Today I have the pleasure of sharing the official U.S. cover for my next novel, WEARING THE LION.
This has been under wraps for so long and I'm glad to finally share it with you all! It drops June 17th, the same time frame as the U.K. version you may have already seen. But this cover is custom-made by Adam Auerbach for the U.S. edition at DAW Books.
It's so strikingly different. Don't you love those colors?
WEARING THE LION is a remix of the myths of Hera and Heracles. My Heracles has been raised since he was a baby to revere his Auntie Hera, Goddess of Family. As he grows up into the strongest man in the world, he spreads the word of her glory and raise a family of his own. But an Olympian God strikes, driving him mad and destroying his family. Shattered, Heracles embarks on a series of labors, confronting the greatest minds and monsters in the world, to find which Olympian is responsible. The only god he still trusts is Auntie Hera.
There’s one problem: Hera is the one responsible, and she’ll do anything to hide the truth. She’s always detested Heracles, the illegitimate child of her husband Zeus. As Goddess of Family, Heracles is a living insult to her entire being. She only realized what she’s set in motion once it was too late, now Heracles discovering the truth would destroy them both. She must keep him from solving the mystery. Desperate, she stalls sending him off to face impossible monsters, but each time he winds up adding another creature to a new found family. A family that could wage war against the entire heavens.
Yes, this is a story where Heracles tries to befriend every bloodthirsty monster in the world. You never know how much a hydra has to share until you chat.
WEARING THE LION is an epic fantasy about the things that make us feel monstrous, and about how facing monsters can make us feel whole. It’s about traditional family, found family, and growing when people say there’s nothing left for you.
You'll get to see a lot more of it in June!
#books #myths #fantasy #monsters #bookstagram
A clean look at the cover for my debut novel SOMEONE YOU CAN BUILD A NEST IN! Art by the incomparable @jmfenner !
Shesheshen is a shapeshifting horror with a big problem: she's fallen for a human. She’s never connected with someone like she does with the kindly Homily…until she learns Homily is here to hunt her.
A surprise for UK readers! Bookshop has The Dragon Has Some Complaints at 20% off if you use the code PREORDER20. Get all three heads. Get all the troublesome riders and queer romances. Every wing, every claw.
Support indie bookstores and get the best price my book will be at all year!
#bookstagram #fantasy #dragons
Some recent books read and received! This stack has been keeping me company at my desk, but I decided to bring it outside to enjoy the beautiful Spring weather. Some of these are already out, while a few are ~Coming Soon~.
The Tale of the Tower is...
Muñeca by Cynthia Gómez
Foundling Fathers by Meg Elison
The Genie Game by Jordan Ifueko
She's A Doll by Barbara Truelove
Rabbit Test and Other Stories by Samantha Mills
Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin
So anything you like?
#bookstagram #fantasy #horror #scifi #sciencefiction
I'm running up that hill again. I've been working on my next novel for a little over a month now. The writing is a lot slower than it used to be, before all my health nonsense. It takes me more hours in the chair to get through a scene.
It feels good to get into the groove with a character.
#authorlife #writing
I remember the first time an author offered me a book plate. She saw that I'd bought her newest book and stopped me in the middle of a dealer's room to get my address. It was no problem, she said. She'd ship me one.
And I'm standing there thinking, "Do I want to eat off of a plate with this cover? And isn't that expensive?"
It turns out book plates are not tableware. They're not even big metal plates for printing presses.
Over the last couple weeks I've been signing this little guys. Each one is a book-themed sized to fit perfectly on the title page of a book, where an author would typically put their signature.
If we meet in person, I'm happy to sign a book! But I will only be travelling so much, and mailing books back and forth is expensive. Book plates fit in an envelope and can ship affordably anywhere. I can even send a stack of them to a book store in a far-off locale, so that the local patrons can have a signature in their book.
Frankly, I'll take this over a dish.
#bookstagram #authorlife
Hi from the waiting room! Checking in with the doctors today. It seems like I'm making good progress and should be able to get around for my book launch in July.
I haven't talked about this much on Instagram. In October, I came down with the first of several respiratory illnesses. Over the next seven months I had pneumonia, tonsillitis, an upper respiratory infection, bronchitis, a collapsed lung, and I broke four ribs from coughing so violently. It got grim there for a while!
For half a year, I didn't leave the house for anything other that the doctor or the hospital. It was purgatory.
So I'm quite excited to hit the road in July for The Dragon Has Some Complaints. I hope to see y'all out there!
🍹What can we get for you this evening?🍸
Today we've got a few specials for your book and hydration needs:
STARTUP HELL by @caitlin.rozakis - Worker at a terrible startup accidentally ends up with a (inconveniently cute) demon intern. Which is worse, the literal forces of hell or a tech bro CEO?
THE DRAGON HAS SOME COMPLAINTS by @john_wiswell - Three heads, two broken wings, and all the complaints a rider could ask for.
THE QUIET LIGHT by @caseylblair - A spicy cozy fantasy romance with a heroine whose magic is powered by wrath, the dragon shifter who introduces her to ice cream, and an isolated mountain cottage with only one bed.
OCEANSONG by @cwroseauthor - She’s a human, he’s a Mer-Prince and their families are at war. Oceansong is part 1 of a complete slowburn fantasy romance!
DOOMFLOWER by @jendiagammon - A wild, campy horror, enemies-to-lovers romcom! The meanest Malibu teen queen Camellia meets new student Wray, and if they can survive their mutual disgust, they may have to team up to save the world from invading plant monsters!
BEHOOVED by @mstevensonbooks - A charming slow-burn romantasy featuring a duty-bound noblewoman with a chronic illness, a prince who would rather be in a library than on a throne, and a magical ride through a world of cozy enchantment.
What drink orders and books catch your eye? Follow each of us for more book-related fun!📖
In this fraught time, I would like to share a little good news.
After seven months of medical hell, I thought I'd lost my creative spark. That the capacity to write and fall in love with characters had left me.
But I just started writing my next novel.
#authorlife
Just gonna leave this right here. I am one happy narrator 🥰
The Dragon Has Some Complaints
Written by @john_wiswell
Produced by @sara.pagyogi for @audible
Garrodigh was once a four-headed dragon, among the most powerful in Kardoša. After an unfortunate incident, he now has three heads, one stump, and a daily whirlwind of internal bickering. Centerhead wants to rain death upon all humanity, Bottomhead is like a feral cat, and Upperhead is under the delicate delusion that he is, in fact, human.
When a nearby battle goes awry, Garrodigh sneaks into an elite dragon rider academy, pretending to be tame to get free food and a warm bed. Lucky for him, rider Rania Charvátová is desperate enough for a dragon of her own that she overlooks his eccentricities.
As Garrodigh recovers under Rania’s care, all three heads start to turn, for the first time, in the same direction. Each wants to protect her from the invaders who killed their fourth head—the same invaders who seek to conquer Kardoša. When the academy comes under attack, can this wild dragon and his wilder rider save their homeland together?
This cozy fantasy intertwines epic battles with loving friendships, sharing an utterly unique perspective on what it means to be a “monster.”
#comingsoon #audiobook #narrator #fantasy #cozyfantasy
Today is Independent Bookstore Day! Today is a splendid time to pop out and visit your favorite indie, or hop on their website and pre-order some things. These places are hubs for our communities and nexuses of our stories.
My personal local indie is Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, New York. Even when I’m just going for an event, I wind up buying something there. Their shelf-talkers are helpful, their staff is kind, and their selection is vast. I can’t recommend them enough.
In fact, that’s why I’ve partnered with them. If you want a signed copy of my upcoming novel THE DRAGON HAS SOME COMPLAINTS, you can get one shipped directly to you from Oblong. Just order it from their site, and I’ll put pen to paper for you. I’m told I have a neat signature.
What is your favorite indie?
