Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
My name is Sarah Beran, and I write clean, cozy (or cozy-adjacent) fantasy and fairy tale retellings. I’ve been publishing for just over three years now, and have fourteen books out in the world. I actually went to school for K-12 music education and work full-time as an elementary music teacher, so you’ll find lots of references to music and the arts in my books.
Your book Maiden of the Sea was chosen for our Fellowship Of Fantasy book club in April! What is it about?
Maiden of the Sea is a very loose retelling of the Little Mermaid. The main character, Ariel, suffers from chronic pain and immobility after a rescue attempt gone wrong. When she is approached by a mysterious stranger, she is given the chance to regain her legs if she can help locate Davy Jones’ locker and a magical pearl inside.
What inspired you to write this book?
This book is the third in my Order of the Fountain series, and the idea came when I realized that one of the side characters from book one, Davy “Hook” Jones, was the perfect candidate for a sea-faring story. A lot of my ideas are all just “what if” questions, and the one for Maiden was “What if the Little Mermaid was looking for Davy Jones’ locker?”
What is the main theme of your book? What message do you want the readers to get from it?
I don’t often write books with main themes in mind at the beginning, but they often surface as the story is unfolding. For Maiden, I would say some of the main themes are courage and sacrifice, and understanding that our self-worth is not defined by what we look like or even what we are able to do or accomplish. I was very intentional in making the “happily ever after” NOT include a magical fix for Ariel’s physical challenges. Rather, she learns that she is stronger because of them and is valued and loved just the way she is.
What is the most fun part about writing this book? The most difficult?
The most fun for me was incorporating all of the references to both stories. The hardest part? Writing a Little Mermaid without any mermaids…
Are you more of a planner or a discovery writer? Do you write an outline before you start or do you like to see where the ideas lead you?
Yes. Hahaha. I do a little bit of both. I have a rough outline that I work with at the beginning, but it changes sometimes as the story progresses, and the fine details are sometimes a mystery to me until I write them.
What advice would you give aspiring authors?
Write the book. A book on a page (no matter how rough it is) is always better than the word “someday.”
What is your next book coming out? What is it about?
My next release is just around the corner on May 10th. Winter of the Wandering Wind is the fourth and final installment of the Seasons of Music and Magic, and is a retelling of the folktale used in Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman. There are smugglers, naiads, ghostly captains, an engagement of convenience, and plenty of musical magic.
Article By Amelia Nichole
I write science fiction and fantasy with a mad dash of mythology and history thrown in for good measure. I'm a professional copywriter, a homeschool graduate, and published short story author. When I'm not writing or reading something, you can find me painting birds or gardening.