Combining the legends of indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest with those of Scandinavian settlers, Sunset Empire blends mythology and fantasy with history and culture. The novel showcases numerous recognizable locales:  Fort Stevens, Shively Park, the Liberty Theater, and Astoria’s infamous tunnels.

“Sunset Empire is a love letter to the Oregon Coast and a tale about how the choices we make can turn us into monsters,” said Eskue Ousley.

“It also features an angry ghost and some of the Pacific Northwest’s most famous mythical beasts.”

The novel opens with sixteen-year-old Elyse Pthan moving to Oregon to live with her grandmother.  As the story unfolds, a grusome heritage is revealed. Her family may be responsible for the fire that nearly destroyed Astoria, the death of a girl who haunts the tunnels beneath the city, and mysterious disappearances spanning hundreds of years.

Helping Elyse uncover the truth is Phantom, an enigmatic and surprisingly attractive boy, considering his scars, his talent as a pickpocket, and his status as the local social outcast. Phantom has a dark heritage of his own, one that could turn him from friend to foe.

Eskue Ousley’s debut novel, Sign of the Throne, won a 2014 Eric Hoffer Book Award and a 2014 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award. Her third book in the Solas Beir fantasy trilogy, The Sower Comes, was released this summer and is available at local bookstores.

For a limited time, a preview of Sunset Empire will be available free-of-charge. More information can be found on the author’s web site:

http://www. MelissaEskueOusley.com