Harmony Rising
In a magical town where every voice can be heard, one woman must find the courage to listen to her own
a novel developed in our Cinema Therapy program
For a century, the hidden valley of Harmony has been a sanctuary where humans and animals speak a shared language. Connection is their foundation. But when a devastating earthquake strikes, ten-year-old Ralphie disappears, and Harmony unravels.
While searching for the boy, Ellie, a fifty-year-old librarian living with Parkinson’s disease, discovers a mysterious egg. A purple dragon hatches - a species they've never seen in Harmony. It claims Ellie as his mother - something she's never been for anyone. Ralphie remains missing, fear and suspicion threaten everything Harmony stands for.
A year later, Ellie leads an unlikely rescue party beyond Harmony’s protective borders, through a forest haunted by direwolves and into the mountain kingdom of dragons. As danger mounts and old prejudices surface, Ellie must confront her own limitations while holding together a group divided by grief, mistrust, and fear.
To bring Ralphie home, Ellie risks her life and challenges the beliefs that have kept Harmony safe for generations.
Author: Susan Scarlett
What Harmony Rising means to me
Harmony Rising means freedom, discovery, and courage. By writing Ellie’s story through her eyes, I gave myself permission to imagine what I might do in situations that once felt beyond my reach. Ellie’s courage to say “yes” mirrors my own journey—where I had often let shyness and insecurity stop me before I began, I now find myself exploring choices and actions that reveal strengths I didn’t know I have. Fiction gives me a safe space to move beyond self-doubt, just as improv gives me a stage to practice saying “yes” out loud.
In my seventies, this experience has been transformative. Writing Harmony Rising marked my first foray into fiction, and with this story, designed for a youth audience, I feel pride, joy, and a huge sense of accomplishment. At the same time, improv has become a home where acceptance is unquestioned, even as Parkinson’s changes me. The two practices now feed one another—writing strengthens my confidence to create “from whole cloth”, and the “no mistakes” hallmark of improv deepens my trust in taking risks in storytelling.
Like Ellie, I’ve learned that courage isn’t about banishing fear; it’s about choosing connection, creativity, and compassion. Harmony Rising reflects not just Ellie’s evolution, but my own rising into a life of self-expression and possibility. I have even started teaching Improv classes!
Join us on Friday, Oct. 23rd at 1:30p pacific to hear excerpts from the novel and celebrate Susan's heroic journey to becoming a first-time author.
All are welcome. Click here to register.
