A Goodreads user asked Laura Engelhardt:

What was your inspiration for writing the Sirens Unbound Series?

Laura Engelhardt Hi Mark, what a fun question! It all started with Mira and the ethics of lying. There are a few fantasy series where the main character gets whisked into another world, having to leave their families behind and start over. Yes, they get amazing magical powers in this new world, but they've had to leave their children behind. These characters have never felt real or true to me. As a reader, I've found the parts where they whine about their lost families a little boring or have felt they seemed to get over the trauma a bit too quickly. I wanted to see if I could draw up a more realistic character who wasn't annoying :)

Here, Mira is able to keep her family post-transformation but is forced to lie to them. I love that kind of tension. Can you have a real relationship when you are disguising so much of yourself? Is it ethical?

I actually wrote maybe 10,000 words about a family gathering to explore this theme. In an early edit round, I wound up cutting it because it didn't move the story forward. Still, Mira was my inspiration & while I don't think she's a favorite character for most of my readers, I have a soft spot for her!

Stay well,
Laura

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