The Great Hunt

This past week, I finished a huge revision on my book The Great Hunt.  It’s set to publish with HarperTeen Winter 2016 (somewhere between Jan-March 2016).  This novel is the first in a 2-book duology.  This will be my first book to release in hardback – EVER!  That feels so huge to me.  And intimidating.  And scary.  One more year!  *bites nails*

​Now that The Great Hunt is off to the copy editors, I can finally get excited and tell you more about it! 

​This book was VERY challenging for me.  It’s a high fantasy, based on the introduction to the Grimm Brothers tale “The Singing Bone.”  It’s my first ever attempt at high fantasy, and wow.  I have a whole new respect for authors like Sarah J. Maas, Rae Carson, Kristin Cashore, and Marie Rutkiski, who make it look easy.  I can’t even imagine what went into those books.  Fantasy is first and foremost about world building.  Making up a land with all its rules and dialects and idiosyncrasies requires massive layering and keeping track of details.  I was in over my head.  Thank God for good editors and thorough beta readers!  Not to mention professional artists who will make an awesome map to replace the sad excuse for a map that I made.

In this story, the world is called Eurona.  There are five lands, or kingdoms, in Eurona:

Lochlanach: The Waterlands (primary setting)
Ascomanni: The Coldlands
Toresta: The Ridgelands
Zorfina: The Drylands
Kalor: The Hotlands

There are people who can perform magic with their hands, but it is outlawed. These magical people are called the Lashed, because when they do magic it causes a purple line to show under their nail, like a bruised lash mark.
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I’m also working on the blurb.  I will share this draft, but I’m certain the official blurb will change a bit before it’s finalized.  This one will give you a general idea, though.  I seriously cannot wait for you to meet Aerity and Paxton. 

Kill the beast. Win the girl.
A strange beast stirs fear in the
kingdom of Lochlanach, terrorizing towns with its brutality and hunger. In an
act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona—kill the creature
and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson’s hand in marriage.
Princess Aerity understands her duty
to the kingdom though it pains her to imagine marrying a stranger. It would be
foolish to set her sights on any particular man in the great hunt, but when a
brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention, there’s no
denying the unspoken lure between them…or his mysterious resentment.
Paxton is not keen on marriage. Nor
does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He’s determined to
keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast and
protecting his family—yet Princess Aerity continues to challenge his notions
with her unpredictability and charm. But as past secrets collide with present
desires, dire choices threaten everything Paxton holds dear.

Inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ tale,
“The Singing Bone,” New York Times
bestselling author Wendy Higgins delivers a dark fantasy filled with rugged
hunters, romantic tension, outlawed magic, and a princess willing to risk all
to save her people.

For those of you who are visual people, I made a PINTEREST BOARD of images that I found inspirational for characters, scenes, and setting while writing.  I hope you enjoy!
Add The Great Hunt to your GOODREADS to-read shelf!

You can read more HERE about how the idea for The Great Hunt originated.  Big hugs, everyone!

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