From last week’s post:
I hope to write here soon about Tea & Alchemy by Sharon Lynn Fisher. Another Shane East performance with Marisa Calin (they also narrate Kerri Maniscalco’s Prince of Sin series–“Think Bridgerton in Hell”–also among my favorites, see 31. Throne of Nighmares), this slow burn, low spice, heartwarming love story between a reclusive, benevolent ‘alchemist’ and a budding tea leaf reader points to all the ways we humans reject and harm one another by default, and how we can choose openness, generosity, kindness, and compassion to overcome those destructive tendencies and make a better world. I have connected with Sharon Lynn Fisher herself, and hope to interview her about the story’s inception and evolution, and what she wishes for the characters and us readers from it.
Thank you, Ms. Fisher, for your thoughtful and generous engagement with my questions! I listened to Tea & Alchemy again this past week, and ‘cozy gothic’ is the perfect description for this story. I love when Harker and Mina sit together thinking, exchanging, and connecting as they unravel dark, mysterious happenings in their community–that emotional connection born of collaborative, intellectual problem solving tickles something for me. That they each see in the other a worthy humanity beyond society’s expectations and stereotypes gives me hope that we can all practice this open, empathic, kind, and generous approach to our fellow humans. The love that grows between them through honesty, vulnerability, and each wanting to protect and care for the other, further lifts and deepens the romantic energy of this story.
*See my own comments in response to Ms. Fisher’s answers below. I’m so grateful for this little interaction! Maybe I’ll be able to do this again with another author; I’ll start a list now.
1. What was most meaningful to you about this story–its inception, emergence, development, evolution, and publication?
I think first it’s that I’ve always wanted to write a vampire novel, but I never very seriously entertained the idea because I wasn’t sure how I could make it feel fresh. Then one day it struck me that simply framing it in my own voice and brand would result in a unique story.* A cozy vampire tale packaged in folklore, cottage witch vibes, and Victorian themes. And it meant the world to me that my publisher believed in me enough to let me have a go at it!
I’m also a huge Daphne Du Maurier fan and have for a long time wanted to set a book in Cornwall. When I visited there a few years ago, Roche Rock struck me as the perfect setting, and its history and gothic broodiness contributed so much to the story’s development.
2. What thread, if any, wends through your writing? Or, how would a reader recognize your work from its nature?
I’ve always loved including fairy and folklore, cozy elements, and gothic drama. And below the surface of that, I find it so interesting to use the Victorian setting to show women who were very much constrained by society growing into their strength, voice, and truth. And part of that comes through the romance, because my male main characters always support and encourage this growth.**
In the past I have written bigger stories, including a fairly epic fae series set in Victorian Ireland (The Faery Rehistory). But I am very much enjoying this smaller-story niche, and how it allows me to really focus on character.
3. What empathy do you feel for the various characters in this story? What are your greatest wishes for them?
The women in my stories often start out doubting themselves, and not truly understanding that their gifts are worthy and needed in the world. I have grappled with this myself in my writing career. I have felt at times that I’m not good enough, or that it’s no more than a self-indulgent hobby. As my books have found more readers, I’ve begun to see how much stories can mean to people, and how people can be comforted and even healed by them. As a reader myself, I know this, of course! But imposter syndrome can really mess with your head.
I write love stories, so of course I wish my female main characters to find men who see them and value them and adore them. Men who help heal them and whom they help heal in return. But I also wish them to find purpose in life and learn to believe in themselves.
Reading back over this, I realize I slightly misread the question and answered more generally, but I think it does apply to Tea & Alchemy. Also, that book in particular was about healing, and what I wished for both Mina and Harker was for their love to be a balm for their deep pain, and to move them both out of their “stuckness.”***
4. What do you most want to share about this story; what do you wish most for readers/listeners to get from it? 5. Anything else you’d love to share about this story?
I think only that it was a joy writing it. Creating stories always begins as a curiosity journey for me. I do a lot of research, and finding little bits that help me define my characters (like Harker’s alchemical theory about vampires) is akin to finding buried treasure. For my readers, I hope the stories will pique their curiosity, too. I hope they will feel they’ve gone on a worthwhile journey. One that reminded them to believe in themselves, to be their own champions, and to love. And especially at this time, one that brings comfort. That feels like a hug.xo
Sharon Lynn Fisher
TEA & ALCHEMY
SALT & BROOM
GRIMM CURIOSITIES
sharonlynnfisher.com
instagram.com/sharonlynnfisherauthor
substack.com/@sharonlynnfisher
*OH I feel this. As a conventionally trained internist I have often felt constrained and unremarkable in my medical practice from an early stage. Every time I have allowed myself authentic expression, without sacrificing professionalism, the rewards are clear and fulfilling: deeper understanding and connection with patients, and broader learning and reinforcement that everything is connected and we are healthiest when our relationships thrive.
**I think this is something I also appreciate about historical romance, and it applies now. Society today still sets implicit expectations and norms for both genders, and navigating them as mutual allies makes it easier for us all. Regency and Victorian romance heroes use their money and influence to validate and elevate their heroines’ talents, voices, and contributions. Isn’t this what we all wish for modern day men in power to do for women and other marginalilzed groups? The active, loving allyship in these stories gives me hope.
***YES! Both main characters bear their deep, respective loneliness with courage and some stoicism, and find their ways to each other similarly. The cautious yet compelling emergence of their abiding love speaks, to me, of their intuitive mutual empathy and understanding of that innate human need for connection, something that they both long for but had all but lost hope of finding. That they find it in each other is just the sweetest gratification.
xo Yes, a hug, definitely. Thank you so much.
Healing Through Connection 