Ashley Anglin and Undiscovered
Author Ashley Anglin and her novel Undiscovered with an Ardbeg “Wee Beastie” Five Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whiskey
About the Book: Sometimes truth is stranger than folktales.
Bilingualism and plate tectonics were the only kinds of shapeshifting Arden Araujo’s troubled geoscientist dad prepared her for. But it turns out, the outlandish prediction that wrecked his career–a devastating North Sea tsunami–might not be the unlikeliest truth he took to his grave.
In the 2097 tsunami’s aftermath, environmental first responder Arden expects her mission in hard-hit northeast Scotland to involve the usual grunt work, maybe a little freediving if she’s lucky. Instead, she stumbles upon a critically endangered species of Orkney and Shetland legend, hiding in plain sight among the refugees.
They trust that she can help restore their kind, despite storms, aftershocks, and policy decisions way beyond her pay grade. Increasingly at home on the shores of their life-giving sea, she may have found her calling; true love might not be a mere children’s story either. Yet the deeper she’s immersed in their tale, the less sure she feels that she’s the right hero to protect the hidden treasure of their existence.
UNDISCOVERED is a unique sci-fi/fantasy fusion: climate fiction, hopeful fabulism, and a feminist hero’s journey, told in lyrical prose (and occasional Spanglish).
About the Beverage: Ashley recommends pairing her novel with an Ardbeg “Wee Beastie” Five-Year-Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whiskey because “The story takes place primarily in Scotland. In one favorite scene of mine, two main characters share a dram of schmancy 25-year Islay single malt, which the protagonist (a newcomer) describes as “heady and really smoky.” Although I didn’t specify the brand on the page, I do imagine it as Ardbeg… because her name is Arden, and these sorts of magical connections seem to find her.
Since Wee Beastie is aged just five years, it’s intense and rough around the edges, like Arden’s unfolding relationship amid the aftermath of a natural disaster. Besides ticking the really(!) smoky box, the taste has been described as wild or untamed (like the remote island shores of the setting), with salty notes of seaweed/sea spray/rock pools, as well as espresso, another of Arden’s signature drinks. I also love that the Scotch Whisky industry currently leads the way in all of Britain with its pledge to go net-zero in carbon emissions by 2040; this pairs extra wonderfully with my hopeful climate fiction. As for the actual “wee beastie” in the book… you’ll have to read it to find out more about them!”
About the Author: The first real novel Ashley Bevilacqua Anglin read, at age 6ish, was The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Never looking back, she’s still hanging out with valiant female protagonists at the intersection of contemporary fantasy, climate fiction, and the spiritual. Her passion for storytelling led her to a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Linguistics. Beyond Undiscovered, her short stories and poetry have appeared in Panthology, also from Shadow Spark Publishing; in Everything Change, Vol. I (as runner-up in ASU Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative’s Climate Fiction Short Story Contest); and online in Miniskirt, Minison, Full Mood, and Tree and Stone magazines.
Ashley lives with her Jamerican family in Virginia, where she is a longtime community college professor of Italian and Spanish. You can find her on Twitter @dalyashleydrH2o, and her previous work (including other glimpses of the Undiscovered world) at https://linktr.ee/ashleyb.anglin.
UNDISCOVERED is available in Kindle or paperback format
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