Rustic Stars

"Every year, the people of Borne come to Sunder to celebrate The Parse, an annual tradition where anyone wanting to get married and have children must participate.
This year, Innis’ uncle is forcing him to compete.
East is heartbroken when he finds out, because it could mean losing the boy he loves. Enraged, he decides to enter The Parse as well, hoping to keep Innis, but he needs a partner.
A chance meeting with Samone, a girl cursed to turn into a siren every day, offers him exactly what he needs. Her curse can be revoked by a boy, making East an opportunity of a lifetime for her.
Their goal leads them to keep each other’s secrets, because if the truth gets out about who they are, Sunder would be merciless with them."

HELLO! I see you have found my book.

If you have time, I might tell you a little bit about it, and how RUSTIC STARS came about.

RUSTIC STARS is the story about EAST, a gay boy who is dating INNIS in the beginning of the book, and SAMONE, a girl who is cursed to turn into a siren every day, and can only be human at night.

Crazy, right?

I actually got this idea from...a dream. One night, I was dreaming about a siren (mermaid), and a boy that were swimming away from people that were chasing them. I didn't know the characters, or why they ran. I woke up. But a few days later, I dreamed about the same girl, and this time she was swimming away from a ship that was burning. I forgot about it again, until one day, I dreamed about them again, but this time, they were doing something that made me wake up in tears. If I tell you, I would ruin the ending!

So I decided to fill in the gaps, WHY WERE THEY RUNNING, WHY DID THEY DO THIS, WHY DID THEY DO THAT?

Soon, I had a story. A very vague plot, but a story nonetheless.

The title came to me, after realizing that EAST and SAMONE were very different in the society in which they lived. The stars are very meaningful to EAST in the story, and he explains that the stars in the sky represent our emotions. He also picks a star for him and one for Innis, to represent the love they have for each other.

But since EAST and SAMONE are not like everyone else, I decided to make them rustic. And the title stuck.

The story takes place in SUNDER, an island, which I invented. I thought it would be neat to have a place that was small, so that their traditions and minds would be small and alike, therefore making East and Samone pop out more. If that makes sense?

I guess I could talk about my book more, but then I'd say too much and ruin it.

All I can say is that, RUSTIC STARS is a story about doomed love. It is about a pure love that is willing to go places and risk everything to keep it safe, even in a place like Sunder, where witches are burned, whores and gays (damakos) are taken to the gallows, and sirens...well, they are rare, and since sometimes the flames fail to kill them, they are skinned alive until they choke on their blood.

I hope you read RUSTIC STARS, and if you enjoy it, I might even chat with you on the parts you like.

Let's make being different the new normal.