First featured on Empress Tea, Amber’s short story about Niamh has evolved into a published novella. Her thoughts on ‘The Becoming’ and where to find it.
When asked what The Becoming is about, I usually say ‘It’s the story of a woman in a humiliating marriage, who meets a mysterious man who offers her the confidence to escape.” Or something like that. It’s hard to summarize something you’ve written. I feel like I’m cheating potential readers from really understanding what I hope their take away from this book is.
Niamh (Neev) is in a humiliating marriage. She does meet a mysterious man. He does introduce her to the idea of escape. But The Becoming is really a story about choices and consequences, with some deliciously sexy bits in between. It’s the story of a girl with no power who begins to find her strength. A person born into a time where she has few choices, discovering that she does, in fact, have a choice.
Niamh’s husband beats her. He cages her in their large estate and slowly, over time, takes away any support she had, leaving her in isolation. He is hungry for power and drains his wife of any she might have had. Niamh has no other path to follow, but his. And so she suffers each blow, each restriction, each shameful moment taking solace in believing that this is her lot in life.
She sees her husband for the monster that tastes her blood for pleasure, that beats her into submission when she steps outside of his expectations and strives to be the dutiful wife he wants. When Caleb enters the story, he has to win her trust, to help her remember that she does have options, that she doesn’t need to stay where she is. To go against everything society, along with her husband, has told her.
The reader will read Niamh’s story quickly. Devouring it similarly to the passion she and Caleb share. It is hot, it is sexy, but it is so much more. Niamh’s growth in this story is only the beginning. This is the preface to her biggest adventure. This is a key moment in her life that unlocks a future full of opportunity, growth and over time, the development of her true self.
The Becoming began as a story in parts for Empress Tea. With the editing expertise of fellow Empress, Myranda, I was able to take my eleven-part story and turn it into a novella. With new details, chapters and sizzling story lines, The Becoming has transformed into something I’m proud to share with the Empress readers.
To accent the story line, Christopher Pew has created four illustrations which capture key moments in Niamh’s story. When I decided I wanted to include illustrations in this novella, I couldn’t have imagined working with any other artist. Chris’s work is so beautifully dark, coupling with the image I have of Niamh’s life so wonderfully.
To see more of Christopher Pew’s work: https://www.christopherpew.com
To purchase your copy of The Becoming
Ebook: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/807366
World wide: https://www.bookdepository.com/search?searchTerm=The+Becoming+by+Lilith+thorn&search=Find+book
Signed copies: https://www.boutique130.com/product-page/the-becoming-by-lilith-thorn