Katie Mettner on the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth, the area that inspired the New Auburn author’s new book, Sugar’s Dance –a novel about a woman pursued by a drug lord.

Katie Mettner has stories to tell. Mettner, a Memorial grad and former Eau Claire Eastside Hill resident who now resides in New Auburn, is a woman who has gone through an incredible (but also at times heartbreaking) journey that has led her to tell a tale of a woman’s vulnerability in her novel, Sugar’s Dance. 

“I put everything that’s important to me, everything that I love, and put it in a jar and shook it up. When I took the lid off, Sugar’s Dance is what spilled out.” – New Auburn author Katie Mettner reveals the recipe for her book

Mettner’s very own story that lead her to writing Sugar’s Dance starts about 23 years ago, after breaking her leg while skiing. The following years were painful – the doctors had healed her bones, but slowly they were deteriorating and confined her to a wheelchair for six years. Eventually, she had her foot amputated and replaced with a prosthetic. 

“I struggled with that, even though I had time to come to terms with it,” she recalls. 

Luckily, the amputation unlocked a lot of things Mettner had not done in a while – like dancing and walking down the beach holding her husband’s hand. She explains that, “I think everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it just takes a while to see the reason.”

After everything that has happened in her life, Katie was inspired to write. 

“I put everything that’s important to me, everything that I love, and put it in a jar and shook it up. When I took the lid off, Sugar’s Dance is what spilled out,” she explains.

Her novel centers around a woman named Tula DuBois (Sugar, to her friends) who lives in the Twin Ports of Lake Superior. Sugar is a woman who needs protection from a dangerous drug lord. She is also a woman who needs to heal her wounds from the past, and she receives help for both from the handsome Agent Walsh. 

Mettner ultimately chose self-publishing through Amazon to get her story out. She explains, “I wanted the story to stand on its own and let people read about Sugar’s struggles and success. And them be the judge of the character, not an editor in a publishing house. ... I didn’t write the book for it to become a bestseller and make a million dollars, I wrote the book with the hopes that if it touched one person or changed one person’s outlook on things, then it was success.” 

She has received rave reviews from some readers, and she has good news for her eager readers who want more, “[Sugar] is the kind of character that I can see having a lot of fun and getting into a little more trouble along the way.”

Sugar’s Dance is available at The Local Store, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. More information about Katie can be found at her website,KatieMettnerBooks.com