Annie Sullivan

Annie Sullivan is a Young Adult author from Indianapolis, Indiana. Her work has been featured in Curly Red Stories and Punchnels. She received her Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Butler University. She loves fairytales, everything Jane Austen, and traveling. Her wanderlust has taken her to every continent, where she’s walked on the Great Wall of China, found four-leaf clovers in Ireland, waddled with penguins in Antarctica, and cage dived with great white sharks in South Africa.

Annie’s new book, “A Curse of Gold” is the highly anticipated sequel to her enchanting “A Touch of Gold”, the story of the daughter King Midas turned to gold, is the gripping crescendo to this sweeping fantasy adventure. The final saga of a cursed queen, a vengeful Greek god, and a dazzling kingdom in the balance. After barely surviving thieving, bloodthirsty pirates and a harrowing quest at sea to retrieve her stolen treasure, Kora finds readjusting to palace life just as deadly. Kora’s people openly turn against her, threatening her overthrow as heir to the throne - a cursed queen who has angered Dionysus. When Dionysus puts out a challenge to kill the girl with the golden touch and burn down her kingdom, it’s not just her future on the throne in danger. Kora’s life and entire kingdom are now on contract. As bold and brave as ever, Kora sets out to find Dionysus, the very person who is trying to kill her, on the mysterious disappearing island of Jipper. Kora has no other choice. If she wants to save her kingdom and have any chance at reversing her father’s curse, she will have to enter into a deadly game with Dionysus, the greatest trickster the world, or the underworld, has ever seen.

I’m so excited for you to connect with Annie, check out her book, and follow along as she continues to share her writing and her personal journey to inspire others to explore and follow their passions too.

I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.

Hi! My name is Annie Sullivan, and I’m the author of three young adult fantasy books. My first book is called A Touch of Gold, and it follows the cursed teenage daughter of King Midas as she faces pirates, betrayers, and thieves on her quest to retrieve her father’s stolen gold. And the sequel, A Curse of Gold, comes out September 22nd! I’ve also written a retelling of the infamous short story “The Lady, Or The Tiger,” which is about a warrior princess who fights suitors in an arena to win her right to rule.

How did you get started?

I’ve always had an active imagination—probably because I grew up with asthma. And as a kid, I had to spend a lot of time tethered to a breathing machine. While using that machine, my mother would read to me, and suddenly, I wasn’t a sick kid anymore—I was a pirate, princess, wizard, and so many other characters. So I’ve always loved the power of stories to help us visit other worlds and forget the worries of this world for a while.

So while I wrote little stories and poems as a child, I didn’t start seriously writing until college. Then, I went on to get a master’s degree in creative writing from Butler University. While there, I wrote my first book, and as they say, the rest is history.

What inspired the work that you're doing?

The inspiration for my books comes from all over, but the inspiration for my new book, A Curse of Gold, came from both the original King Midas myth and the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. I wanted to take the story of King Midas, who turned his daughter to gold in the original myth, and see what his daughter’s story would be like once she’s changed back from a golden statue. What lasting magical side effects would she have? What would her relationship with her father be like? What would others think of a cursed girl with golden skin?

Overall, it was a lot of fun to create this world and weave in other Greek myths and gods to truly make this tale one with a rich setting and unique story.

What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?

I think my two biggest passions are writing and traveling, and they oddly work very well together since I get a lot of writing and brainstorming done while traveling—not to mention that I love studying landscapes to include in my work. So overall, I do feel like I’m living my passion because I get to create stories that I hope inspire a new generation of readers to escape this world for a while only to return to it a little more prepared to overcome the obstacles in their own lives—because they’ve seen their favorite characters overcome something similar.

What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?

I love watching good movies, reading, listening to music, going for walks and runs, traveling, and dancing. I also love being around my family and friends. And a good hot bath or cup of tea doesn’t hurt either!

How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?

Prayer, first and foremost, helps me stay grounded and reminds me that not everything is up to me. As I mentioned above, I also like to go for walks and exercise because I feel like that helps me feel more like myself and ready to face the day.

What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?

My younger self would be ecstatic that I have not one, not two, but three books published! It’s a dream come true, and it’s always a good reminder to think about that when the lows of this business press down on you.

Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation?

There’s not one that I use all the time, but I do constantly remind myself that I’ve written a book before and can do it again. Each book is its own journey to figure out, but you can only figure it out by pressing onward!

What is your biggest dream?

I have two big dreams. One would be to have my movies turned into books. The other would be to become a New York Times bestselling author. But there’s still time for both of those, so here’s to hoping they come true!

To learn more about Annie and A Curse of Gold visit her website www.anniesullivanauthor.com and on Instagram @annsulliva Facebook @AuthorAnnieSullivan Twitter @annsulliva and on Tik Tok @authoranniesullivan and check out her novels: A Touch of Gold (2018) follows the cursed teenage daughter of King Midas as she fights pirates, sirens, and thieves on her quest to retrieve her father's stolen gold. Tiger Queen (2019) follows a warrior princess as she fights suitors in an arena to win her right to rule. A Curse of Gold (2020) is the sequel to A Touch of Gold and follows all your favorite characters as they work to break the curse of the princess and King Midas.

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Annie Sullivan - Author, A Curse of Gold