Adjunct Professor Frankie Mallis M.A. ‘09 Publishes Fantasy Romance Novel
Adjunct English Professor and Alumna Frankie Mallis M.A. ‘09 self-published her first fantasy romance novel, Daughter of the Drowned Empire, in February.
“I’ve always wanted to write a book; I knew in my heart that was the end goal, but I didn’t get the idea for this book until my junior year of college,” said Mallis. “I signed with a literary agent right after I finished up my master’s, but nothing ever got off the ground. I knew I was capable of telling this story well, but no one wanted to buy it because we didn’t know how to market it. After a few years of trying and failing to sell my book, I decided to start looking into self-publishing.”
Once the pandemic hit, it was the perfect opportunity for Mallis to buckle down and start understanding the process of self publication. “I had a taste of what the publishing world was like for almost 10 years now, I knew what the processes were, I just needed to take matters into my own hands.”
After its publication, Mallis also announced the title of the next book in the series, Guardian of the Drowned Empire.
When asked what advice she would give to aspiring writers, Mallis said, “If you’re going to do this, you need to have this absolute faith in the story, and trust that it needs to exist in the best way possible. You need to believe your story deserves to be out there, and you are the right person to tell the story.”
To learn more about her process and hear a reading of the book, Sigma Tau Delta is hosting an Author Visit with Mallis on Friday March 11, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Rose and Mirror Rooms at Grey Towers Castle. The event will include a book signing, a reading, a discussion about the book itself, and a Q&A featuring world building and publishing for interested young writers. Limited copies will be available for purchase, Sigma Tau Delta will run a raffle during the event to select three attendees who will win a free copy of Daughter of the Drowned Empire.
Purchase Daughter of the Drowned Empire:
