I am developing an original adult fantasy novel set in a world trapped in an artificial, generations-long winter. Ancient volcanic infrastructure once distributed heat across the land, but a powerful ruler seized the volcanic stronghold and redirected its warmth toward elite settlements. Now survival itself, heat, food, shelter, and movement, is controlled by those in power.

The story follows Solene, a practical and risk-averse young woman forced to leave the safety of her settlement after her brother is selected in a deadly emergency lottery. Carrying journals connected to the original heat network, she joins a dangerous expedition to uncover the truth about the winter and restore the stolen warmth.

For this project, I am developing the novel’s plot, characters, mythology, geography, political systems, survival rules, and extreme-cold environments. My work includes long-form fiction, narrative structure, character development, immersive worldbuilding, scene planning, and research into Arctic survival, geothermal systems, cold-weather settlements, and human behavior under scarcity.

At its core, the story explores concentrated power, the hoarding of survival resources, learned helplessness, grief, hope, vulnerability, and the conflict between safety and freedom.