Kristina W. Kelly is joining us today to talk about her novel, Tea Tale. Here’s the publisher’s description:
Tea Makes Everything Cozier in Trelvania!
Divine has learned a lot about herself, her magic, and her goddess. But now, she and Saph are getting ready for the Midwinter Nights Faire, and that’s the worst time for her magic to go haywire! She might be able to talk to animals now, and Saph seems to be flirting with other patrons. Is there anything left in Iramont for Divine?
It will take an unlikely quest, world-shaking revelations, and some unexpected friends to show Divine her direction in life. The journey will be a tale to tell…over tea!
Check out Kristina W. Kelly’s next story in the popular cozy fantasy romance with D&D elements!
What’s Kristina’s favorite bit?
You know how finding a ten-dollar bill in your pocket after doing the laundry feels like you found a treasure? In the first book of the Tales of Trelvania series, Divine meets an iguion (think iguana person) who is growing plants in their home. It seems like a worldbuilding bit at the time—the iguion and the iguion’s baby need plants as part of their diet and there’s been a mysterious black spot decimating the local foliage—but from that comes my new favorite side character. Meet Sage, the treasure of Tea Tale.
Sage is a decacacti, a desert-dwelling cactus-like creature known for their ten stems and prickly personality, cared for by the iguion I mentioned. ‘Grown’ wouldn’t be accurate as despite the creature’s appearance, it wasn’t truly a plant. But Saph didn’t know that.
During the Midwinter Nights Faire, one of the traditions is gift-giving. Tavern Tale readers’ favorite flirty tavern owner with an eyepatch, Saph, picks this as her gift for Divine.
Divine’s heart filled to bursting over the thought that went into the gift. Saph really saw her—not just empty compliments—she had remembered the details.
Divine rose and kissed Saph. “I love it. It’s cute. But not as cute as you.”
The decacacti gave a low sound like a mix of a hmm and a crackle.
Divine snorted. “I think your gift doesn’t like being called cute.”
“If you say so.”
“What do you think that sound meant?”
“What sound?”
Divine looked from Saph to the decacacti. The latter remained quiet and still, the former inspected Divine with a slight tilt of her head.
“Nothing. I’m tired beyond reason. It’s a big day tomorrow.” Divine squeezed Saph’s hands. “I really love the gift.”
Spoilers: Divine wasn’t imagining the sounds. But I’ll get to that in a moment.
This is such a lovely moment in Tea Tale as Divine had told Saph several memories in the previous book about her affinity for plants. Divine’s mother had a rose garden, and when Divine made her talisman it resulted in her magic smelling like roses. In spite of what the temples taught—that Divine’s power from serving the Goddess of Souls only let her heal humans—she had proven those teachings false with her choices to try, and do it, anyway. She even healed a plant previously, making it bloom pink flowers.
Throughout the rest of Tea Tale, Divine is almost never without Sage by her side. He communicates in sizzle-cracks of his soil, the hums of his pot, and the wiggling of his stems. He certainly has a lot of opinions for a newly propagated cactus who spent most of his life in the equivalent of a greenhouse. And he adds a healthy dose of sarcasm to most conversations—when Divine chooses to translate his soil squelches.
“It’s hard to even know what to do when I don’t know what my magic is,” Divine lamented.
“Did you know how to mend bone before?” Constance asked.
“Well, no.”
“Hmm.”
Divine glanced at Sage, who issued a similar hum.
“How do you know he has a point?” Then after a pause filled with squelchy hums, “No, I don’t think learning how to suck nutrients from the ground the first time is similar.” Sage sizzle-cracked. “You’re allowed to disagree.”
Sage is for the sentient plant lovers. Sage is for the house witches and the backyard gardeners who whisper to their flowers and hope the plants twitching in the breeze are actually them communicating back. (It’s me. I’m the plant lover). Sage is the best cactus sidekick that I wish that I had. He makes me chuckle, and inexplicable warm inside, like sipping a hot cup of tea. He adds another irreplaceable member to the party of Divine’s friends and allies. But most of all, he provides the self-doubting Divine seen in Tea Tale—her magic going haywire and her second-guessing everything she knows about her magic and the temples—with a companion who believes in her and isn’t afraid to challenge her thoughts. Bonus, he saves her from [redacted].
I’ve wanted to write a story that featured tea, as tea is a favorite drink and hobby of mine by my collecting tea cups, loose leaf varieties, and other tea accessories. But my backyard flower garden is equally a part of me, which shows up in the way I incorporate nature into the narrative. I just didn’t expect to pen a prickly talking cactus who would be such a joy to write, part comic relief part best emotional support succulent, and tempt me to hug him despite his thorns. I hope readers see past his thorny personality to his big, squishy heart.
LINKS:
BIO:
Kristina W. Kelly writes fantasy, sci-fi, and poetry. Her works include her sapphic fantasy romance series Tales of Trelvania including Tavern Tale, and Tea Tale, her sci-fi and fantasy poetry collection Imaginari, and her coauthored epic science fantasy series The Etherea Cycle. Kristina is a trumpet player, plays video games, and tends to her flower garden and two children in Indiana.
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