North of Need as Allegory {Guest #author: Laura Kaye + Giveaway}

I want to thank Farrah for hosting me here today! I always enjoy coming to Book Faery Reviews! Farrah asked me to talk about why I wrote my new contemporary fantasy romance, North of Need, and what inspired me to write the characters I did. I’m so happy to do that.

To everyone struggling with the loss of a loved one.
May you find your Owen when your heart is ready.
~The Dedication of North of Need

Normally, when a story idea first comes to me, it comes in the form of the hero. Most of the time, it’s the hero who tells me what the story is, who helps me visualize it, and gives me all the foundation blocks I need on which to build a story. With North of Need, that wasn’t the case. This time, it was the heroine, Megan Snow, whose story started talking to me first. I knew from the beginning she was a grieving widow hiding out from the world and trying to avoid the anniversary of her husband’s death.

The hero was less defined to me at first. I thought he was just a snowman come to life. Totally fun, right? Plus, I am ga-ga crazy over snowmen. They’re just cute and happy and how can you not feel good about a snowman. Except hero Owen Winters wasn’t going for it. He pretty quickly informed me he was a snow god who just manifested through the snowman Megan builds, and this information set me off on an entire afternoon’s worth of research into the winter traditions of various cultures, of which it turns out there are many! But when I found the mythology of the Anemoi, wind gods the Greeks associated with the seasons, I knew I’d found not only my hero’s backstory, but a whole world for the story.

And, truly, Owen was the perfect hero for Megan. Not just because he is gorgeous (freaking gorgeous, she says!), playful, easy to please, passionate, and devoted—all of which he is, but also because, as either just a snowman or as a snow god with certain weather-related vulnerabilities, he is the perfect allegory for her greatest fears.

An allegory is an extended metaphor, when one thing truly represents another. A famous allegory would be the grim reaper, which we all understand is a symbolic representation of death. I have to admit, I didn’t plan the story with this kind of forethought—I didn’t set out to write an allegory. As a complete seat-of-the-pantser, I don’t plot out my stories enough to know what I write at the beginning will come to mean at the end (though I’m always totally stunned at how my subconscious brain works such that things always take on meaning I didn’t realize!). Nonetheless, Owen is the perfect allegory for Megan’s fears of loss and abandonment. John went out one night and never returned, why shouldn’t the same be true for Owen? Especially once she learns that, like all good heroes (and all Greek gods), Owen has his own version of Achilles’ vulnerable heel. Plus, snow by definition is transitory, unlasting, again representing her worst fears about taking a chance on love. Finally, the very season—winter—is often used as a metaphor for death, making the season/setting itself almost a character within the story.

One of the things I’ve learned about myself as a writer is that I tend to come back to similar themes in my books. Three of the four books I’ve released this year have a main character grappling with loss. Again, I didn’t really set out to explore issues of loss and grief and survival. But if books reflect aspects of a writer’s inner life, this theme would make sense for me. I went through a period between 2004 and 2008 where I experienced a lot of loss—a close friend committed suicide, my mother died unexpectedly of a stroke, my only remaining grandmother and an uncle died, I had a miscarriage. It was a lot in a relatively short period. In 2008, I started writing fiction. There was no direct connection in my mind, but writing turned into an outlet, an escape, an incredible source of positivity and hopefulness.

In a way, writing was my Owen, and I found it when I most needed it.

So that’s some of the why behind North of Need. I hope you’ll give it a try! Now, I really debated over that dedication to the book up top, so I can’t help but wonder if you have a reaction to it!

Thanks for reading,

Laura Kaye

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…A multi-published author of paranormal, contemporary and erotic romance, Laura Kaye’s hot, heartfelt stories are all about the universal desire for a place to belong. Laura is the author of the bestselling contemporary romance and award-nominated HEARTS IN DARKNESS and the bestselling and award-winning paranormal romance FOREVER FREED (NJRW Golden Leaf Award for Best Paranormal of 2011), as well as an erotic romance novella, JUST GOTTA SAY. Her fourth book, contemporary fantasy romance NORTH OF NEED, is the first in the 4-book Hearts of the Anemoi series. Laura lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

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Her tears called a powerful snow god to life, but only her love can grant the humanity he craves…

Desperate to escape agonizing memories of Christmas past, twenty-nine-year-old widow Megan Snow builds a snow family outside the mountain cabin she once shared with her husband, realizing too late that she’s recreated the very thing she’ll never have.

Called to life by Megan’s tears, snow god Owen Winters appears unconscious on her doorstep in the midst of a raging blizzard. As she nurses him to health, Owen finds unexpected solace in her company and unimagined pleasure in the warmth of her body, and vows to win her heart for a chance at humanity.

Megan is drawn to Owen’s mismatched eyes, otherworldly masculinity, and enthusiasm for the littlest things. But this Christmas miracle comes with an expiration–before the snow melts and the temperature rises, Megan must let go of her widow’s grief and learn to trust love again, or she’ll lose Owen forever.

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1937044475
• ISBN-13: 978-1937044473

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Welcome back to Laura! It’s always a delight to have an author come back and Laura’s just a fabulous one to work with and chat to. Know to my dear readers, Laura is letting us give away 2 prizes to 2 lucky readers. This giveaway runs now through December 16th so you have time to read this tale of love before Christmas. Winners will be randomly selected and winners are ONLY notified via the e-newsletter (see sidebar), as a reply to their comment, and The Book Faery Reviews Facebook page (you can “like” us in the sidebar).

Prize 1: e-copy of North of Need

Prize 2:  Full set of Trading cards of all of Laura Kaye’s books.

To enter…all you have to do is leave Laura a comment. 

Additional entries of course can be received by…

• 1 Extra Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed
• 1 Extra Entry – Subscribe by email (see sidebar)
• 1 Extra Entry – Follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/farrah1230)
• 1 Extra Entry – Tweet this giveaway and don’t forget to include @farrah1230 #tbfr so I can  find it
• 2 Extra Entries – Write a post on your blog or Facebook linking to my blog; leave URL in comment.

I received a copy of the book for my honest review. No money was given for this review. All opinions above are mine and not influenced in any way.