What is the title of your latest release?
THE BROKEN EDGE OF THE WORLD
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Sylvie is obsessed with beauty. When she ends up working a summer job at a preserve in the middle of the Great Plains, she finds herself caught between two boys, one who is beautiful but mysterious - he only appears at night and won’t tell her his name - and the other, Jack, who is so strange-looking that the folks at the preserve cruelly call him the Grovelhog, but he is gentle and kind and alluring. Sylvie has OCD - based on my own experiences - and her obsession with beauty leads her down a dark path, where she will discover that she has more power than she knows, but whether it’s for good or evil is, it’s undetermined. THE BROKEN EDGE OF THE WORLD is a gender-flipped fairytale - complicated girl, nurturing boy - that’s based on a Brothers Grimm fable. It explores what happens when the lure of beauty and the power of love clash.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
When I first moved to Nebraska from Seattle, I thought it was incredibly ugly and boring. I was devastated by the flat landscape, by the stretches of brown grass that seemed dead and empty. I’ve come to understand that the beauty of the prairie is subtle and profound. I knew I wanted my main character to discover the beauty of the prairie in the same way I did.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely! She’s cool and weird, the best kind of person.
What are three words that describe your hero?
Gentle, kind, mysterious.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned a ton about foraging, edible plants, medicinal plants, and how to make root beer!
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit as I go a little, but the bulk of editing happens after writing the first draft.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Butter!
Describe your writing space/office!
In the last couple years, I finally got my first space that I could use for my own office. I painted it a creamy white with a honey undertone and put up some beautiful spring green wallpaper on one wall. I knew I wanted a drafting style table as my desk but those are super expensive, so I actually bought a small Ikea dining table as my desk. I have a shelf for my own books and two big bookshelves for all the other books. A few paintings, a few pictures of my loved ones. A candle is nice too!
Who is an author you admire?
I love Tana French, she writes so beautifully and yet keeps the plot moving really effectively.
Is there a book that changed your life?
The Ramona Quimby books made me want to be a writer. I love the way Beverly Clearly writes Ramona’s interior life; it’s so eloquent but so true to being a kid.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was at the park with my youngest son. We were super tired, I didn’t even bother to change out of pajamas. I’m pretty sure we had caught a frog and I was holding it in my hands when my agent called with the news. It was a great day!
What’s your favorite genre to read?
I love a little bit of everything but the last few years I’ve been reading a lot of mysteries.
What’s your favorite movie?
Impossible! Maybe Interstellar.
What is your favorite season?
Spring and Fall. I can’t choose one!
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I love to sleep in, and lay around reading a book all day, and then go out to a nice dinner with my family. Bonus points if I have presents to open!
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I just watched Obsession. Everybody loves it, and I did too!
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I’ve been eating a lot of Chinese food lately.
What do you do when you have free time?
Probably nap, if I’m being honest.
What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on a middle grade book about a girl who is kidnapped by her dad but she thinks they’re just on an extended summer camping trip, and she wonders why she’s not allowed to call her mom.
Their love is destined, but can it survive her compulsion for beauty? Haunting and steamy, this spellbinding fantasy romance will enthrall you with its alluring concoction of traditional Grimm's and modern thrills.
Sylvie has taken a summer job at a remote and alluring prairie preserve in the middle of the Great Plains. It’s a much-needed escape—from her sadness, from her cruelly distant father, and maybe even from herself: She longs to be free of the intrusive, obsessive thoughts that are her constant burden.
Soon, she finds herself drawn to a stunning shepherd boy and can’t stop herself from going to him at night, even though she’s been warned to keep away. During the day, though, she begins to develop a friendship with another boy, a strange-looking and strangely gentle coworker named Jack . . . and gradually to uncover the mysteries of this place that feels more like home than anyplace has before it.
But those mysteries include a powerful curse, and when she uncovers the truth of it, she becomes recklessly determined to break it—to free the one trapped in its spell. She fails to consider the possibility that her actions could break much more than just the curse, and that some burdens demand to be borne.
Fantasy Urban | Young Adult Fantasy | Paranormal [ Rocky Pond Books, On Sale: July 14, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9780593859179 / eISBN: 9780593859186 ]
Alena Bruzas grew up in Seattle and currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, with her family. She is the author of the acclaimed novel Ever Since, and she hopes her writing will find the people who need it most. When she's not writing, Alena serves on the board for Ten Thousand Villages, Lincoln. She also occasionally cooks dinner, worries about commas, and wanders the prairie.
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