A launch party for local author Katrina Mae Leuzinger’s debut novel, The Fairy Thief, will be held on March 19 at 3 p.m. at Front Porch Café in Nags Head. Prior to the party, Leuzinger and her pack of pixies will be marching in the Kelly’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The launch party will include a fairy-themed latte crafted by the folks at Front Porch and a fairy photo booth. Leuzinger will be there, costumed as the fairy queen for a short reading from the novel and book signing.
The book may be set in Los Angeles, but it owes its origins to the Outer Banks. Leuzinger wrote most of it while sitting in coffee shops like Front Porch, Waverider, and Morning View Coffee. In the summer, she would get up at dawn to write while perched in the empty lifeguard stands and watching the sun rise over the ocean. The protagonist of the novel, Petra, is a hotel manager, and Leuzinger’s own experience as a hotel manager at Comfort Inn Nags Head informed much of the book – particularly the customer horror stories.
The Fairy Thief’s road to publication was a rocky one. The first publisher Leuzinger found would only accept the novel if Leuzinger agreed to edit out the LGBTQ+ characters, which she refused. The second publisher had to drop Leuzinger’s contract with the book half-finished due to unforeseen medical issues. Leuzinger was diagnosed with chronic pain 2 years ago, and her own health issues delayed the launch further. Now The Fairy Thief is finally being released under the imprint Loblolly Press, LLC, Leuzinger’s newly formed publishing house.
Leuzinger got her start as a ghost writer for mass market romance novels, where she got a little tired of being asked to write the same damsel in distress protagonist and alpha male romantic hero. She wrote The Fairy Thief with the goal of subverting those expectations, with a protagonist who usually rescues herself and a love interest who likes butterflies and all things that sparkle.
The Fairy Thief is currently available to preorder through Leuzinger’s website (www.KatrinaMaeLeuzinger.com), Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.
Leuzinger’s other upcoming appearances include the Eastern North Carolina Renaissance Faire (Kinston, NC 4/22-23), The Virginia Renaissance Faire (Spotsylvania, VA 5/27-28), and Awesome Con (Washington D.C. 6/16-18)