Secrets of the Mountain is a new "Snow White and Rose Red" retelling, and here is a spotlight from author Wyn Estelle Owens on one of the main characters, Svanhilda:
Svanhilda was born in the spring when the rowans on the mountain bore white blossoms. Because of this, her parents gave her the name Svanhilda, meaning ‘swan battle’, as a reference to the white blooms of the rowan trees.
Svanhilda’s father, Kiúli, is a seafaring merchant, and her mother, Ingiborg, is the daughter of a dwarven smith of great renown and his human wife. Svanhilda takes more after her mother’s line; the power of the dwarf-folk runs strong in her veins, though she doesn’t look it. But she has a connection to the stones and earth of the mountain, and she has a craftswoman’s eye and instinct when it comes to the threads of power dwarves interweave into their works.
She’s a gentle girl, blessed with maturity and restraint, but is also a clever wit. She loves to work with her hands, whether that be at spinning and weaving, or assisting her mother with jewelry-making. Most dear to her heart, however, are her family—her mother and father, her little sister, Rósfrída, and their mysterious bear friend, Björn.
Book Description:
If there’s one thing Svanhilda has always known, it’s the importance of family. When her little sister Rósfrída was born, Svanhilda promised her mother that she and her sister would stick together. But as the years passed, tragedy after tragedy befell her family, ripping it apart piece by piece, until only Svanhilda remains at home with her ailing mother. And Rósfrída? She has stayed with Svanhilda, as they promised long ago—every time Svanhilda looks at her reflection, she sees her little sister instead, trapped in a prison of mirrors and treasure. Their only hope is that either their seafaring Father or Rósfrída’s strange bear friend might find a way to free her. Tryggvi lost his mother and father a long, long time ago—so long ago that he barely remembers them. When a boy prince named Asbjǫrn finds him wandering in the woods, he takes Tryggvi home and calls him brother, and his parents welcome Tryggvi as their son. Some years later, Asbjǫrn leaves to study for a year… but he never returns, and is thought dead and gone. But Tryggvi is convinced his brother still lives--and not without evidence. So, now that he is finally old enough, Tryggvi sets out to find Asbjǫrn, armed with his cat and an amber pendant which enables him to see the truth of things. And he will find out the truth and bring his big brother home. After all, he promised his baby sister he would, and that’s not a promise he’s willing to break. On the mountain there is a cave, and in the cave there is a mirror, and in that mirror live two friends: a girl and a bear, trapped in secrets, imprisoned by treasures of great worth. But help is coming, and the secret deeds done in darkness will be revealed, and the prisoners will be set free.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0996BQS11/
Add Book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58543220-secrets-of-the-mountain
Author Bio:
Wyn Estelle Owens is the penname of a young woman who’s still figuring out what this whole ‘adult’ thing is all about. She lives in a big, old house in Maryland by a Hundred Acre Wood (dubbed Neldoreth) with her parents, three occasionally obnoxious brothers, her dog Jackie, and her personal plot bunny, Joker. She is fond of reading, writing, drawing, speaking in dead or imaginary languages, playing videogames, quoting classic or obscure literature, being randomly dramatic, and generally making things out of yarn. Her dream is to write stories that inspire people to chase after the wonderful world of storytelling. Her favorite all-time authors are Anne Elisabeth Stengl, Christa Kinde, and above all, J.R.R. Tolkien, who first inspired her to pursuing novel writing when she read the Hobbit at the age of seven.