On Naming a Flower That Doesn't Exist (Yet)
Where the word "sorrowroot" came from, and why it had to be a flower and not a sword.
Read the PostThe Windsown Trilogy · Book One
Sorrowroot
“What you seek is seeking you.” — Rumi
A captive girl who speaks to growing things. The soldier sent to kill her father and deliver her to an empire built on stolen truth. Between them: a garden that remembers everything, a flower for wounds of the heart, and a love neither one of them was given permission to want.
Through the Valley
The Hunt
Sent to Kill, Ordered to Capture
Commander Varick was given his orders and no room for mercy. He has never failed a mission. Livia might be the first thing he can't complete one for.
The Garden
A World That Remembers Everything
Sopatra's living library holds magic older than memory, and a girl who has never raised a hand against another living thing. Until now.
The Lie
A Truth Worth Burning an Empire For
The Lost Book holds a history the Maitreyan Royals buried generations ago. Whoever reads it first decides who gets to remember.
The Author
Lesley Hanson
Lesley Hanson writes romantasy from a quiet corner of Ohio, drawn to stories that walk through the valley — because that's where the flowers grow. Sorrowroot is her debut novel and the first book in The Windsown Trilogy.
Read the Full StoryThe Heart of the Story
The Maiden
Livia
Raised in a sealed paradise, she has never raised a hand against another living thing. Gardens lean toward her when she passes. Animals follow her home. She believes the heart cannot be deceived — right up until the day her whole world burns down around her.
The Warrior
Varick
The empire's finest commander, bound by an oath that leaves no room for mercy. He was sent to end her world and deliver her like a spoil of war. Nothing in his orders said anything about what to do if she saved his life.
From the Writing Desk
Building Sopatra: A World That Forgets
Notes on world-building a paradise designed to keep its people from remembering who they are.
Read the PostWhy I Write Villains You Fall For
On writing a commander like Varick, and the difference between redemption and permission.
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