Press Release for The Undine’s Tear

The Undine’s Tear Promises a Thrilling Read for Fans of Gritty Young Adult Fantasy

May 9, 2019

Canadian author Talena Winters will release her fourth novel on May 14, 2019, a gritty historical urban fantasy take on mermaids, dragons, sphinxes and angels set in the real world at the cusp of the nineteenth century.

The Undine’s Tear, the first of a trilogy, is about a race of merfolk called undines, who have lost the ability to produce their own males. They both fear and need humans, enslaving human men to survive. Calandra, a healer of immense power, must repair the damaged power source for the barrier that hides their island, which is on the verge of complete failure. The only problem is, the most powerful healers of her race have always gone insane and caused immense destruction while the stone continued to deteriorate. Calandra, desperate to find a solution, discovers that there may be a living undine male and begins to question everything she’s been raised to believe.

“As Calandra begins to question her worldview, she sees how her culture’s skewed perspectives on gender and power have led to a self-perpetuating problem,” says Winters.

Winters said she set the story near the end of the Atlantic slave-trading era partly by accident—she has been developing the story for nine years, and while plotting previous iterations (which were originally set much later in the nineteenth century), she kept getting more and more interested in the back story of her characters, each time moving the time period backwards a generation. The Undine’s Tear is the third novel she plotted in this world, but the first one to be worthy of taking to completion.

“As a person of faith, I believe the setting was divinely inspired. The story deals with a lot of issues such as control and love in relationships, and deep cultural biases regarding gender, race and diversity. This story is perfect for the era it is set in, while, at the same time, I hope it speaks to my readers about issues we face today,” says Winters.

The novel, as well as the prequel eBook novella she released in the same world earlier this year, The Waterboy, are Winters’ first forays into the young adult and fantasy genres. Her previous work has been women’s fiction. But the diverse genres are about par for the woman with many talents, whose other credits include musical composition, editing, journalism, and knitwear design.

“This is the story idea that made me want to learn to write fiction. Almost ten years and several other stories later, I’m so excited to see it go out into the world. I hope my readers love it as much as I do,” says Winters.

You can find more information about the book at www.talenawinters.com/undines-tear.

Contact information:

Talena Winters, My Secret Wish Publishing
talena@talenawinters.com
www.talenawinters.com

PO Box 6461
Peace River, Alberta
T8S 1S3 Canada

(780) 618-5507