Princess Awakening

Tower of Sand

One day is all Princess Aurelie has left….

In just one day, she needs to survive her curse and get out of her tower so she can become the leader of her people. So the game begins, and the stakes increase as each new character comes into play, the nobility of the kingdom vying for power or influence as they move in and out of the tower, while the door always remains shut to the princess. It is only through the search for truth and the revelation of her own power that Aurelie will find the keys that could finally unlock that door—and her destiny. But first, she must decide: Is she willing to pay the price?

This fairy tale retelling, set in Medieval France, is the beginning of a gripping four-part saga in which love and self-liberation are more powerful than any prison of sand or spell or stone.

This book was put together with an incredible and dedicated team

L.A. Soria

Writer

Hello! I’m the writer of Princess Awakening. Here’s what you need to know:

First of all, I’m not Black, and I wrote a book about a Black princess, and in every way, I believe in that choice. This is a fairy tale retelling with a diverse cast—it’s a universal story about an archetypal character, and there’s no reason that the protagonist should be one skin color or another. But there is every reason, in our times, that a Black princess should be the protagonist of a book written for everyone.

I’m an autistic, AFAB, androgynous-identifying person, and my race is white and Alutiiq. I started my career as an actor, training with the infamous, unknown Ilkhom Theater in Uzbekistan, and I pursued acting until chronic illness dragged me away from the broke, hungry life of the stage. 
I then recklessly pivoted to the broke, hungry life of journalism and novel writing, along with housekeeping and bartending. I’m married to a brilliant writer and filmmaker, Nathaniel Soria, and we have a kid together. In every way, I believe and hope in the future. But we have to fight for it. In my case, I write for it. I write for the future I want to see.

Many of the people I look up to are Black women, including Kamala Harris, Nnedi Okorafor, and my friend and former roommate, Ebony Vines, a writer, director and social-justice prophet of our times. Black women are already leading many of the great causes, the artistic and social justice happenings of this age. It’s time to listen. And, in the stories we consume and share, it’s time to take for granted that a Black woman should play the lead.

In writing this book, I worked hard to get it right. I hired a sensitivity consultant. I researched and asked questions. And, finally, I wrote from my heart.

With love,

L.A. Soria