A Skies Press Original

A sharp-tongued folklorist must pair up with her academic rival to solve their mentor’s murder in this lush and enthralling sapphic fantasy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic.. “Clever, emotional, and gorgeous—at its core, this is a story about the healing capacity of love”—Ava Reid, author of Juniper & Thorn. Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants to harness in order to secure his reign over the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come true: to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands she’s only read about.. The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when its leader—Lorelei’s beloved mentor—is murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are the five remaining expedition mates, each with their own motive. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes again—and a coup begins in earnest.. But there are other dangers lurking in the dark: forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons hiding beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood.. As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truth—and resist their growing feelings for each other—they discover that their leader had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, and if this kingdom is worth saving at all.

A Dark and Drowning Tide

Sara A. Mueller's The Bone Orchard is a fascinating whodunit set in a lush, gothic world of secrets and magic―where a dying emperor charges his favorite concubine with solving his own murder, and preventing the culprit, which undoubtedly is one of his three terrible sons, from taking control of an empire.. "Mueller creates an intricate and richly characterized world in her gothic fantasy debut." ― Buzzfeed"A masterfully woven plot with refreshing narrators."―Publishers WeeklyBOOKPAGE'S MOST ANTICIPATED SFF OF 2022TOR.COM'S MOST ANTICIPATED SFF OF 2022 CRIMERAD'S MOST ANTICIPATED CRIME FICTION OF 2022 GEEKLY INC'S MOST ANTICIPATED OF 2022 . Charm is a witch, and she is alone. The last of a line of conquered necromantic workers, now confined within the yard of regrown bone trees at Orchard House, and the secrets of their marrow.. Charm is a prisoner, and a survivor. Charm tends the trees and their clattering fruit for the sake of her children, painstakingly grown and regrown with its fruit: Shame, Justice, Desire, Pride, and Pain. . Charm is a whore, and a madam. The wealthy and powerful of Borenguard come to her house to buy time with the girls who aren't real.. Except on Tuesdays, which is when the Emperor himself lays claim to his mistress, Charm herself.. But now―Charm is also the only person who can keep an empire together, as the Emperor summons her to his deathbed, and charges her with choosing which of his awful, faithless sons will carry on the empire―by discovering which one is responsible for his own murder.. If she does this last thing, she will finally have what has been denied her since the fall of Inshil―her freedom. But she will also be betraying the ghosts past and present that live on within her heart.. Charm must choose. Her dead Emperor’s will or the whispers of her own ghosts. Justice for the empire or her own revenge.

The Bone Orchard

Set in a wonderfully reimagined 15th century West Africa, Masquerade is a dazzling, lyrical tale exploring the true cost of one woman’s fight for freedom and self-discovery, and the lengths she’ll go to secure her future.“Sangoyomi delivers an incisive examination of gender, temptation, and the lengths people will go to hold power—a magnificent debut!” —Vaishnavi Patel, New York Times bestselling author of Kaikeyi. Òdòdó’s hometown of Timbuktu has been conquered by the warrior king of Yorùbáland. Already shunned as social pariahs, living conditions for Òdòdó and the other women in her blacksmith guild grow even worse under Yorùbá rule.. Then Òdòdó is abducted. She is whisked across the Sahara to the capital city of Ṣàngótẹ̀, where she is shocked to discover that her kidnapper is none other than the vagrant who had visited her guild just days prior. But now that he is swathed in riches rather than rags, Òdòdó realizes he is not a vagrant at all; he is the warrior king, and he has chosen her to be his wife.. In a sudden change of fortune, Òdòdó soars to the very heights of society. But after a lifetime of subjugation, the power that saturates this world of battle and political savvy becomes too enticing to resist. As tensions with rival states grow, revealing elaborate schemes and enemies hidden in plain sight, Òdòdó must defy the cruel king she has been forced to wed by re-forging the shaky loyalties of the court in her favor, or risk losing everything—including her life.. Loosely based on the myth of Persephone, O.O. Sangoyomi’s Masquerade takes you on a journey of epic power struggles and political intrigue that turn an entire region on its head.. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Masquerade

He was my savior. My monster. My obsession. My destruction.*A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Ariadne and her Minotaur.*Ariadne Vitalis is in trouble. She's betrayed her father―and his dangerous benefactor―and now she's left to rely on Olympus' questionable mercy. But in this city, mercy comes with a price. For Ariadne, that means a sham marriage to Dionysus. She has no choice but to agree, even if there's only one man she's ever wanted―a man she fears just as much as she desires.The Minotaur never had any illusions about Minos's plans. He was willing to get his hands dirty as long as the old man kept his word―at the end of their bloody work, the Minotaur would be given Ariadne as a reward. She's meant for him, and he intends to have her, no matter the cost.Ariadne knows better than to encourage the Minotaur―she's all too aware of how hot a passion like theirs can burn. Besides, she can never forgive him for the terrible things he's done, and he can never change. But when his hands are on her body and his wicked words are whispered in her ear, she might just be willing to let all of Olympus burn…Dark Olympus:Neon Gods: Hades & PersephoneElectric Idol: Eros & PsycheWicked Beauty: Helen & Achilles & PatroclusRadiant Sin: Apollo & CassandraCruel Seduction: Aphrodite & Hephaestus & Pandora & AdonisMidnight Ruin: Charon & Orpheus & EurydiceDark Restraint: Ariadne & the Minotaur

Dark Restraint

In her quickly gentrifying rural lake town Jade sees recent events only her encyclopedic knowledge of horror films could have prepared her for in this latest chilling novel that “will give you nightmares. The good kind, of course” (BuzzFeed) from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones.. “Some girls just don’t know how to die…” Shirley Jackson meets Friday the 13th in My Heart Is a Chainsaw, written by the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians Stephen Graham Jones, called “a literary master” by National Book Award winner Tananarive Due and “one of our most talented living writers” by Tommy Orange. Alma Katsu calls My Heart Is a Chainsaw “a homage to slasher films that also manages to defy and transcend genre.” On the surface is a story of murder in small-town America. But beneath is its beating heart: a biting critique of American colonialism, Indigenous displacement, and gentrification, and a heartbreaking portrait of a broken young girl who uses horror movies to cope with the horror of her own life. Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies…especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold. Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges…a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body. My Heart Is a Chainsaw is her story, her homage to horror and revenge and triumph.

My Heart Is a Chainsaw (Indian Lake Trilogy, The)

An International Bestseller!Winner of the 2022 Romantic Novel Award in Fantasy!Locus Award Finalist!An Indie Next pick and LibraryReads pick―with four starred reviews!A Best of 2021 Pick for NPR | Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Book RiotRed, White & Royal Blue meets Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in debut author Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light, featuring an Edwardian England full of magic, contracts, and conspiracies.. Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents’ excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known.. Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it―not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else.. Robin’s predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they’ve been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles―and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep.. The Last Binding Trilogy:A Marvellous LightA Restless TruthA Power Unbound

A Marvellous Light

A laugh out loud, unconventional opposites attract love story from New York Times bestselling author Melanie Moreland. I touched her confectionary creation, and she told me off. Slapping my hands and cursing in her own unique fashion. No one talked to me that way. I liked it. I liked her cake even more. So, I took her to Italy to bake for me. I should have asked her first, but I had a feeling she’d say no. I brought her cat, though—that should count for something. Now, I just need to convince her to stay. And forget that little word. Kidnapper. I’d prefer lover. But we’ll wait until she doesn’t want to kill me in my sleep.

My Favorite Kidnapper

In this sweeping epic fantasy comes a story of magic, betrayal, love, and loyalty, where two sisters will clash on opposite sides of a war against the gods. . A divine war shattered the world leaving humanity in ruins. Desperate for hope, they struck a deal with the devious god Kluehnn: He would restore the world to its former glory, but at a price so steep it would keep the mortals indebted to him for eternity. And, as each land was transformed, so too were its people changed into strange new forms - if they survived at all.. Hakara is not willing to pay such a price. Desperate to protect herself, and her sister Rasha, she flees her homeland for the safety of a neighboring kingdom. But when tragedy separates them, Hakara is forced to abandon her beloved sister to an unknown fate.. Alone and desperate for answers on the wrong side of the world, Hakara discovers she can channel the magic from the mysterious gems they are forced to mine for Kluehnn. With that discovery comes another: her sister is alive, and only the rebels plotting to destroy the God Pact can help rescue her.. But only if Hakara goes to war against a god.

The Gods Below

THE FANTASY BOOKTOK SENSATION!. For fans of Uprooted and For the Wolf comes a dark, lushly gothic fantasy about a maiden who must unleash the monster within to save her kingdom—but the monster in her head isn't the only threat lurking.. Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.. Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom she calls home—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets. But nothing comes for free, especially magic. When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it. Except the highwayman just so happens to be the King’s own nephew, Captain of the Destriers…and guilty of high treason. He and Elspeth have until Solstice to gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly, darkly, taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.

One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, 1)

In the dark, spellbinding sequel to One Dark Window, Elspeth must confront the weight of her actions as she and Ravyn embark on a perilous quest to save the kingdom—perfect for readers of Hannah Whitten's For the Wolf and Alexis Henderson's The Year of the Witching.. Gripped by a tyrant king and in the thrall of dark magic, the kingdom is in peril. Elspeth and Ravyn have gathered most of the twelve Providence Cards, but the last—and most important—one remains to be found: the Twin Alders. If they’re going to find the card before Solstice and set free the kingdom, they will need to journey through the dangerous mist-cloaked forest. The only one who can lead them through is the monster that shares Elspeth’s head: the Nightmare.. And he’s not eager to share any longer.. Praise for One Dark Window:. "Enthralling from beginning to shocking end." —Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf. "Pulse pounding, darkly whimsical, and aglow with treacherous magic." —Allison Saft, New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic. The Shepherd King One Dark Window  Two Twisted Crowns

Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King, 2)

Winner of the Hugo Award!In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, bestselling Becky Chambers's delightful new Monk and Robot series, gives us hope for the future.. It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. . But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.. They're going to need to ask it a lot.. Becky Chambers's new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, 1)

This #1 New York Times bestseller is a "bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story" that brilliantly reimagines the life of Circe, formidable sorceress of The Odyssey (Alexandra Alter, TheNew York Times).. In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child -- not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power -- the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.. With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world.. #1 New York Times Bestseller -- named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, the Washington Post, People, Time, Amazon, Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, Newsweek, the A.V. Club, Christian Science Monitor, Refinery 29, Buzzfeed, Paste, Audible, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Thrillist, NYPL, Self, Real Simple, Goodreads, Boston Globe, Electric Literature, BookPage, the Guardian, Book Riot, Seattle Times, and Business Insider.

Circe

**Consideration** means reviewing manuscripts and deciding which book we want to publish. At the end of this phase, we offer an author a book deal.

Consideration

**Editorial** has several phases, which occur on a parallel track with early cover designs.

Editorial

**Design** includes the cover process and interior layout, as well as format decisions like paper stocks and special treatments.

Design

**Printing** means the final files are at the printer and we’re reviewing color proofs and early off copies hot off the press.

Printing

**Published** is when the book releases into the world! Go give it some love.

Published

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Emma

I like to talk about books. A lot. Fantasy books, science fiction books, romance books, sad books, fun books, bleak books, silly books, short stories, novellas, novels, and intimidatingly hefty tomes. If you also like to talk entirely too much about books, you've come to the right place. Make yourself at home! 

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