We chat with author Leslie Vedder about The Siren’s Kiss, which follows a cursed pirate and a fiery mermaid who must team up to take on the ancient gods in this swashbuckling YA tale of sapphic love and high seas adventure!
PLUS you can read an excerpt at the end of the interview!
Hi, Leslie! Welcome back! How have you been since we last spoke for the release of The Labyrinth of Souls last year?
It’s hard to believe that was only eighteen months ago! This was a busy year for me—my first two-book year, which was a wild experience, working on and promoting two very different projects at the same time. I feel lucky to have a wonderful wife and partner, who is my rock whenever I hit rough waters.
Your latest novel, The Siren’s Kiss, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Swoony, swashbuckling, Sapphic, pirate x mermaid!
What can readers expect?
I think of The Siren’s Kiss as a Pirates of the Caribbean meets Little Mermaid mashup!
Cursed pirate captain Rayleigh is brash, bold, and the best shot in the entire Boneyard. Maren the mermaid is fierce, hot-tempered, and ready to bite anyone who gets in her way. They flirt and fight and face the wrath of Pirate Kings and sea gods together, and generally have a lot of madcap pirate fun!
Basically, if you ever watched those big cinematic movies and wished for a badass female pirate captain fighting her way through a rowdy tavern while her prickly mermaid kicked drunk pirates in the shin, this is the book for you.
Where did the inspiration for The Siren’s Kiss come from?*
I can sum up the inspiration for this book in two words: sapphic pirates!
I’ve loved pirate stories from Treasure Island to Muppet Treasure Island, anime like One Piece and of course Pirates of the Caribbean. Not to mention so many wonderful books starring pirates (many of them with a place of pride on my shelf!) But I always wanted more—especially more sapphics.
Maren and Rayleigh were both such fun characters for me: Rayleigh with all her swagger and gunslinging action, and Maren with her quick temper and hair that turns from starlight-white on land to brilliant red in the sea. (Did anyone else have one of those color-changing mermaid Barbies when they were a kid?)
I packed so many things I love into these characters, and their romance really is the heart of this story.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
A character who really surprised me was to write was one of the villains, Josie Grimjaw. She’s the first mate to the Pirate King Blackbeard: deliciously cutthroat, with no scruples and a dark sense of humor. From her first scene, she turned out to be much more fun than I expected—and a much better swordswoman than I (or my characters) were ready for! I liked her so much, I ended up giving her a bigger part in the book than I’d originally planned. There’s something so satisfying about writing a dastardly villain.
Can you share some insight into the timeline from concept to publication?
I often work on multiple projects at the same time, and I do a lot of prework before I ever start writing, finding the characters’ voices and outlining, etc. I love the free-floating idea stage where I just let my imagination run wild and jot down whatever seems fun. At some point, a detail or a character finally catches fire, and that’s when I know there’s a real book in there somewhere.
I tend to write pretty quickly, finishing my first draft in just a couple of months. But that is a very rough first draft, with a lot of editing yet to come! The Siren’s Kiss had several rounds of editing with my agents before we went on submission, and yet more editing after the book found a home. All of which is to say, it takes a long time and a lot of brilliant people to get a book shipshape and seaworthy!
The timeline always surprises my family, but it usually takes years between when I write “the end” on a draft and when the book actually appears on shelves.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Worldbuilding is always a challenge for me. That was especially true for this book, since it’s a standalone. It’s a pirate adventure, so I wanted to keep it fast-paced and packed with action, but I still wanted to make sure the world came to life and immerse the reader in the lawless seas of the Boneyard.
One way I slipped a little extra lore and history into The Siren’s Kiss was by adding short epigraphs at the start of each chapter. They’re lines from old pirates’ sailing logs, poems and letter fragments, bits of folk songs, and even proverbs. I tried to keep them all sharp and punchy—sometimes I rewrote those epigraphs even more times than the chapters themselves!
What’s the best and worst writing advice you’ve received?
I think the worst writing advice for me personally is “write at the same time every day.” I know that works for many people, and if you’re one of them, more power to you, but I am not equally inspired every day, it turns out, and I find I lose to the mental pressure. When I’m inspired, I have to go for it like I’m sprinting to the finish line.
The advice that did work for me is: reread your favorite books, but read them as a writer! For instance, is there a lot of snappy dialogue? Do the chapters all end on cliffhangers? Is it full of gorgeous metaphors? I did this for a few favorites, and it taught me so much about pacing, character arcs, and what makes a book worth reading over and over.
What’s next for you?
My very first graphic novel! The Princess and the Outlaw is a sapphic Robin Hood retelling with a roguish girl Robin, a dangerously charming Lady Marian, and a whole host of magical forest creatures. I wrote the script, while the art is by the brilliant Karyn S. Lee. I just got to see first sketches this summer—I am blown away by how much life and humor she brought to the project!
Robin Hood is a longtime favorite story. I loved getting to write and imagine a Robin of my own, hopefully one just as fun as that sly orange fox. The Princess and the Outlaw is scheduled for 2027, so keep an eye out next year!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
There’s a graphic novel that just came out this summer: Hollow Magic by Mars Lauderbach. It’s a lush, beautiful story full of fey magic and the sweetest romance and friendships! The art is also absolutely gorgeous, so each page is a total treat.
I also had a chance to read an early copy of The Museum of Modern Love by Mariko Turk, coming out October 13. This one is a delightful rom-com about falling in love over one incredible night at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
EXCERPT
Chapter 1 – Rayleigh
The Azure Isles are lost. Nothing remains but ragged chains of islands chewed up and spit out. Withdraw the royal navies, my lord – only monsters can sail this Boneyard now, and those who let the Devil take the helm.
— Letter from Admiral Graithes to his king, first year of the Breach
The pirates were on the move.
At the clifftop, Rayleigh crouched with her dagger in her mouth and her thumb cocked on the hammer of her pistol, staring down the sight at the schooner below. The ship was almost in position. She’d only get one shot at this.
The wind swirled in Rayleigh’s long brown coat, chasing loose strands of hair around her tan face. The knife was oil-bitter against her tongue. Every breath tasted of sea brine and smoke from the festival torches and the acrid smell of gunpowder.
At eighteen, she wasn’t as reckless as she used to be. But still reckless enough to try this.
Even from the lowest point of the cliffs where Rayleigh crouched, all of the cape spread out below her: the glittering city of Wayfarer Point like a string of pearls tucked into the windswept coast, the beach blazing with bonfires lit in celebration. The churning water below the cliff was littered with the bones of sunken vessels, their splintered masts a ghostly forest under the surface. Farther out, craggy islands studded the brilliant blue water all the way to the horizon – some big enough to survive being marooned on for a month, others no more than spearpoints jutting out of the frothing waves.
By rights, these were the Azure Isles, but no one called them that anymore. Not since the sea god, Red-Handed Roger, had split the continent apart in fury over his broken heart. Now, it was called the Boneyard – a wild, unpredictable sea wracked with storms and shipwrecks. And those who sailed it, just a pack of mangy sea dogs fighting over the scraps.
Rayleigh pushed her dark hair out of her eyes. If she squinted, she could make out a crack running through the seafloor – a jagged trench that split like a lightning bolt, known as the Breach. This was just one fork of it. All manner of unnatural sea beasts lived in the depths, but Rayleigh hadn’t come to pick a fight with them.
She’d come looking for someone much more dangerous.
The half-size schooner was almost beneath her – its sails glowing golden in the morning light, its bow spilling over with hibiscus and jasmine and pearly orchids. Every ship in the harbor shone, the whole bay ringing with shouts of laughter and booming cannons. And at the center of it all was the Silver Dawn, the pride of Captain Silvers Cadenza’s pirate fleet, a massive galleon strung with colorful streamers and ropes of bright white sea lilies. All decked out for a wedding.
No one would be fool enough to challenge one of the Pirate Kings, in the middle of her own territory, at the wedding of her favorite niece. At least, no one who didn’t have a death wish.
Rayleigh chuckled grimly, one hand pressed over the scar where her heart used to be.
If only it were that easy to escape the curse. A fate far worse than death awaited Rayleigh if she got herself killed. It had been three years since the sea god cursed her – three years lashed to Red-Handed Roger and the Revenant. Three years clinging to what remained of her mortal life. But all that was about to end.
The ship creaked below her. Even the topmost point of the sail was still a good fifteen-foot drop. Rayleigh braced her pistol on her knee. Over the sight, she eased the barrel from the topsail down to the boom and stopped dead center on the man in Cadenza’s colors patrolling the midships. Her finger teased the trigger. Then she jerked the pistol to the right and fired.
The lantern over his shoulder shattered. The watchman ducked, covering his head with a shout, and Rayleigh seized his moment of distraction, dropping the spent pistol and throwing herself from the cliff. She grabbed the knife from her mouth and sliced through the sail to slow her wild fall. The watchman whirled toward the sound of sailcloth ripping—just in time for Rayleigh’s boot to smash into his chest, sending him backward into the rail.
Rayleigh rolled as she hit the deck, coming up with her hand on the grip of another pistol. She usually carried at least three, but she’d lost one on the clifftop. There was one shot in the silver flintlock. One in the bronze pistol on her hip. And at least three more of Cadenza’s people on this boat.
“We’re under attack!” a voice boomed. “Sound the alarm!”
Rayleigh cursed as a lanky pirate with a scarf tied over his dark hair swung a saber at her head. With no time to draw her cutlass, she ducked under the steel, coming up in the pirate’s face and slamming an uppercut into the soft part of his chin. He stumbled back, woozy. But Rayleigh was already throwing a right hook and then a left, her knuckles plowing into his jaw.
Never pull a punch. And never assume an opponent’s down until you put them in the dirt yourself. Rayleigh had learned from the best.
A shot exploded into the wood beside her. Rayleigh threw herself behind the mast. She ducked her head out to get a look at her opponent, and then almost got it shot off as another slug tore through the fore wall. The woman had the high ground on the stern, beside the helm. Polished pistols gleamed out of the sash across her chest.
Rayleigh didn’t have time for this. In the next minute, they’d come around the cliffs, in full view of the Silver Dawn. Then these people would be the least of her problems.
“Come out and taste lead, intruder,” the helmswoman growled. “Or wait there and get your head cut off.”
Rayleigh only had a second to work out what that meant before a broad-shouldered woman with a curved cutlass leapt off the forecastle, slicing at her neck. Rayleigh spun out onto the open deck, drawing her cutlass in her right hand and gripping the silver pistol in her left.
Another slug pinged off the rigging. Rayleigh clenched her teeth, raised the pistol, and fired. She didn’t even wait to see if she hit her target before she brought the gun and sword up in a crossbar, catching the heavy cutlass bent on slicing her in two.
Their blades screeched together. Rayleigh hooked her heel behind the woman’s boot, jerking the pirate forward to her knees – then she flipped the pistol in her hand and cracked the heavy butt against her opponent’s skull. The woman went down in a heap.
Rayleigh wiped a hand across her mouth, breathing hard. She had no intention of killing any of the Pirate King’s crew. She had enough problems without Cadenza chasing her to the ends of the earth, hell-bent on revenge.
Rayleigh slid the final pistol out of her belt as she vaulted up to the stern. Her last shot had brought down the net heavy with decorative bells and sea glass – right on the helmswoman. The red-faced pirate struggled under the ropes.
Rayleigh raised the pistol. The woman froze.
“I need you to keep this ship on course for the Silver Dawn.”
“Why would I do that?” the woman spat.
“Take a good look at me,” Rayleigh suggested, bending down over the barrel of the gun.
The woman’s eyes traveled over her scuffed-up boots, coat, dark pants, and her white drawstring blouse, open just far enough to show the tip of the jagged scar over her collar.
“No . . . you’re . . .” the woman stammered.
“I am,” Rayleigh agreed. “So you’ll do what I say. Or every soul on this ship is bound for a watery grave. Understood?”
The woman nodded, fear in her eyes.
Rayleigh made short work of binding the unconscious pirates and dragging them out of sight. She gagged the helmswoman, tying her hands to the wheel in case she had a change of heart about cooperating.
They had rounded the cliffs. Adrenaline thrumming, Rayleigh reloaded her pistols and headed for the small ship’s cabin. The real prize.
She stopped at the door, listening for any sound inside. She was surprised the occupant hadn’t come out already, given the racket she’d made on deck.
Rayleigh kicked in the door and used the frame to swing down the steps into the cabin. The small bunks were heaped with flowers, the worn tables and crates draped in rich cloth that gleamed with silver chokers and gold coins and sparkling sapphires—a wedding bounty. All for today’s guest of honor.
A girl in a lavish white wedding dress slammed a gold-inlaid chest shut, whirling in surprise. A lacy veil obscured her features, but Rayleigh could make out the dark hair framing her pale face, the flush of her cheeks, and her green eyes snapping with fury. Just Rayleigh’s type.
“Pirate!” the girl accused with a snarl.
“That’s funny, coming from a member of Silvers Cadenza’s family. You’re practically pirate royalty.” Rayleigh made sure the bride could see her finger on the trigger as she approached, tossing a pair of rope ties with one hand. “Nice and easy now,” she warned. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
Those fiery green eyes flickered between Rayleigh and the rope. Then the girl surged forward, ducking the barrel of the gun. A slim dagger leapt into her hand as she pressed Rayleigh against the wall, digging the cold point of it into her throat.
“I’m not the one who’s going to regret this,” she hissed through her teeth.
“Is that a promise?” Rayleigh chuckled. “Do you even know how to use that thing?” Then she sucked in a breath as she felt the bite of the steel pricking her skin. A drop of blood slid down her neck.
“Don’t test me, pirate,” the girl warned. “You have no idea how important today is for me.”
In one quick motion, Rayleigh caught the blade of the dagger and flung it away. The bride gasped as Rayleigh flipped them, pinning her to the wall. From this close, she could see the shimmering strings of pearls around the girl’s neck and the dangling earrings that clinked gently with shells and gems. The heat of her body burned against Rayleigh’s. She could just make out darker lines along the girl’s throat—scars?
“You’ll be just as pretty tomorrow, Princess,” Rayleigh promised. “Now hold still.”
She wrestled the girl’s hands up, marveling at how soft they were. She certainly didn’t have the calluses of a sailor. She’d heard Cadenza’s niece lived on one of the islands. Rayleigh almost felt sorry for ruining her big day. But pirates were heartless—Rayleigh more than most. Still, she was careful as she twisted the rope around the girl’s wrists, not wanting to tie her too tight.
Suddenly, the bride lunged. Pain exploded in Rayleigh’s hand as the girl sank her teeth into the base of her thumb.
“Bloody hell!” Rayleigh cursed, yanking her hand away.
The bride just smirked, daring Rayleigh to try it again. Rayleigh regretted pitying her for even one second. This girl was pirate through and through.
“Looks like we’ll have to do this the hard way.”
***
Ten minutes later, Rayleigh stood on the bow, her captive bound and gagged as they approached the giant galleon. She’d sworn she wouldn’t leave so much as a mark on the precious niece of a vindictive type like Silvers Cadenza. But it had been a near thing. Even though she was a whole head shorter than Rayleigh, it had been like trying to wrestle an angry hellcat into a bag. Rayleigh rubbed her sore jaw, shooting the girl a look. Luckily, the wedding dress was fit for a pirate princess, with swooping sleeves that easily hid the ropes on her wrists. The pearl-inlaid veil would hopefully disguise the gag—long enough for Rayleigh’s purposes, anyway.
The girl was still glaring at her with murder eyes that promised she’d make Rayleigh pay. Under different circumstances, Rayleigh might have looked forward to it.
“Prepare to be boarded!” a voice called from above. “And stand for the bride, you lazy lot!”
There was a rowdy whooping and hollering from the deck. A jaunty violin sprang up with a tune Rayleigh remembered from countless ship weddings. A decorated rowboat was lowered for the bride. Rayleigh pressed her pistol into the girl’s back.
“Almost over, Princess,” she promised.
With the bride’s hands bound, Rayleigh had to help her lift the sweeping skirt to step into the boat. A bare foot slipped out from beneath the silky fabric. Rayleigh blinked, but she had no time to dwell on why the girl would be getting married without shoes.
She could feel the girl’s heartbeat in her neck, the rowboat rising on creaking ropes. A second later, the deck of the Silver Dawn came into view. Every inch of the huge galleon gleamed. The sails were drawn with the ship at anchor, and the masts were strung with white garlands. Rows of pirates stood at attention, making a pathway for the bride to the rising aftercastle on the stern with its towering structure and glittering windows. They were a varied lot – men and women, old and young, all different skin tones, shapes, and sizes – but every last one proudly bore the mark of Silvers Cadenza: a silver skull over crossed white wings, the same that flew on the pirate flag far above.
Rayleigh didn’t wait until the rowboat stopped rising. The second they were close enough, she grabbed the bride around the waist, hauling them both over the rail and onto the deck. She swung the pistol up, pulling the bride against her chest and bracing the barrel under her chin.
There were gasps as all eyes turned to them, hands leaping to cutlasses and pistols. The violin cut off with a shrill squeak. Rayleigh kept the girl’s body in front of hers.
“Captain Silvers Cadenza!” she shouted.
“Looks like we have an uninvited guest.”
A commanding woman stepped down from the aftercastle. She was taller than Rayleigh, with brown skin and long gray hair that hung to her waist in braids. Her blue coat gleamed with silver buttons and buckles, the regal skull and wings emblazoned across her back. Silvers Cadenza had ruled over her fleet for decades, her power and reach only growing with each passing year. Rayleigh had been raised on stories of the fierce silver lioness who carved her way through the wild seas, putting island after island under her protection until she owned half of the Boneyard and earned her place among the Pirate Kings.
Cadenza cut an imposing figure as she crossed the deck, stopping before Rayleigh. A blond man with fair skin and double swords on his waist followed. That had to be her first mate, Quicksilver Kallan. Many a pirate on these seas owed their scars to his blades.
Rayleigh stood her ground as the Pirate King studied her with hard eyes. “You will regret this, Rayleigh Sca–”
“I don’t go by that name anymore.” Rayleigh cocked the pistol in warning.
“My mistake.” Cadenza’s hand curled around the hilt of her saber. “Captain Rayleigh of the Revenant now, isn’t it?”
A screech split the air, wingbeats fluttering just over Rayleigh’s shoulder. A grin tugged at the corner of her lips. No one could claim that bird didn’t have a sense of dramatic timing.
The creature landed heavy on her shoulder, black feathers brushing Rayleigh’s cheek as it folded its angular wings. She was used to the strange way the darkness bled over the sleek, sharp-winged tern, leaving a trail of shadows instead of feathers in its wake. Its red eyes gleamed like stolen rubies. Rayleigh felt a tug on the scar over her missing heart, the pull of the Revenant calling her back. The bond she could never escape.
A few pirates took a step away, making the sign to ward off evil. Even the captive bride in her arms went still. Cadenza looked unfazed, studying the Revenant bird with the same hard look she’d given Rayleigh.
She could hear rumors circling through the crowd, the same stories whispered in taverns behind her back. Rayleigh of the Revenant, Red-Handed Roger’s executioner, the dog on the sea god’s leash. Rayleigh, the captain who had sunk over a dozen ships in the last three years and sent who knew how many souls to a watery grave. Nothing she could deny.
Cadenza’s hand twitched on her sword hilt. “I heard you lost your heart to that cursed ship. A bad end for the daughter of Bullseye Blaine. If she could see you now, she’d be rolling in her grave.”
Rayleigh gritted her teeth so hard, she felt they might crack. She knew exactly what her mother would have thought of her, and she didn’t need to hear it from the Pirate King.
“You know who I am. So you know I’m not bluffing. You’ve got something I need, Cadenza, and if you value her life” – Rayleigh pulled back the veil to reveal the bride’s beautiful face – “you’ll offer me anything I want right now.”
Cadenza’s eyes widened with shock. Then a slow smile spread across her lips. “Clever, Rayleigh. You’re right that I’d never abandon a member of my crew, much less my own flesh and blood. There’s only one problem.”
“What’s that?” Rayleigh asked coolly.
Cadenza grinned, gesturing to the bride. “I have no idea who that is.” She drew her sword. “Seize them!”
“What?” Rayleigh asked. Then nearly toppled over the rail as a sharp elbow thrust into her ribs. She gaped at the furious bride ripping off her gag.
“You foolish pirate!”
Curse me to the Breach. Rayleigh jerked up her pistol, trying to put the Pirate King in her sights. But it was too late. Something clocked her in the back of the skull, dropping her to the deck.
The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the infuriating girl who’d made a mess of all her plans being grabbed by Quicksilver Kallan. At least he looked like he was about to get bit, too.
