The Qwillery

Amy Impellizzeri (2014)

The Truth About Thea
Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, October 17, 2017
Trade Paperback, 272 pages

Will, a recovering heroin addict-turned-counselor for whom truth is a championed element to recovery, has a dark secret -- shared with no one outside of his anonymous support meetings. Over twenty years ago, after an ultimatum from his pregnant ex-wife, Will was forced to assume a new identity and to fake his own death to get out from under his dealer and user-friends once and for all.
Now Will is counseling Thea, a young woman who has been diagnosed with a pathological addiction to creating fake social media identities, and who founded a start-up company ("Alibis") that created false internet identities for clients, many with suspect pasts. Thea's addiction has landed her in rehab as a condition of her parole -- after a plea bargain cut short a court case that would have put both Thea and Alibis on trial for a very high-profile crime.

As Will works with Thea, the truth is put into motion on a collision course. Both Will's, and his young client's, secrets start to unravel ... and reveal, at long last, the truth about Thea.

Sarah Remy (2014)

The Exiled King
Bone Magic 4
Harper Voyager Impulse, September 19, 2017
eBook, 336 pages

Avani and Mal’s journey comes to its gripping conclusion in this final installment of the Bone Magic series by Sarah Remy

The desert has outgrown its boundaries…

The warriors of the sands have united for the first time. They are newly privy to the secret sidhe roads beneath mountains, the ones that used to keep the flatlands safe. And they are marching toward Wilhaiim with weapons of steel.

Wilhaiim is out of options…

King Renault’s choice is untenable: watch the flatlands fall, or work with Malachi Doyle in a secret gambit to revive Wilhaiim’s ancient mechanized guardians, the Automata. The Automata have a terrible, bloodied history, but Mal believes they are his kingdom’s only hope of survival.

Mal wavers on the edge of insanity…

Avani lives with Mal in her head, an unwilling witness to his increasing madness. Her nights are filled with dreams of darkness and despair, her days troubled by guilt and uncertainty. Her beloved Goddess draws distant as Mal’s influence takes its toll. And as the bloodshed, brutality, and loss multiples, she and Mal will learn that determination is sometimes more potent than sorcery…and that the greatest sacrifices are often inescapable.

Angus Watson (2014)

You Die When You Die
West of West 1
Orbit, June 20, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 512 pages

YOU DIE WHEN YOU DIE . . .

You can't change your fate - so throw yourself into battle, because you'll either win or wake up drinking mead in the halls of your ancestors. That's what Finn's tribe believe.

But when their settlement is massacred by a hostile tribe and Finn and several friends, companions and rivals make their escape across a brutal, unfamiliar landscape, Finn will fight harder than he's ever fought in his life. He wants to live - even if he only lives long enough to tell Thyri Treelegs how he feels about her.

The David Gemmell Award nominated author of Age of Iron returns with You Die When You Die - in which a mismatched group of refugees battle animals and monsters, determined assassins, depraved tribes, an unforgiving land and each other as they cross a continent to fulfill a prophecy.

Kameron Hurley (2011)

Empire Ascendant
Worldbreaker Saga 2
Angry Robot, November 1, 2016
Mass Market Paperback, 544 pages
Trade Paperback and eBook, October 6, 2015

Loyalties are tested when worlds collide…

Every two thousand years, the dark star Oma appears in the sky, bringing with it a tide of death and destruction. And those who survive must contend with friends and enemies newly imbued with violent powers. The kingdom of Saiduan already lies in ruin, decimated by invaders from another world who share the faces of those they seek to destroy.

Now the nation of Dhai is under siege by the same force. Their only hope for survival lies in the hands of an illegitimate ruler and a scullery maid with a powerful – but unpredictable –magic. As the foreign Empire spreads across the world like a disease, one of their former allies takes up her Empress’s sword again to unseat them, and two enslaved scholars begin a treacherous journey home with a long-lost secret that they hope is the key to the Empire’s undoing.

But when the enemy shares your own face, who can be trusted?

In this devastating sequel to The Mirror Empire, Kameron Hurley transports us back to a land of blood mages and sentient plants, dark magic, and warfare on a scale that spans worlds.

File Under: Fantasy

The Stars Are Legion
Saga Press, February 7, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 400 pages

Set within a system of decaying world-ships travelling through deep space, this breakout novel of epic science fiction follows a pair of sisters who must wrest control of their war-torn legion of worlds—and may have to destroy everything they know in order to survive.

On the outer rim of the universe, a galactic war has been waged for centuries upon hundreds of world-ships. But these worlds will continue to die through decay and constant war unless a desperate plan succeeds.

Anat, leader of the Katazyrna world-ship and the most fearsome raiding force on the Outer Rim, wants peace. To do so she offers the hand of her daughter, Jayd, to her rival. Jayd has dreamed about leading her mother’s armies to victory her whole life—but she has a unique ability, and that makes her leverage, not a leader. As Anat convinces her to spend the rest of her life wed to her family’s greatest enemy, it is up to Jayd’s sister Zan—with no stomach for war—to lead the cast off warriors she has banded together to victory and rescue Jayd. But the war does not go at all as planned…

In the tradition of The Fall of Hyperion and Dune, The Stars are Legion is an epic and thrilling tale about familial love, revenge, and war as imagined by one of the genre’s most imaginative new writers.

Amy Impellizzeri (2014)

Secrets of Worry Dolls
Wyatt-MacKenzie, December 1, 2016
Trade Paperback, 284 pages

According to Mayan tradition, if you whisper your troubles to the Worry Dolls, they will do the worrying instead of you—therefore, it follows that Worry Dolls are the keepers of a great many secrets . . .

On the eve of the end of the world—according to the Mayan calendar—Mari Guarez Roselli’s secrets are being unraveled by her daughter, Lu.

Lu’s worry dolls are at-capacity as she tries to outrun the ghosts from her past—including loved ones stolen on 9/11—by traveling through her mother’s homeland of Guatemala, to discover the painful reasons behind her own dysfunctional childhood, and why she must trust in the magic of the legend.

Emmi Itäranta (2014)

The Weaver
Harper Voyager, November 1, 2016
Trade Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

The author of the critically acclaimed Memory of Water returns with this literary ecological tale in the vein of Ursula K. Le Guin and Sheri S. Tepper, in which an innocent young woman becomes entangled in a web of ancient secrets and deadly lies that lie at the dark center of her prosperous island world.

Eliana is a model citizen of the island, a weaver in the prestigious House of Webs. She also harbors a dangerous secret—she can dream, an ability forbidden by the island’s elusive council of elders. No one talks about the dreamers, the undesirables ostracized from society.

But the web of protection Eliana has woven around herself begins to unravel when a young girl is found lying unconscious in a pool of blood on the stones outside the house. Robbed of speech by her attackers, the only clue to her identity is one word tattooed in invisible ink across her palm: Eliana. Why does this mysterious girl bear her name? What links her to the weaver—and could she hold Eliana’s fate in her hand?

As Eliana finds herself growing closer to this injured girl she is bound to in ways she doesn’t understand, the enchanting lies of the island begin to crumble, revealing a deep and ancient corruption. Joining a band of brave rebels determined to expose the island’s dark secrets, Eliana becomes a target of ruthless forces determined to destroy her. To save herself and those she loves, she must call on the power within her she thought was her greatest weakness: her dreams.

Eowyn Ivey (2012)

To the Bright Edge of the World
Little, Brown and Company, August 2, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 432 pages

An atmospheric, transporting tale of adventure, love, and survival from the bestselling author of The Snow Child, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

In the winter of 1885, decorated war hero Colonel Allen Forrester leads a small band of men on an expedition that has been deemed impossible: to venture up the Wolverine River and pierce the vast, untamed Alaska Territory. Leaving behind Sophie, his newly pregnant wife, Colonel Forrester records his extraordinary experiences in hopes that his journal will reach her if he doesn't return--once he passes beyond the edge of the known world, there's no telling what awaits him.

The Wolverine River Valley is not only breathtaking and forbidding but also terrifying in ways that the colonel and his men never could have imagined. As they map the territory and gather information on the native tribes, whose understanding of the natural world is unlike anything they have ever encountered, Forrester and his men discover the blurred lines between human and wild animal, the living and the dead. And while the men knew they would face starvation and danger, they cannot escape the sense that some greater, mysterious force threatens their lives.

Meanwhile, on her own at Vancouver Barracks, Sophie chafes under the social restrictions and yearns to travel alongside her husband. She does not know that the winter will require as much of her as it does her husband, that both her courage and faith will be tested to the breaking point. Can her exploration of nature through the new art of photography help her to rediscover her sense of beauty and wonder?

The truths that Allen and Sophie discover over the course of that fateful year change both of their lives--and the lives of those who hear their stories long after they're gone--forever.

Benedict Jacka (2012)

Bound 
An Alex Verus Novel 8
Ace, April 4, 2017
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 336 pages

Mage Alex Verus is caught between a rock and a hard place in the eighth urban fantasy novel from the national bestselling author of Burned.

Right now I wasn’t seeing Richard as the teacher out of my nightmares, he was just another Dark mage, and I looked into the future to see what would happen if I turned that knife on him instead…

Alex Verus is still haunted by his time apprenticed to Richard Drakh. He’s been free of him for many years, but now the only way to keep his friends from being harmed is to again work for Richard and his deadly ally. Even worse, he’s forced to bring the Light mage Anne into this servitude as well.

After weeks of being hunted and finally cornered into what he thought was his last stand, Alex never thought his life would be spared—and never anticipated at what price. This time, the diviner can see no way out…

The Final Results

The October 2014 Debut Covers

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery. When and why did you start writing?

Amy:  Thanks for having me!

I have always been a “writer” (And I have the vintage detailed diaries from childhood to prove it …) I love that Flannery O’Connor quote: “I write because I don't know what I think until I read what I say.” That’s always been me. Although, before I wrote Lemongrass Hope, I was a different kind of “professional” writer - a corporate litigator, in fact – and what I wrote for a living was very different than what I write now. In 2009, after thirteen years in that world, I left my career writing summary judgment motions, deposition outlines, and closing arguments, and returned to creative writing – both fiction and nonfiction.



TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Amy:  Are they really, truly, mutually exclusive?

If so, I have to align myself with the plotters. I need to know where I’m going in a general I-already-know-how-this-is-all-going-to-end way. In writing this novel, I did let the characters surprise me, and develop on their own. But I will often mull over the details of a scene, its dialogue, or an entire chapter for days before I actually put pen to paper.



TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Amy:  Easy. Putting it out there in the world.

For me, the writing itself is a compulsion and a necessity and generally the act of writing is one I LOVE. I wrote about this very issue recently on Caroline Leavitt’s blog. And while, I’m subject to all of the same challenges that other writers face – writer’s block, story structure problems, too many occasions of the same word in one manuscript (in Lemongrass Hope – everyone was “whispering” until I fixed the 143 word occurrences during the editing process) – it’s so hard to put anything I write out there, from articles, to blog posts, to my debut novel. Because it’s not just that I want people to like it – I want them to feel like it was genuinely worth their time to read. Really, what I’m trying to say is - I want them to LOVE it.



TQ:  Who are some of your literary influences? Favorite authors?

Amy:  Well certainly I am drawn to those who have done magical realism and done it so well. The great Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Yann Martel come to mind instantly. One of the most joyful moments I experienced on the road to publication of Lemongrass Hope was the day I obtained permission to reprint an excerpt of Life of Pi in my own novel. In terms of current contemporary fiction, I am a huge fan of Jojo Moyes, Jess Walter, and Caroline Leavitt, just to name a (very!) few.



TQ:  Describe Lemongrass Hope in 140 characters or less.

A haunting, unique story – both relatable AND magical – which explores those decisions about love and life that often give rise to some dramatic “What If’s?”



TQ:  Tell us something about Lemongrass Hope that is not in the book description.

Amy:  It will surprise you. Up until the very last page. If you haven’t read it yet, you don’t know what REALLY happens, no matter how many descriptions or reviews you have read to date. Trust me.



TQ:  What inspired you to write Lemongrass Hope? The novel is described by the publisher as "...a captivating and unpredictable love story, with a dose of magical realism and time travel." Why add both elements of magical realism and time travel to a love story?

Amy:  The easy answer is that I had a very surreal dream a few years ago that haunted me and gripped me, and gave rise to the core magic that readers find in Lemongrass Hope. However, as the novel developed – as the love story developed - I really wanted to explore the concept of time travel in a new way that doesn’t involve time machines or flashy, abrupt transitions to the past. I wanted the transition to be seamless. I really wanted the reader to BELIEVE what had happened in the story. To lose themselves in the possibility.



TQ:  What sort of research did you do for Lemongrass Hope?

Amy:  Lemongrass Hope takes place in three main regions – New York City and its suburbs; Botswana; and the Bahamas. I lived in the New York area for thirteen years and I have traveled to the Bahamas, but not Botswana (yet!) so my experiences in those first two places certainly informed certain sections of the novel. Years ago – before I started the novel - I read about the Elephant Sanctuary in Botswana and the marula forests, and was utterly fascinated. As I worked on the novel, that research was critical to the development of the story.



TQ:  In Lemongrass Hope who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?

Amy:  Dee was the easiest character to write. Even though she plays a small role, it’s a critical one. And I am absolutely mesmerized by her. She’s definitely a character that evolved completely on her own, with little help from me. I have fantasies about writing another book focusing entirely on her story – which I’m certain would be so very intriguing.

Rob Sutton was the hardest to write, and in fact, I had to spend a fair amount of time working on his character development during the editing process through some pretty hefty character arc exercises. Regardless of what you think about him in the final version of the novel, in the earlier versions, he was just … too unlikeable. That was never my goal for him, and so I spent a lot of time thinking about him, re-writing him, and working on him.




TQ:  Give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery lines from Lemongrass Hope.

Amy:

“Marula fruit,” she smiled. “You need marula drink instead of that,” she pointed to his glass of bourbon and he smiled again, straightened up and glanced over Dee’s head at the door again for the first time since Dee had sat down. “Yes,” he said. “That’s exactly why I’ve come here.”

“That’s how gambling works, Kate. To succeed, you can’t be too practical. Or too conservative.
“Ah, it’s the great inverse of life.” I clinked my glass on his.
Ian actually looked startled. “Inverse? Kate, it’s the precise analogy of life ….”

TQ:  What's next?

Amy:  I’m finishing up work on my first non-fiction book, entitled Lawyer Interrupted (ABA Publishing) due out in Spring 2015. Which means that before year’s end, I can turn my attention to my next novel, and see which one of the two concepts that are sketched out (in true “planner’s” fashion) actually lends itself to a full-length novel. On one hand, I have been working out an idea that will be completely separate from Lemongrass Hope, and on the other – developing an idea that would explore one of my favorite Lemongrass Hope character’s back story . Stay tuned ….



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Amy:  THANK YOU!

Lemongrass Hope
Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, October 8, 2014
Trade Paperback and eBook, 302 pages

Set in the past, and present, Lemongrass Hope is a captivating and unpredictable love story, with a dose of magical realism and time travel.

Lemongrass Hope weaves together ordinary lives and events to tell an extraordinary tale of connection, loss, renewal, and of course, hope.

As Kate Sutton’s decade-long marriage to Rob erodes and unravels, Kate fears that the secrets she guards from the world, including Rob’s emergency room proposal, and a whirlwind love affair from her past, have always doomed her fate. When she unwittingly receives a glimpse at what her life could have been like had she made different choices all those years ago, it is indeed all she could have ever wanted. A confirmation of her greatest hope, and her greatest fears.

Lemongrass Hope will draw you in with characters so relatable and real, you will cheer for them one moment and flinch the next. A tale that invites you to suspend disbelief—or perhaps decide to believe once and for all—in the potent power of love and connection over time and choice.

Oh, and the dress. There’s this lemongrass dress . . .

About Amy

Amy Impellizzeri is a reformed corporate litigator and author. After spending a decade at one of the top law firms in the country, Amy left in 2009 to advocate for working women, eventually landing at a VC-backed start-up company, ShopFunder LLC (formerly Hybrid Her - named by ForbesWoman as a top website for women in 2010 and 2011), while writing her first novel, Lemongrass Hope, which debuted as an Amazon Best-Seller (Fantasy/Romance and Fantasy/Time Travel) and her first non-fiction book, Lawyer Interrupted, which is scheduled to be published by the American Bar Association in 2015.

Oprah's very first Book Club Selection Author and NYT #1 Best-Selling Author, Jacquelyn Mitchard, has said “Lemongrass Hope is that fine and fresh thing – a truly new story …. Amy Impellizzeri is a bold and tender writer, who makes the impossible feel not only real, but strangely familiar.” NYT Best-selling Author, Caroline Leavitt, called Lemongrass Hope: "haunting, mesmerizing and unforgettable." Foreword Reviews Magazine chose Lemongrass Hope as one of five exemplary titles in romance fiction featured in its fall issue of "Indies We Love!", and Lemongrass Hope has received acclaim from book reviewers, bloggers, and authors alike, including all 5-star reviews on Amazon. Amy's essays and articles have appeared in The Huffington Post, The Glass Hammer, Divine Caroline, and ABA's Law Practice today, among more. Amy currently lives in rural Pennsylvania where she works and plays and keeps up on all of the latest research confirming that large volumes of coffee are indeed good for you.

Website  ~  Blog  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter @AmyImpellizzeri

Cover art and design: Scott Biel; (boy’s face) Masterfile

Cover Art by Chris McGrath

Happy 1st Monday in October! Only 25 days until Halloween! I'm heading off to New York Comic Con this weekend so look for posts about that. The kitchen renovation (for those of you keeping track) is nearing the pause point - countertops will be measured for this week and then I wait for them to be ready (2 to 3 weeks). After the countertops are in, the finishing touches are completed and I have a kitchen again. I can't wait.




This week is full of debuts (6 of the 9 out this month):

Heraclix and Pomp: A Novel of the Fabricated and the Fey by Forrest Aguirre;

The Secrets of Life and Death by Rebecca Alexander;

Liesmith (Wyrd 1) by Alis Franklin;

Lemongrass Hope by Amy Impellizzeri;

Falling Sky by Rajan Khanna;

and

The Undying: An Apocalyptic Thriller by Ethan Reid.


From formerly featured Debut Author Challenge Authors:

The Shotgun Arcana by R.S. Belcher;

The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman;

Silverblind (Ironskin 3) by Tina Connolly;

Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch 2) by Ann Leckie;

and

Knife Sworn (Tower and Knife Trilogy 2) by Mazarkis Williams is out in Trade Paperback.

October 6, 2014

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Mine Tomorrow (e)	Jackie Braun	PNR
Channeling Wonder: Fairy Tales on Television	Pauline Greenhill Jill Terry Rudy	LC/F
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Q are Cordially Uninvited... (e)	Rudy Josephs	SF - Star Trek
Reap & Redeem (e)	Lisa Medley	UF - Reaper 3
In the Void (e)	Sheryl Nantus	SFR - Tales from the Edge 2
Helmut Goes Abroad (e)	Matt Sheehan	UF/AH - Helmut Haase 2

October 7, 2014

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (ri)	Douglas Adams	SF
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (ri)	Douglas Adams	SF
Heraclix and Pomp: A Novel of the Fabricated and the Fey (D)	Forrest Aguirre	HistF
The Secrets of Life and Death (D - US)	Rebecca Alexander	HistF
The Night Garden: A Novel	Lisa Van Allen	R/Magic
Unseaming	Mike Allen	H/DF - Collection
A Vision of Fire	Gillian Anderson Jeff Rovin	SF
The Shotgun Arcana	R. S. Belcher	WW
One Potion in the Grave	Heather Blake	PM - A Magic Potion Mystery 2
Hawk	Steven Brust	F - Vlad Taltos14
The Lesser Dead	Christopher Buehlman	H
The Lost Stars: Imperfect Sword	Jack Campbell	SF - The Lost Stars 3
Ship of the Dead	John L. Campbell	H - Omega Days 2
Autumn Bones (h2mm)	Jacqueline Carey	UF - Agent of Hel 2
Poison Fruit	Jacqueline Carey	UF - Agent of Hel 3
Silverblind	Tina Connolly	HistF - Ironskin 3
Nightmare Carnival	Ellen Datlow (ed)	H - Anthology
Undead and Unwary	MaryJanice Davidson	PNR - Undead/Queen Betsy 13
The Baen Big Book of Monsters	Hank Davis (ed)	SF - Anthology
The Sentinel (h2tp)	Troy Denning	F - D&D: The Sundering
The Protectors (e)	Trey Dowell	SH
Midkemia: The Chronicles of Pug (h2tp)	Raymond E. Feist Stephen Abrams	F - Art
Liesmith (D)	Alis Franklin	UF - Wyrd 1
The Tess Noncoiré Chronicles: Volume I	P. R. Frost	F - Omnibus
Parasite (h2tp)	Mira Grant	SF - Parasitology 1
Gotrek & Felix: Kinslayer	David Guymer	F - Gotrek & Felix 16
Scarlet Tides	David Hair	F - Moontide Quartet 2
Reckoning	S.J. Harper	UF - Fallen Siren 2
Ghost Gone Wild (h2mm)	Carolyn Hart	PM - A Bailey Ruth Ghost Novel 4
Ghost Wanted	Carolyn Hart	PM - A Bailey Ruth Ghost Novel 5
Spark: A Novel	John Twelve Hawks	Th
Beyond This Horizon (ri)	Robert A. Heinlein	SF
Blood Debt (ri)	Tanya Huff	UF - Blood Books 5
Witch Lights (e)	Michael M. Hughes	H - Blackwater Lights Trilogy 2
Broken Soul	Faith Hunter	UF - Jane Yellowrock 8
To Love a King	Shona Husk	PNR - Court of Annwyn 3
The Madness of Cthulhu Anthology	S.T. Joshi (ed)	H - Anthology
A Midwinter's Tail	Sofie Kelly	PM - Magical Cats 6
Falling Sky (D)	Rajan Khanna	SF/Ap/PA
Bastion (h2mm)	Mercedes Lackey	F - Collegium Chronicles 5 / Valdemar
Closer to Home	Mercedes Lackey	F - Herald Spy 1
Ghost Phoenix (e)	Corrina Lawson	PNR - The Phoenix Institute 3
Ancillary Sword	Ann Leckie	SF - Imperial Radch 2
The Last Man Standing (h2tp)	Davide Longo	Dys
Princess Mononoke: The First Story	Hayao Miyazaki	F - Princess Mononoke
Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets : An Anthology of Holmesian Tales Across Time and Space	David Thomas Moore (ed)	SF/F - Anthology
The Dark Defiles	Richard K. Morgan	F - Land Fit for Heroes 3
Above (h2tp)	Isla Morley	Sus/H
The Wolves of London: The Obsidian Heart	Mark Morris	F - Obsidian Heart 1
Citadel (h2tp)	Kate Mosse	Th - Languedoc Trilogy 3
Valhalla	Robert J. Mrazek	Th
Brood	Chase Novak	Gothic
Living Language Dothraki: A Conversational Language Course Based on the Hit Original HBO Series Game of Thrones	David J. Peterson	F - Game of Thrones
The Undying (D)	Ethan Reid	Ap/Th
Orbs II: Stranded: A Science Fiction Thriller	Nicholas Sansbury Smith	SF/Th - Orbs 2
White Sands: An Orbs Prequel	Nicholas Sansbury Smith	SF - Orbs
We Are Not Good People	Jeff Somers	F - Ustari Cycle 2
Fearsome Magics: The New Solaris Book of Fantasy	Jonathan Strahan (ed)	F - Anthology
The Chaplain's War	Brad R Torgersen	SF - Chaplain's War 1
The Steampunk User's Manual: An Illustrated Practical and Whimsical Guide to Creating Retro-futurist Dreams	Jeff VanderMeer Desirina Boskovich	SP
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk Adventures	Sean Wallace (ed)	SP
Immorta1	J.R. Ward	PNR - Fallen Angels 6
A Call to Duty	David Weber Timothy Zahn	SF - Honorverse: Manticore Ascendant 1
The Way of Shadows: The Graphic Novel	Brent Weeks Ivan Brandon Andy MacDonald	F/GN - Night Angel Trilogy 1
Field of Fantasies: Baseball Stories of the Strange and Supernatural	Rick Wilber	F - Anthology
Unbinding	Eileen Wilks	UF - World of the Lupi 11
Knife Sworn (h2tp)	Mazarkis Williams	F - Tower and Knife Trilogy 2

October 8, 2014

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Lemongrass Hope (D)	Amy Impellizzeri	R/TT/MR
Lost Under a Ladder	Linda O. Johnston	PCM - A Superstition Mystery 1

October 9, 2014

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Timebomb (e)	Scott K. Andrews	TT - Timebomb Trilogy 1

D - Debut
e - eBook
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
K e - Kindle eBook
ri - reissue or reprint


AH - Alternate History
Ap - Apocalyptic
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
H - Horror
HistF - Historical Fantasy
LC - Literary Criticism
MR - Magical Realism
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
R - Romance
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SP - Steampunk
Sus - Suspense
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy

James Tadd Adcox

Does Not Love
Curbside Splendor Publishing, October 14, 2014
Trade Paperback and eBook, 200 pages

Set in an archly comedic, alternate-reality Indianapolis that is completely overrun by Big Pharma, James Tadd Adcox's debut novel chronicles Robert and Viola's attempts to overcome loss through the miracles of modern pharmaceuticals. Their marriage crumbling after a series of miscarriages, Viola finds herself in an affair with the FBI agent who has recently appeared at her workplace, while her husband Robert becomes enmeshed in an elaborate conspiracy designed to look like a drug study.

Forrest Aguirre

Heraclix and Pomp: A Novel of the Fabricated and the Fey
Underland Press, October 7, 20114
Hardcover and eBook, 280 pages

Heraclix and Pomp, Aguirre’s first full-length novel, explores the ideas of identity and immortality through the eyes of a man-like golem and a time-bending fairy who can barely grasp the idea of now, much less the dangers of what’s to come.

Before being sewn-together, Heraclix was dead—merely a pile of mismatched pieces, collected from the corpses of many troubled men. And Pomp was immortal—at least, so she thought. That was before her impossible near-murder at the hands of the necromancer, Heraclix’s creator. But when playing God, even the smallest error is a gargantuan weakness. When the necromancer makes his, Heraclix and Pomp begin their epic flight.

As they travel from Vienna to Prague to Istanbul and, even, to Hell itself, they struggle to understand who and what they are: who was Heraclix before his death and rebirth? What is mortality, and why does it suddenly concern Pomp? As they journey through an unruly eighteenth century, they discover that the necromancer they thought dead might not be quite so after all. In fact, he may have sealed his immortality at the expense of everyone alive . . .

Heraclix and Pomp is a richly textured and decadent read, filled with Baroque ideology and Byzantine political intrigue. Fans of fantasy and historical fiction alike will revel in Aguirre’s layered prose and vivid characterizations. Heraclix and Pomp brings the surreal and the macabre to one of history’s most violent eras, and it does so in a voice sure to resonate among this season’s best new releases.

Rebecca Alexander

The Secrets of Life and Death
Broadway Books, October 7, 2014
Trade Paperback and eBook, 384 pages
(US Debut)

In modern day England, Professor Felix Guichard is called in to identify occult symbols found on the corpse of a young girl. His investigation brings him in contact with a mysterious woman, Jackdaw Hammond, who guards a monumental secret--She's Dead. Or she would be, were it not for magic which has artificially extended her life. But someone else knows her secret. Someone very old and very powerful, who won't rest until they've taken the magic that keeps her alive....

In Krakow in 1585, Dr John Dee, the Elizabethan Alchemist and Occultist, and his assistant Edward Kelley have been summoned by the King of Poland to save the life of his niece, the infamous Countess Elisabeth Bathory. But they soon realize that the only thing worse than the Countess' malady, is the magic that might be able to save her...

As Jackdaw and Felix race to uncover the truth about the person hunting her, it becomes clear that the answers they seek can only be found in the ancient diary of John Dee's assistant, Edward Kelley. Together they must solve a mystery centuries in the making, or die trying.

Trey Dowell

The Protectors
Simon 451, October 7, 2014
eBook, 240 pages

An enthralling debut, The Protectors offers a dark twist on the classic superhero story as fallen hero Scott McAlister embarks on a globe-hopping chase to stop his former teammate—and ex-lover—gone rogue.

Don’t call him a superhero.

Heroes change the world. Scott McAlister? On a good day, he manages to change out of sweatpants.

It wasn’t always like this. Scott used to be leader of the Protectors, the world’s one and only squad of superheroes. It was a decent gig, but far from the shiny force for good the UN advertised. He could abide the publicity stunts, the lies, the ham-fisted government handlers—but when one of the Protectors died under his command, it was too much. Wracked with guilt, Scott stepped down and into an early retirement.

Now, five years later, a desperate CIA chief shows up on Scott’s doorstep with a polite request and a cadre of shock troops to ensure that Scott accepts. His ex-teammate and ex-lover, Lyla Ravzi, has gone rogue. The former Protector has the ability to control minds, and she’s no longer interested in “protecting.” She wants world domination.

Scott’s mission is simple: Find Lyla and stop her. The messy little details are up to him. It’s the last thing Scott needs after five years spent trying to forget the Protectors and to get over Lyla, but the alternative is worse.

As he closes in on his target, Scott is forced to confront his past and face a chilling reality: Can he save the world and the woman he once loved? Or will he have to choose?

Alis Franklin

Liesmith
Wyrd 1
Hydra, October 7, 2014
eBook, 308 pages

At the intersection of the magical and the mundane, Alis Franklin’s thrilling debut novel reimagines mythology for a modern world—where gods and mortals walk side by side.

Working in low-level IT support for a company that’s the toast of the tech world, Sigmund Sussman finds himself content, if not particularly inspired. As compensation for telling people to restart their computer a few times a day, Sigmund earns enough disposable income to gorge on comics and has plenty of free time to devote to his gaming group.

Then in walks the new guy with the unpronounceable last name who immediately becomes IT’s most popular team member. Lain Laufeyjarson is charming and good-looking, with a story for any occasion; shy, awkward Sigmund is none of those things, which is why he finds it odd when Lain flirts with him. But Lain seems cool, even if he’s a little different—though Sigmund never suspects just how different he could be. After all, who would expect a Norse god to be doing server reboots?

As Sigmund gets to know his mysterious new boyfriend, fate—in the form of an ancient force known as the Wyrd—begins to reveal the threads that weave their lives together. Sigmund doesn’t have the first clue where this adventure will take him, but as Lain says, only fools mess with the Wyrd. Why? Because the Wyrd messes back.

Amy Impellizzeri

Lemongrass Hope
Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, October 8, 2014
Trade Paperback and eBook, 302 pages

Set in the past, and present, Lemongrass Hope is a captivating and unpredictable love story, with a dose of magical realism and time travel.

Lemongrass Hope weaves together ordinary lives and events to tell an extraordinary tale of connection, loss, renewal, and of course, hope.

As Kate Sutton’s decade-long marriage to Rob erodes and unravels, Kate fears that the secrets she guards from the world, including Rob’s emergency room proposal, and a whirlwind love affair from her past, have always doomed her fate. When she unwittingly receives a glimpse at what her life could have been like had she made different choices all those years ago, it is indeed all she could have ever wanted. A confirmation of her greatest hope, and her greatest fears.

Lemongrass Hope will draw you in with characters so relatable and real, you will cheer for them one moment and flinch the next. A tale that invites you to suspend disbelief—or perhaps decide to believe once and for all—in the potent power of love and connection over time and choice.

Oh, and the dress. There’s this lemongrass dress . . .

Rajan Khanna

Falling Sky
Pyr, October 7, 2014
Trade Paperback and eBook, 260 pages
Cover Artist: Chris McGrath

Ben Gold lives in dangerous times. Two generations ago, a virulent disease turned the population of most of North America into little more than beasts called Ferals. Some of those who survived took to the air, scratching out a living on airships and dirigibles soaring over the dangerous ground.

Ben has his own airship, a family heirloom, and has signed up to help a group of scientists looking for a cure. But that's not as easy as it sounds, especially with a power-hungry air city looking to raid any nearby settlements. To make matters worse, his airship, the only home he's ever known, is stolen. Ben must try to survive on the ground while trying to get his ship back.

This brings him to Gastown, a city in the air recently conquered by belligerent and expansionist pirates. When events turn deadly, Ben must decide what really matters-whether to risk it all on a desperate chance for a better future or to truly remain on his own.

Mike Meginnis

Fat Man and Little Boy
Black Balloon Publishing, October 14, 2014
Trade Paperback and eBook, 416 pages

Two bombs over Japan. Two shells.

One called Little Boy, one called Fat Man. Three days apart. The one implicit in the other.

Brothers.

The winner of the 2013 Horatio Nelson Fiction Prize, Fat Man and Little Boy pulses with magical realism in an unprecedented approach to its tragic subject matter.

In this powerful debut novel, the atomic bombs dropped on Japan are personified, born on impact as human beings—as a Fat Man and a Little Boy. Their small measure of humanity is a cruelty the brother bombs must suffer. Given life from death, they travel west from Japan to France and later to America. Their journey is one of surreal and unsettling discovery, and author Mike Meginnis transforms these symbols of mass destruction into beacons of longing and hope.

Ethan Reid

The Undying: An Apocalyptic Thriller
Simon451, October 7, 2014
eBook, 272 pages

THEY HAVE COME FROM THE STARS…
In this riveting apocalyptic thriller for fans of The Passage and The Walking Dead, a mysterious event plunges Paris into darkness and a young American must lead her friends to safety—and escape the ravenous “undying” who now roam the crumbling city.

Jeanie and Ben arrive in Paris just in time for a festive New Year’s Eve celebration with local friends. They eat and drink and carry on until suddenly, at midnight, all the lights go out. Everywhere they look, buildings and streets are dark, as though the legendary Parisian revelry has somehow short circuited the entire city.

By the next morning, all hell has broken loose. Fireballs rain down from the sky, the temperatures are rising, and people run screaming through the streets. Whatever has happened in Paris—rumors are of a comet striking the earth—Jeanie and Ben have no way of knowing how far it has spread, or how much worse it will get. As they attempt to flee the burning Latin Quarter—a harrowing journey that takes them across the city, descending deep into the catacombs, and eventually to a makeshift barracks at the Louvre Museum—Jeanie knows the worst is yet to come. So far, only she has witnessed pale, vampiric survivors who seem to exert a powerful hold on her whenever she catches them in her sights.

These cunning, ravenous beings will come to be known as les moribund—the undying—and their numbers increase by the hour. When fate places a newborn boy in her care, Jeanie will stop at nothing to keep the infant safe and get out of Paris—even if it means facing off against the moribund and leaving Ben—and any hope of rescue—behind.

Martin Rose

Bring Me Flesh, I'll Bring Hell: A Horror Novel
Talos, October 28, 2014
Trade Paperback and eBook, 232 pages

Vitus Adamson is falling apart. As a pre-deceased private investigator, he takes the prescription Atroxipine hourly to keep his undead body upright and functioning. Whenever he is injured, he seeks Niko, a bombshell mortician with bedroom eyes and a way with corpses, to piece him back together. Decomposition, however, is the least of his worries when two clients posing his most dangerous job yet appear at his door looking for their lost son.

Vitus is horrified to discover the photo of the couple's missing son is a picture-perfect reproduction of his long dead son. This leads him to question the events of his tormented past; he must face the possibility that the wife and child he believed he murdered ten years ago in a zombie-fugue have somehow survived . . . or is it just wishful thinking designed to pull him into an elaborate trap?

Unfolding like a classic film noir mixed with elements of a B-movie, Bring Me Flesh, I'll Bring Hell is an imaginative spin on the hard-boiled detective genre and a new twist on the zombie novel. In Vitus Adamson, you will find a protagonist you can care about and invest in as he takes you through his emotional journey of betrayal and quest for redemption.