Misleading Title

The title of The Musician and the Monster is very slightly misleading. Both main characters, Ángel and Oberon, are musicians. In retrospect, this decision seems unwise, because I am not a musician, and never have been.

Oh, I’ve plinked around a bit on the guitar. I know what a key change sounds like when it’s happening, and I recognize a ¾ time signature when I hear one.

But I can’t read music, know nothing about music theory, and certainly can’t sing. An actual musician approaches music differently than a person who just appreciates it. I’ve attempted to convey that in The Musician and the Monster.

The thing is, the main conflict of the book is one of communication. Ángel and Oberon are quite literally from different worlds. Their cultures have entirely different ways of communicating, and so in the first half of the book they misunderstand one another constantly. They have to find a bridge across the chasm that lies between them.

Their bridge is music, of course: something that they both love more than anything. Something that they’re both willing to take risks for.

Because, along with communication, The Musician and the Monster is about overcoming fear. Both Ángel and Oberon are afraid. Another way that the title is a little misleading is that neither character is a monster: but they’ve both been treated as though they were.

About the Book

Hatred is a spell only true love can break.

Ángel Cruz is a dedicated session musician, until loyalty to his estranged family forces him to work for Oberon: the feared and hated envoy from the Otherworld. Overnight, Ángel is taken from his life, his friends, his work, and trapped in a hideous mansion in the middle of nowhere, under constant surveillance, and with only the frightening fae for company.

Oberon’s poor understanding of humans combined with Ángel’s resentment and loneliness threaten to cause real harm to the pair. Then a long winter together in the mansion unites them in their love of music. Slowly, Ángel’s anger thaws, and he begins to realize that Oberon feels alone too.

Gradually, these two souls from different worlds form a connection like none other. But hate and prejudice are powerful things, and it’ll take all the magic of their love to stop the wider world from forcing them apart.

Now available from Riptide Publishing!

Jenya Keefe was born in the South. She has an advanced degree in European history, and has spent much of her life working the kinds of jobs a history degree qualifies you for: gift shop employee, lumber grader, classifieds clerk, hot glass artist. She currently lives in the Seattle area, where she works at a library. She has always written stories.

Website: www.jenyakeefe.com

Twitter: @JenyaKeefe

To celebrate this release, Jenya is giving away a $15 gift card to Powell’s City of Books! Powell’s is an independent bookseller located in Portland, but those not in Portland can still shop online. Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on October 4, 2019. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!