The Qwillery

Happy Tuesday! There are no debuts this week. From formerly featured DAC Authors: The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey; Silence of the Soleri (The Amber Throne 2) by Michael Johnston; Goldilocks by Laura Lam is out in Trade Paperback; and Soulstar (The Kingston Cycle 3) by C.L. Polk. Clicking on a novel's cover will take you to its Amazon page.

 

 

 

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green. February 16, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Harrowed Paths	David Annandale	H - Warhammer Horror
We Ride Upon Sticks (h2tp)	Quan Barry	CoA/Sports/Occ/Sup
The Unfinished Land	Greg Bear	HistF
Gendering Time, Timing Gender: The Deconstruction of Gender in Time Travel Fiction	Pooja Mittal Biswas	LC
The Black Coast	Mike Brooks	F - God-King Chronicles 1
Lest Darkness Fall & Timeless Tales Written in Tribute	L Sprague de Camp Harry Turtledove David Weber Frederik Pohl S.M. Stirling David Drake	AH/SF/TT
The Searching Dead	Ramsey Campbell	H - Fiction Without Frontiers
Oh, That Shotgun Sky (Ke)	Sarah Chorn
The Gate of Bones	Andy Clark	SF - Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of Fire 2
How to Order the Universe	María José Ferrada Elizabeth Bryer (Tr)	CoA
The Echo Wife	Sarah Gailey	SF.GenEng/Th
Stardust (ri)	Neil Gaiman	FairyT/FolkT/LM
Silence of the Soleri	Michael Johnston	F/HistF - The Amber Throne 2
The Last Human (h2tp)	Zack Jordan	SF/SO
Fairhaven Rising	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	F - Recluce 22
Goldilocks (h2tp)	Laura Lam	SF/SE/Dys/AP/PA
A Court of Silver Flames	Sarah J. Maas	RF/F - Court of Thorns and Roses 4
The Minders	John Marrs	TechTh/SUS/SF
Death Stranding - Death Stranding: The Official Novelization – Volume 1	Hitori Nojima	MTI/SF/AP/PA
Death Stranding - Death Stranding: The Official Novelization – Volume 2	Hitori Nojima	MTI/SF/AP/PA
Holes in the Veil	Beth Overmyer	F - The Goblets Immortal 2
A Sword in the Sun	Shannon Page	CF - Nightcraft Quartet
Soulstar	C. L. Polk	F/Gaslamp/RF - The Kingston Cycle 3
Munchausen and Clarissa: A Berlin Novel	Paul Scheerbart Christina Svendsen (Tr)	LF/HistF
Sons of War 3: Sinners	Nicholas Sansbury Smith	SF/AP/PA - Sons of War Series 3
The Memory Theater	Karin Tidbeck	FairyT/FolkT/LM/DF/HistF
American Gothic Short Stories (e)	Various	SS/H - Gothic Fantasy
Haunted House Short Stories (e)	Various	SS/H - Gothic Fantasy
Science Fiction	Sherryl Vint	LC - The MIT Press Essential Knowledge
Lola on Fire	Rio Youers	PsyTh

February 19, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
John's Eyes	Joanna Corrance	F - Luna Novella 1

February 20, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Just Add Water	John Dodd	F - Luna Novella 2

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
Ke - Kindle eBook
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AB - Absurdist
AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternative History
AP - Apocalyptic
BHU - Black Humor
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CM - Crime & Mystery
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - CyberPunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GothicR - Gothic Romance
GW&CC - Global Warming and Climate Change
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistM - Historical Mystery
HistR - Historical Romance
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humorous
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
Med - Medical
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
MU - Mash-Up
NF - Near Future
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PF - Paranormal Fantasy
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PolTh - Political Thriller
PopCul - Popular Culture
PP - Police Porcedural
Psy - Psychological
R - Romance
RF - Romantic Fantasy
ScF - Science Fantasy
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SFTh - Science Fiction Thriller
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
SS - Short Stories
STR - Small Town and Rural
Sup - Supernatural
SupM - Supernatural Mystery
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
TTR - Time Travel Romance
UF - Urban Fantasy
VM - Visionary and Metaphysical
WS - Women Sleuths

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

 

Happy Monday! After more than a week off just because, we are back. There are 2 debuts this week; Whiteland (The Whiteland Novels 1) by Rosie Cranie-Higgs; and White Trash Warlock (Adam Binder Novels 1) by David R. Slayton.

October 13, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Non-Stop (e)(ri)	Brian W. Aldiss	SF
Recipes from the World of Tolkien: Inspired by the Legends	Robert Tuesley Anderson	Cooking/History
The Divers' Game (h2tp)	Jesse Ball	LF
Perish	L. C. Barlow	SF - Jack Harper Trilogy 2
To Lose the Earth	Kirsten Beyer	SF - Star Trek: Voyager
My Favorites: A Collection of Short Stories	Ben Bova	SF/SS
The Sensation	Amanda Bridgeman	WS/CrTh/SF/AP/PA - The Salvation 2
Pirate of the Prophecy	Jack Campbell	F - Empress of the Endless Sea 1
Explorer of the Endless Sea	Jack Campbell	F - Empress of the Endless Sea 2
Fate of the Free Lands	Jack Campbell	F - Empress of the Endless Sea 3
Ring Shout	P. Djèlí Clark	DF/HistF/H
Rendezvous with Rama (ri)	Arthur C. Clarke	SF/AC
Radio Free Albemuth (ri)	Philip K. Dick	SF/AC
Attack Surface	Cory Doctorow	SF/AP/PA/HSF/TechTh
The Valancourt Book of Horror Stories, Volume 4	James D. Jenkins (Ed) Ryan Cagle (Ed)	H - Anthology
We Will All Go Down Together (ri)	Gemma Files	H
Experimental Film (ri)	Gemma Files	H
The Hexslinger Series: A Book of Tongues, A Rope of Thorns, and A Tree of Bones (e)(ri)	Gemma Files	H
A Book of Tongues (ri)	Gemma Files	H - Hexslinger 1
A Rope of Thorns (ri)	Gemma Files	H - Hexslinger 2
A Tree of Bones (ri)	Gemma Files	H - Hexslinger 3
The Worm in Every Heart: Stories (e)(ri)	Gemma Files	H - SS
Kissing Carrion: Stories (e)(ri)	Gemma Files	H - SS
The Raven Lady	Sharon Lynn Fisher	F - Faery Rehistory 2
Trinity Sight (h2tp)	Jennifer Givhan	MR/LF
Forgotten Work	Jason Guriel	LF/Satire/CyP/Dys
Flesh and Steel	Guy Haley	SF/CM - Warhammer 40,000 0
The Once and Future Witches	Alix E. Harrow	AH/Occ/Sup/FL/HistF
Dune: The Duke of Caladan	Brian Herbert Kevin J. Anderson	SF/SO - The Caladan Trilogy 1
The Children of Tomorrow (e)	Paul Antony Jones Robert Greenberger	SF - This Alien Earth 3
Tindalos Asset	Caitlin R. Kiernan	DF/SF/H - Tinfoil Dossier 3
Changing Planes: Stories (ri)	Ursula K. Le Guin	SF
The Land	Thomas Maltman	STR/Gothic/Psy
Ghost Stories: Classic Tales of Horror and Suspense (h2tp)	Lisa Morton (Ed) Leslie S Klinger(Ed)	H - Anthology
The Midnight Bargain	C. L. Polk	HistF/RF/CW
Black Sun	Rebecca Roanhorse	F - Between Earth and Sky 1
The Emperor's Wolves	Michelle Sagara	F - The Wolves of Elantra 1
Vigil (ri)	Angela Slatter	UF/P/Cr - Verity Fassbinder 1
White Trash Warlock (D)	David R. Slayton	CF - Adam Binder Novels 1
Earth Abides (ri)	George R Stewart	SF/AP/PA
In the Black	Patrick S. Tomlinson	SF
The Age of Anxiety (h2tp)	Pete Townshend	Psy/CoA/LF/VM
Elegy for the Undead: A Novella	Matthew Vesely	H/SF/AP/PA
Night Terrors	Tim Waggoner	F/H/Cr - Shadow Watch
Video Palace: In Search of the Eyeless Man: Collected Stories	Dr Maynard Wills	H
Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick	David Wong	SF/Th/HU - Zoey Ashe 2
The Art of Magic: The Gathering - War of the Spark	James Wyatt	The Art of Magic: The Gathering 8

October 14, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Placed into Abyss (Mise en Abyse): A Tor.com Original (e)	Rachel Swirsky	SF/TT

October 15, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Whiteland	Rosie Cranie-Higgs	H/DF - The Whiteland Novels 1

October 16, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Kitty's Mix-Tape	Carrie Vaughn	UF/P/DF/SS

Happy last Monday in February!

There are 4 debuts this week:

The Last Smile in Sunder City (The Fetch Phillips Archives 1) by Luke Arnold;

Master of Sorrows (Silent Gods 1) by Justin T. Call;

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore;

and

Black Leviathan by Bernd Perplies; translated by Lucy Van Cleef.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

False Value (Rivers of London 6) by Ben Aaronovitch;

If You Take My Meaning: A Tor.Com Original by Charlies Jane Anders;

Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town (An Official Stranger Things Novel) by Adam Christopher is out in Trade Paperback;

Carved From Stone and Dream (Los Nefilim 2) by T. Frohock;

Holy Sister (Book of the Ancestor 3) by Mark Lawrence is out in Mass Market Paperback;

The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu;

The Fenmere Job (Streets of Maradaine) 3 by Marshall Ryan Maresca;

and

St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid: A Tor.com Original by C.L. Polk.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

February 24, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Fire & Water (e)	Alexis Hall	UF - Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator 3

February 25, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
False Value	Ben Aaronovitch	UF/CF - Rivers of London 8
The Last Smile in Sunder City (D)	Luke Arnold	F - The Fetch Phillips Archives 1
Master of Sorrows (D)	Justin Travis Call	F - Silent Gods 1
Norma Jeane Baker of Troy	Anne Carson	Poetry
Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town (h2tp)	Adam Christopher	SupTh - Stranger Things
Finna	Nino Cipri	SF
Tor.com Publishing 2020 Debut Sampler (e)	Nino Cipri Kathleen Jennings K. M. Sparza Nghi Vo	F/SF
House of Assassins (h2mm)	Larry Correia	F - Saga of the Forgotten Warrior 2
Blood Ink (tp2mm)	Dana Fredsti	DF - Lilith 2
Carved from Stone and Dream	T. Frohock	HistF - Los Nefilim 2
Wheel of Time Premium Boxed Set III	Robert Jordan	F - Wheel of Time
Winter's Heart (ri)	Robert Jordan	F - Wheel of Time 9
The Path of Daggers (ri)	Robert Jordan	F - Wheel of Time 8
A Crown of Swords (ri)	Robert Jordan	F - Wheel of Time 7
Holy Sister (h2mm)	Mark Lawrence	F - Book of the Ancestor 3
The Edge (tp2mm)	Tim Lebbon	DF - Relics 3
Jade War (h2tp)	Fonda Lee	F - The Green Bone Saga 2
Carpe Diem (ri)	Sharon Lee Steve Miller	SF/SO - Liaden Universe 10
The Hidden Girl and Other Stories	Ken Liu	SF - Collection
Surrender	Ray Loriga Carolina De Robertis (Tr)	Dys
The Fenmere Job	Marshall Ryan Maresca	F/UF - Streets of Maradaine 3
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (ri)	George R. R. Martin	SS - A Song of Ice and Fire
A Memory Called Empire (h2tp)	Arkady Martine	SF/SO - Teixcalaan 1
Imaginary Numbers	Seanan McGuire	UF - InCryptid 9
Oona Out of Order (D)	Margarita Montimore	CW
The Brink (h2mm)	James S Murray Darren Wearmouth	SupTh - Awakened 2
Man-Kzin Wars XV (tp2mm)	Larry Niven (Creator)	SF - Man-Kzin Wars Anthology
Black Leviathan (D - English)	Bernd Perplies Lucy Van Cleef (Tr)	F
Aliens: Phalanx	Scott Sigler	SF/MTI
Wolf Rain (h2mm)	Nalini Singh	PNR - Psy-Changling Trinity 3
How to Love Your Elf	Kerrelyn Sparks	FR - Embraced by Magic 1
Soot	Dan Vyleta	HistF - Smoke 2
Blood Truth (h2mm)	J.R. Ward	PNR - Black Dagger Legacy 4
Firstborn (h2mm)	Michelle West	F - House War 7
Knight (h2tp)	Timothy Zahn	SF/SO - Sibyl's War 2

February 26, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
If You Take My Meaning: A Tor.com Original (e)	Charlies Jane Anders	SF
St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid: A Tor.com Original (e)	C. L. Polk	F

February 27, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Death Unleashed	Steve McHugh	UF - The Rebellion Chronicles 2

February 29, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Knife Children	Lois McMaster Bujold	F - Sharing Knife 5
Science Fiction and Psychology	Gavin Miller	LC - Liverpool Science Fiction Texts and Studies LUP 62

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AC - Alien Contact
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - Cyberpunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FR- Fantasy Romance
GothicM - Gothic Mystery
H - Horror
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistM - Historical Mystery
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PerfArts - Performing Arts
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
SS - Short Stories
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
UF - Urban Fantasy
W - Western
WW - Weird Western

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

Happy Monday!

There are 4 debuts this week!

The Unwilling by Kelly Braffet (Fantasy Debut);

The Light Years by R.W.W. Greene;

The Unspoken Name (The Serpent Gates 1) by A. K. Larkwood;

and

A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders is out in Trade Paperback;

Book of the Just (The Bohemian Trilogy 3) by Dana Chamblee Carpenter is out in Trade Paperback;

The Boatman's Daughter by Andy Davidson;

Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones by Micah Dean Hicks is out in Trade Paperback;

Blood Tally (Valkyrie Collections 2) by Brian McClellan;

and

Stormsong (The Kingston Cycle 2) by C. L. Polk.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

February 11, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The City in the Middle of the Night (h2tp)	Charlie Jane Anders	SF/AC
The Unwilling (D - Fantasy)	Kelly Braffet	F
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - The Martian Menace	Eric Brown	HistM - Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 30
Book of the Just (h2tp)	Dana Chamblee Carpenter	Fiction - The Bohemian Trilogy 3
The Chill	Scott Carson	SupTh
Wisteria Cottage	Robert M Coates	H/PsyTh - Valancourt 20th Century Classics
The Boatman's Daughter	Andy Davidson	Gothic
Daughter from the Dark	Sergey and Marina Dyachenko	DF
The Pandora Room (h2tp)	Christopher Golden	SupTh
The Light Years (D)	R.W.W. Greene	SF/SO
The Mercies	Kiran Millwood Hargrave	Hist
Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones (h2tp)	Micah Dean Hicks	CF
Tyll	Daniel Kehlmann Ross Benjamin (Tr)	LF
The Bear	Andrew Krivak	CoA/Dys
The Unspoken Name (D)	A. K. Larkwood	F - The Serpent Gates 1
In Accelerated Silence: Poems	Brooke Matson	Poetry - Jake Adam York Prize
Blood Tally (e)	Brian McClellan	UF - Valkyrie Collections 2
Star Trek: Picard: The Last Best Hope	Una McCormack	SF - Star Trek: Picard
Stormsong	C. L. Polk	F/Gaslamp - The Kingston Cycle 2
A Dangerous Collaboration	Deanna Raybourn	HistM - Veronica Speedwell Series 4
A Witch in Time (D)	Constance Sayers	Occ/Sup
And I Do Not Forgive You: Stories and Other Revenges	Amber Sparks	SS
Age of Death	Michael J. Sullivan	F - Legends of the First Empire 5
The Siren Depths (ri)	Martha Wells	F - Books of the Raksura 3

February 12, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Snow Collectors	Tina May Hall	HistM/Gothic

February 14, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Loneliest Band in France: A Novella	Dylan Fisher	LF

February 15, 2020

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Neon Leviathan	T R Napper	SF/HSF - Collection

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AC - Alien Contact
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - Cyperpunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FR- Fantasy Romance
GothicM - Gothic Mystery
H - Horror
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistM - Historical Mystery
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PerfArts - Performing Arts
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
SS - Short Stories
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
UF - Urban Fantasy
W - Western
WW - Weird Western

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

M. H. Boroson (2015)

The Girl with No Face
The Daoshi Chronicles 2
Talos, October 15, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 360 pages

The adventures of Li-lin, a Daoist priestess with the unique ability to see the spirit world, continue in the thrilling follow-up to the critically-acclaimed historical urban fantasy The Girl with Ghost Eyes.

It’s the end of the Nineteenth Century. San Francisco’s cobblestone streets are haunted, but Chinatown has an unlikely protector in a young Daoist priestess named Li-lin. Using only her martial arts training, spiritual magic, a sword made from peachwood, and the walking, talking spirit of a human eye, Li-lin stands alone to defend her immigrant community from supernatural threats.

But when the body of a young girl is brought to the deadhouse Li-lin oversees for a local group of gangsters, she faces her most bewildering—and potentially dangerous—assignment yet. The nine-year-old has died from suffocation . . . specifically by flowers growing out of her nose and mouth. Li-lin suspects Gong Tau, a dirty and primitive form of dark magic. But who is behind the spell, and why, will take her on a perilous journey deep into a dangerous world of ghosts and spirits.

With hard historical realism and meticulously researched depictions of Chinese monsters and magic that have never been written about in the English language, The Girl with No Face draws from the action-packed cinema of Hong Kong to create a compelling and unforgettable tale of historical fantasy and Chinese lore.

Book 1

K. Eason (2016)

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse
The Thorne Chronicles 1
DAW, October 8, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 416 pages

First in a duology that reimagines fairy tale tropes within a space opera—The Princess Bride meets Princess Leia.

Rory Thorne is a princess with thirteen fairy blessings, the most important of which is to see through flattery and platitudes. As the eldest daughter, she always imagined she’d inherit her father’s throne and govern the interplanetary Thorne Consortium.

Then her father is assassinated, her mother gives birth to a son, and Rory is betrothed to the prince of a distant world.

When Rory arrives in her new home, she uncovers a treacherous plot to unseat her newly betrothed and usurp his throne. An unscrupulous minister has conspired to name himself Regent to the minor (and somewhat foolish) prince. With only her wits and a small team of allies, Rory must outmaneuver the Regent and rescue the prince.

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is a feminist reimagining of familiar fairytale tropes and a story of resistance and self-determination—how small acts of rebellion can lead a princess to not just save herself, but change the course of history.

C. L. Polk (2018)

Stormsong
The Kingston Cycle 2
Tor.com, February 11, 2020
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

After spinning an enthralling world in Witchmark, praised as a "can't-miss debut" by Booklist, and as "thoroughly charming and deftly paced" by the New York Times, C. L. Polk continues the story in Stormsong. Magical cabals, otherworldly avengers, and impossible love affairs conspire to create a book that refuses to be put down.

Dame Grace Hensley helped her brother Miles undo the atrocity that stained her nation, but now she has to deal with the consequences. With the power out in the dead of winter and an uncontrollable sequence of winter storms on the horizon, Aeland faces disaster. Grace has the vision to guide her parents to safety, but a hostile queen and a ring of rogue mages stand in the way of her plans. There's revolution in the air, and any spark could light the powder. What's worse, upstart photojournalist Avia Jessup draws ever closer to secrets that could topple the nation, and closer to Grace's heart.

Can Aeland be saved without bloodshed? Or will Kingston die in flames, and Grace along with it?

Book 1

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery. What is the first fiction piece you remember writing?

C.L.:  I remember a story I wrote in elementary school about a group of nine year old girls at a carnival who had to escape a haunted house ride that was honestly haunted by the family who had founded the carnival. I was nine, so I feel it was probably a good depiction of how nine-year-olds think of themselves when they're cast as heroes.


TQ:  Are you a plotter, a pantser or a hybrid?

C.L.:  Definitely a hybrid. I start off plotting, and then get to a point where I don't know what happens next...but instead of figuring it out, I just write until i get to the end of what I outlined and figure it out as I go.



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

C.L.:  I think the biggest challenge is the battle with perfectionism. Every novelist writes through doubt, and you never really vanquish it. I think that's all right, because that doubt means you're striving beyond your comfort zone and taking a risk. That's what the process of any art is about, I believe.



TQ:  What has influenced / influences your writing?

C.L.:  Everything does. What I read, what I watch, the world outside - anything that makes me interested or intrigued.



TQ:  Describe Witchmark in 140 characters or less.

C.L.:  While resisting his family's demands and his detective partner's charm, a doctor discovers the secret that cost his patient his life.



TQ:  Tell us something about Witchmark that is not found in the book description.

C.L.:  Miles is actually solving two mysteries at once. He's investigating a murder, but he's also deeply troubled by what his healing powers show him when he touches some of his patients at the hospital. But because he can't reveal his magic, he's trying to find a conventional way to "discover" it so he can alert his colleagues to the condition.



TQ:  What inspired you to write Witchmark? What appeals to you about writing Fantasy?

C.L.:  Witchmark was the product of about six months of simmering ideas about a character in a world rather than a bolt of inspiration. it's many small ideas braided together to make a story. I like to write fantasy because you can write about nearly anything you want and add magic, and that combination has always been irresistible to me.



TQ:  What sort of research did you do for Witchmark?

C.L.:  I had to research nearly everything in the book. I started with fashion, material culture, technology, and medical advances that happened on earth in the early 20th century. I looked up the history of skyscrapers. I read about the big cities of the period, mainly London, New York, and Chicago, with some looking into Toronto and Vancouver. I read about mythology, folklore, supernatural beings, and I mashed all that together to create the Amaranthines. I studied the weather, particular advances in forensic pathology, policing in the UK, Canada, and the United States. I think every page of the book has the product of research on it somewhere.



TQ:  Please tell us about the cover for Witchmark.

C.L.:  The cover's amazing. It was designed by Will Staehle, and I think it captures the feel of the novel without being too revealing. It shows the most distinctive features of the city's worldbuilding - bicycles and apple trees fill the streets, and depicts the three central characters of the book.



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

C.L.:  The easiest was a very minor character in the story, one you don't meet until later, and only briefly. Alice sprang onto the page exactly as she was. The most difficult was probably Miles himself, because I had to do so much background writing to really understand him.



TQ:  Why have you chosen to include or not chosen to include social issues in Witchmark?

C.L.:  I didn't sit down and think "I will write a story about social issues." I knew that my outlook and politics would soak into every word, so I let that happen as it would. I wrote about social class and the geopolitics of cities and the effect war had on those who fought it, but I didn't start there. All art is deeply political. I couldn't have written this book, or any book, without making any sort of comment or opinion on political and social issues.



TQ:  What's next?

C.L.:  What's next is the sequel to Witchmark. I'm working on it right now.



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

C.L.:  Thank you! I'm glad to have a chance to talk about Witchmark with you and your readers.

Witchmark
Tor.com, June 19, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

C. L. Polk arrives on the scene with Witchmark, a stunning, addictive fantasy that combines intrigue, magic, betrayal, and romance.

One of Publishers Weekly's Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2018!

In an original world reminiscent of Edwardian England in the shadow of a World War, cabals of noble families use their unique magical gifts to control the fates of nations, while one young man seeks only to live a life of his own.

Magic marked Miles Singer for suffering the day he was born, doomed either to be enslaved to his family's interest or to be committed to a witches' asylum. He went to war to escape his destiny and came home a different man, but he couldn’t leave his past behind. The war between Aeland and Laneer leaves men changed, strangers to their friends and family, but even after faking his own death and reinventing himself as a doctor at a cash-strapped veterans' hospital, Miles can’t hide what he truly is.

When a fatally poisoned patient exposes Miles’ healing gift and his witchmark, he must put his anonymity and freedom at risk to investigate his patient’s murder. To find the truth he’ll need to rely on the family he despises, and on the kindness of the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen.

About C.L. Polk

C. L. Polk wrote her first story in grade school and still hasn't learned any better. After spending years in strange occupations and wandering western Canada, she settled in southern Alberta with her rescue dog Otis. C. L. has had short stories published in Baen's UNIVERSE and contributes to the web serial Shadow Unit (http://shadowunit.org/), and spends too much time on twitter at @clpolk. Witchmark is her debut novel.







Website  ~  Twitter @clpolk

Happy Monday!

There are 4 debuts this week:

The Grey Bastards (The Lot Lands 1) by Jonathan French;

The Robots of Gotham by Todd McAulty;

Witchmark by C.L. Polk;

and

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (The Risen Kingdoms 1) by Curtis Craddock is out in Trade Paperback;

The Synapse Sequence by Daniel Godfrey;

Dance of the Heart (Muse Chronicles 6) by Lisa Kessler;

Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle 2) by Jay Kristoff is out in Trade Paperback;

Arabella and the Battle of Venus (The Adventures of Arabella Ashby 2) by David D. Levine is out in Trade Paperback;

and

Vampire's Faith (Dark Protectors 8) by Rebecca Zanetti.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

June 17, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Blue Shift	Jane O'Reilly	SF/SO/AC/SFR - Second Species Trilogy 1

June 18, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Night Myst (e)(ri)	Yasmine Galenorn	PNR - Indigo Court 1
Dance of the Heart (e)	Lisa Kessler	PNR - Muse Chronicles 6
Hunter's Pride (e)	Shiloh Walker	PNR - Hunter's World

June 19, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Completionist	Siobhan Adcock	LF
The Skaar Invasion	Terry Brooks	F - The Fall of Shannara 2
Thicker Than Water	Mike Carey	SupTh/Occ/Sup/GH/Th - Felix Castor 4
An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (h2tp)	Curtis Craddock	F/Gaslamp/SP - The Risen Kingdoms 1
It Will All Hurt	Farel Dalrymple	F
Curse of the Black Swan (e)	Alyssa Day	PNR - League of the Black Swan 2
The Grey Bastards (D)	Jonathan French	F/DF - The Lot Lands 1
Ghost Frequencies	Gary Gibson	SF/F - Newcon Press Novellas Set 4 1
The Synapse Sequence	Daniel Godfrey	SF
The Mermaid	Christina Henry	HistF/FairyT/FolkT/LM/CW
The Thousand Year Beach	TOBI Hirotaka Matt Treyvaud (Tr)	SF - The Thousand Year Beach
The Privilege of Peace	Tanya Huff	SF/HSF - Peacekeeper 3
The Reign of the Departed	Greg Keyes	CF/F - The High and Faraway 1
Godsgrave (h2tp)	Jay Kristoff	F - The Nevernight Chronicle 2
Arabella and the Battle of Venus (h2tp)	David D. Levine	SF/SP - The Adventures of Arabella Ashby 2
The Twilight Herald	Tom Lloyd	F - The Twilight Reign 2
The Stormcaller: Collector's Tenth Anniversary Limited Edition	Tom Lloyd	F - The Twilight Reign 1
Black Mad Wheel (h2tp)	Josh Malerman	Fict
The Robots of Gotham (D)	Todd McAulty	SF
Stray Magic (e)	Kelly Meding	PNR - Strays 1
Outcasts of Order	L. E. Modesitt, Jr.	F - Saga of Recluce 20
Witchmark (D)	C. L. Polk	F/Gaslamp/RF
The Anomaly (D)	Michael Rutger	Sus/PsyTh/FairyT/FolkT/LM
Best of British Science Fiction 2017	Donna Scott (Ed)	SF - Anthology
Jurassic, Florida (e)	Hunter Shea	H - Hunter Shea: One Size Eats All 1
Storm Glass	Jeff Wheeler	F - The Harbinger Series 1
Tell the Machine Goodnight	Katie Williams	CoA/FL/LF
Embracing The Demon	Beth Woodward	DF/SupTh/P/H - Dale Highland 2
Vampire's Faith	Rebecca Zanetti	PNR - Dark Protectors 8

June 20, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Shattered Blades (e)	Marie Brennan	F - Born to the Blade Season 1, Episode 10

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CulH - Cultural Heritage
CW - Contemporary Woman
CyP - Cyberpunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
Fict - Fiction
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
Gothic - Gothic
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humor
LC - Literary Criticism
LegalTh - Legal Thriller
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
Med - Medical
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
MU - Mash Up
NF - Near Future
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PI - Private Investigator
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PopCul - Popular Culture
Psy Th - Psychological Thriller
Rel - Religious
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SH - Superheroes
SocSci - Social Science
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
Tech - Technological
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
TTR - Time Travel Romance
UF - Urban Fantasy
VisM - Visionary and Metaphysical
W - Western

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

Each month you will be able to vote for your favorite cover from that month's debut novels. At the end of the year the 12 monthly winners will be pitted against each other to choose the 2018 Debut Novel Cover of the Year. Please note that a debut novel cover is eligible in the month in which the novel is published in the US. Cover artist/illustrator/designer information is provided when we have it.

I'm using PollCode for this vote. After you the check the circle next to your favorite, click "Vote" to record your vote. If you'd like to see the real-time results click "View". This will take you to the PollCode site where you may see the results. If you want to come back to The Qwillery click "Back" and you will return to this page. Voting will end sometime on June 30, 2018, unless the vote is extended. If the vote is extended the ending date will be posted.

Vote for your favorite June 2018 Debut Cover!

The Anomaly

The Book of M

Confessions of the Fox

The Darkest Time of Night

A Demon in Silver

Free Chocolate

The Grey Bastards

The Hawkman

The Last Sun

A People's History of the Vampire Uprising

The Robots of Gotham

Trail of Lightning

The Traitor God

Treeborne

Witchmark

 

pollcode.com free polls

K. D. Edwards

The Last Sun
The Tarot Sequence 1
Pyr, June 12, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 384 pages

In this debut novel and series starter, the last member of a murdered House searches for a missing nobleman, and uncovers clues about his own tortured past.

Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment's missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home.

With his companion and bodyguard, Brand, he questions Addam's relatives and business contacts through the highest ranks of the nobles of New Atlantis. But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary creature connected to the secret of the massacre of Rune's Court. In looking for Addam, can Rune find the truth behind his family's death and the torments of his past?

Jonathan French

The Grey Bastards
The Lot Lands 1
Crown, June 19, 2018
Hardcover and eBook, 432 pages

Live in the saddle.
Die on the hog.

Call them outcasts, call them savages—they’ve been called worse, by their own mothers—but Jackal is proud to be a Grey Bastard.

He and his fellow half-orcs patrol the barren wastes of the Lot Lands, spilling their own damned blood to keep civilized folk safe. A rabble of hard-talking, hog-riding, whore-mongering brawlers they may be, but the Bastards are Jackal’s sworn brothers, fighting at his side in a land where there’s no room for softness.

And once Jackal’s in charge—as soon as he can unseat the Bastards’ tyrannical, seemingly unkillable founder—there’s a few things they’ll do different. Better.

Or at least, that’s the plan. Until the fallout from a deadly showdown makes Jackal start investigating the Lot Lands for himself. Soon, he’s wondering if his feelings have blinded him to ugly truths about this world, and the Bastards’ place in it.

In a quest for answers that takes him from decaying dungeons to the frontlines of an ancient feud, Jackal finds himself battling invading orcs, rampaging centaurs, and grubby human conspiracies alike—along with a host of dark magics so terrifying they’d give even the heartiest Bastard pause.

Finally, Jackal must ride to confront a threat that’s lain in wait for generations, even as he wonders whether the Bastards can—or should–survive.

Delivered with a generous wink to Sons of Anarchy, featuring sneaky-smart worldbuilding and gobs of fearsomely foul-mouthed charm, The Grey Bastards is a grimy, pulpy, masterpiece—and a raunchy, swaggering, cunningly clever adventure that’s like nothing you’ve read before.

Cameron Johnston

The Traitor God
Angry Robot, June 5, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

A city threatened by unimaginable horrors must trust their most hated outcast, or lose everything, in this crushing epic fantasy debut.

After ten years on the run, dodging daemons and debt, reviled magician Edrin Walker returns home to avenge the brutal murder of his friend. Lynas had uncovered a terrible secret, something that threatened to devour the entire city. He tried to warn the Arcanum, the sorcerers who rule the city. He failed. Lynas was skinned alive and Walker felt every cut. Now nothing will stop him from finding the murderer. Magi, mortals, daemons, and even the gods – Walker will burn them all if he has to. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time he’s killed a god…

File Under: Fantasy [ Look Who’s Back | Blood Sorcery | Tyrants & Titans | Mind Mates ]

R. F. Kuang

The Poppy War
Harper Voyager, May 1, 2018
Hardcover and eBook, 544 pages

A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liu’s Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy.

When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . .
.
Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.

Harriet Alida Lye

The Honey Farm
Liveright, May 29, 2018
Hardcover snd eBook, 336 pages

Lily King meets Patricia Highsmith in this slyly seductive debut set on an eerily beautiful farm teeming with secrets.

The drought has discontented the bees. Soil dries into sand; honeycomb stiffens into wax. But Cynthia knows how to breathe life back into her farm: offer it as an artists’ colony with free room, board, and “life experience” in exchange for backbreaking labor. Silvia, a wide-eyed graduate and would-be poet, and Ibrahim, a painter distracted by constant inspiration, are drawn to Cynthia’s offer, and soon, to each other.

But something lies beneath the surface. The Edenic farm is plagued by events that strike Silvia as ominous: taps run red, scalps itch with lice, frogs swarm the pond. One by one, the other residents leave. As summer tenses into autumn, Cynthia’s shadowed past is revealed and Silvia becomes increasingly paralyzed by doubt. Building to a shocking conclusion, The Honey Farm announces the arrival of a bold new voice and offers a thrilling portrait of creation and possession in the natural world.

Todd McAulty

The Robots of Gotham
John Joseph Adams/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, June 19, 2018
Hardcover and eBook, 688 pages

A thrilling adventure in a world one step away from total subjugation by machines

After long years of war, the United States has sued for peace, yielding to a brutal coalition of nations ruled by fascist machines. One quarter of the country is under foreign occupation. Manhattan has been annexed by a weird robot monarchy, and in Tennessee, a permanent peace is being delicately negotiated between the battered remnants of the U.S. government and an envoy of implacable machines.

Canadian businessman Barry Simcoe arrives in occupied Chicago days before his hotel is attacked by a rogue war machine. In the aftermath, he meets a dedicated Russian medic with the occupying army, and 19 Black Winter, a badly damaged robot. Together they stumble on a machine conspiracy to unleash a horrific plague—and learn that the fabled American resistance is not as extinct as everyone believes. Simcoe races against time to prevent the extermination of all life on the continent . . . and uncover a secret that America’s machine conquerors are desperate to keep hidden.

C. L. Polk

Witchmark
Tor.com, June 19, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

C. L. Polk arrives on the scene with Witchmark, a stunning, addictive fantasy that combines intrigue, magic, betrayal, and romance.

One of Publishers Weekly's Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2018!

In an original world reminiscent of Edwardian England in the shadow of a World War, cabals of noble families use their unique magical gifts to control the fates of nations, while one young man seeks only to live a life of his own.

Magic marked Miles Singer for suffering the day he was born, doomed either to be enslaved to his family's interest or to be committed to a witches' asylum. He went to war to escape his destiny and came home a different man, but he couldn’t leave his past behind. The war between Aeland and Laneer leaves men changed, strangers to their friends and family, but even after faking his own death and reinventing himself as a doctor at a cash-strapped veterans' hospital, Miles can’t hide what he truly is.

When a fatally poisoned patient exposes Miles’ healing gift and his witchmark, he must put his anonymity and freedom at risk to investigate his patient’s murder. To find the truth he’ll need to rely on the family he despises, and on the kindness of the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen.

Rebecca Roanhorse

Trail of Lightning
The Sixth World 1
Saga Press, June 26, 2018
Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and eBook, 304 pages

While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.

Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last—and best—hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much larger and more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel to the rez to unravel clues from ancient legends, trade favors with tricksters, and battle dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.

As Maggie discovers the truth behind the disappearances, she will have to confront her past—if she wants to survive.

Welcome to the Sixth World.

Amber Royer

Free Chocolate
Angry Robot, June 5, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook

In the far future, chocolate is Earth’s only unique commodity one that everyone else in the galaxy is willing to kill to get their hands, paws and tentacles on

Latina culinary arts student, Bo Benitez, becomes a fugitive when she’s caught stealing a cacao pod from one of the heavily-defended plantations that keep chocolate, Earth’s sole valuable export, safe from a hungry galaxy.

Forces array against her including her alien boyfriend and a reptilian cop. But when she escapes onto an unmarked starship things go from bad to worse: it belongs to the race famed throughout the galaxy for eating stowaways! Surrounded by dangerous yet hunky aliens, Bo starts to uncover clues that the threat to Earth may be bigger than she first thought.

File Under: Science Fiction [ Sticky Fingers | Chef Celebrity | Pod People | The Milky Way ]

Peng Shepherd

The Book of M
William Morrow, June 5, 2018
Hardcover and eBook, 496 pages

Set in a dangerous near future world, The Book of M tells the captivating story of a group of ordinary people caught in an extraordinary catastrophe who risk everything to save the ones they love. It is a sweeping debut that illuminates the power that memories have not only on the heart, but on the world itself.

One afternoon at an outdoor market in India, a man’s shadow disappears—an occurrence science cannot explain. He is only the first. The phenomenon spreads like a plague, and while those afflicted gain a strange new power, it comes at a horrible price: the loss of all their memories.

Ory and his wife Max have escaped the Forgetting so far by hiding in an abandoned hotel deep in the woods. Their new life feels almost normal, until one day Max’s shadow disappears too.

Knowing that the more she forgets, the more dangerous she will become to Ory, Max runs away. But Ory refuses to give up the time they have left together. Desperate to find Max before her memory disappears completely, he follows her trail across a perilous, unrecognizable world, braving the threat of roaming bandits, the call to a new war being waged on the ruins of the capital, and the rise of a sinister cult that worships the shadowless.

As they journey, each searches for answers: for Ory, about love, about survival, about hope; and for Max, about a new force growing in the south that may hold the cure.
Like The Passage and Station Eleven, this haunting, thought-provoking, and beautiful novel explores fundamental questions of memory, connection, and what it means to be human in a world turned upside down.