I realize I shared previously about my books in the weeks leading up to launches for my different books, and getting ready for a book signing, I’ve been putting together fresh content to share about each of my books as an introduction to each. So, if you’ve read the previous blogs about my books and end up reading repeat information, I apologize. My heart and ability to communicate that heart behind these stories continues to grow as I continue to grow as a writer and I want to make this available to everyone, especially those who may not be on social media.
Book Feature: Beauty Restored–A Winter Solstice Chronicle
Beauty Restored is the first book I wrote and is the first book in my fairytale series The Solstice Chronicles.
I have always loved fairy tales and The Snow Queen has been a long time favorite of mine and made the perfect premise for my first seasonal book. I incorporated elements from the original fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson in Beauty Restored- the hobgoblin, the cursed mirror pieces causing shattered sight when embedded in someone’s eyes, roses, forgetting spells, and some other things. This story takes place in the winter realm and follows a young woman, Erianna, who was cursed as a child and banished from her family. Circumstances bring her in contact with the prince from the spring realm and restore her to her family and kingdom with a special encounter with the Mage’s Son in the end that helps Erianna see the beauty that lies within. This book focuses on learning how to find the beauty within, even if you don’t feel beautiful or worthy. When you see a monster, others see beautiful. This story will take you on a journey as Erianna is restored to her beloved sister, her kingdom, and has her own beauty restored.
In writing this story, and the others in this series, I wanted to bring elements of Christ and my faith and personal journey to life and portray it in a way that would hopefully reach others and encourage them or offer them hope to know they aren’t the only ones who struggle with certain things or fall. In Erianna, I put elements of myself in her story and it was hard to write her character at times. I also included a God character in the Great Mage and a brief look at my Satan character, Luscian, in the prologue of my first book(you’ll hear more about him in my second book ). I also incorporated a Christ character in the Mage’s Son and wanted to try to show his presence and knowledge in and of our lives, even when we can’t see it or feel it. The winter realm was meant to be a realm that had been a long time without the presence of the Mage and his son and a land that once knew of the Mage but was now desolate and cold without him, much like some people and places in our own world.
The Snow Queen is known for her icy cold heart and her unfeeling heart traps Kai in her frozen world in the original story. We often don’t realize how much a single prick of vanity can quickly consume us body and soul. It’s her vanity that blinds the snow queen to the needs of others and even in my story when the snow queen is convinced that she is doing the best for her daughters, it is her all- consuming vanity and pride in herself that blinds her to the true beauty of her daughters, her kingdom, and her realm. She rules with intimidation and fear and nothing anyone says will ever change her mind. The only person that can reach her is the Mage’s Son who brings her a painful, but loving, reckoning in the end.
On the flip side, the cursed glass that comes from the mischievous misdeeds of a hobgoblin and gets embedded in Kai’s eyes in the original story, turns him against his best friend Gerta and blinds him to the eternal death he’s living in within the snow queen’s kingdom. He is drawn to her beauty and wants nothing more than to be with her and doesn’t realize he is slowly freezing to death in her kingdom of ice and snow because the shattered glass has blinded him to the danger he’s in. Sin or desires or even just the busyness of life can embed themselves in our hearts and twist and distort our vision. It can turn us away from the people we love most and send us into a world that is killing us slowly, but the cursed shards blind us to the fact that we are sitting in our own death, not even aware that it’s coming. Thankfully, like Gerta in the original tale, our Saviour doesn’t leave us like that. He sets off to find us and he won’t get distracted or off course by the beauty of a summer garden like Gerta did. He pursues us and comes after us as many times as it takes and will never fall victim to a forgetting spell. He is always in pursuit of our hearts and even when we banish him from our lives and choose to dwell in a barren land of winter without his presence, he never truly leaves.
At the end of my story, The Mage’s Son takes Erianna to a long forgotten cathedral in the woods. The cathedral was once a place where both the Mage and his Son came to on a regular basis and shows they were a regular part of the winter realm at one point. And even though their presence had long been forgotten in the realm, there was still a place the people could go to and remember and the Mage and His Son were more than willing to meet with the people there, if only they would come. We too have a cathedral in our hearts. In fact, the Bible tells us our bodies are God’s temple. His dwelling place among men. But, no matter how long the cathedral of our heart has sat abandoned or we’ve tried to ignore it or even destroy it, that place that was designed as a place set apart for our Creator still sits in our hearts, waiting to be filled. No matter how hard and cold your heart has become, you are never too far from God’s love or heart. He longs to be a part of your life and come meet with you in the cathedral of your heart every moment of every day. And, you will always have an empty place in your heart that can only be filled by the presence and love of God. Everything else you desire and try to fill it with will ultimately leave you empty and void of true peace and joy.
My prayer as you read this first book in my writing journey is that you will see the beauty within yourself and never forget the God who loves you and longs to be with you.
May you find the key to unlocking the beauty within your own story.
Ashley Beach-Author and Storyteller 