Release Day: A Tyranny of Queens

At long last, the sequel to An Accident of Stars is here!

Saffron Coulter has returned from the fantasy kingdom of Kena. Threatened with a stay in psychiatric care, Saffron has to make a choice: to forget about Kena and fit back into the life she’s outgrown, or pit herself against everything she’s ever known and everyone she loves.

Meanwhile in Kena, Gwen is increasingly troubled by the absence of Leoden, cruel ruler of the kingdom, and his plans for the captive worldwalkers, while Yena, still in Veksh, must confront the deposed Kadeja. What is their endgame? Who can they trust? And what will happen when Leoden returns?

I’m so immensely thrilled with this book, and I can’t wait to see what people think of it. Writing it was a labour of love: it felt like something I’d been working towards for a long time – for longer, perhaps, than I’d even had the idea of the series – and hopefully, at least a fraction of that comes out in the writing.

Read, review and be merry!

Shiny New Things!

At long last, Speculative Fiction 2015 is here! I was lucky enough to co-edit this anthology of essays with the excellent Mark Oshiro, and it’s now out with Book Smugglers Publishing. This is a really wonderful collection of pieces from a range of fantastic authors, and while there’s something bittersweet in knowing it’s the last of the annual Speculative Fiction anthologies, I feel extremely proud of what we’ve produced.

In the same vein, I’m thrilled to share with you the cover for my forthcoming novel, A Tyranny of Queens, due out in May 2017 from Angry Robot. This book is the sequel to An Accident of Stars, and I’m really excited to see what people think of it. The official cover release is over at the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy blog, where ATOQ was also recently included in a list of 25 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Sequels We Can’t Wait to Read in 2017. (Which, I am honestly so fucking thrilled and flattered to be on that list with so many incredible books and authors, oh my actual god.)

Check out this gorgeous cover, with art by the always amazing Julie Dillon:

Blurb:

Saffron Coulter has returned from the fantasy kingdom of Kena. Threatened with a stay in psychiatric care, Saffron has to make a choice: to forget about Kena and fit back into the life she’s outgrown, or pit herself against everything she’s ever known and everyone she loves.

Meanwhile in Kena, Gwen is increasingly troubled by the absence of Leoden, cruel ruler of the kingdom, and his plans for the captive worldwalkers, while Yena, still in Veksh, must confront the deposed Kadeja. What is their endgame? Who can they trust? And what will happen when Leoden returns?

In other recent news, I have two podcast interviews available – one with Sherin Nicole and Day Al-Mohamed at Geek Girl Riot, and the other with Megan Leigh at Breaking the Glass Slipper. I had a great time recording both of these – I hope you enjoy listening to them, too!

An Accident of Stars: Release Day!

An Accident of Stars is out today in the US! The UK release should follow on August 4th, and the Australian release sometime in the next two weeks, but as of today, it’s officially out in the wild. I really hope you enjoy it!

 

An Accident of Stars – Cover Reveal

So, remember that thing where I’ve written an epic portal fantasy? The cover is finally here, with artwork from the amazing Julie Dillon! BEHOLD THE PRETTY:

Here’s what it’s all about:

When Saffron Coulter stumbles through a hole in reality, she finds herself trapped in Kena, a magical realm on the brink of civil war.

There, her fate becomes intertwined with that of three very different women: Zech, the fast-thinking acolyte of a cunning, powerful exile; Viya, the spoiled, runaway consort of the empire-building ruler, Vex Leoden; and Gwen, an Earth-born worldwalker whose greatest regret is putting Leoden on the throne. But Leoden has allies, too, chief among them the Vex’Mara Kadeja, a dangerous ex-priestess who shares his dreams of conquest.

Pursued by Leoden and aided by the Shavaktiin, a secretive order of storytellers and mystics, the rebels flee to Veksh, a neighboring matriarchy ruled by the fearsome Council of Queens. Saffron is out of her world and out of her depth, but the further she travels, the more she finds herself bound to her friends with ties of blood and magic.

Can one girl—an accidental worldwalker—really be the key to saving Kena? Or will she just die trying?

There’s an official release piece up at tor.com – go check it out!

Announcing: An Accident of Stars!

I’m excited to finally announce that I’ve signed a two book deal with Angry Robot! The first book, An Accident of Stars, is slated for release in summer 2016 – I like to describe it as a portal fantasy with the safeties off, complete with adventuring ladies, politics and magic, and I can’t wait to see what you think of it.

Massive thanks to my awesome agent, Jennie Goloboy, who had faith in the story from minute one; to all the fabulous people at Angry Robot, a team of geeks after my own heart; to my friends and writers and writer-friends who’ve helped and encouraged and generally put up with my flailing over the past few months; and to my wonderful husband, Toby, and our mostly-wonderful spawn, who currently sees my laptop as a toy car obstacle rather than a source of gainful employment, but nonetheless manages to be endearing. I love you both.

Watch this space, you guys. It’s gonna be awesome 🙂