Soultaming the Serpent

Take a look at more information about my debut novel and where you can get a copy of it!

If you came to find me due to my debut novel and previous substack all about this book, the information below won’t be anything new to you. But for those of you who are new here, Soultaming the Serpent is not only my debut novel, but my introduction on this amazing platform.

The first chapter of Soultaming the Serpent is currently available to read here for free and the rest of it can be found through multiple retailers.

Blurb | Future plans and recent updates | Meet the characters |
What others have said | About the derby

---

Welcome

Genre: fantasy, romance, LGBT+

Content warnings: fantasy-typical violence, blood, snakes, consent issues, death.

Status: published under PM Hammond, changed author name to Tar Atore, currently finishing up print version designs

Jun was barely ten years old when the last dragon died.

Half a century later and Jun still dreams of the rain that hasn’t fallen since. Her mundane life takes a turn when she encounters Aurel, who she suspects may be the one that holds the key to restoring balance and is destined to find the elusive serpent from the prophecy. 

Joined by Casey, Jun’s closest friend and the village brewer, the three embark on a journey to unravel the prophecy's intricacies, figure out what the serpent's role truly is, and why the dragon has to die, not knowing they are being watched. 

Follow our trio as Jun discovers a love of adventure, Casey’s devotion takes an unexpected turn, Aurel spills his secrets like dust in the sand, and the three of them discover the true power of their bond. 

Or, if you’re not ready yet, read the first chapter here or be special and read the first three chapters on the Yoru app!

---

Future plans and updates

I very briefly sharing my future plans for this story in another place, but I want to drop off a summary here with links to relevant posts that talk about it in more detail.

For now, I have 2 main plans for this novel:

1. Write a reader magnet focused on one of my minor characters mentioned briefly in the book. To learn more about who and why, take a look at the characters or grab your copy of the book! The more I think about it, the less I actually want to write this story <.<

2. Create a print version (and all the promos that go around that) which will include a different cover, interior graphics, and probably the reader magnet mentioned above as a bonus scene.

   1. Cover is done!

   2. Chapter start graphics are done!

   3. First interior graphic is done (it’s the cover as an outline)

   4. Last interior graphic is being fixed

   5. Got ideas for extras for giveaway boxes (bookmarks with epub cover graphic, stickers from epic RienK-T, maybe a mini poster of the outline graphic for colouring? paint-by-number style?)

Here are more updates on those:

---

Meet the characters

Jun Weaver. Jun is actually looking forward to her 60th birthday even if that means another year of being ridiculed for being single and having no family. All her life, Jun has wanted to do something but never had the motivation, so she spends her time weaving and increasing her collection of useless knick-knacks from travelling merchants.

Aurel. The suspected Chosen One, Aurel has the appearance of the famed northerners with pale silver hair, unnaturally purple eyes, and even paler skin that burns too quickly. He is easily offended and even more easily won over, with a petulant personality that leaves a lot to be desired. If only he wasn't so pretty.

Casey Brewer. Casey is the village brewer and owner of the only tavern, making him the richest one in the village. If only that meant something. He is known to fall in love easily and is a romantic at heart. Sadly, he is already twice widowed with four children and has had his eyes on Jun for the past decade or so with no reward.

If you want to learn even more about them, including their origins, (and see amazing fan art of them!) and the rest of the prominent characters in the book, make sure to check out:

---

Want some opinions?

If you’re not ready to dive into this story just yet, here are what others have said about it so far! Maybe some of these reviews will change your mind!

“Soultaming the Serpent surprised me at every turn, I was not expecting the plot twists that PM so masterfully weaved through their prose. The characters were delightful, the action was purposeful and driven, I was hooked from the first page on. A lovely read, I might have cried a little at the end.”—Anonymous

“Soultaming the Serpent is one of those stories that makes you want to throw the book across the room for all the right reasons. It's such a good story, such a touching story, with memorable and well-rounded characters. Fantastic. I truly appreciate the (very well done) ace-aro rep and twist on the chosen one trope.”—Anonymous

“I really loved the cast of this story: Jun is delightfully cantankerous and feels very vivid and lifelike. Aurel is wonderfully prickly. Together they have a delightful clash of personalities that makes me think of Diana Wynne Jones a little bit, and if anything, I wanted that to evolve more as I was reading—though obviously with the twist that Aurel is the Serpent, it takes a big pivot at the midpoint.”—M Daniel McDowell

You can see more reviews and add your own on Amazon, Goodreads, and pretty much any platform where the book is available!

---

4 months of hard work

Okay, truth be told, it wasn’t exactly four months for me. I started this back in Jun and then at the beginning of Sep I’ve done very little other than contact people and bug them for ARCs and reviews and do promos online.

Here are a few other thoughts from both beta readers and ARCs:

Fellow older-MC author rated this book five stars on Goodreads and said:

This book was traumatizing for all the right reasons. Immersive, touching, heartbreaking, heartwarming, unique, engaging. I literally could not put it down except when I needed to sleep.

First ever review that came in from an ARC reader and a rating of 5 stars said:

I received this book as an arc. I thought this adventure was amazing! From beginning to end, it had so many different emotions. I loved how all the characters felt love in different ways. It seems as though Love will conquer all!

A fellow dragon author also ranked it 5 stars and created an entire beautiful playlist with epic music (here is only a part of their review):

I went into this book thinking I would hear their song Dream Chasers when I read Jun's tale as she stepped outside of the village for the first time. That was too heavy of a tone for what happened. She was full of energy and life that I wanted to run along side with her. Jun is amazing, she knows what she wants and does not care what a prophecy says. Once she set her mind to anything, she does it and makes sure it happens.

And one of the best compliments I’ve gotten came from a beta reader who said:

The story itself feels highly original, even as it is reminiscent of classics like Howl’s Moving Castle.

You can take a look at the ratings I currently have up on Goodreads (and throw in your own once you read it)

And don’t forget to get your copy and support indie authors!

---

About the derby

I feel like I’ve done nothing but talk about this derby for months now (which is true) and so, instead of telling you even more about it, I’m going to direct you to a post where I grabbed all derby-related posts from my old publication, cleaned them a bit, and put them in one place.