Cover reveal!
Angst all the way down
Hello Foxes,
It’s been a weird week. I feel like I’ve got nothing done but at the same time… lots has happened.
Thank you to all who’ve come and found me on Patreon! I’m super excited to share more of my writing and gritty fantasy worlds with you, and Fantastic Foxes will be getting the bonus material from the Secrets illustrated edition later this week. If you haven’t signed up yet, the first month free offer is still on – check it out!
Sorrow for Thorns, the fourth Solstice War Fairy Tales novella, is coming out on March 15! Here’s the cover:
If you’ve read Rebels, you’ll know Raphael as the dour protector, watching from the shadows, hunting out spies, and generally giving off stabby don’t-touch-me-or-my-people vibes. There is, as ever, a reason for Raphael’s sour personality, and after the Rebels calamity, the prince skulks off to hide in a reputedly cursed castle.
When tackling Beauty and the Beast, it was important to me that the Beast was not a jailer – in my version, the Beast (Raphael) desperately wants Beauty (Belle) to leave, attempting to protect her from a violent curse.
The challenge then became making sure both characters kept their agency in the face of impending violence. This story grapples with the difficulty of making choices on someone else’s behalf in order to protect them, and also the notion that a person ought to ‘protect themselves’ from the violence of another – as if the perpetrator isn’t also making an active choice.
‘Sweetie, pity is sorrow and sympathy. You deserve both.’
As you can imagine, with this subject matter and me being me, it’s angst all the way down. All set in an enchanted castle that, in happier times, I think would be quite a wonderful place!
ARCs will be going out in the next week or so.
As usual, you can pre-order Sorrow for Thorns on Amazon or direct from me via my website. And a complimentary copy will be available to all paid patrons, so if you’re a Fantastic Fox, you’ll get it via Patreon. Another reason to start that free trial!
Other news
The Darkhaven Operation Chocolate Overload edition proof copy has shipped! Really looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Pictures will follow!
The Frog Prince story is shaping up well. Can’t decide on a title for it… but it’ll come.
And I’m about 15% into the Princess and the Pea draft. Ergh this one is tough. But the MC has PTSD, and it wouldn’t be right if it was easy. Hopefully I have more progress to report on this next time.
I’ll be back next week with some snazzy book fairs. Until then!
Read and be weird,
Kel
My coordinates are… (indie) bookshop!
The Indie Author Hive Buzzfest is on for the next couple of days with a hive full of fantasy titles either 99c or free!
