The Qwillery

Happy Monday!

There is 1 debut this week:

The Oyster Thief by Sonia Faruqi.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Treason of Hawks (The Shadow 4) by Lila Bowen;

The Black Khan (The Khorasan Archives 2) by Ausma Zehanat Khan;

Dan Koboldt is the editor of Putting the Science in Fiction: Expert Advice for Writing with Authenticity in Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Other Genres;

Tomorrow Factory: Collected Fiction by Rich Larson;

The Wastelanders by K.S. Merbeth;

Shades of Magic Boxed Set: A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic) by V. E. Schwab;

and

Mutiny at Vesta (Sheildrunner Pirates 2) by R. E. Stearns.

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

October 16, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Beast Arises: Volume 1	Dan Abnett Rob Sanders Gave Thorpe David Annandale	SF - Warhammer 40,000
In the Vanisher's Palace (e)	Aliette de Bodard	F
Treason of Hawks	Lila Bowen	F/HistF/CoA - The Shadow 4
The Book of Magic: A Collection of Stories	Gardner Dozois (Ed)	F - Anthology
Trial by Treason	Dave Duncan	HistF/DF/F - The Enchanter General 2
Rejoice, a Knife to the Heart	Steven Erikson	SF/AC/LF/Pol
The Oyster Thief (D)	Sonia Faruqi	F
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2018 Edition	Paula Guran (Ed)	DF/H - Anthology
Monsters of the Week: The Complete Critical Companion to The X-Files	Zack Handlen Todd VanDerWerff	PerfArts/LC
In the House in the Dark of the Woods	Laird Hunt	Hist/H/LF
Riddance: Or: The Sybil Joines Vocational School for Ghost Speakers & Hearing-Mouth Children	Shelley Jackson	GH/CoA/P/Occ/Sup/LF
Black Wings of Cthulhu	S. T. Joshi	H/DF/SupTh - Black Wings of Cthulhu 6
The Black Khan	Ausma Zehanat Khan	F - The Khorasan Archives 2
Gotrek and Felix: Volume 1	William King	F - Warhammer Chronicles 1
Putting the Science in Fiction: Expert Advice for Writing with Authenticity in Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Other Genres	Dan Koboldt (Ed)	Writing Skills
The Bartered Brides	Mercedes Lackey	HistF/Gaslamp - Elemental Masters 13
Tomorrow Factory: Collected Fiction	Rich Larson	SF - Collection
I Am Behind You	John Ajvide Lindqvist	H
The Wastelanders	K.S. Merbeth	SF/AP/PA
The Last Sword Maker	Brian Nelson	TechTh/Sus - Course of Empire 1
Creatures: The Legacy of Frankenstein	David Thomas Moore (Ed)	Anthology
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Seek: The Strange Case Continues	Anthony O'Neill	Gothic/HistM/HistTh
Melmoth	Sarah Perry	Gothic
The Robotic Imaginary: The Human and the Price of Dehumanized Labor	Jennifer Rhee	LC/SF/F/PopCul/PerfArts
Star Trek Designing Starships Volume 1: The Enterprises and Beyond	Ben Robinson Marcus Reily	PerfArts/SF/TV
The Consuming Fire	John Scalzi	SF/SO - The Interdependency 2
Shades of Magic Boxed Set: A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, A Conjuring of Light	V. E. Schwab	HistF/Gaslamp - Shades of Magic
Mutiny at Vesta	R. E. Stearns	SF - Shieldrunner Pirates 2
The Shadow City	Ryan Wieser	SF/CyP - Hunters of Infinity 3

October 18, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers	Trent Hergenrader	Composition and Creative Writing
Garden of Eldritch Delights	Lucy A. Snyder	H/SF/F - Collection

October 19, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Waking Nightmares (e)(ri)	Christopher Golden	CF/DF - Peter Octavian / Shadow Saga 5

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



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
Anthro - Anthropology
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CW - Contemporary Woman
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)
GN - Graphic Novel
Gothic - Gothic
H - Horror
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
Hist M - Historical Mystery
Hist R - Historical Romance
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humor
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
MedTh - Medical Thriller
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Parnormal Cozy Mystery
PerfArts - Performing Arts
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PolTh - Political Thriller
PopCul - Popular Culture
Sc - Science
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SocHist - Social History
SocSc - Social Science
SP - Steampunk
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
SS - Short Stories
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy

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

Happy Monday! We had snow this weekend! It was not much snow, but we did get to take the snow blower out for a spin.

There is one debut this week:

The Mannequin Makers by Craig Cliff.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Pretty Vicious by K.S. Merbeth;

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

December 11, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Emerald Princess: and Other Decadent Fantasies	Félicien Champsaur Brian Stableford (Tr)	F/H
Windhome	Kristen Landon	SF

December 12, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Warmaster	Dan Abnett	SF - Gaunt's Ghosts 14
The Founding	Dan Abnett	SF - Gaunt's Ghosts Omnibus
The Art of Ferdinand	Titan Books	Art
The Art of Destiny, Volume 2	Bungie	SF
The Mannequin Makers (D-US)	Craig Cliff	LF
Odysseus Awakening	Evan Currie	SF/SP - Odyssey One 6
Mad Hatters and March Hares: All-New Stories from the World of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland	Ellen Datlow (Ed)	F - Anthology
A Sword of Truth Set: Richard and Kahlan (The Omen Machine, The Third Kingdom, Severed Souls, Warheart) (e)	Terry Goodkind	F - Richard and Kahlan
Seven Deadly Ghosts	C.L. Hernandez	F/DF - The Complicated Life of Deegie Tibbs 3
The Corean Chronicles, Volume Two: Alector's Choice, Cadmian's Choice, Soarer's Choice, The Lord-Protector's Daughter, Lady-Protector (e)	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	F - Corean Chronicles
Pretty Vicious (e)	K.S. Merbeth	SF/AP/PA - Wastelanders
The White City	Simon Morden	SF
The Two of Swords: Volume Three	K. J. Parker	F - The Two of Swords 3
Primogenitor	Josh Reynolds	SF - Fabius Bile 1
Fyre	Sean Schubert	SF/AP/PA
The Complete Dragonships of Vindras Series (Bones of the Dragon, Secret of the Dragon, Rage of the Dragon, Doom of the Dragon) (e)	Margaret Weis Tracy Hickman	F - Dragonships of Vindras

December 13, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Man's Best Friend (e)	Amy Rose Capetta	SF/Th - ReMade Season 2 5
A Blur of Bright Water (e)	Tessa Gratton	HistF - Tremontaine Season 3 10
Festival of Fear	Graham Masterton	H - Collection

December 14, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Firestorm (e)	Lucy Hounsom	F - The Worldmaker Trilogy 3

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



AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
H - Horror
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HU - Humor
LF - Literary Fiction
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Psy - Psychological
ScF - Science Fantasy
SH -Superheroes
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SO - Space Opera
SP - SteamPunk
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
Sup - Supernatural
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
UF - Urban Fantasy

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

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

December 1, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Fallen (e)	Michele Hauf	PNR - Of Angels and Demons 3
Heartland	Lucy Hounsom	F - The Worldmaker Trilogy 2
A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms Volume 3: The Sleeping Beauty\Beauty and the Werewolf (e)	Mercedes Lackey	F - A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms
The Witch's Thirst (e)	Deborah LeBlanc	PNR
Third Flatiron Best of 2017	Juliana Rew (Ed)	SpecFic - Anthology
The Unyielding	Gary J. Shipley	H
Spy Glass (e)(ri)	Maria V. Snyder	FR - Chronicles of Ixia

December 4, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Danger's Race (e)	Amanda Carlson	SF/PA/Dys - Holly Danger 3
Chosen One (e)	Scarlett Dawn	FR - Forever Evermore 6

December 5, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Canto Bight	Saladin Ahmed Rae Carson Mira Grant John Jackson Miller	SF - Star Wars
The Girl in the Tower	Katherine Arden	F - Winternight Trilogy 2
The Black Tide (e)	Keri Arthur	SF/GenEng/PA - Outcast Novel 3
Defiant	Dave Bara	SF - Lightship Chronicles 3
The Wicked Vampire	Kate Baxter	PNR - Last True Vampire 6
Immortal Life: A Soon To Be True Story	Stanley Bing	LF/TechnoTh/SF
Alive in Shape and Color: 17 Paintings by Great Artists and the Stories They Inspired	Lawrence Block (Ed)	LF - Anthology
The Art of Star Trek: The Kelvin Timeline	Jeff Bond	Art/SF - Star Trek
The Chaos of Luck	Catherine Cerveny	SFR - A Felicia Sevigny Novel 2
Persepolis Rising	James S. A. Corey	SF/SO -The Expanse 7
The Outcast Chronicles	Rowena Cory Daniells	F - Outcast Chronicles Omnibus
1636: The Vatican Sanction	Eric Flint Charles E. Gannon	SF - Ring of Fire 24
Death's Mistress: Sister of Darkness (h2mm)	Terry Goodkind	F - The Nicci Chronicles 1
The Rising (h2mm)	Heather Graham Jon Land	Th/Sus
The Macedonian	Nicholas Guild	HistTh
No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters	Ursula K. Le Guin	Essays
The Forever Ship	Francesca Haig	SF/AP/PA - The Fire Sermon 3
Steadfast (e)	Michelle Hauck	HistF - Birth of Saints 3
The Dosadi Experiment and The Eyes of Heisenberg (ri)	Frank Herbert	SF/SO
The Sword of Midras: A Shroud of the Avatar Novel	Tracy Hickman Richard Garriott	F - Blade of the Avatar 1
Flame in the Dark	Faith Hunter	UF - A Soulwood Novel 3
The Order War (ri)	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	F - Saga of Recluce 4
The Wrong Dead Guy (h2tp)	Richard Kadrey	F/HU - Another Coop Heist 2
Record of a Night Too Brief	Hiromi Kawakami	Psy - Japanese Novellas
The Moon and the Other	John Kessel	SF
Legends of the Dragonrealm: Cut from the Same Shadow and Other Tales	Richard A. Knaak	F - Dragonrealm Novellas
The Dreamer's Song	Lynn Kurland	FR - A Novel of the Nine Kingdoms 11
Pathways	Mercedes Lackey (Ed)	F - Valdemar Anthology 11
The Witch's Thirst	Deborah LeBlanc	PNR
The White Serpent	Tanith Lee	F - Wars of Vis 3
A War in Crimson Embers	Alex Marshall	F - The Crimson Empire 3
Mississippi Roll	George R. R. Martin Wild Cards Trust	SH - Wild Cards 15
Duel: Terror Stories by Richard Matheson	Richard Matheson	H - Collection
Fleet Insurgent	Susan R. Matthews	SF - Under Jurisdiction 8
The Crimson King	Graham McNeill	SF - The Horus Heresy 44
One of Us Will Be Dead by Morning	David Moody	Dys - Hater 4
The Last Sacrifice	James A. Moore	F - Tides of War 1
Heart Sight	Robin Owens	PNR - A Celta Novel 14
Plague Garden	Josh Reynolds	F - Hallowed Knights 1
Year One	Nora Roberts	F/P - Chronicles of the One 1
The Demon Crown	James Rollins	Th - Sigma Force 13
Glass Town (D)	Steven Savile	CF
Hymn	Ken Scholes	SF - The Psalms of Isaak 5
Princess Holy Aura	Ryk E. Spoor	CF
Winterglass	Benjanun Sriduangkaew	ScF
Empire Games: A Tale of the Merchant Princes Universe	Charles Stross	SF - Empire Games 1
God's Last Breath	Sam Sykes	F - Bring Down Heaven 3
Rosewater (e)	Tade Thompson	SF

December 6, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Sword and Spirt (e)	Karen Lord Joel Derfner	HistF - Tremontaine Season 3 9
Save Point (e)	E. C. Myers Amy Rose Capetta	SF/Th - ReMade Season 2 4

December 11, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Emerald Princess: and Other Decadent Fantasies	Félicien Champsaur Brian Stableford (Tr)	F/H
Windhome	Kristen Landon	SF

December 12, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Warmaster	Dan Abnett	SF - Gaunt's Ghosts 14
The Founding	Dan Abnett	SF - Gaunt's Ghosts Omnibus
The Art of Ferdinand	Titan Books	Art
The Art of Destiny, Volume 2	Bungie	SF
The Mannequin Makers (D-US)	Craig Cliff	LF
Odysseus Awakening	Evan Currie	SF/SP - Odyssey One 6
Mad Hatters and March Hares: All-New Stories from the World of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland	Ellen Datlow (Ed)	F - Anthology
A Sword of Truth Set: Richard and Kahlan (The Omen Machine, The Third Kingdom, Severed Souls, Warheart) (e)	Terry Goodkind	F - Richard and Kahlan
Seven Deadly Ghosts	C.L. Hernandez	F/DF - The Complicated Life of Deegie Tibbs 3
The Corean Chronicles, Volume Two: Alector's Choice, Cadmian's Choice, Soarer's Choice, The Lord-Protector's Daughter, Lady-Protector (e)	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	F - Corean Chronicles
Pretty Vicious (e)	K.S. Merbeth	SF/AP/PA - Wastelanders
The White City	Simon Morden	SF
The Two of Swords: Volume Three	K. J. Parker	F - The Two of Swords 3
Primogenitor	Josh Reynolds	SF - Fabius Bile 1
Fyre	Sean Schubert	SF/AP/PA
The Complete Dragonships of Vindras Series (Bones of the Dragon, Secret of the Dragon, Rage of the Dragon, Doom of the Dragon) (e)	Margaret Weis Tracy Hickman	F - Dragonships of Vindras

December 13, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Man's Best Friend (e)	Amy Rose Capetta Gwenda Bond	SF/Th - ReMade Season 2 5
A Blur of Bright Water (e)	Tessa Gratton Karen Lord	HistF - Tremontaine Season 3 10
Festival of Fear	Graham Masterton	H - Collection

December 14, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Halloween Children	Brian James Freeman Norman Prentiss	H
Firestorm (e)	Lucy Hounsom	F - The Worldmaker Trilogy 3

December 19, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Martian Job	Jaine Fenn	SF - NewCon Press Novellas Set 3 Book 1
The Simi's ABCs: Adventures with Dark-Hunters	Sherrilyn Kenyon Alethea Kontis	F
Roadwork (ri)	Stephen King	Th/Sus/H
When The Skies Fall	Adam Korenman	SF - The Gray Wars 2
Scorched Shadows	Steve McHugh	CF - The Hellequin Chronicles 7
The Will to Battle	Ada Palmer	SF - Terra Ignota 3
S	Koji Suzuki	Occ/Sup - Ring 5
The More Known World	Tiffany Tsao	CF - The Oddfits 2

December 20, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Daredevil (e)	Gwenda Bond Matthew Cody	SFTh - ReMade Season 2 6
Dragon Rampant (e)	Karen Lord Joel Derfner	HistF - Tremontaine Season 3 11

December 26, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Survival	Ben Bova	SF - Star Quest Trilogy 3
Kill All Angels	Robert Brockway	H - The Vicious Circuit 3
1636: Mission to the Mughals (h2mm)	Eric Flint Griffin Barber	AH - Ring of Fire 23
The Complete Aliens Omnibus: Volume Five	Michael Jan Friedman	SF/MTI
Assassin's Fate (h2mm)	Robin Hobb	F - Fitz and the Fool 3
Arachnosaur (D)	Richard Jeffries	H
Nemo Rising	C. Courtney Joyner	SF/SP
Better Dead (D)	Pamela Kopfler	PCM - A B&B Spirits Mystery 1
The Night Parade (tp2mm)	Ronald Malfi	H
The Man From the Diogenes Club	Kim Newman	F - Collection
Silver Silence (h2mm)	Nalini Singh	PNR - Psy-Changeling Trinity 1
Kill Before Dying (h2mm)	Travis S. Taylor	SF - Tau Ceti Agenda 5
Angels of Caliban (tp2mm)	Gav Thorpe	SF - The Horus Heresy 38
World's End	Joan D. Vinge	SF - Snow Queen 2
Count to Infinity	John C. Wright	SF - The Eschaton Sequence 6

December 30, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
We're All in This Together	Owen King	H - Collection

December 31, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Reading Stephen King	Brian James Freeman (Ed)	Essays
Shining in the Dark: Celebrating Twenty Years of Lilja's Library!	Hans-Ake Lilja	H - Anthology
The Ignored	Bentley Little	H
Dominion	Bentley Little	H
The Walking	Bentley Little	H
Station Eleven	Emily St. John Mandel	SF/PA
The Weight of Words	Dave McKean	F - Anthology
Don't Live For Your Obituary	John Scalzi	Essays
Ironclads (e)	Adrian Tchaikovsky	SF

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



AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
H - Horror
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HU - Humor
LF - Literary Fiction
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Psy - Psychological
ScF - Science Fantasy
SH -Superheroes
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SO - Space Opera
SP - SteamPunk
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
Sup - Supernatural
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
UF - Urban Fantasy

Rob Boffard (2015)

Adrift
Orbit, June 5, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

In the far reaches of space, a group of tourists board a small vessel for what will be the trip of a lifetime - in more ways than one...

They are embarking on a tour around Sigma Station - a remote mining facility and luxury hotel with stunning views of the Horsehead Nebula.

During the course of the trip, a mysterious ship with devastating advanced technology attacks the Station. Their pilot's quick evasive action means that the tour group escape with their lives -but as the dust settles, they realize they may be the only survivors . . .

Adrift in outer space, out of contact with civilization, and on a vastly under-equipped ship, these passengers are out of their depth. Their chances of getting home are close to none, and with the threat of another attack looming they must act soon - or risk perishing in the endless void of space.


For more from Rob Boffard, check out:

The Outer Earth Trilogy
Tracer
Zero - G
Impact

Outer Earth (Omnibus Edition)

Nik Korpon (2017)

Queen of the Struggle
The Memory Thief 2
Angry Robot, March 6, 2018
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

When freedom is brutally withheld, the people have no choice but to rise up, in this dystopian SF sequel to The Rebellion’s Last Traitor.

Overthrowing the tyrannical Tathadann government should have been cause for celebration. But as Eitan City announces its independence, soldiers from the northern province of Vårgmannskjør storm the ceremony and annex the city. The cruelties of the Tathadann soon pale beside the new occupiers’ atrocities.

Henraek finds himself resettled in the north, in a city where the people seem happy and well…  until its labour camps and enslaved spirits come to light. The rebellion must begin anew, in Eitan City and throughout Vårgmannskjør, and now the stakes are higher than ever.

File Under: Science Fiction

K.S. Merbeth (2016)

Pretty Vicious
Wastelander Short Story
Orbit, December 12, 2017
eBook, 29 pages

Pretty Vicious is a short story set in the post-apocalyptic Wastelanders universe, about a young woman on the run in a lawless, post-nuclear America.

In a lawless, post-nuclear wasteland, Dolly lives in relative comfort working as a prostitute. She's got food and shelter, which is more than most have, but she wants to step out of the frying pan and into the fire, to break free and risk life on her own in the wastes.

She escapes with a gun, a knife, and the clothes on her back. She has no knowledge of how to survive in the outside world, but anything will be better than the half-numb life she's leading.

But Dolly soon learns she'll have to become as vicious as the wastes around her if she is to make her way alone in the darkness.

"A full throttle, sand-in-your-eyes, no holds barred ride through a Mad Max-style wasteland." - Delilah S. Dawson on Bite

Happy Monday!

There are 5 debuts this week:

The Punch Escrow by Tal M. Klein

The Five Daughters of the Moon (The Waning Moon Duology 1) by Leena Likitalo;

Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed;

Strange Practice (A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 1) by Vivian Shaw;

and

Talon of God by Wesley Snipes and Ray Norman.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Nod by Adrian Barnes is out in Mass Market Paperback;

Red Right Hand (The Mythos War 1) by Levi Black is out in Trade Paperback;

The Wilding Sisters by Eve Chase;

Killing Is My Business (Ray Electromatic Mysteries 2) by Adam Christopher;

Time Siege (Time Salvager 2) by Wesley Chu is out in Trade Paperback;

Sovereign (Nemesis 2) by April Daniels;

Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts 1) by Vic James is out in Trade Paperback;

Raid (Wastelanders 2) by K.S. Merbeth;

and

Blood Gamble (Disrupted Magic 2) by Melissa F. Olson.

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

July 24, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Betrayed by Blood (e)	Beth Dranoff	PNR - Mark of the Moon 2
Accidental Sire (e)	Molly Harper	PNR - Half-Moon Hollow 14

July 25, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Wildfire	Ilona Andrews	PNR - Hidden Legacy 3
The Unholy Consult	R. Scott Bakker	F - Aspect-Emperor 4
Nod (tp2mm)	Adrian Barnes	Dys/LF/SF/AP/PA
Red Right Hand (h2tp)	Levi Black	DF/H - The Mythos War 1
Tomorrow War: Serpent Road	J. L. Bourne	TechTh - The Chronicles of Max 2
The Wilding Sisters	Eve Chase	CW/CoA/FL
Killing Is My Business	Adam Christopher	SF/Noir/PI - Ray Electromatic Mysteries 2
Time Siege (h2tp)	Wesley Chu	SF/TT - Time Salvager 2
Glory Imperialis: An Astra Militarum Omnibus	Mark Clapham Andy Hoare Richard Williams	SF - Astra Militarum
The Dream Keeper's Daughter	Emily Colin	R/TT/F/HistF
Sovereign	April Daniels	SH - Nemesis 2
Death's Bright Day (h2mm)	David Drake	SF - RCN 11
Dark Carousel (h2mm)	Christine Feehan	PNR - Carpathian 30
Dark Screams: Volume Seven (e)	Brian James Freeman (Ed) Richard Chizmar (Ed)	H - Dark Screams Anthology
Resurrection	John French	SF - The Horusian Wars 1
Battlefront II: Inferno Squad	Christie Golden	SF/MTI - Star Wars
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: The Official Movie Novelization	Christie Golden	SF/MTI
Dark Rites	Heather Graham	PNR/SupTh - Krewe of Hunters 22
The Fifth Doll	Charlie N. Holmberg	HistF
Gilded Cage (h2tp)	Vic James	F/Dys/SF - Dark Gifts 1
Assassin's Price	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	F - The Imager Portfolio 11
The Punch Escrow (D)	Tal M. Klein	SF/TechTh
The Five Daughters of the Moon (D)	Leena Likitalo	HistF/DF - The Waning Moon Duology 1
Red Tithe	Robbie MacNiven	SF - Carcharodons 1
Bone White	Ronald Malfi	H/GH/Th
Gather the Daughters (D)	Jennie Melamed	LF
Raid	K.S. Merbeth	SF/AP/PA - Wastelanders 2
Blood Gamble	Melissa F. Olson	UF - Disrupted Magic 2
Copper Veins	Jennifer Allis Provost	Dys/FR - Copper Legacy 3
Strange Practice (D)	Vivian Shaw	CF - A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel 1
Extinction Age	Nicholas Sansbury Smith	SF/AP/PA - The Extinction Cycle 3
Talon of God (D)	Wesley Snipes Ray Norman	UF
Age of Swords	Michael J. Sullivan	F - The Legends of the First Empire 2
After the Downfall	Harry Turtledove	AH

July 26, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
These Deathless Bones: A Tor.com Original (e)	Cassandra Khaw	H
Hounds of the Underworld	Dan Rabarts Lee Murray	M/Noir/H - Path of Ra 1

July 27, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
She-wolf: A Cultural History of Female Werewolves (ri)	Hannah Priest	LC/SF/F
The Leper House (e)	Andrew Taylor	GO
Broken Voices (e)	Andrew Taylor	GO
The Scratch (e)	Andrew Taylor	GO

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


AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
CW - Contemporary Women
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GH - Ghost(s)
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GO - Gothic
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HU - Humor
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legends and Mythology
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Noir - Noir
Occ - Occult
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PI - Private Investigator
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PRS - Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Psy - Psychological
R - Romance
RPGs - Role Playing Games
Satire - Satire
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SH - Superhero(es)
SP - Steampunk
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
VisMeta - Visionary and Metaphysical
W - Western
Z - Zombies

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

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

KSM:  Hi, thanks for having me! I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. As a kid I always had my face in a book and dreamed about being an author someday. I started writing my own stories in elementary school, and never stopped. My head is always full of ideas and characters and plots. I feel like I need to get them down on the page for my own peace of mind.



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

KSM:  I’m a hybrid. When I first get an idea, I like to jump right in while I’m excited about it. After I word-vomit out the first few chapters, I pause and figure out where I’m going with it. As far as plotting, I use what I’ve heard called the “road trip” technique. I like to know where the story begins, where it ends, and some of the major stops along the way, but I figure out everything else as I go. It helps me maintain the sense of adventure while preventing me from getting lost.



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

KSM:  The hardest thing for me is sticking with one idea. I have a long list of stories I’d love to write, and my brain would gladly jump around writing bits and pieces of each, but I’d never get anything finished that way. I’ve become a lot more disciplined over the years, but new ideas are still very tantalizing.



TQ:  What has influenced / influences your writing?

KSM:  Mostly, I just try to write the kinds of books I’d want to read – and I’m a picky reader. I like to be surprised. I like things that are fresh and different and thought-provoking. I like complicated morality and main characters who aren’t really “heroes” in a traditional sense. Whenever I’m reading, or watching a movie, or playing a game, I’m always thinking about what is working or not working for me in the story, and I bring that with me whenever I sit down to write.



TQ:  Describe Bite in 140 characters or less.

KSM:  In a brutal desert wasteland, a girl finds a family in a crew of outlaws, and they cause a shitload of trouble.



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

KSM:  While there’s a lot of violence and grit and horror in Bite, there’s also quite a bit of humor! Of course it’s very dark humor that mostly revolves around cannibalism and similarly unsavory topics, but still, I think the story will get more than a couple laughs out of readers.



TQ:  In the About section on your website (here) you say that Bite is, in part, "...inspired by my love of villains... ." Who are some of your favorite villains? What else inspired Bite?

KSM:  Ooh, there are so many! I love Harley Quinn and the Joker, Bellatrix Lestrange, Gogo Yubari, Negan from the Walking Dead... I have a soft spot for female villains, and for villains that are both evil and funny. As far as other inspiration, I really love the post-apocalyptic setting, but I wanted to take it in a direction that hadn’t been explored before. It’s a setting ripe for violence and villainy, and as soon as I started to wonder about the “bad guys” in such a bleak world, the story began to come together.



TQ:  What appeals to you about writing post-apocalyptic SF?

KSM:  I love the gritty, high stakes nature of the setting. The world has fallen apart, civilization has collapsed, and everyone is doing whatever they can to survive. In a world like that, you can really dig into the darker parts of human nature and explore exactly how far people will go to stay alive.



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

KSM:  I did a lot of research into how people would survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Growing up in Arizona, it wasn’t too hard to imagine the desert-like setting and what kind of survival challenges it would pose, but I wanted to include as much realism as I could. I researched things like heatstroke and dehydration, the longevity of various kinds of canned food, and how water would be purified.



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

KSM:  Kid was the easiest to write. Her voice came really naturally – in part, I think, because her narration is so deeply entwined with the story in my mind. Bite wouldn’t be the story that it is without Kid telling it. I also relate to her because she’s not some badass or killing machine. She’s just a girl who’s figuring out where she belongs in the world.

The crew’s leader, Wolf, was the hardest for me. He wasn’t difficult to write on a surface level, but it was harder to figure out who he is beneath all the profanity and ridiculous one-liners, and harder still to get him to show it a little over the course of the book.



TQ:  Which question about Bite do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!

KSM:

Q: Have you ever drawn inspiration from an unexpected source?

A: What a coincidence, this sets me up perfectly for a story I’ve been dying to tell! ;)

Early into the first draft of Bite, I was working on it at home. I had put Kid in a pretty shitty situation – dying of dehydration and separated from most of the crew – and was puzzling over how to get her out of it. While I was brainstorming, my little brother (who was 12 or 13 at the time) asked me what I was working on. I gave him a quick run-down, and he listened and nodded and advised, in a very serious voice: “You should put a lizard in it.”

And, just like that, I knew how to write myself out of the corner I was stuck in. Thanks, Lucas!



TQ:  Give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery quotes from Bite.

KSM:  Here’s an excerpt!

     “Is that a map?” I ask. I can’t read a word of it, but I recognize the shapes of mountains and roads.
     “Again with the stupid questions,” Wolf says. “Of course it’s a damn map. See, it’s got all the towns and shit.”
     “Wow.” This piece of paper holds more of the world than I’ve ever seen, not that it means much. Before I left town, I knew other places like it existed, but certainly not their locations or names. “You guys made this?”
     “Got it off a caravan,” Pretty Boy says.
     “So you stole it?”
     “It doesn’t count as stealing if they’re dead,” Wolf objects.
     “I think it still counts if you killed them for the map…”
     “I never said we killed them,” he says. “And no. That would count as looting, ain’t that right?”
     “Isn’t that worse than stealing?”
     “Whatever.”

TQ:  What's next?

KSM:  Expect a sequel to BITE next year!



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Bite
Orbit, July 26, 2016
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 416 pages

Kid is trying to survive in a world gone mad.

Hungry, thirsty and alone in a desert wasteland, she's picked up on the side of the road by Wolf, Dolly, Tank and Pretty Boy - outlaws with big reputations and even bigger guns.

But as they journey across the wild together, Kid learns that her newfound crew may not be the heroes she was hoping for. And in a world that's lost its humanity, everyone has a bit of monster within them...

About K.S. Merbeth

Photo by Mauri Mobray

Debut author K.S. Merbeth is obsessed with SFF, food, video games, and her cat and resides in Tuscon, Arizona.











Website  ~ Twitter @ksmerbeth


Facebook

Happy Monday!

There are 4 debuts this week:

Midsummer Night's Mischief (A Wiccan Wheel Mystery 1) by Jennifer David Hesse;

The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel;

Bite by K.S. Merbeth;

and

Machinations (Machinations 1) by Hayley Stone.






From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Indomitable (Chronicles of Promise Paen 2) W. C. Bauers;

Four Roads Cross (Craft Sequence 5) by Max Gladstone;

Lightless (The Lightless Trilogy 1) by C.A. Higgins is out in Trade Paperback with a new cover!;

Supernova (The Lightless Trilogy 2) by C.A. Higgins;

Sparrow Falling (Sparrow 2) by Gaie Sebold;

and

The Substitute Sleuth (Genrenauts Episode 4) by Michael R. Underwood.






Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels by formerly featured Debut Author Challenge Authors are highlighted in green.



July 26, 2016

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Whitefern	V.C. Andrews	Saga/Psy - The Audrina Series 2
Indomitable	W. C. Bauers	SF - Chronicles of Promise Paen 2
Red Right Hand	Levi Black	DF
The Lightning Stones (h2mm)	Jack Du Brul	Th/SF - Philip Mercer 8
Bounty	Michael Byrnes	TechTh/SF
Illusion Town	Jayne Castle	PNR - An Illusion Town Novel 1
Spells and Scones	Bailey Cates	PM - A Magical Bakery Mystery 6
Cinema Alchemist: Designing Star Wars and Alien	Roger Christian	Biography
Dark Matter	Blake Crouch	TechTh/Sus/SF
Paycheck and Other Classic Stories By Philip K. Dick	Philip K. Dick	SF - Collection
Dark Victory (tp2mm)	Brendan DuBois	SF/AP/PA
Pacific Fire (h2tp)	Greg van Eekhout	CF - Daniel Blackland 2
1636: The Cardinal Virtues (h2mm)	Eric Flint Walter H. Hunt	AH - The Ring of Fire 19
Wicked	Joanne Fluke	Sus/Cr/H
The Woman in Silk	R.J. Gadney	H
Valley of the Moon	Melanie Gideon	Saga/LF
Four Roads Cross	Max Gladstone	F - Craft Sequence 5
Deadly Fate	Heather Graham	Sus/Th/PNR/GH - Krewe of Hunters 19
Dragon Fever: A Dark Kings Novella	Donna Grant	PNR
Where the Wild Things Bite	Molly Harper	PNR - Half-Moon Hollow 5
Midsummer Night's Mischief (D)	Jennifer David Hesse	CM - A Wiccan Wheel Mystery 1
Supernova	C.A. Higgins	SF/SO - The Lightless Trilogy 2
Lightless (h2tp)	C.A. Higgins	SF/SO - The Lightless Trilogy 1
Fool's Quest (h2mm)	Robin Hobb	F - Fitz and the Fool 2
Apocalypse Now Now (tp2mm)	Charlie Human	F/P
Doctor Sleep (tp2mm)	Stephen King	H - Shining 2
The Breadwinner Trilogy	Stevie Kopas	SF/AP/PA - The Breadwinner Omnibus
A Grave Prediction	Victoria Laurie	PM - Psychic Eye Mystery 14
Best Defense	David Mack	SF - Star Trek: The Original Series: Legacies 2
The Night Parade	Ronald Malfi	H/GH/Th/Sus
The Summer That Melted Everything (D)	Tiffany McDaniel	LF
Thunderbird (h2mm)	Jack McDevitt	SF - Ancient Shores 2
City of Demons (e)	Richelle Mead	UF - Georgia Kincaid 2.5
Bite (D)	K.S. Merbeth	SF/AP/PA
Urban Allies: Ten Brand-New Collaborative Stories	Joseph Nassise	UF - Anthology
Night Talk	George Noory	SupTh
City of Wolves	Willow Palecek	F/P
A Sterkarm Kiss (ri)	Susan Price	F/TT - Sterkarm 2
The Sterkarm Handshake (ri)	Susan Price	F/TT - Sterkarm 1
Copper Veins (e)	Jennifer Allis Provost	F - Copper Legacy 3
Wasteland King	Lilith Saintcrow	UF - Gallow and Ragged 3
Adeptus Mechanicus	Rob Sanders	SF - Warhammer 40,000
Sparrow Falling	Gaie Sebold	SP - Sparrow 2
Koko the Mighty (tp2mm)	Kieran Shea	SF - Koko 2
Doctor Who Travels in Time Coloring Book	Price Stern Sloan	SF
Machinations (D)(e)	Hayley Stone	SF - Machinations 1
The Dead of Haggard Hall	Marie Treanor	PNR - Darke of Night 1
The Tinker King (h2mm)	Tiffany Trent	F - Unnaturalists
The Substitute Sleuth	Michael R. Underwood	SF - Genrenauts Ep. 4
Supernatural - Mythmaker	Tim Waggoner	F/P - Supernatural
A Call to Arms (h2mm)	David Weber Timothy Zahn Thomas Pope	SF - Manticore Ascendant 2
Soldiers Out of Time (tp2mm)	Steve White	SF/TT - Jason Thanou 5

July 28, 2016

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
SNAFU: Unnatural Selection (Ke)	Michale McBride Tim Lebbon and more	H - Anthology

July 29, 2016

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Limbus, Inc. - Book III	Brett J. Talley (Ed)	H/SF/F - Anthology

July 31, 2016

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Further Adventures of Langdon St. Ives	James P. Blaylock	SP - Collection
This Census-Taker	China Miéville	GB

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



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
CM - Cozy Mystery
Cr - Crime
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
GB - Genre Bender
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost
GN - Graphic Novel
GO - Gothic
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HU - Humor
LF - Literary Fiction
M - Mystery
MR - Magical Realism
Noir - Noir
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
R - Romance
RR - Regency Romance
SF - Science Fiction
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
Z - Zombies

Note: Not all of these genres are represented in the book 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 2016 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 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 July 30, 2016.

Vote for your favorite July 2016 Debut Cover!

Arabella of Mars

Bite

The Copper Promise

The Devourers

The Dragon Round

The Hatching

The Interminables

The Last One

Machinations

Midsummer Night's Mischief

The Monster's Daughter

Night of the Animals

The Race

The Summer That Melted Everything

The Wolf Road

 

pollcode.com free polls

Nina Allan

The Race
Titan Books, July 19, 2016
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

A child is kidnapped with consequences that extend across worlds… A writer reaches into the past to discover the truth about a possible murder… Far away a young woman prepares for her mysterious future…

In a future scarred by fracking and ecological collapse, Jenna Hoolman’s world is dominated by illegal smartdog racing: greyhounds genetically modified with human DNA. When her young niece goes missing that world implodes... Christy’s life is dominated by fear of her brother, a man she knows capable of monstrous acts and suspects of hiding even darker ones. Desperate to learn the truth she contacts Alex, who has his own demons to fight… And Maree, a young woman undertaking a journey that will change her world forever.

Ezekiel Boone

The Hatching
The Hatching Series 1
Atria/Emily Bestler Book, July 5, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages

“An apocalyptic extravaganza of doom and heroism…addictive.” —Publishers Weekly

“It’s been too long since someone reminded us that spiders are not just to be feared, but also may well spell doom for mankind. Fortunately, Ezekiel Boone has upped the ante on arachnophobia. This is a fresh take on classic horror, thoroughly enjoyable and guaranteed to leave your skin crawling.” —Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Wish Me Dead

An astonishingly inventive and terrifying debut novel about the emergence of an ancient species, dormant for over a thousand years, and now on the march.

Deep in the jungle of Peru, where so much remains unknown, a black, skittering mass devours an American tourist whole. Thousands of miles away, an FBI agent investigates a fatal plane crash in Minneapolis and makes a gruesome discovery. Unusual seismic patterns register in a Kanpur, India earthquake lab, confounding the scientists there. During the same week, the Chinese government “accidentally” drops a nuclear bomb in an isolated region of its own country. As these incidents begin to sweep the globe, a mysterious package from South America arrives at a Washington, D.C. laboratory. Something wants out.

The world is on the brink of an apocalyptic disaster. An ancient species, long dormant, is now very much awake.

Bill Broun

Night of the Animals
Ecco, July 5, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 560 pages

An imaginative debut that brilliantly recasts the tale of Noah’s Ark as a story of fate and family set in the near future in London

Over the course of a single night in 2052, a homeless man named Cuthbert Handley sets out on an astonishing quest: to release the animals of the London Zoo. When he was a young boy, Cuthbert’s grandmother told him he inherited a magical ability to communicate with the animal world—a gift she called the Wonderments. Ever since his older brother’s death in childhood, Cuthbert has heard voices. These maddening whispers must be the Wonderments, he believes, and recently they have promised to reunite him with his lost brother and bring about the coming of a Lord of Animals . . . if he fulfills this curious request.

Cuthbert flickers in and out of awareness throughout his desperate pursuit. But his grand plan is not the only thing that threatens to disturb the collective unease of the city. Around him is greater turmoil, as the rest of the world anxiously anticipates the rise of a suicide cult set on destroying the world’s animals along with themselves. Meanwhile, Cuthbert doggedly roams the zoo, cutting open the enclosures, while pressing the animals for information about his brother.

Just as this unlikely yet loveable hero begins to release the animals, the cult’s members flood the city’s streets. Has Cuthbert succeeded in harnessing the power of the Wonderments, or has he only added to the chaos—and sealed these innocent animals’ fates? Night of the Animals is an enchanting and inventive tale that explores the boundaries of reality, the ghosts of love and trauma, and the power of redemption.

Indra Das

The Devourers
Del Rey, July 12, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 360 pages

For readers of Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, China Miéville, and David Mitchell comes a striking debut novel by a storyteller of keen insight and captivating imagination.

On a cool evening in Kolkata, India, beneath a full moon, as the whirling rhythms of traveling musicians fill the night, college professor Alok encounters a mysterious stranger with a bizarre confession and an extraordinary story. Tantalized by the man’s unfinished tale, Alok will do anything to hear its completion. So Alok agrees, at the stranger’s behest, to transcribe a collection of battered notebooks, weathered parchments, and once-living skins.

From these documents spills the chronicle of a race of people at once more than human yet kin to beasts, ruled by instincts and desires blood-deep and ages-old. The tale features a rough wanderer in seventeenth-century Mughal India who finds himself irrevocably drawn to a defiant woman—and destined to be torn asunder by two clashing worlds. With every passing chapter of beauty and brutality, Alok’s interest in the stranger grows and evolves into something darker and more urgent.

Shifting dreamlike between present and past with intoxicating language, visceral action, compelling characters, and stark emotion, The Devourers offers a reading experience quite unlike any other novel.

Jennifer David Hesse

Midsummer Night's Mischief
A Wiccan Wheel Mystery 1
Kensington, July 26, 2016
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

As the Summer Solstice approaches in idyllic Edindale, Illinois, attorney Keli Milanni isn't feeling the magic. She's about to land in a cauldron of hot water at work. Good thing she has her private practice to fall back on--as a Wiccan. She'll just have to summon her inner Goddess and set the world to rights. . .

Midsummer Eve is meant for gratitude and celebration, but Keli is not in her typically upbeat mood. The family of a recently deceased client is blaming her for the loss of a Shakespearean heirloom worth millions, and Keli's career may be on the line. With both a Renaissance Faire and a literary convention in town, Edindale is rife with suspicious characters, and the intrepid attorney decides to tap into her unique skills to crack the case. . .

But Keli weaves a tangled web when her investigation brings her up-close and personal with her suspects--including sexy Wes Callahan, her client's grandson. The tattooed bartender could be the man she's been looking for in more ways than one. As the sun sets on the mystical holiday, Keli will need just a touch of the divine to ferret out the real villain and return Edindale, and her heart, to a state of perfect harmony. . ..

David D. Levine

Arabella of Mars
The Adventures of Arabella Ashby 1
Tor Books, July 12, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages

Since Newton witnessed a bubble rising from his bathtub, mankind has sought the stars. When William III of England commissioned Capt. William Kidd to command the first expedition to Mars in the late 1600s, he proved that space travel was both possible and profitable.

Now, one century later, a plantation in a flourishing British colony on Mars is home to Arabella Ashby, a young woman who is perfectly content growing up in the untamed frontier. But days spent working on complex automata with her father or stalking her brother Michael with her Martian nanny is not the proper behavior of an English lady. That is something her mother plans to remedy with a move to an exotic world Arabella has never seen: London, England.

However, when events transpire that threaten her home on Mars, Arabella decides that sometimes doing the right thing is far more important than behaving as expected. She disguises herself as a boy and joins the crew of the Diana, a ship serving the Mars Trading Company, where she meets a mysterious captain who is intrigued by her knack with clockwork creations. Now Arabella just has to weather the naval war currently raging between Britain and France, learn how to sail, and deal with a mutinous crew…if she hopes to save her family remaining on Mars.

Arabella of Mars, the debut novel by Hugo-winning author David D. Levine offers adventure, romance, political intrigue, and Napoleon in space!

Beth Lewis

The Wolf Road
Crown, July 5, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 368 pages

ELKA BARELY REMEMBERS a time before she knew Trapper. She was just seven years old, wandering lost and hungry in the wilderness, when the solitary hunter took her in. In the years since then, he’s taught her how to survive in this desolate land where civilization has been destroyed and men are at the mercy of the elements and each other.

But the man Elka thought she knew has been harboring a terrible secret. He’s a killer. A monster. And now that Elka knows the truth, she may be his next victim.

Armed with nothing but her knife and the hard lessons Trapper’s drilled into her, Elka flees into the frozen north in search of her real parents. But judging by the trail of blood dogging her footsteps, she hasn’t left Trapper behind—and he won’t be letting his little girl go without a fight. If she’s going to survive, Elka will have to turn and confront not just him, but the truth about the dark road she’s been set on.

The Wolf Road is an intimate cat-and-mouse tale of revenge and redemption, played out against a vast, unforgiving landscape—told by an indomitable young heroine fighting to escape her past and rejoin humanity.

Tiffany McDaniel

The Summer That Melted Everything
St. Martin's Press, July 26, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 320 pages

Fielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984: the year a heat wave scorched Breathed, Ohio. The year he became friends with the devil.

Sal seems to appear out of nowhere - a bruised and tattered thirteen-year-old boy claiming to be the devil himself answering an invitation. Fielding Bliss, the son of a local prosecutor, brings him home where he's welcomed into the Bliss family, assuming he's a runaway from a nearby farm town.

When word spreads that the devil has come to Breathed, not everyone is happy to welcome this self-proclaimed fallen angel. Murmurs follow him and tensions rise, along with the temperatures as an unbearable heat wave rolls into town right along with him. As strange accidents start to occur, riled by the feverish heat, some in the town start to believe that Sal is exactly who he claims to be. While the Bliss family wrestles with their own personal demons, a fanatic drives the town to the brink of a catastrophe that will change this sleepy Ohio backwater forever.

K.S. Merbeth

Bite
Orbit, July 26, 2016
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 416 pages

Kid is trying to survive in a world gone mad.

Hungry, thirsty and alone in a desert wasteland, she's picked up on the side of the road by Wolf, Dolly, Tank and Pretty Boy - outlaws with big reputations and even bigger guns.

But as they journey across the wild together, Kid learns that her newfound crew may not be the heroes she was hoping for. And in a world that's lost its humanity, everyone has a bit of monster within them...

Alexandra Oliva

The Last One
Ballantine Books, July 12, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 304 pages

Survival is the name of the game as the line blurs between reality TV and reality itself in Alexandra Oliva’s fast-paced novel of suspense.

She wanted an adventure. She never imagined it would go this far.

It begins with a reality TV show. Twelve contestants are sent into the woods to face challenges that will test the limits of their endurance. While they are out there, something terrible happens—but how widespread is the destruction, and has it occurred naturally or is it man-made? Cut off from society, the contestants know nothing of it. When one of them—a young woman the show’s producers call Zoo—stumbles across the devastation, she can imagine only that it is part of the game.

Alone and disoriented, Zoo is heavy with doubt regarding the life—and husband—she left behind, but she refuses to quit. Staggering countless miles across unfamiliar territory, Zoo must summon all her survival skills—and learn new ones as she goes.

But as her emotional and physical reserves dwindle, she grasps that the real world might have been altered in terrifying ways—and her ability to parse the charade will be either her triumph or her undoing.

Sophisticated and provocative, The Last One is a novel that forces us to confront the role that media plays in our perception of what is real: how readily we cast our judgments, how easily we are manipulated.

Paige Orwin

The Interminables
Angry Robot, July 5, 2016
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 416 pages

It’s 2020, and a magical cataclysm has shattered reality as we know it. Now a wizard’s cabal is running the East Coast of the US, keeping a semblance of peace.

Their most powerful agents, Edmund and Istvan — the former a nearly immortal 1940s-era mystery man, the latter, well, a ghost — have been assigned to hunt down an arms smuggling ring that could blow up Massachusetts.

Turns out the mission’s more complicated than it seemed. They discover a shadow war that’s been waged since the world ended, and, even worse, they find out that their own friendship has always been more complicated than they thought. To get out of this alive, they’ll need to get over their feelings, their memories, and the threat of a monstrous foe who’s getting ready to commit mass murder…

File Under: Fantasy [ After the Cataclysm / Thief and Surgeon / Your Best Nightmare / Haunting the Ghost ]

Stephen S. Power

The Dragon Round
Simon 451 / Simon & Schuster, July 19, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 336 pages

A swashbuckling adventure with a dark side for fans of George R.R. Martin and Naomi Novik—when a ship captain is stranded on a deserted island by his mutinous crew, he finds a baby dragon that just might be the key to his salvation…and his revenge.

He only wanted justice. Instead he got revenge.

Jeryon has been the captain of the Comber for over a decade. He knows the rules. He likes the rules. But not everyone on his ship agrees. After a monstrous dragon attacks the galley, the surviving crewmembers decide to take the ship for themselves and give Jeryon and his self-righteous apothecary “the captain’s chance”: a small boat with no rudder, no sails, and nothing but the clothes on his back to survive on the open sea.

Fighting for their lives against the elements, Jeryon and his companion land on an island that isn’t as deserted as they originally thought. They find a baby dragon that, if trained, could be their way home. But as Jeryon and the dragon grow closer, the captain begins to realize that even if he makes it off the island, his old life won't be waiting for him and in order get justice, he’ll have to take it for himself.

From a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet and speculative short story writer, The Dragon Round combines a rich world, desperate characters, and gorgeous, literary fiction into a timeless tale of revenge. 

Michelle Pretorius

The Monster's Daughter
Melville House, July 19, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 464 pages

Somewhere on the South African veld, 1901: At the height of the Boer War, a doctor at a British concentration camp conducts a series of grim experiments on Boer prisoners. His work ends in chaos, but two children survive: a boy named Benjamin and a girl named Tessa . . .

One hundred years later, a disgraced young police constable is reassigned to the sleepy South African town of Unie, where she makes a terrifying discovery: the body of a young woman, burned beyond recognition.

The crime soon leads her into her country’s violent past—a past that includes her father, a high-ranking police official under the apartheid regime, and the children left behind in that long-ago concentration camp.

Michelle Pretorius’s epic debut weaves present and past together into a hugely suspenseful, masterfully plotted thriller. With an explosive conclusion, The Monster’s Daughter marks the emergence of a thrilling new writer.

Hayley Stone

Machinations
Machinations 1
Hydra, July 26, 2016
eBook, 374 pages

Perfect for fans of Robopocalypse, this action-packed science-fiction debut introduces a chilling future and an unforgettable heroine with a powerful role to play in the battle for humanity’s survival.

The machines have risen, but not out of malice. They were simply following a command: to stop the endless wars that have plagued the world throughout history. Their solution was perfectly logical. To end the fighting, they decided to end the human race.

A potent symbol of the resistance, Rhona Long has served on the front lines of the conflict since the first Machinations began—until she is killed during a rescue mission gone wrong. Now Rhona awakens to find herself transported to a new body, complete with her DNA, her personality, even her memories. She is a clone . . . of herself.

Trapped in the shadow of the life she once knew, the reincarnated Rhona must find her place among old friends and newfound enemies—and quickly. For the machines are inching closer to exterminating humans for good. And only Rhona, whoever she is now, can save them.

Jen Williams

The Copper Promise
Copper Cat 1
Angry Robot, July 5, 2016
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 448 pages

There are some tall stories about the caverns beneath the Citadel – about magic and mages and monsters and gods.

Wydrin of Crosshaven has heard them all, but she’s spent long enough trawling caverns and taverns with her companion Sir Sebastian to learn that there’s no money to be made in chasing rumours.
But then a crippled nobleman with a dead man’s name offers them a job: exploring the Citadel’s darkest depths. It sounds like just another quest with gold and adventure … if they’re lucky, they might even have a tale of their own to tell once it’s over.

These reckless adventurers will soon learn that sometimes there is truth in rumour. Sometimes a story can save your life.

File Under: Fantasy