A 23-year-old woman from Axminster will release her first book next month.

Sarah Underwood's debut book, Lies We Sing to the Sea, will come out on March 16.

The book is being described as 'a seductive fantasy romance, inspired by Greek mythology and the tale of Penelope's twelve hanged maids'.

Sarah Underwood told the Herald: "Lies We Sing to the Sea reimagines the fate of Penelope’s twelve hanged maids in Homer’s The Odyssey.

"To me, the story of the maids is one of blame and of agency (or lack thereof): twelve young women, arguably slaves, vilified for having sexual relationships with older and significantly more powerful men.

"The men that raped them die in combat — honourable deaths. The maids, by contrast, are slaughtered like animals (‘hung like doves’, as Fitzgerald translates it in a verse I know by heart).

"They are dehumanised completely. In fact, only one of them is even named. She is ‘sharp-tongued’ and ‘disloyal’ and she is called Melantho. She had a name. Now, I wanted to give her a story—and her revenge."

Sarah's publisher, Harper Collins said: "Lies We Sing to the Sea is a breathtaking novel that will enthral readers from the very first page as they are transported to the cursed shores of Ithaca.

"Set against a stunning world of Greek mythology and legends, Lies We Sing to the Sea is a reclamation of a story from thousands of years ago.

"Taking a single forgotten thread from the tale of Penelope's twelve hanged maids in Homer's The Odyssey, Lies We Sing to the Sea gives agency to Melantho in this new powerful novel.

"Tapping into the huge popularity of myths on BookTok, lies we sing to the sea deals with universal themes of grief, fate, LGBTQ+ love and lust."

Sarah currently lives in London, but often writes and spends time at the family home in Axminster. The house and location gave her inspiration for the book.

Lies We Sing to the Sea is on shelves from Thursday, March 16 for £14.99. It will be available to buy at Waterstones, Blackwell’s, Foyles, Book Depository and Amazon.