I’m excited to be featuring Frost and Death by L.L. Riley today!!
This is the first book in The Last of the Heirs series, a Fantasy Romance/Fairytale retelling of the Snow Queen with slowburn romance, arranged marriage, found family, and soo much tension. I’m a huge fan of fairytale retellings so this immediately piqued my interest and I’m excited to read!!
I’m also sharing an interview with L.L. Riley today so read on for a behind-the-scenes peek at the creation of this gorgeous novel.
Six Deities. Six Kingdoms.
Each monarch gifted one of the Maker’s abilities…
But one heir is tormented by her power.
Tove, the new Queen of Axidoria, inherits a magical gift from the Makers that accidentally casts a frigid winter throughout her kingdom. Unable to control her new abilities, Tove spends most days living with her failure as queen alongside fighting her inner demons.
As the bitter cold hardens the public’s opinion of her, Tove is given no choice but to search for a suitable union. At the encouragement of her handsome royal advisor, Nikolaj, the occasion evolves into a week-long celebration in hopes of raising spirits and finding Tove a match.
But when a potential suitor draws Tove in, so do the long-buried feelings between her and Nikolaj. Despite being torn between duty and her heart, tension rises as Tove’s magic continues to threaten everyone and herself.
Can Tove brave the storm within? Or will power consume her, proving to all the snow queen is here to stay?
Amazon | Blackwell’s |Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L.L. Riley grew up in California but decided in her later years to switch it up and explore the slow living of the Midwest. Something about seeing if Kansas really was “no place like home”. While she physically found home in Kansas, her true home was found through reading and writing. She loves to be silly and goofy, and always loves to make other smile. When she is not reading or writing, she can be found cooking, baking, playing video games, or making silly tiktoks. She lives with her amazing kick ass husband who spoils her senseless, allowing her to achieve her dreams, agreeing to the endless amount of book purchases, and supporting her while she focuses on school to further her career. She and her husband are both constantly smothered with love by their four precious cats : Mila, Sevro, Strider, and Tavi.
Website | Instagram | TikTok
Hi L.L.! Thanks for chatting with us today about Frost & Death! Can you tell us a little about your journey from first idea to published novel on our shelves?
I would love to! It first started out as a rough idea back in 2022 with the help of some amazing author friends, I wrote it all back then and immediately discarded the idea of ever writing again after reading it. But sure enough 9 months later, I picked it up again and completely rewrote the entire thing. I knew I wanted to indie pub it, and I am glad I did because I am a learner and I learned so much about writing, editing, and publishing. It was a whirlwind of emotions, but an AMAZING time.
So glad you came back to it and pursued publishing this amazing story!! Can you tell us 3 things about Tove?
Oh my sweet Tove, three things about her are: She is deeply empathetic, always putting others before herself. She is addicted to carbs and sweets. And she goes on a deep and treacherous healing journey in Frost and Death.
Tove out there being relatable with the carbs and sweets addiction though 👀 Can you tell us 3 things about Nikolaj?
Nikolaj is the sunshine to Tove’s rain cloud. He started out as a royal guard and stepped into a larger role when Tove appointed him. His love is FIERCE and will do anything to keep what is his.
We gotta love a sunshine love interest!! What was your favourite part of writing Frost & Death?
Oh man, for the overall story- I really enjoyed the developmental stage of edits when I got to really craft the original draft into something solid. I think I went into this trying to make every chapter my favorite but I will say all of the swoon worthy parts, writing about the magic, the spicy parts, the emotional parts were all my favorite.
What kind of things did you get to research while writing your book?
I did loads of research actually when I was world building because this was my first novel and I am creating a world where three standalones will happen. I also did research on the fairy tale the Snow Queen and pulled a few themes from the original story line and really wanted to have some danish elements added into my story as a shout out to the Snow Queen’s origins.
Ooh love that so much!! And so glad there’s more to come in this world 🤭 Did you plan the whole book before you started? Did it surprise you in any way?
I am a plotter for the most part and when I have an idea in my head I write it all out so I can reference it back as like an outline. But when I do sit and write, I let the characters take control of getting the outline from point a to point b. And I will say when I started writing back in 2022, I never thought characters would speak to me, but ever since picking up writing again, they certainly have. As well as other characters for future works! That is definitely the most surprising.
What are some of the best author moments you’ve had so far?
Oh snap, some of my favorite author moments have been getting ARC readers DM’ing me and sharing their reactions while reading. And a big emotional moment was me opening my first proof ever. I sobbed like a baffoon and I still look at those proofs and get teary eyed.
Omg yes reader reactions are everything!! You’re headed to a cafe with Tove and Nikolaj…what is everyone ordering?
Tove is a girl for sweets and carbs. She is also a fall/winter girly. She would be a pumpkin spice latte girl and a classic hot chocolate with the sweetest looking pastry on the cafe’s menu. Nikolaj would be your classic coffee go getter and would settle for anything with espresso in it to help get him through the day as he has a kingdom to help run. And he’d most likely skip food because he has training to do first.
Can we ask for a sneak peek about what projects you’re working on next?
So I am wrapping up the first draft of book two in this series and plan to jump into book three after I am done stewing on it. But I do have about 3 solid future projects (series) planned for after this series. When will I get to those? Probably when the characters are screaming at me for attention. Haha!
We can’t wait to read them!! Thanks so much for this amazing interview L.L. and so many congrats on the release of Frost & Death!! ❄️🤍
Tour Schedule
September 30
@thereaderandthechef – Book Blog
October 1
@paperfury – Book Blog
@Cosmic.book.dragon_ – Bookstagram
October 2
@pamperedunicorn – BookTok
October 3
@nyssashaw13 – Bookstagram
@mtmctours – Bookstagram
October 4
@booksmar6 – Bookstagram
@themysterybookshelf – Book Blog
October 5
@anuskareads._ – Bookstagram
@Readwithshee – BookTok
October 6
@lizslostlibrary – Bookstagram
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