Blog Archives
A Mystical Time
Indigo, The Deep follows a group of people united by the strange magic that gathers around Dipitous Beach during the autumn equinox. What draws you to write for teen and young adult readers?
Coming-of-age stories are where I’ve found joy and consolation throughout my life. Teen stories are the great connectors of the generations. If we’re young, we’re living it; if we’re older, we’ve passed through it, hopefully with a few helpful lessons learned. I love writing about the sparkling energy of teens, reminding all of us to stay curious and embrace new perspectives. After all, life is a bold adventure, laced with grief and pain, but ripe with wonder-filled mysteries and happy surprises, too.
What drew you to setting the story around the autumn equinox and its sense of transformation?
Ah, the changing of the seasons is a mystical time. The shift in light, weather, and tides alters human rhythms, calling us to what we cannot comprehend. Nature smiles, taps us on the shoulder, and whispers in the wind… everything, you know, is always changing. The tide folds, the light blends, shrinking the long light-infused days of summer into the golden days of autumn. During the equinox, the scene is brilliantly set for mystery. The turning of the seasons is when the magic happens!
What did you enjoy most about writing the bond between Condi and Firth?
Condi and Firth are thrown together in an unlikely set of circumstances. When they resist their uncomfortable living situation and see one another as only annoying, a palpable tension arises. I love writing about tension and how it often leads to growth! When Triponica, the wise leader of the Beachlings, points out that Condi and Firth are very much the same, the story begins to change. Firth, fearless and reckless, dives into the deepest of the sea caverns, determined to push his limits. Condi, hoping to mend a broken heart, takes unnecessary risks with her surfing. As the story unwinds, we come to know that Triponica was right. Their bond is unmistakable.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
The next book in the series takes us back in time. What the Surf Master Knows explores life in Dipitous Beach in the seventies. Triponica, mysterious leader of the Beachlings, is a young healer. Andy Marshall, the enigmatic surf master, and Grand Ella, Condi’s insightful yoga teacher grandmother, are teens. Once again, they are swept into strange adventures, encountering the ocean’s wild and mercurial magic.
The prospective release date is the summer of 2027.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Instagram | Website | Amazon
Fifteen-year-old Condi Bloom knows the magic will happen again. The autumn equinox is looming. Strange currents are sweeping through her coastal town. Tides are turning wild, and a mercurial mist cloaks the lonely rock tower known as Windy Hollow, long believed to be haunted.
When a silent threat glides into the cove, altering the fragile ecosystem and drawing sharks close to shore, Condi ignores the danger. A fierce surfer, she insists on pushing her skills to the limit, hoping to heal a broken heart. Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Firth Cristo, a bold free diver, is tormented by a past he cannot reveal. Guided by the Beachlings, the mystical women who teach the secrets of the deep, he dares to explore remote underwater sea caverns, navigating the pulsing tides of a shimmering enchantment.
Inspired by the certainty of wonder and the uncertain nature of time, Condi and Firth dive into their rawest places, discovering that healing-of nature, of others, and of themselves-is found in the bounty of a limitless sea.
Indigo, The Deep
Indigo, the Deep is a coastal fantasy about young people, old healers, marine life, grief, courage, and the strange magic that gathers around Dipitous Beach during the autumn equinox. Kellye Abernathy builds the story around the ocean as both a setting and a living force. The cove has dolphins, tide pools, sea caves, a research sanctuary, surfboards with mysterious marks, and a looming biomedical ship that threatens the balance of the water. At the center are Condi, Firth, Marley, Isaac, Tad, Lorelei, Kait, and the Beachlings, each tied to the sea in a different way.
The book has a dreamy, sensory style that fits its world well. The ocean is never just scenery. It teaches, warns, hides, reveals, and heals. One of the simplest lines captures the book’s whole rhythm: “The sea will do what the sea will do.” That idea runs through the story as characters learn that control is limited, but attention, trust, and bravery still matter. Abernathy’s descriptions are lush without feeling detached from the plot, especially when the story moves through caverns, reefs, storms, and underwater passages.
Firth and Condi give the book much of its emotional pull. Their bond grows through risk, stubbornness, rescue, and shared wonder, and their different ways of meeting the water make them interesting together. Firth’s free diving and connection to Triponica bring in the book’s healing traditions, while Condi’s surfing and grief connect her to the past and to the people she’s still learning how to love. The supporting characters add warmth too, especially Tad, whose emotional colors give his scenes a tender honesty.
What makes the novel feel distinct is the way it blends environmental danger with personal healing. The threat from the pharmaceutical ship gives the story urgency, but the book is just as invested in quieter battles: letting go, growing up, protecting someone vulnerable, and making peace with loss. The line “The people that we love never leave us” sums up the heart of the novel without flattening it. Love in this book isn’t simple comfort. It’s a current that keeps moving, sometimes pulling characters into hard truths before carrying them forward.
Indigo, the Deep is a warm, mystical, ocean-soaked story with a strong sense of place and a generous heart. It’s the kind of book that invites readers to slow down and listen, not only to the characters but to the tides, animals, dreams, and old stories around them. Abernathy gives Dipitous Beach the feeling of a place where ordinary life and wonder keep brushing against each other, and by the end, that wonder feels earned.
Pages: 298 | ASIN : B0H3M8TGHD
Learning To Be Bold
Amethyst, The Shallows follows six children living in a beach town devastated by a sickness who end up on an adventure filled with magic and self-discovery. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Amethyst, The Shallows explores the challenge of what it takes to re-build confidence and trust following a long period of isolation and trauma. The six kids in this story are recovering from a terrifying pandemic, facing the challenge in wildly creative and vastly different ways. My inspiration came from marveling at the many courageous ways kids rebound from crisis.
The characters in this book cope with the wounds of isolation by learning to be bold again, relying on unique gifts and talents to help them be brave. Pragmatic Lorelei finds inspiration in her love of sea creatures. Fierce and gentle Condi relaxes into the meditative flow of surfing. Isaac is led into a mysterious realm by his love of music. Casey solves terrifying problems by using logic. Sweet Tad monitors his emotions through color. Fearless Kait presses on, following her heart.
The transformative coming-of-age journey is both terrifying and wondrous. All the kids in Amethyst, The Shallows embrace the challenge, guided by a profound and powerful ocean magic that lives in the deep.
A lot of time was spent crafting the character traits in this novel. What was the most important factor for you to get right in your characters?
I found writing multiple POV to be a joy—and an incredible challenge! To differentiate the characters, it was necessary to “live” with each one, seeking to understand what makes them special and unique, not only in voice and mannerisms, but in the way they view the world. At the same time, I sought to discover the qualities in each one that might spark growth and change. As it turns out, my characters have an important quality in common that inevitably leads to change. They are curious, a beautiful quality that expresses itself in strange and fascinating ways. Curiosity gets each character into trouble (and out of it), all the while helping them forge bonds of friendship and community, a major theme of the book.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Amethyst, The Shallows explores several themes that are important to me. One of them is the bond of unlikely friendships. I believe it’s a life-enhancing skill to seek connection with people who appear to be different than you, seeking to understand how you may be the same. I also wanted to explore the universal theme of healing, and the many ways it manifests after crisis. Whether it is through music, surfing, the love of the ocean and its creatures, expressing emotions through art and color or by reading poetry and telling stories, there is a wealth of everyday magic that inspires healing.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I’m excited to be hard at work on the third book of The Yellow Cottage Stories, titled Indigo, The Deep. It is a continuation of the adventures of the kids in The Aquamarine Surfboard and Amethyst, The Shallows.
The story takes place a year later, during the mercurial autumn equinox, when the moon shifts and the tides change in mysterious ways. After all, aquamarine and amethyst are the colors of the shallows…indigo is the color of the deep.
Look for Indigo, The Deep in 2025!
Author links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
In the aftermath of a devastating sickness that shatters their close-knit beach town, six lonely kids are drawn together during the unpredictable autumn equinox. Among them are fourteen-year-old Lorelei, who yearns to be an oceanographer, and her peculiar younger brother, Tad, who possesses an otherworldly curiosity.
When Lorelei has a strange and almost deadly encounter in a sea cave, her loyal boyfriend, Casey, cannot reconcile her fantastical experience with the rational world. Condi, Lorelei’s best friend, understands ocean magic but isn’t free to share what she knows. Kait, a girl from Ireland, regrets her impulsive move to America-all because of an odd occurrence involving her deceased boyfriend’s lost surfboard. When tides turn and the moon shifts, Isaac, the new kid in town who despises the ocean, is forced to face the truth-a profound and powerful magic lives in the deep.
Guided by a wise surf master, mystical old women known as the Beachlings, and an open-hearted grandmother, six kids embark on transformative adventures that challenge their beliefs about possibilities and the intense nature of love.
Amethyst, The Shallows
Amethyst, The Shallows unfolds within a quaint seaside village, still grappling with the lingering effects of a cryptic ailment that claimed numerous lives and fragmented the once cohesive community. Told through the perspectives of various residents, the book offers an intimate glimpse into each character’s thoughts and circumstances, fostering a deeper connection with them. Despite being targeted toward middle schoolers, the story captivates with its enchanting allure, maintaining a steady grip on the reader’s attention. As the narrative progresses, the characters undergo realistic evolution and maturation, interspersed with insightful reflections that resonate with the audience.
This novel delves into the multifaceted nature of love and interpersonal relationships within the small coastal town. Post-epidemic life has been arduous for the inhabitants, and the familiar backdrop of a post-Covid world enhances the relatability of their daily struggles. While the story presents itself as a coming-of-age tale, it distinguishes itself through a diverse cast of characters. Kellye Abernathy skillfully introduces a neurodivergent character, Lorelai’s younger brother Tad, portraying him as a cherished and integrated member of the community rather than defining him solely by his condition. Additionally, the narrative doesn’t shy away from addressing mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. The sea and its creatures are instrumental in the emotional and mental development of the characters, imbuing the story with a fable-like essence, particularly through transformative underwater encounters. Guided by a wise octopus and the enigmatic Beachlings, six children unite in a quest for comfort and understanding.
Amethyst, The Shallows’ sensitive and potent prose stirs the reader, leaving a lasting impression. Although this novel is the second installment in a series, it stands strong independently, welcoming newcomers and returning readers alike.
Pages: 271 | ASIN : B0CP713BT8
