I'm returning to something I wanted to explore further, many years ago, when I wrote The Prince. I had a thought then that an adult fairytale would be a good vessel for an erotic story.
I don't know that The Prince ever quite achieved what I hoped. It never seemed very popular, as proud as I was of it at the time, and I don't think the ending sat well with a number of readers (though I think I telegraphed fairly early what it was likely to be).
Still, I think there's promise in the premise, and after over two decades (how is that even possible?) I finally have a concept that I think works.
It will definitely only appeal to readers who like magical fantasy. Where The Prince was a tongue-in-cheek more-or-less parody of Disney-ish story, and as such I think very accessible, Waterlily is definitely a serious treatment of a particular fantasy trope. I'm proud of it; I think it's a good story, but it's definitely not going to be for everyone.
I should probably also mention that it's by far the most violent story I've written. The only violent story, really. So if blood, broken skulls and warriors falling a thousand feet to their deaths troubles you, you might want to skip it.
Otherwise, I present Waterlily for your entertainment. It isn't as insanely long as so many of my recent stories have been. I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to feedback on the forum.