elixir chronicles – Katie L. Carroll

I wasn’t planning on bringing attention to the fact that abortion plays an important role in my latest young adult fantasy novel ELIXIR SAVED. It’s a little bit of a spoiler for one of the storylines, but it also felt like bringing attention to it would come off as me taking a controversial topic and using it to market my own book, which is not my intent at all. So I was content to be confident in my choice to include the abortion because it was right for the character and the story, but I would let readers come across it organically.

Then the real-life stories started to get to me. Things like the vice president visiting places that call themselves women’s healthcare centers but are actually anti-abortion facilities that lie to women about healthcare (see “Mike Pence to visit women’s health clinic that falsely ties abortion to breast cancer” by Betsy Klein). There are the allegations that ICE has been forcing hysterectomies on people being held in their detention centers (see “Whistleblower Alleges ‘Medical Neglect,’ Questionable Hysterectomies of ICE Detainee” by Rachel Treisman). Then the news broke on Friday of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (see “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Champion of Gender Equality, Dies At 87” by Nina Totenberg).

All of this on top of years of states passing laws—some of which were later
overturned by the courts—that eroded access to birth control and reproductive
rights for women and people with uteruses.

I am firm in my belief that abortion is healthcare. Denying people who seek safe and affordable ways to manage their sexual health, including abortion, is denying them agency over their own bodies. It’s a tool of oppression that has been used against women throughout history and is more about control than it is about saving lives (see “Abolishing Abortion: The History of the Pro-Life Movement in America” by Jennifer L. Holland and “The Pill and the Women’s Liberation Movement”).

So when I was continuing to develop the matriarchal world in the second book of the Elixir Chronicles and an unwanted pregnancy became a storyline, there was no question about whether that character would have access to an abortion. I put a lot of thought into what her decision would be, but the access part was never an issue.

I also don’t think it’s inappropriate for birth control or abortion to be in a young adult novel. Some teens are having sex and certainly most of them are thinking about it. Some teens are on birth control. Some teens have had abortions. I hope any teens—or any person for that matter—who read ELIXIR SAVED feel safe using it as a starting off point to discuss and understand reproductive rights. They deserve to be educated about it.

So this is me using my blog as a platform to say that I support the right to choose for anyone with a uterus, and one of the ways I’m showing my support is by having abortion as a right in my young adult fantasy novel.

Leading up to the July 14, 2020 release of my latest YA fantasy ELIXIR SAVED, sequel to the award-winning ELIXIR BOUND, I’ll be posting teasers and tidbits on Tuesdays. Feel free to share!

Today’s teaser image is from chapter 19, which is from Devon’s point-of-view. His grandfather, Pop Pop, is explaining a little bit about how Mother Nature views the world of the Great Peninsula.

ELIXIR SAVED teaser text:

“Mother Nature sees and understands things we don’t. A perk of being
the mother of all things I suppose. Think of it like a mess of vines,
twining all around each other.” Pop Pop wove his fingers together in a
two-handed fist and held it out as if in offering. “It’s much more
complicated than you can imagine. Some vines began growing a
long time ago and have an end; others are just beginning and won’t
stop for some time. The Great Mother sees the connections of all
things past, present, and future. One simple act affects all others
that come after it.”

About ELIXIR SAVED:

Three lives saved by the Elixir; three lives bound by it.

The Elixir entwines the lives of those it touches. Once upon a time, Kylene, Zelenka, and Devon tasted it and escaped death. None were left without scars. Now, a shocking message from the Ice Queen–one of Mother Nature’s higher beings–sends each survivor on a quest. Kylene travels to the frozen depths of Blanchardwood, Zelenka heads back to the wilds of Faway Forest, and Devon journeys to a reclusive mountain temple. The three paths converge in a war against an ancient and tricky foe. And even the Elixir cannot save everyone. The fate of the world balances on the edge of a sword, and the outcome depends on whether the survivors will sacrifice their second chances.

Escape back into the world of the Great Peninsula in this much-anticipated sequel to the award-winning ELIXIR BOUND. Perfect for fans of the Thrones of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas.

Pre-order it from Bookshop, IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Book Depository, Kobo, Smashwords, or your favorite book retailer.