to my Shadow King story and how that was enabling me to provide for my family. But was there something else I could be doing, some avenue I might pursue?

One day, conflicted and a little confused, I decided to meditate on the question. I stilled my mind, practiced intentional breathing, and simply let myself sit with that discomfort for a little while. Not to try to solve it or will it away; simply to let it be.

And it was while I was in this meditative state that I had a vision: I saw myself climbing a staircase to a platform beneath a starry sky. When I reached the top of that platform, someone was coming toward me, a woman I’d never met before. I couldn’t see her clearly, but I got an impression of dark curly hair. She took my hand, smiled, and told me: “Let’s move forward . . . together.”

I came out of that meditation certain of what I needed to do—start submitting my work to literary agencies and pursue the possibilities of traditional publishing. So that’s what I did.

The very first agent I queried was Amanda Jain of BookEnds Literary Agency. She wrote me back the day after she got my submission, signed me a week later, turned around and found a publishing home for Bride of the Shadow King before the year was out. It was really that fast! (Did I mention she has dark curly hair?)

The editor who picked up my trilogy for Ace Books Publishing, the lovely Mary Baker, was already a fan of the trilogy when it showed up on her desk. She told me she missed her subway stop and was late for work after being swept up in the romance of my swoony Shadow King. She recognized both my name and the book immediately and was very eager to give my story a new publishing home at Ace Books. (Did I mention she has dark curly hair as well?)

If there is one thing I have learned from this whirlwind of an experience, it’s to take time to listen to that inner voice. The disquiet inside isn’t necessarily something that needs to be tamped down and ignored. It may in fact be a call to action.

Now, I wouldn’t necessarily expect to see such dynamic results so quickly every time! I still haven’t caught my breath over how rapidly everything shifted and moved for me in the course of a few short months. But whether the adventure is fast or slow, I’m excited for each new stage.

Let’s move forward . . . together! And take whatever adventure may come.

Bride of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes

Princess Faraine is considered a liability. Due to her mysterious gods-gift, she is passed over when the enigmatic Shadow King, Vor, comes seeking a bride. Though he agrees to marry her beautiful younger sister, he finds himself drawn to Faraine, whose haunting presence lingers in his thoughts. This unexpected connection threatens to disrupt their kingdoms’ fragile alliance in this enthralling fantasy romance.

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