From the Archives: The Alchemist's Rose

This has been an interesting week for me, as I’ve been interviewing for university jobs across the country, ranging from teaching posts to administrative positions. I’ve also been quite busy with another Louisiana Gothic novel (more on that in a future post). So, I haven’t posted much to social media. But today, I want to dig into my archive and talk about some of the books I’ve put into the world, since we often focus on the shiny and new and ignore the works of the past.

I think I’ll start with The Alchemist’s Rose. This was a sapphic gothic romance that drew some inspiration from Slavic folklore as well as from one particular video game: Resident Evil: Village.

Here’s the book’s blurb:

Every rose has its thorns…

Victoria Alexander is a perky graduate student writing her dissertation at St. Albertus Magnus University. When her great grandfather dies, he leaves her his home and everyone in her family a monthly stipend of $100,000. Of course, this gift has two conditions. Sara has to live in his home in the small town of Pazat, Pennsylvania for three years and in that time, marry an acceptable man. Otherwise, the family loses everything.

Anya Skejik is the toymaker in Pazat. Unless you count her marionette Iskra, she’s lived alone for most of her life, and she’s always liked it that way. A dark cloud and rumors of a curse have hung over her like the veil that has hidden her scarred face since her parents died when she was a child.

But there are lies in truth and truth in lies, and a shining dawn doesn’t always follow the darkness night.

For those who have played the game, the inspiration is clear. Yes, this book was my love letter to Donna Beneviento. Yes, I fell in love with Lady Dimitrescu like everyone else (how could I not love the beautiful, tall, dominant, MILF vampire who owned her own castle with a vineyard, and was a jazz singer?), but I PINED for Donna. I wanted to interact with her in some way in the game. I wanted to be her best friend, and I wanted that friendship to grow into a friends-to-lovers situation.

That said, initially my plan was to do a darker, more traditional Gothic take on the contemporary romance, with the Skejik house being haunted by the ghosts of Anya’s parents as well as the unsettling presence of Iskra. But somewhere along the line, the story morphed into something cozier, something more of a PG-13 sapphic romance with subtly implied sex but no sex on the page and with “spoopiness” as opposed to “spookiness,” as the kids would say.

It was cute. It was sweet. I worked with a lot more subtlety in handling things than I intended to, but I’m still happy with how the story progressed. And, honestly, as I’ve repeatedly learned over the last few books, the “isolated setting” of the Gothic novel is increasingly difficult to write in a believable way in our current world. But I like a challenge.

This was also the first place in my writing where I introduced the fictional city of St. Arniers, Louisiana, which combined my favorite parts of New Orleans and Baton Rouge. In addition, I brought to life St. Albertus Magnus University; given its name, it would be no surprised that there was a connection to alchemy in the story. The plan for this school, which made an appearance in a short paranormal romantic comedy, School Spirit, I wrote under the name Elisabeth Shade, and which will make a return in my upcoming dark Louisiana Gothic romance (in the traditional sense, not the contemporary genre sense—unlike some, I write both sins and tragedies).

That said, sort of the point I was going for in The Alchemist’s Rose was two souls who felt like outsiders, who felt like they didn’t belong in their respective environments, who felt shackled by the legacies of their respective families… these two souls found each other. And after some trial, many errors, and much reflection (as well as a little push from a sassy, spirit-possessed marionette, because we all need a little help sometimes), they find kinship, acceptance, and love in each other. Neither heals the other, but together they help each other begin the process of healing.

I’ve also been told by more than one reader, including one who HATES possessed dolls, that the epilogue with Iskra made them cry happy and bittersweet tears. Yes, there is a happy ending.

Hopefully, this piqued your interest. If you want to check out The Alchemist’s Rose, it’s available in paperback across the internet. Currently, the eBook is an Amazon exclusive (I forgot to cancel this one book’s KU membership when I divested from Kindle Unlimited), but that will change by 7 August. I’ll update then. That said, those who want to buy the eBook can send me a message, and I’ll send the Venmo link and offer a reduced price of $1.99 until it goes live everywhere!

-Robin