Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work.
Today: Edale Lane is an Amazon Best-selling author and winner of Rainbow, Lesfic Bard, and Imaginarium Awards. Her sapphic historical fiction and mystery stories feature women leading the action and enticing readers with likable characters, engaging storytelling, and vivid world-creation.
Lane (whose legal name is Melodie Romeo) holds a bachelor’s degree in music education, a master’s in history, and taught school for 24 years before embarking on an adventure driving an 18-wheeler over-the-road. She is a mother of two, Grammy of three, and a doggy mom. A native of Vicksburg, MS, Lane now lives her dream of being a full-time author in beautiful Chilliwack, BC, with her long-time life partner.
Thanks so much, Edale, for joining me!
J. Scott Coatsworth: How long on average does it take you to write a book?
Edale Lane: Since I started writing full time, it typically takes me about two months from planning to publishing a book. That includes four to five weeks of writing (my fastest was a 60k-word romantic thriller in three weeks), a couple of weeks of editing and proofreading, then formatting and setting up pre-orders. This book took me much longer than that—well, 150k words and volumes of research, I should hope so! Also, I hired out an editor and a line-copy proofreader just to make sure I could present the most polished version of my vision.
JSC: What are your least favorite parts of publishing?
EL: Marketing and advertising, hands down! I’d rather give myself headaches over comma placements than spend the hours I do creating ads, plastering social media with memes and deciding between promoters. There’s this real disconnect when an author has to be their own marketing manager. I must brag on my book to entice potential readers without coming across as an egotistical showoff. And it sucks valuable time away from writing.
JSC: How did you choose the topic for Atlantis?
EL: Although I’m not entirely sure, I think it chose me. My mother passed her interest in Atlantis to me when I was young, and I’ve since been fascinated with ancient civilizations and the myriads of possibilities. Around Christmas 2023, when I had just finished Cash Target, (a romantic thriller that doesn’t release until 2025), inspiration struck. This was the time to write about Atlantis. I knew it was going to be a second chance romance between a woman who could communicate with animals and a woman who practiced the healing arts, both over fifty years old. So, while writing Cold in Murder (which was already on my schedule) I immersed myself in everything about Atlantis and pre-diluvian civilizations, from spiritual, archeological, and geological perspectives. I intended to go far beyond a conventional romance and present a believable historical fantasy world readers would long to visit, and hopefully recreate in humanity’s future.
JSC: Tell us one thing about the characters that we don’t learn from the book, the secret in their past.
EL: As part of my prep work, I created a sixteen-page world-building chart, most of which never made it into the story. In the book, Atlantis is in its Third Age, and while there is much conversation about the Great Conflagration that marked the end of the Second Age and beginning of the Third, I recall mentioning the cataclysm of 35,335 B.C. which ended the First Age in total destruction. Being a retired teacher, I had included many details of the Atlantean educational system that never made it into the edited version, since it had no bearing on the main storyline. And, while sports are vaguely referenced, the details I spelled out in worldbuilding didn’t make it into the novel.
JSC: Are you happy with where your writer left you at the end? (don’t give us any spoilers).
EL: Should one or all my characters address this question? I can honestly say some were happier than others. Let’s ask Ratiki, the raccoon, what he thinks. Ratiki: It was a grand adventure—very terrifying at times. But I trusted Ariel. When all the emoting, the traveling, the talking, and the running for our lives were done, she and I were still together. And for me, that’s a happy ending.
JSC: What pets are currently on your keyboard, and what are their names? Pictures?
EL: Piper, the Havanese, is not only on my keyboard, but my feet, my lap, behind my back, and on my head. She keeps finding now places to nestle in, as if daring me to still be able to type!
JSC: What other artistic pursuits (it any) do you indulge in apart from writing?
EL: My original major in college was music education. I still play the French horn and engage in the occasional songwriting and arranging.
JSC: If you could create a new holiday, what would it be?
EL: I’m not sure about a new holiday, but I would love to create a new award—the Indie Author Mentor Award. I can think of several very deserving souls for such an award, one being our gracious host and, a personal mentor of mine, J. Scott Coatsworth. Congratulations! You are very deserving of this award for the countless hours you have spent helping to mold, shape, and advise fledgling authors in their quest to write, publish, create cover art, and promote their books. With or without a cape (or a physical award), you are a hero!
JSC: What meds are you supposed to be taking?
EL: None! I am happily ailment free. And while I occasionally bolster my metabolism with some vitamins and supplements, I am blessedly medication free!
JSC: What are you working on now, and what’s coming out next? Tell us about it!
EL: I’m excited to let everyone know about SapphicLover69, coming in August. If you’re a reader of ff fiction, a writer of any genre, or aspire to become a writer, this dramady, romantic thriller, hybrid piece of real life is for you. You’ll recognize yourself somewhere in this first-person, contemporary, quick read (57k words) about an indie author whose online stalker turns up at a writer’s convention she attends and idle threats morph into life-threatening acts. Who is SapphicLover69, and what trap has she laid just around the corner? Set in New Orleans, seasoned with romantic comedy, the story is an exposé in self-discovery. Read it; love it; share it! (And please, leave a review.)
And now for Edale’s new book: Atlantis: Land of Dreams:
A handful of heroes; an impending cataclysm. Can Ariel and her friends save the world as they know it?
Communicating with plants and animals has become a rare gift, one Ariel cherishes. She loves her farm and her family, especially her three-hundred-year-old oma. As she grapples to preserve her connection with the spirit world, she realizes something is dreadfully wrong.
Lysandra, a gifted healer, lives in the most splendid city in the world, overflowing with culture and prosperity. Despite her meaningful career, she misses the love of her youth whom she left behind. Now something is causing more illnesses and deaths at increasingly younger ages than typical for Atlanteans.
When both Ariel and Lysandra are called to the Ring of Stones for a meeting of scholars, masters, and gifted individuals, they reunite for the first time in thirty years. Pushing personal feelings aside, they must focus on discovering what’s wrong with their world and help fix it. Making a startling discovery, Ariel brings an ominous report to the council. Can the sharpest minds and most compassionate hearts of Atlantis create a plan to save their civilization, or is it doomed to be obliterated from the face of the earth forever?
Captivating storyteller Edale Lane brings you an epic historical fantasy warmed with a second-chance sapphic romance. Atlantis, Land of Dreams, will transport you to a world of wonder and imagination, where myths of the past come to life and inspire a brighter vision for our future. Get ready to embark on an unforgettable journey of discovery and marvel at the beauty and magic of this legendary place that has captured the hearts and minds of generations. Order your copy today.
Get It on Amazon
Excerpt
Ariel and Lysandra
Ariel froze at the edge where the field met the road, her heart leaping into her throat. So many times she dreamed of this moment, though fewer as the years rolled by. What do I say? How should I feel? Why is she here?
Though thirty years older, Lysandra appeared even more beautiful than Ariel recalled, flawless and elegant in her flowing, mid-calf, sleeveless green and white gown tied by a simple braided cord. Unable to move or think or speak from sheer shock, Ariel’s pulse raced, and she reminded herself to breathe. One thing was evident—Lysandra seemed as terrified as she was.
As she drew closer, Ratiki burst out of the tall amber waves and rushed in front of Ariel. He stopped, rose on his back legs, waved his hands at Lysandra, and sniffed the air with twitching whiskers. Ariel sent out soothing vibrations to tell him the stranger was a friend and no one to be alarmed about. Is that what she is—a friend? She had been … and so much more.
By the time Lysandra reached her, Ariel’s emotions twisted like a tornado, uprooting long-held assumptions, and spinning her mind in circles. She wondered if her physical form could hold it all without collapsing. Engulfed by the peculiar sensation, as if she were a fragile crystal, shattered by a powerful lightning strike, she could feel each shard raining down, scorching and cutting through the air, coming to rest on her skin. Still, she couldn’t take her eyes off the woman she had loved more than life itself.
Lysandra’s voice trembled as she stopped a mere half cubit away. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, her eyes brimming with regret. Ariel sensed the truth of her emotions and the conflict that raged there as well. Only a matter of vital urgency would bring her here like this.
“You’re late,” Ariel replied.
“You married,” she rebounded with more intensity.
“Only because you left me.” Ariel struggled to hold herself together. She was a grown woman, by Triton, not a love-sick schoolgirl.
“I didn’t mean to.” Lysandra sounded as disappointed as she had felt, and the sentiment glistened in expressive brown eyes that still mesmerized Ariel. “You knew Raphael’s call was strong with me. Becoming a healer was my passion. To follow it meant I had to go away to wisdom school.”
“But you were supposed to come back, Lysandra.” Ariel could feel tears welling behind her eyes and permeating her voice. She would not allow them to fall. “The plan was you would come home during term break and tell me all about the wonders you learned and the marvels you experienced. Only you didn’t. Did you forget about me?”
Ariel could sense her heart breaking all over again, and it took every ounce of discipline for her to maintain her composure. Ratiki must have also gleaned the intensity of the conversation, for he turned tail and lumbered back in amongst the grain stalks to escape.
“No, Ariel—never! Not a day has passed that I haven’t …” Lysandra stopped to swallow whatever pained sound was about to issue forth. Letting out a sigh, she asked, “Is there somewhere we could sit for a few minutes? I have important news, but this—what is unresolved between us—is vital too. I won’t beset you with excuses, but I need to explain.”
Sitting sounded good to Ariel as well. She motioned toward the square between the four houses where a bench rested near the well under an olive tree. “Over here.” She led the way in silence, still in disbelief that Lysandra had finally come.
The bench wasn’t very wide, so, through necessity, the two fit snuggly side by side. Fearing what might happen at this proximity, Ariel kept her gaze anywhere but on Lysandra’s face. She could smell her, though—all citrusy and alluring.
“Wisdom school was nothing like the academy,” she began. “We didn’t follow a set schedule, and the training was intense. We went to a magnetically-aligned cave in the mountains to better connect with the energies. Quetzal taught our class how to transcend the limits of the third dimension, to open and raise harmonic frequencies. I learned to use Prana to access electrical energy in my and other people’s bodies, to sense a patient’s vibrations, to connect to the waves and particles in their flesh, bones, and blood, to align every aspect of their organs and systems with the one perfect health. But there was so much more, Ariel. I traveled outside myself to dance with the energies in the heavens. I could feel everything, everyone, the all of creation, experiencing the power of the Law of One. It was easy to forget who I was in the magnitude of it all, and I lost all track of time. It was like time didn’t exist.”
Lysandra peered around, trying to coax Ariel into looking at her. Giving in, Ariel met her gaze as her long-lost lover’s hand came to rest over hers atop her thigh. It all sounded marvelously impressive, certainly more exciting than life on a farm.
“But I never forgot you, and I never stopped loving you,” Lysandra professed. “If anything, learning to expand my heart doubled, even tripled what was already there, and I couldn’t wait to share everything with you—to take you star-walking with me. But by the time I could return to Elyrna, you had already gotten married, had a child, and were pregnant with another.”
“Lysandra, I waited four years,” Ariel lamented. Reliving her heartache was like yanking her soul through a jagged sieve. “I thought, ‘Maybe she doesn’t get time off like at the academy,’ but the courses were only supposed to last four years. Planting and harvest came and went with no word from you. When you didn’t return at the end of the fourth year, what was I supposed to think? I figured you found a new life in Atala and didn’t want to come back … that you didn’t want me anymore. So, yeah, I got married and had children because it’s what people in their twenties do.”