The Spellsong Cycle is a fantasy series written by L. E. Modesitt Jr. Set in the fictional world of Erde, it is notable for its system of magic, based on music and song.
The main character of the first three books of the series is Anna Marshall, a middle-aged music instructor and small-time opera singer who is magically transported from Ames, Iowa to Erde, a fantastical world where songs have a magical power, and where she has the capability to become one of the most powerful sorceresses in the world.
[3] It has been described as "feminist fantasy",[2] and compared favorably against The Saga of Recluce series of novels by Modesitt, his best known works.
[4] The system of song-based magic is similar to that seen in the earlier Spellsinger Cycle by Alan Dean Foster.
She begins to build national infrastructure (river bridges, postal mail, tax accounting, a school for noble heirs).
At the end of the book, she achieves an uneasy peace with the neighbouring countries and her nation-building efforts bring some prosperity to her subjects.
She must remain forever vigilant and she can never return to her own children on Earth but she makes a life for herself on Erde that includes a little happiness.
Secca faces the ultimate enemy: an island nation of misogynist sorcerers, who have been instigating much of the strife on Erde, since before Anna's time.