The year may be winding down, but we're already looking forward to January thanks to Erica Rose Eberhart's Tarnished. Read all about what readers can expect from this exciting new trilogy in our last interview of 2024, including the inspiration behind the magnificent, albeit dangerous, high fantasy setting, an insight into the sapphic romance between Ailith and Caitriona, and what may be next for the sequel, coming August 2025.
Goodbye winter blues, hello Elder Tree Trilogy! Available for pre-order now.
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Hi Erica! Thank you so much for joining us. Let’s start by introducing yourself!
Hi there! I’m Erica, the author of the sapphic high fantasy Elder Tree Trilogy. The first in the trilogy, Tarnished, is releasing just shy of a month away on January 21 and it’s my debut novel. Beside writing high fantasy, I also have dipped my toes into urban and dark fantasy and have a few incomplete manuscripts in those genres. I have poetry and creative nonfiction published, and my background is in technical editing. I have a MA in English and Creative Writing with a focus on fiction, and a decade of editorial experience for the government, creative writing, and journalism. I’m a mother and creative who enjoys trying out new creative pursuits. I most adore baking, embroidery, and crochet. I also love nature and am lucky to live in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate New York with my family.
Tell us about your new novel Tarnished, and what inspired you to write it.
Tarnished is a queer fantasy with all-female POVs. It follows Ailith MacCree as she accepts a job that may help push her family out of poverty, but in exchange, she realizes she’s agreed to sneak the king’s youngest daughter, Caitriona, out of the kingdom to find a mage who may teach Caitriona to control the sudden illegal magic she possesses. With Greer–Caitriona’s older sister and the heir to the throne–helping from within the castle walls, they race for help while the king sends a search party and the magic becomes abundantly more dangerous than they ever thought it would be. All the while, Ailith and Caitriona realize their preconceived notions of one another, as well as the society they grew up in, aren’t necessarily accurate; and Greer realizes how deeply fearful her father is of anything he does not understand and thereby views as a threat, and how far that distrust goes. But there’s also the spark of romance that may or may not find substance, so long as Ailith and Caitriona can get help in time.
This novel is something that existed in my mind for years as disjointed plot points. I wanted to write a sapphic romance and use the D&D character I created for a campaign nearly a decade ago, but it seemed to refuse to come together until suddenly it did. It all clicked into place. And as I began working on the outline I realized I could convey my own experiences as a queer, neurodivergent girl who was raised in an area that was relatively close-minded and often, politically, against my own values. I felt this was an experience many people could relate to.
Tarnished is set in a high fantasy world featuring treacherous landscapes and supernatural beings. What was the process behind building this strong fantasy setting and were there any challenges? Is this place inspired by any other fantasy worlds, stories, or even real places?
I always have such a blast world building, it’s a favorite part of writing, and I think being a D&D player has helped me with that. But when it came to Tarnished, I sat down and thought about the world these characters should exist in. I wanted the threats to come from all around them–from people to creatures. I wanted them to face seasons and the issues different weather can bring. I wanted them to climb over mountainous ridges and navigate through marshlands. Once I had that base work figured out, the plot occurring in that world seemed to come more easily.
I know fantasy is drowning with European influence and while in some ways, I leaned into that inspiration with Gaelic or Scandinavian-influenced names, I primarily based the landscape on the north eastern half of the United States. In particular, the mountainous regions I’ve had the privilege to live near throughout my life: The Catskills and Finger Lakes of New York, the Endless Mountains in PA (I love the name and used that directly in my novel), and Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. While the rest of the world truly has amazing, magical landscapes, so does the United States, and I feel that’s often forgotten. Visiting these locations, you can feel old magic in the stones and roots of trees. I grew up hearing stories from cousins and friends about the Jersey Devil and UFO sightings over the Hudson Valley, and it’s easy to imagine supernatural beings that linger there. For the creatures that exist in my novel, I looked at fairy tales and the type of creatures most frequently appear in local legends. Often it’s tied to people-like creatures, and many that like to feed on humans, so I worked with that and my love for alliteration to create the creature’s names.
Can you tell us a little bit about your characters? Which, if any, do you identify with most and why?
As I mentioned, I have three points of view in my novel and for each of these characters, I fed a little bit of myself into each of them. However, I likely identify with Ailith the most.
Ailith is the protagonist of this novel. She’s an only child and neurodivergent like myself. Her family has existed in poverty and both of her parents are disabled, so she works her hardest to help provide for her parents. As a first generation college graduate, I wanted to display that desire to help and bring pride to one’s parents, which is often Ailith’s main goal. She’s observant, relatively quiet but can be blunt, and tends to be judgemental first until she’s shown she can trust someone. At times, she’s abundantly observant of people and how they interact with the world, at others, she just doesn’t understand why people do the things they do–all of this comes from my heart with how I have interacted with the world.
Caitriona is the youngest daughter of the king and incredibly sheltered. She’s sweetness in human form and abundantly kind. She’s eager to discover the world and willing to admit when she’s wrong. Overall, she’s such a good person, but she also finds herself as rather weak because that’s how she has always been treated and she’s frustrated by that. She doesn’t want to be helpless, she doesn’t want to be a pain in someone’s side, and she’s determined to change that. When she develops her powers, it’s overwhelming and scary, but she begins to realize the inner strength she already had. She also realizes her bisexuality in a way that’s taken from my own personal experience.
Greer is the eldest daughter of the king and incredibly protective of her younger sister. As an only child, I always desired to have an older sister to protect me and guide me through life, and I poured that desire into Greer. But she isn’t just that, she’s also the first-born eldest daughter. While I may not have siblings, this position still applies to me. The responsibility and expectations are there, plus the pressure to do well and succeed. Her sense of protecting those she loves, her desire to impress and do right, and her stubborn determination are all features that I feel in myself. She’s also quick witted and can handle any hard situation with such coolness, something I never felt was a strong suit in myself, and I love that for her.
Similarly, which characters do you hope readers will connect with most?
All three female leads have such amazing personalities, that I hope readers, at the very least, adore each character. Whether or not they connect with all of them is another story, but I do hope they find themselves in at least one of the characters featured. I always find it interesting when chatting with readers to find out what character they love and identify with the most and which one they wish they could be. It’s very telling of the type of experiences and the personality of the reader.
You also include experiences of neurodivergence and anxiety in your work. Why is this representation important to you?
When I wrote Tarnished, I put all of my “quirks” into Ailith. It wasn’t until I queried the novel I learned I was ND and all of these behaviors of mine that I poured into Ailith were ND behaviors. It felt right and good to have a character who’s not neurotypical and is a force of power and strength and love. Her ND is a part of who she is and it doesn’t stop her from finishing what she’s started, just like any other character. Anxiety is also a major part of the trilogy, although particularly in the second novel (which releases in August 2025). I have a generalized anxiety disorder, it’s lifelong and only as an adult have I been able to make work to gain some control over my anxiety and come to a better understanding of my triggers. Still, it’s like a persistent ghoul hunched over my shoulder. Sometimes I’m in control, other times it gains the upper hand. I wanted to depict that for readers who experience anxiety, but also for those who don’t and don’t quite understand how constant the work is for people with an anxiety disorder. So many things in my life I’ve learned about through reading, so I hope those who read the trilogy will come away having a better understanding of some life experiences as well; particularly with neurodivergency and anxiety.
The book features a sapphic romance (yay!). What are your favourite tropes to read and do any make an appearance in this love story?
Gosh do I love grumpy x sunshine romances and this sapphic romance is a very tame version of that. Ailith is a bit grumpy at the start of the novel with reason, and I won’t say she’s actually a grumpy character–she’s just guarded–while Caitriona is nothing but sunshine and kindness. I love blending characters like that together. I also adore that unique type of trope where a character is turning into something beyond their control and another character is just like “I love you no matter what you become. Good or bad, I love you all the same and will fight for you.” It’s like brain candy to me and leaves me kicking my feet with delight. Ah! It hits me right in my feelings.
What initially drew you to the fantasy genre and what do you love most about writing queer romance in this setting?
I was raised on fantasy movies and books. Between Disney and classic 80’s fantasy films, fairy tales and Arthurian legend, it was my main form of entertainment. This continued well into adulthood. I had all of that entertainment being funneled at me, whether it was Lord of the Rings; Labyrinth; Merlin; or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. As an adult I began attending Renaissance faires–it’s even where I had my first date with my spouse–and started playing Dungeons and Dragons. I adore fantasy–urban, dark, high, low, epic–it is just the perfect form of escapism for me and has been my entire life. However, as an adult I realized I wanted to see more queer stories. I wanted the knight to be a woman, and I wanted the female knight to save the princess (or vice versa). I want these fantasy settings with same-sex hand holding and soft kisses. While queer fantasy has become much more prominent in recent years, it’s still growing and I’m so grateful to be a part of that landscape. Perhaps my child’s generation will grow up never feeling like they can’t quite find themselves in literature. It feels like a gift to be part of that.
Did you find any challenges while writing Tarnished? How did you overcome them?
I have a tendency to have sloppy starts to novels. I’ll make a kicker of a first line and then I ramble for fifteen pages. It happens with every single draft I’ve written. That was particularly true with Tarnished. The start of the novel was rewritten so many times I feel I’m at a place where I could recite it with my eyes closed. But my biggest problem was that I adored the start of the novel. I loved it so much. And it was incredibly hard for me to let go of the start, despite that all suggestions were well founded on how to make it a stronger, more engaging beginning. It took me a bit, but I eventually landed on a new beginning that really connected with readers and was able to find a way to still keep elements of the previous beginning. Much like with editing, it took some distance so I could return to the manuscript with fresh eyes to see how much the new beginning benefited the story overall.
Tarnished is the first novel in The Elder Tree Trilogy. Could we get a few hints of what might be next for Ailith and Caitriona in the upcoming books?
The second novel in the trilogy, Diminished, releases just under seven months after Tarnished! I am so excited for Diminished to release. It’s a hard book and very emotional, but I’m so abundantly proud of it. I poured myself into that book and I’m happy with how it’s come together.
After all that happens in Tarnished, we’re faced with a kingdom that’s turned queendom and rules that were applied under two sovereigns suddenly upturned. There’s reactions from people who find fault in these changes, but also a looming threat from an unknown force (well, it quickly becomes known). The characters are also still dealing with the fallout from Tarnished itself, which presents as mostly mental struggles. I also introduce a fourth POV from a character many people have mixed feelings of when she’s present in Tarnished, so it’s interesting seeing how people react to her presence. I always tell people, this book is going to put you through it, but the trilogy will end on a happy note. You have to go through the darkness to see the stars, right?
Have any shows, movies, books, or games not already mentioned influenced your own work at all?
Ladyhawke and Critical Role are big influences for Tarnished. Ladyhawke isn’t an incredibly well-known film but it should be. From the 80’s, it has such a wonderful love story and a deeply 80’s soundtrack. I sought out that type of vibe in Tarnished–this grand push for the love interests to save each other amongst impossible odds. Critical Role is also deeply inspiring due to the epicness of the stories that are portrayed, as well as the unique characters. I appreciate that you can have a wide range of fantasy within the show and characters both. The creatures that are fought, in particular, are inspiring whether for The Elder Tree Trilogy or other manuscripts I’m writing that fall into the genres of urban and dark fantasies.
If you could give any advice to authors set to make their debut, what would it be?
Take your time and don’t rush to publication. I say this from the perspective of someone who has worked as both a writing tutor and editor, and have studied the structure of literature extensively. It can be applied to just about any creative job: take your time. Rushing through your creative process will guarantee mistakes and so often I see a piece of work that has amazing bones, but it isn’t executed well because it’s rushed. It’s a disservice to you as a writer, who came up with this amazing idea, and the story itself, which deserves to be told in the best light. You need space from your work and yourself because as creatives, we are so close to our work it’s nearly impossible to catch all of the errors that can and do appear. Gaining distance allows us to forget it a little and pull us out of that place. Taking your time also applies to going through alpha and beta reader feedback, or editorial comments. I’ve always advised to read what feedback is given to you then do nothing. Just close the document and step away for at least a day before you return and begin to figure out what to do with the advice given. Our human instinct is to immediately have an emotional reaction to feedback, it’s entirely normal, but when in that place we will at times not see the genuine help the feedback provides. So having a little space, taking a little time, will help so you can really absorb the feedback and polish your book to the shining gem it deserves to be.
We all need a break from writing every now and again, too! How do you enjoy your spare time and ensure you remain creative?
I have a small child so we often will go on little adventures together. We have “dates” where, on days he doesn’t have school, we go to the book store and get a drink and cookie. Together we just sit and snack and I adore this time because he often shares with me his tightly kept secrets.
When I’m not actively writing, I’m always reading a book, and during those “off” times I’ll dabble in crafts, too. I like to crochet and I love embroidery–specifically of animals and birds. When the weather is nice, I’m joyfully outside in it. It’s soothing to my soul. I also adore baking; while I’m not science or math inclined, baking to me is a type of science that makes sense. I adore finding new recipes and just giving it a go. I love hosting as well; but specifically to do so in a way that feels magical. If the dessert or cheese board I’m serving doesn’t give you the vibe that you’ve stumbled upon a fairy gathering, what’s the point?
We couldn't agree more!
Our podcast focuses on media we’re currently loving. Are there any books, shows, movies, or games you’re enjoying at the moment? Any recommendations for our audience? Bonus points if it includes sapphics!
We just wrapped up watching the newest season of Vox Machina which is always a delight to me; I really adore the representation that the show has with its queernormative world. It is not kid friendly, but it cracks me up and also leaves my heart yearning for more. I’m also pleasure reading whenever I’m between edits and have really adored Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood, This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinka (both books are queer and have something to do with water, which is funny because so does the next two books in my own trilogy), and I’m actively alpha reading a book from Kassidy Coursey’s (currently untitled) demon trilogy (the first novel, Fallen’s First, comes out in September 2025!)
About the Author
Erica Rose Eberhart grew up in the Catskills region and spent many formative years in both Eastern Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia. She now resides with her family and cat in the Finger Lakes region of New York. A technical editor by trade, she has a master’s degree in English and Creative Writing. Erica has written stories since she was able to write sentences and has found comfort in fantasy her entire life, whether by consuming fantastical stories or creating her own. Beside the comfort of books, Erica adores nature walks, crocheting, embroidery, cats, baking and autumn. You can follow her many adventures on social media @ericaroseeberhart. Tarnished is her first published novel. Follow her journey on ericaroseeberhart.com.
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