Author Emily Rath on her inspiration for her new paranormal romance, Devour Me…
The initial inspiration for Devour Me came from the place where all great ideas are born: the Halloween decoration aisle of a Home Goods. It was October 2021 and I was casually wandering the aisles when I saw a piece of art designed to be a tarot card of The Lovers that featured two skeletons kissing. I stood there in that aisle and thought, “Emily, there’s a story in there somewhere…”
I let the idea for that story haunt me for almost four years. I made mood boards and playlists. I commissioned art. I jotted down ideas on my phone. But I didn’t actually have time to write the book. I was too busy with other projects, including the Jacksonville Rays hockey romance series. Over these last four years, not writing the book started to feel like holding in a rather aggressive sneeze.
In the spring of 2025, I just couldn’t take it any longer. I reached out to my agent and begged her to let me try and sell the story, and she agreed! She listened to my crazy plans for how I planned to balance all the contracts. Then she pitched Devour Me to editors. To my eternal delight, the project went to auction in both the U.S. and the U.K., ultimately selling for seven figures. I was floored. Other people really wanted to read about my lovesick wraith? I could finally write this story down??
I’m thrilled to say that they do and I did. Book one is out now.
The Whimsical World of Devour Me
Devour Me is a ‘why choose’ paranormal romance set on a fictional island off the coast of New England. The story takes all the deliciously dark and campy vibes of True Blood and sets them in my version of Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow. Think quirky small town with a big cast of lovable side characters, witty banter, and all the spicy romance!
Our story starts when an immortal, soul-sucking wraith named Dáinn journeys to Burr Island and tries and fails to claim the soul of Jasper, a moody witch who just wants to be left alone. Dáinn fails to kill Jasper because of Birdie, a human historian (who has no idea magic is real). The fates of all three characters become linked when Dáinn realizes he can use Jasper to help him get revenge on the dark witch holding him captive.
There’s only one problem…
Now that Dáinn has tasted the witch, he can’t help wanting to devour him. To save both their lives, Dáinn and Jasper must bring Birdie into the fold of all their magical secrets. And she has a few mysteries of her own. Who is this human? And why can she stop wraiths from devouring souls?
Behind the Book: Witch Trials Past and Present
The heart and soul of this book is the mystery surrounding the founding members of Burr Island, a group of five witches who settled the island in 1623. I spent several weeks doing a deep dive into the American witch hunts of the seventeenth century. I studied original court transcripts from the trials and read quite a few articles on the broader culture and politics of the time.
In many cases, women accused of witchcraft weren’t even known by their accusers. These were women with property and wealth, widows with businesses and access to land. In a word, these were women with power. Women with agency and independence.
And if there’s one thing the weak men of this world fear, it’s an independent woman. Most of the victims of the witch trials were convicted and killed because their neighbors were greedy. They wanted what these women had and there was no legal way to strip it from them. So, they used religion. They used fear and prejudice. They used misogyny. Then they cut the women down.
American History
Devour Me may be a fantasy, but it’s rooted in American history. And it’s worth noting that the same prejudices from 1668 still exist today. The same small-mindednesses and cruelty, the same use of the name of God to enact untold violence against those othered as “witches.” In the U.S., women are once more facing extreme prejudice, with a growing group of Christian nationalists calling for a repeal of our voting rights, our expulsion from academia and all professional and public life, and further restrictions to our healthcare.
As a queer, college-educated woman who writes romance novels, it’s not hard to imagine my own neighbors marching to my house wielding torches and pitchforks. This fear is what led me to flee the state of Florida after the last presidential election in 2024. This modern witch found safety and political sanctuary on my own little island in the Pacific Northwest.
Lurking is my Love Language
But Devour Me isn’t all historical gloom and political doom. It also tells a charming love story featuring a hopelessly romantic wraith who isn’t afraid to fight for what he wants. In Dáinn’s case, what he wants is the soul of a deliciously jaded witch…and a curiously bright human. And he’s willing to fight to the death to keep them. This book combines all of my favorite tropes including instalust (or in Dáinn’s case instalurk), found family, magical mystery, and the evergreen “no one gets to kill you but me.”
Oh, and did I mention there’s a cat?
Yeah, he’s not really a cat.
Anyway, Devour Me is great. Read it and I promise you’ll have fun. Especially read this if you survived the onslaught of early 2000’s paranormal love triangles and don’t know where to claim compensation for emotional damage. Spike or Angel? Eric or Bill? Edward or Jacob? Stefan or Damon?
What about…WHY CHOOSE???
Are you convinced? Good. Grab your favorite mug, brew some delicious tea, and enjoy the magic, the mystery, and the swoony romance of Devour Me.
(c) Emily Rath
Author photograph (c) Jennifer Catherine
About Devour Me by Emily Rath:
Two mortals. One Wraith. Zero rules . . .
Dáinn the devourer has spent the past two hundred years of his undead life unwillingly bound to a dark witch, Ludmilla.
When she commands him to devour the soul of a formidable rival witch, Jasper Prescott, Dáinn is stopped in his tracks by a human.
Birdie Rhodes, aspiring historian and sometimes shopgirl, works for Jasper. But what dark magic
could a human like Birdie possess to stop a wraith?
Now, Jasper is back from the brink and obsessed with the woman who somehow saved him – and the monster who tried to take him. And all three are set on a path that could lead to their destiny . . . or their ruin.
Order your copy of Devour Me online here.
And read more Meet the Authors of Speculative Fiction on Writing.ie here.
