Psyche Sullivan

Yes, I know it is a little self-serving to toot my own horn, indulge me. 😊

Stoneheart is my debut novel, co-written with my dear friend Alana K. Asby. It is a Western-inspired fantasy, sprinkled with a bit of steampunk, set in a world suffering from the brutality of a recent war. It’s about a three-hearted child, a gunsmith who can’t shoot, a bountyhunter who has replaced his heart with a stone, and a witch willing to kill to attain eternal beauty. We drew from several classic myths, fairy tales, and legends, as well as from history to create this story of redemption and a family made. 

Stoneheart is grit and guns, hearth and home.

It’s about a family searching for itself over the years and through the dark woods.

Sul’s stoneheart rests at Psyche’s hearth, but he is far from home. Cold, distant, hunted, and haunted by his past, Sul is too often the villain, not the hero.

Psyche waits—the gunsmith who can’t fire a gun. She nestles into her community and waits. Her daughter sings a sad song edged with spring. Will Sul ever come home?

The witch titters over a prophecy. The three-hearted child has been born. Nine years and she’ll be ripe for the plucking. Beauty, worship, and adoration are in the witch’s grasp. Another maid goes missing, but only Zehra, the witch’s companion, notices. Only her, and the cursed trees.

Can a man who is a villain be befriended? Can the undeserving be rescued? Can the dangerous bountyhunter be retrieved by good in time to protect the innocent? Can such magic be accomplished? What price must be paid? Will the witch’s magic be twisted back on her? Will the three-hearted child marked for death be saved? Will Psyche finally shoot to save her child, her man, and her home?

That is our book in a nutshell. One of the things that was very important to me was creating a female character that I could relate to. I didn’t want another warrior woman, even though I wanted a strong woman. I wanted a woman content with her work, her home, and her life without making that life dull or safe. I wanted a clever woman who wasn’t always complaining. I wanted a woman in her home, not trying to escape it for some imaginary life. I wanted to write a wife and mother that inspired me to carry on. This is Psyche Sullivan.

With Alana’s careful help, especially when it came to herbs, children, child-rearing, and actually giving birth, blended with my love of guns, we created a believable female character. As we neared the end of the story, we had Psyche going into town for the last big showdown with Volo. I remember mentioning to Alana that I yearned for a story where the woman stayed home but without being a bump on the log. I wanted a story where she defended her hearth. See, I think stories let us practice being brave before we have to be by giving us exaggerated situations. Will I ever pick up a gun to shoot a witch bent on eating my child? Um…doubtful. But I can take what happened to Psyche and beat a snake off my chicken without hesitation because I’ve practiced being brave through Psyche. Stories give us ‘hope in the darkness that we’ll see the light.’ Psyche does this because we often face terrifying moments even in our homes and we need to remember that they’re not the end point. Hope wins.

As Alana and I discussed this, she suggested we re-write the ending so that Psyche’s great fight comes to her. She faces the final battle not in town but in her home and on her land. This made me incredibly happy. It felt so right for the story, so right for Psyche, and I got to do what I had dreamed of in my first published book.

Psyche is a complex woman who struggles with fear, loss, loneliness, and waiting for a man she’s unsure will return. She doesn’t sit in a corner but sets up her home so that it is ready and waiting for Sul, and cozy and safe for her and Rune in the meantime. She’s proactive in her waiting. She is thankful for what she has. She learns to be part of her community. Sometimes being a tender is to wait, but waiting should always be done productively. Psyche embodies that. I love her calm. I love her heart that creates such a homey place. I love her courage.

They always say to be the change you want to see. Alana and I wanted a female character that meant something to us, that was us, that was real, that was all that we wanted to be in our own homes and families. We wanted a woman with her fingers deep in the earth, her heart tied to her hearth, and her courage shining out even when she was terribly afraid.

I hope Psyche resonates with many women and helps us all carry on with merry durability in our work.

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Stoneheart by Abby D. Jones and Alana K. Asby is available on Amazon and at www.vulgarismedia.com.

Check out the blurb and reviews here.

Check out my author page here.