I am seeking representation for my 96,000-word adult fantasy novel, VOW OF SHADOWS, a standalone with series potential. This own-voices story features a slow-burn sapphic romance between a princess and an anti-royalist rebel.
VOW OF SHADOWS is a fresh reimagining of HAMLET which combines the epic romance of THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE and a gods-haunted world akin to GODKILLER, with a dash of T. Kingfisher’s folkloric whimsy.
As the sole heir to a Kingdom that has sown order from chaos through a long line of strategic marriages, Gydeon Thaneus knows becoming queen means fastening her life—and her soul—to a man she could never love. Chafing at the confines of her position, Gydeon makes a desperate plea to the archaic gods for help, despite the prevailing sentiment these gods died in a cataclysmic event over a century ago. Her prayer is met by an unexpected beneficiary, not a god, but something far older and stranger—a dragon—whose presence causes dark magic to stir within her. Grappling with control of her newfound powers, Gydeon returns home, where the untimely murder of her father places her within a hairsbreadth of the throne.
Abandoning her post, she ventures across the realm in pursuit of her father’s most trusted physician turned poisoner. However, the hunter becomes hunted when the physician turns out to be a cult leader intent on picking off Gydeon’s bloodline one by one. Her only hopes of survival lie in the hands of the cult’s cunning second-in command who harbors a hidden agenda, and not so secret feelings for Gydeon. Their burgeoning relationship leaves Gydeon at a crossroads; accept the fate she was born to inherit or carve a new path.However, she won’t get a choice at all, if the cult succeeds in taking her life, or she fails to repay the dragon when it comes to call.
I was born and raised in Calgary, Canada, where I grew up fascinated by my grandma’s tales of her mother country—Norway. Its rich history and mythology inspire the worlds I create.
Kirsten Claussner 