Deep Blue Dark
In a last-ditch effort to escape extinction, the royal fae courts and their unusual subjects set sail from Ireland and cross the Atlantic to establish a new home outside of human reach. But their protective magics are slowly eroding after centuries of climate change and human globalization.
Two hundred years later, elite swimmer Hanna Frank – fresh out of college and stuck selling aquarium tickets while her former best friend competes in the Olympics – finds a magical stone on the beach and accidentally triggers a freak tsunami. Swept out to sea, Hanna survives the storm only to find herself trapped in the Otherworld: the hidden realm of creatures long believed to be myths and fairy tales. Hanna’s rescued by some selkies who tell her there’s no getting past the magical barrier she just smashed through.
With no way home, Hanna embarks on a journey to seek help from the Aes Sidhe, the fae rulers of the Otherworld and creators of the barrier. But Hanna’s arrival draws unwanted interest from the island’s inhabitants. Swept up in a world of fairy pleasures and trickeries, of political schemes and danger in every shadow, Hanna finds herself caught in the age-old rivalry between two immortal fae queens. One queen vows to help Hanna, while the other sees Hanna as living proof that the barrier is weakening and is ready to wage war over it. With the help of her ragtag group of magical friends, Hanna must stop a vengeful fae queen from declaring war on humanity and survive the dark perils of the ocean to find her own way home again.
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Word Count: 103,000
Genre: Fantasy