Local author releases fifth Mystic Beach series title

Local author Aislinn Archer recently announced the release of “Mad World,” the fifth title in her Mystic Beach Fantasy Rockstar Romance series.

The book features some attractions that local residents and visitors may find familiar, such as an amusement park and a powwow.

“I’ve loved rockstar romance since I first discovered the genre a decade ago,” said Archer, who’s lived in the Bethany Beach area for nearly 25 years. “So when it came time to write my own stories, I just had to bring a band into it. I started off writing contemporary fantasy, and I ended up with this wonderful story arc of a six-member band at the peak of its popularity recording a new album in this quirky little Delaware beach town, and each of the members finding true love, and more than a little drama, some of it of fantastical proportions.”

She said, “[This book] is the story of the band’s drummer, Rhys ‘The Madman’ Madigan, who to this point has been the comic relief in the series. Rhys is 6-foot-4, with bright red hair, and he has a tendency to jump out of perfectly good airplanes, climb sheer cliffs and stick both feet in his mouth. So when he decides to court the local elementary school music teacher, it’s kind of a foregone conclusion that he’s going to wreak havoc on her life.”

That might set the stage for a typical romance, but Archer’s books have a fantastical twist.

“Lyric recently started hearing the dead, and she gets a lot of advice (and meddling) from them. She’s also a weather witch – she calls storms when she’s upset. And Rhys ends up giving her a lot to be upset about, including potentially outing her from the ‘broom closet.’”

Archer said a key element this story is representation, both of a religious minority and of neurodivergent characters.

“Lyric’s son Tommy is autistic, but on a totally different part of the spectrum from bassist David, who was the lead character in Book 3. Tommy’s non-verbal, but he bonds with Rhys over their love of drumming,” she said. “Rhys himself has ADHD. It makes him wonderfully unpredictable, but that’s not always a plus, even in a rockstar. On the other hand, it makes him perfect to break Lyric out of her comfort zone, which turns out to be exactly what she needs.”

For more information, go to AislinnArcher.com or MysticBeachRocks.com.