Pillar of Stone and Sorrow
Debut Novel Coming September 15
As the sole heir to the mining city of iX, Derra’s future seems set in stone. Her days are spent learning about statecraft and attending vapid dinners. Her nights provide a brief respite, when her friend Ver helps her escape into the city's hidden clubs for a taste of freedom. Derra’s life changes utterly, however, when she learns that she has been promised in marriage to Conor Nesman, the powerful ruler of the desert city of Etica. This alliance will save her city; refusal is not an option.
Then Derra discovers Nesman’s true intentions: he wants iX for himself.
Before she can break off her engagement, tragedy leaves Derra stranded in Nesman's palace—a gilded, glittering cage where every smile hides a threat and every mistake could be her last. As enemies close in and secrets come to light, Derra finds herself drawn to a man she cannot have: her loyal bodyguard, Noishu.
With her city at risk and betrayal lurking around every corner, Derra must choose. Surrender to a tyrant, or risk everything for a chance to reclaim not just her freedom, but her home?
This is book 1 in a duology – book 2, Candle of Snow and Desert, will be coming soon!
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Cinder meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this speculative reimagining of the ninth-century Irish tale Longes mac n-Uislenn, set in a 2900 CE world where medieval Irish culture, law, and medicine govern futuristic societies.
My Substack Pop Celt is where I explore how Celtic traditions shape modern pop culture. Subscribers will receive a free ebook of the companion to my debut novel Pillar of Stone and Sorrow where I outline and explain the literary, legal, and cultural elements from early Ireland that I used as the basis for the story.
Meet the Author
Ranke de Vries is a Celtic Studies scholar on a mission to introduce absolutely everyone to the amazing world of medieval Irish and Welsh stories (queens killed by cheese! Pigs that give birth to bees! Singing decapitated heads – and so, so much more). She holds a PhD in Early Irish from Trinity College Dublin, taught at Utrecht University for a decade, and is now an Associate Professor of Celtic Studies at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. For over two decades, she has lectured and published on the vivid, violent, and oft-overlooked world of medieval Celtic literature. With her debut novel Pillar of Stone and Sorrow, she has woven ancient Celtic literature and languages into modern speculative fiction, in hopes of enticing readers to explore the medieval sources themselves. Originally from the Netherlands, Ranke divides her time between academic work, D&D campaigns, Baldur's Gate 3, Bloodborne, Stardew Valley, and Derry Girls marathons.
