WILD NOT BROKEN BY SARAH KADES
Calgary Author Pens New Eco-Thriller
Sarah Kades invites readers to Re-Wild themselves in her latest novel.
Calgary author Sarah Kades has penned a new novel that combines romantic suspense with strong environmental themes. Wild Not Broken is the second book in her Hearthstone series, an action/adventure series with a strong romantic element that follows the various members of the Tanner family.
“I write novels with strong environmental themes and socially responsible narrative,” Kades, whose full name is Sarah Kades Graham, says. “I am passionate about culture, landscapes, knowledge accessibility, the arts and Momma Earth. I love writing books that remind us of the natural nature within each of us, a re-wilding to our true, authentic, best awesome self!”
Re-Wilding is also a term used to denote conservation efforts aimed at restoring and protecting natural processes and wilderness areas with an emphasis on humans stepping back and leaving an area to nature, as opposed to more active forms of natural resource management in our wild spaces.
For over two decades, Kades has explored both wild and tamed environments first as an archaeologist, and then as an Indigenous Knowledge study lead. From boreal forest beaver dams, to caribou on the tundra, communing with the natural world and exploring our place within it, is a lifelong quest.
The novel focuses on Lillian Morgan, a disgraced British war correspondent and Colt Tanner, a world champion bull rider with a career-ending injury whose time on the circuit is coming to a close. When Lillian is sent on a week-long trip to the Alberta wilderness to write up the marketing material for a new eco-inn, her local guide is a bull-riding—much younger— cowboy. Both sparks and bullets fly as a double-agent closes in, and dark family secrets are revealed.
Kades explores our relationship with the natural world, including where humans fit; leaning in when nature makes us feel uncomfortable; and the psychological and biophysical hazards of divorcing yourself from nature, while at the same time exploring the inherent responsibility required when interacting with the natural world. Animals, both tame and wild, as well as landscapes team up as characters in this reflective exploration of just where we fit in this incredible planet, we call home.
In our ever-divisive world, storytelling like this that embraces necessary dialogues and creates space to shift points of tension to deeper awareness, are a much-needed reprieve from the constant assault of opposing views must be conquered mentality. Colt, a meat-loving, bull-riding good ‘ol boy who has listened to the wisdom of his little sister is prepared when Lillian, a world-weary vegan who has lived through the darker sides of humanity busts into his life. For her part, Lillian grapples with trusting any man, especially one as earthy as Colt. With the unexpected help of the other, they run head-long into their demons—internal and otherwise.
“When we listen to the heartbeat of Momma Earth, each other, as well as ourselves,” Kades explains, “we navigate our life from a place of thoughtful respect, deep wisdom, and crucial understanding. Connecting with our natural selves, including our brilliant bodies, we are able to live at a deeper, more robust level than ever imagined.”
Kades is a two-time Energy Futures Lab storyteller and also writes socially relevant nonfiction. She teamed up with active-duty homicide detective, Dave Sweet, to write the unconventional nonfiction police memoir Skeletons in My Closet, Life Lessons from a Homicide Detective (Mischievous Books 2018). In 2019, she presented on the impact of using arts-based approaches to bridge the gap between the public and police at the British Society of Criminology Conference.
Wild Not Broken is the second book in the Hearthstone series, following the 2021 re-release of the author’s novel Kiss Me in the Rain. The books, which can be read as stand-alone novels or enjoyed together, are published by Stark Publishing. Mark Leslie Lefebvre, publisher says that when he first read Kiss Me in the Rain the unique blend of romance, action, and tension, stuck with him. “There’s also an underlying and consistently strong passion for the outdoors, and for the environment in Sarah’s novels,” Lefebvre says. “It’s subtle—there’s no blatant messaging to hit you over the head with, it’s just there. And yet it’s powerful in its subtlety. In fact, the landscape is just as much a character as the fascinating people and the situations and struggles they work their way through that keep you turning the pages. I’m honored that I get to help shepherd Sarah’s books into the world.”
Not an Easy Truce, the third book in the series, is coming June 2022 and is now available for pre-order.
Book club questions for Wild Not Broken can be downloaded from https://www.sarahkadesgraham.com/fiction-books/. The author is available for virtual book club meetings.
Wild Not Broken is available from multiple retailers and can be found at:
https://books2read.com/wildnotbroken.
