Do you write in different genres?
Everything I write is within the realm of fantasy, but it can vary between contemporary, post-apocalyptic with dragons, and my newest series that is set in a different world than Earth.
How did you come up with the title for your latest book?
Oaths & Vengeance is a familiar theme throughout the book, so it made sense as a title.
Do you title the book first or wait until after it’s complete?
It varies.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
There are always two sides to war, and nothing is ever black and white. I’ve been to war in real life. It’s shaped the way I write about it in my books.
What book are you reading now?
The Silversmith by LJ Claren
Can you share a little of your current work with us?
I’m currently working on the next novel in the Realm of Zadrya series. I know the title, but I’m waiting until the cover reveal to announce it. All I’ll say about this one is that it picks up right where book one left off, but starting with Darrow’s POV.
Who designed the cover of your latest book?
Hannah Sternjakob. She’s amazing!
Do you have a song or playlist (book soundtrack) that you think represents this book?
I’ll name a few songs from my book playlist that hit the right vibes for various scenes. “Apologize” by OneRepublic, “Unstoppable” by Sia, “No Love” by Eminem, “Savin’ Me” by Nickelback, and “The Hanging Tree” sung by Jennifer Lawrence.
What would your readers be surprised to learn about you?
My husband and I got married in Damascus, Syria, eighteen years ago (before Arab Spring). I guard my marriage license like it’s gold because I have no idea if we could replace it under the circumstances there.
Realm of Zadrya
Book One
Susan Illene
Genre: Romantasy
Date of Publication: August 22nd, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-9876902-3-9
ASIN: B0F6D6566B
Number of pages: 505
Word Count: 148,000
Cover Artist: Hannah Sternjakob
Book Description:
Darrow has so many secrets that even those closest to him don't know them all, but she's about to become his favorite. He is powerful, ruthless, and her sworn enemy. The wickedly good-looking elf is also cursed never to love.
Aella should stay far away from him, especially considering he could kill her from a distance with little effort. Except that someone close to her is dying, and he is the only person in the realm with the means to help. She has strong powers of her own to offer in exchange, but to her dismay, Darrow wants a secret marriage as part of the bargain.
Fae marriages are forever, so she'd always be his.
With other factors pushing her toward it, she agrees to a private wedding that the king himself officiates while hiding the ceremony from her disapproving family. Aella suspects there is far more to Darrow’s motives if Zadrya's monarch is involved. It isn't long before she discovers that dark forces are circling, and it’s her rare magic they want to use or eradicate by any means necessary. Her new husband has drawn her into a dangerous conflict started centuries ago that could either end in the salvation or destruction of their world. If she wants to survive, she’ll need to trust Darrow with her body, but never her heart.
Note- This novel is an enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn romantasy. It contains adult content, including violence, foul language, spicy scenes, torture, and ruthless plants and creatures. Read at your own discretion.
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Oaths
& Vengeance (excerpt 3)
I’d barely started working on my garden the following
day when a servant in a crisp black uniform appeared at the archway entrance.
Parzival cleared his throat, unwilling to risk the ire of my plants. Ten years
ago, a new groundskeeper from a distant village made the mistake of entering my
sanctuary without knowing the dangers. He’d brushed against one of the
crunchertraps and lost a chunk of his thigh.
As he howled in pain, the other one snapped at his
rear end. I heard the screams from above in my room and looked out my window to
find several species of my flora had de-rooted to chase the poor man. It took
me an hour to wrestle them back into their places. Once blood spilled within
the garden walls, some of my plants became opportunistic and vicious.
I’d worried my uncle would be angry about his new
groundskeeper getting maimed, but I should have known better. He found it
amusing. It was one of the rare times he’d even seemed pleased with me, which
nearly made me want to do away with the whole garden, but I loved it too much
and couldn’t do that. I’d brought Briauna to heal the injured man. Feeling
horrible about the incident, we found safer employment for him in a location
far from here. Ever since, though, no one had dared enter the walled enclosure
without my permission. That was exactly the way I wanted it.
“Yes?” I asked, setting my trimming shears down.
The tractvine I was tending primarily grew underground
as it should, but the coiled top with a single yellow bloom could take over the
garden if I didn’t keep it under control. If anyone upset it, the vines under
the soil would shoot out and wrap around a person’s body, squeezing them to
death and then slowly consuming them like a snake. All the while, it secreted
toxins to break down the body faster.
It was a gruesome way to go. The plant typically grew
in the thickest forests to the north and wasn’t easy to acquire. Thankfully, I
had a natural affinity for flora, so I could coax the seedlings to leave their
home. I also offered mice to keep them busy and content during transport.
“Lord Morgunn has requested your presence in his
office.” The stuffy butler looked me up and down scornfully. “I advise you to
wash and change into something presentable first, but do hurry. He does not
wish to be kept waiting long.”
This was one elf I wouldn’t have minded tossing into
my garden to feed my plants. Parzival wasn’t only a butler but also a close
confidant to my uncle. More than once over the years, he’d caught me doing
something “questionable” and snitched on me. Lord Morgunn was especially cruel
in his punishment if his favorite servant told him about the offense.
One time, when I was fifteen, Parzival caught me
sneaking out of my room at night. He had my ankle chained to a tree in the
northeast orchard. The whole night, I had to fend off vicious night creatures
by throwing stones and using my wind magic, which I wasn’t very adept at using
then. While most fae parents used creative punishments to keep their offspring
in line, my uncle was brutal.
“I’ll hurry,” I said, taking the trimmers to a lock
box at the far end of the garden.
If I left them out, some of the plants couldn’t be
trusted, and bad things might happen to my passive varieties that couldn’t move
or fight back. I didn’t need another massacre to clean up after leaving out the
shears last time.
Susan Illene served in the U.S. Army for eleven years, working first as a human resources specialist and later as an Arabic linguist. She served primarily in Airborne units and did two deployments to Iraq. After leaving the army, she studied history at the University of Oklahoma. She currently lives with her husband and two sons.
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