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Tory Guyon | Fantasy Romance Author

@wri_tor

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✧ Fantasy romance author ❥
✧ Ancient worlds x cataclysmic love stories ✵
✧ Read my romantasy short story ↴

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The Emperor must d!e.

Elven general, Caius, has lost everything to the mortal empire: his lands, his magic, his family. Heartbroken and vengeful, Caius is set on ending the man at the source of his pain. But when his assassination attempt fails, he’s captured and enslaved as a gladiator to fight in the obsidian coliseum while his world and his people are slowly erased.

Forced to live under her uncle’s thumb, princess Norilla’s only respite is to become a priestess to the Gods that have willed him to live—and rule. But she doesn’t realize temple duties involve healing the gladiators, or that it will bring her face-to-face with the elven prince, her childhood friend whose malice has grown into a finely-honed weapon aimed at obliterating her family.

As the Emperor’s control grows suspiciously stronger, so does Caius and Norilla’s bond, thrusting them into an even deadlier game. There are no rules outside the arena, and if they want to survive, they’ll need to take down the biggest beast of all: the Empire.

If it doesn’t destroy them first.

REBELS OF THE RUINED EMPIRE is an Adult Romantasy born out of my love for ancient worlds, cataclysmic love stories, and Maximus Decimus Meridius. It’s a reimagined Gladiator that follows a forsaken elven warrior, the εnemy mortal princess, and their fight to escape the Empire—and each other.

I’ve poured my heart and soul into this project since April 2025 and, tbh, I’m not quite sure how I want to bring it to life. One way or another, it WILL be in your hands. And if you’re excited as I am, follow along for updates!

Can you spot some Easter eggs on slide 4? 👀

Art by the incredibly talented @polarts_iv and @azeher_may ☺️

#romantasybooks #fantasyromancebooks #elven #enemiestolovers🔥 #forbiddenromance taken in The Colosseum by @wri_tor

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6 months ago

More ancient worlds and morally gray gladiators and wicked coliseum games please 🙏🏼

But let’s also throw in a cataclysmic love story, maybe some magic, and definitely a Maximus Decimus Meridius coded MMC.

You in?

#ancientrome #enemiestoloversbooks #romantasybooks #romanempire #fantasyromancebooks taken in Rome, Italy by @wri_tor

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4 months ago

Craving an archaeological zone in tropical heat with zero cell service right about now…

The kind of place that gives you a paper ticket stub and a faded map and you can wander the sun-bleached stones with a warm water bottle for hours.

These are the kinds of places legends are born.

If you could explore anywhere in the world, where would you go? I’d love to visit Peru.

🌀

If we haven’t met, hi! I’m Tory, fantasy romance author, creative living blogger, and studier of ancient worlds. The ruins and stories of our past inspire me so much, I decided to write an enemies-to-lovers book based on Ancient Rome (with a romantasy twist, of course).

Follow along for more updates!

#ancientworld #romantasyreads #literarytravel #explorer #fantasyromancereaders taken in Granada, Nicaragua by @wri_tor

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5 months ago

Meant to post this on Mother’s Day but time slipped away from me, as it often does in this busy life.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a writer while navigating motherhood.

My daughter is almost 7 now, and I wish I could say it gets easier juggling everything, but the truth is every age comes with its own challenges.

If I’m not drafting between naps, I’m writing during gymnastics.

If I’m limiting screen time, I’m jotting down scenes in a notebook.

If I’m creatively spent because I’m not sleeping, it’s because she’s having nightmares or I’m staying up late to play the Tooth Fairy.

I refuse to walk away from my passion. I refuse to put it aside. Because being a writer is who I am, just like I’m a mom.

So I find ways to integrate it. To let some of that creative buildup loose.

And the best part is? She gets to see me follow a dream, and I hope it inspires her to one day chase hers.

Special s/o to @kelceyhuttonphotography who took 90% of these photos 💕

#motherhood #writersonig #momauthor #authorlifestyle #whimsy taken in Santa Cruz, California by @wri_tor

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5 months ago

Specifically, I was built to be an elven Druid with too many magical creatures who treads the peaks of snow-capped mountains searching for emerald-hilted swords. You??

Alas though, I’m a mere mortal. And I guess using subject lines like “A Humble Petition for Thy Presentation Materials” isn’t how we do things these days 🥱

*clicks reply all*

Hi! I’m Tory, fantasy romance author, creative living blogger, and studier of ancient worlds. When I’m not plugging away on ye old day job, I’m writing an enemies-to-lovers romantasy with elves, gladiators, and nature magic that’s based on Ancient Rome. Follow along for all the updates!

I bid you good morrow 🏰

#adventureseeker #romantasybooks #getoutside #whimsy #authorsofinstagram taken in Santa Cruz, California by @wri_tor

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5 months ago

“Look, I... I may not be an explorer, or an adventurer, or a treasure-seeker, or a ɠunfiɠhter, Mr. O’Connell, but I am proud of what I am. I…“

… am a volunteer at the Egyptian Museum.

Evelyn Carnahan said it best though 🤭

(pls tell me you’ve seen The Mummy ↓)

If we haven’t met, hi! I’m Tory, fantasy romance author, creative living blogger, and studier of ancient worlds. I’ve def got an Egypt book in me, but right now, I just finished writing an enemies-to-lovers romantasy based on Ancient Rome. Follow along for all the updates!

#ancientegypt #fantasyromance #amwritingfantasy #themummy #whimsy taken in San Jose, California by @wri_tor

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5 months ago

Just saying, you’re going to want to bookmark chapter 32 😉

I can’t get this gorgeous character art of Caius and Norilla out of my head! @jwitless_art did an incredible job (as always!) bringing this scene in the enchanted forest to life.

REBELS OF THE RUINED EMPIRE is a reimagining of Gladiator in a fantasy-inspired world, about a forsaken elven warrior, the enemy mortal princess, and their fight to escape the Empire—and each other.

Follow along for all the updates, teasers, and publishing news! 🧝🏽‍♀️

#romantasyreads #enemiestoloversbooks #fantasyromancebooks #foundfamily #slowburn taken in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park by @wri_tor

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6 months ago

And just like that, she’s typed ✨ The End ✨

It’s wild to think I’ve been working on Project Bronze for almost a full year!!! What started as a short story is now 350+ pages chock full of bl00dy arena battles, swoony romance, ruthless immortals, and a found family I just CAN’T get enough of.

These are the characters I’ve been dedicating all my time to during my massive social media hiatus. Well… I’ve also been rewatching Gladiator, taking archaeology classes, spending time with family, learning how to surf, and writing when no one was watching.

And now this book is done and these characters are real and I want to share all the art and scream to the rooftops how much I love them!

But first, revisions 🫠

#amwri̇ti̇ng #authorgram #romantasybooks #retellings fantasyromancebooks taken in The Colosseum by @wri_tor

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8 months ago

Happy New Year from Nicaragua! 🇳🇮

#travel #nicaragua #getoutside #explorer #popoyo #surf taken in Popoyo, Nicaragua by @wri_tor

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9 months ago

It’s a cover reveal and book launch all in one! Surprise! 🤪

I’m so excited to bring you Shadows & Dust, the quick prequel to a greater enemies-to-lovers romantasy book I’m working on, with elves, wicked mortals, and broken gods, in a world inspired by Ancient Rome.

It’s a bite-sized love story perfect for readers on a time crunch and fans of ACOTAR, Gladiator, and Outlander.

The best part?

It’s frℯℯ! So if you love:

• Dⓐgger-to-the-throat
• Morally gray MMCs
• Shadow magic
• Dual POV
• Forced proximity
• Political intrigue
• An elven warrior x mortal princess
• He’d risk it all for her…

Then you can get Shadows & Dust on your favorite ebook platform or comment SHADOWS and I’ll send you the l!nk to snag your copy!

My dream cover by @annguyenart

Character art by the wonderful @petit_kitsune

“Caius pinned the princess with a knowing look that, given the circumstances, was far too long, far too intimate—but he wanted to commit her to memory.”

⚔️ taken in The Colosseum by @wri_tor

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a year ago

Creating a map can be a big part of the world-building process, but my first two books were urban fantasy—where the magic was layered on top of our world—so I haven’t really had to delve this deep into the topography before!

Project Bronze is an enemies-to-lovers romantasy inspired by Ancient Rome. Even though the story takes place in a fantastical realm, it was still important for me to make sure it at least somewhat followed the law of physics 😅 (s/o to @inkarnaterpg for teaching me about tectonic plates 🫶🏼)

I’ll be sharing the current draft of the map—which focuses on the vicious mortal empire—with my newsletter subscribers this Friday! It will probably never see the light of day otherwise, so be sure to sign up if you want to have a look 😂

#booktok #amwriting #fantasyromancebooks #enemiestoloversbooks #romantasyreads #worldbuilding #romanticfantasy by @wri_tor

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2 years ago

Giving myself A for effort 🙃

My gateway to fantasy was The Hobbit. Creating a realm like Middle Earth—a world with its own unique politics, culture, magic, species, and language—has always been a dream of mine.

So, for my next book, an epic enemies-to-lovers romantasy, I decided to go all-in on the world-building and create a language for the elves.

I knew it would be hard, but once I really dug into the research and started constructing the language, I realized two things:

1. Tolkien was a linguist/philologist first—so he started with the languages, then he wrote the stories to go with them.

2. I was spending all this time and energy and at the end of the day, I am FAR from equipped to undertaking a project like this. Realistically, readers will only interact with about 10-20 of these elvish words.

The world-building is important and has its place, but it shouldn’t be distracting me (or my readers!) from the story.

Even though I couldn’t follow through on my original dream, I’ve still been able to come up with a glossary of about 20 unique words for my elvish language, Venhyön.

I’m going to share more with my newsletter subscribers later this week! Join us if you’re interested in seeing more ✨🧝🏽‍♀️

#romantasybooks #booktok #fantasyromance #amwriting #enemiestolovers #fantasylover taken in The Shire, Middle-Earth by @wri_tor

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2 years ago