OKEECHOBEE – An Okeechobee woman is one of Barnes & Nobles' Bestselling debut authors.

Going by the pen name, Luna Laurier, the 31-year-old Okeechobee native said she started the book while in high school, but set it aside unfinished.

She explained the book “Of Shadow and Moonlight,” is “an adult paranormal fantasy romance about a woman fated to die young, a man cursed to live forever and a darkness that threatens to destroy everything they love.”

The book includes Greek mythology, monsters, vampires, magic and more.

She started the book in high school, but put it away unfinished. In January 2022, she picked it up again. “I completely rewrote it and added a lot more to it,” Laurier said. She finished the book in May and sent it to an editor who had been recommended by friend who is also an author.

The book is now on sale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book-A-Million and Walmart. It’s also available on Kindle.

She said she decided to write under a pen name to protect her family’s privacy. “Luna is an ode to my favorite Harry Potter character, Luna Lovegood,” she explained. Laurier just seemed to flow nicely with Luna.

Laurier said the story was inspired by the “Black Dagger Brotherhood” series and the “Dark Hunter” series. She also credits “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and the "Throne of Glass" series as inspirations.

The book opens with 20-year-old Cassie dealing with the knowledge her heart condition is not responding to medical treatments and she likely only has a few years to live.

“I wanted to write about a character who deals with an unseen illness,” Laurier explained. “A lot of people deal with unseen illnesses that make it difficult for them to deal with everyday life.”

In the story, the main character has kept her illness a secret from everyone except her parents and doctors. “It is her way of coping and dealing with her prognosis so she can live out her life to the fullest without everyone treating her like glass,” Laurier continued.

Laurier, who lives on a small farm in Okeechobee with her husband and son, said she does not recommend the book for children. She said she won’t let her own son read it until he is at least 18.

By then, he’ll have a whole series to read. The second book is already in editing and she has started work on a third.

“Of Shadow and Moonlight” will be a four book series. She has plans for several spin-offs as well. “I’ve got my career mapped out for the next 15 to 20 years!” she said.

“Of Shadow and Moonlight,” debuted as a Barnes & Nobles top 100 best seller and an Amazon best sellter. It will also soon be available as an audio book.

Meanwhile her son has started writing his own book about aliens and a superhero.