So here it is—my very first newsletter! I wanted to have a space where I could catch all of you up on what I’m doing, any announcements you might have missed, give you a little insight into my brain, and share bonus content from my books. Thank you so much for signing up and without further ado…
What I’m writing:
I’m working through some final edits due for Stardust in their Veins (the sequel to Castles in their Bones, if you missed that title announcement) which is on track to come out in February! I can’t say too much about this yet but those who’ve read Castles can expect their favorite characters from different countries to start crossing paths (in one case involving a mean left hook) and a new POV.
A teaser (spoiler free even if you haven’t read Castles yet!):
“We’ll have water instead,” Beatriz tells the servant who lays down the glasses of lemonade. She nods and hurries off to replace them with fresh glasses and ceramic pitcher. When Beatriz and Pasquale take their seats and the servants leave them alone, Pasquale speaks again.
“Not a fan of lemonade?” he asks.
“Oh, I adore lemonade,” she says, reaching for the pitcher to pour water into their glasses. “But the tartness hides more poisons than I can count.”
Pasquale, who had lifted his water glass to his lips freezes and sets it back down again, looking unnerved. “Is that…a concern?” he asks warily.
What I’m reading:
The Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie - Gorgeous writing and amazing world building.
Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma - All the humor and swooniness I’ve come to expect from Nisha’s books and then some!
What I’m cooking:
I just got Carla Lalli Music’s newest cookbook, That Sounds So Good, and I’m making my way through it. She shared her recipe for Spaghetti with Melted Cauliflower Sauce on Nigella Lawson’s website, and it’s become one of my favorites. To up the ante of flavor and texture, I added some diced, pan fried chorizo.
What I’m thinking about:
(From the launch party for Ash Princess. This picture, taken by Claribel Ortega, really does show just how happy and anxious I was that day.)
This week marks four years since Ash Princess hit shelves. Four years since readers first met Theodosia and Blaise and Søren and Crescentia and Artemisia and Heron. Four years since I accomplished a goal I’d been working toward for more than a decade.
This time four years ago, I was an anxious mess. Not that I’m not normally an anxious mess, but my anxiety was dialed up to twenty instead of my normal eleven out of ten. I was sure no one would read my book, that readers wouldn’t connect with it, that my career would be over just as it was truly beginning. I wasn’t sleeping, wasn’t reading or writing or doing anything that truly made me happy, and I’m sorry to anyone who tried to have a conversation with me that week, because I know I was a nightmare to talk to.
If I could go back now, I’d give my past self a good shake, and maybe a slap. As caught up as I was in the stress of my debut release week, I wasn’t paying attention to all the joy and excitement in it. If I could go back, I’d tell myself that none of the things I worried about really mattered because Ash Princess would find its readers, that even four years later I’d still be receiving frequent messages about how much Theo’s story means to them.
Since Ash Princess came out, I’ve had four other books release. While that anxiety about my career being over before it began was certainly unfounded, I can’t say it’s been easy sailing since then either. This road has been filled with plenty of highs, lows, and plateaus, and I’m sure the next four years will be much the same.
I can’t wait.
So I just want to take a moment to say thank you—to those of you who have been reading my books since the beginning, to those of you who picked one up just yesterday, and to everyone in between. It’s been four years since my life long dream of becoming a published author came true, and I’ve got so many more dreams on the horizon. I’m looking forward to celebrating them all with you.
Bonus
In honor of Ash Princess turning four, this week’s bonus is a deleted scene. Sort of. In truth, I didn’t delete much from the Ash Princess books—most of the editing I did was adding rather than subtracting—but one of the things I did have to cut was a second letter from Søren to Theodosia while he was away from court. In the published book, this letter was intercepted and as a reader, you saw a snippet of it, but here’s the entire letter.
'Dear Thora,
I can't find the words to express how happy your letter made me. I think part of me was convinced that I had made all of this up in my head and your feelings for me were tepid at best. Never have I been so glad to be wrong. I know that I didn't say it so plainly in my last letter, though I'm sure you could have surmised as much, but my heart is yours as well.
As exciting as things are here at the moment, I worry it won't translate well to the page. I'll try my best though, as I would rather you not die of boredom before I return. Especially because I now fear that our journey has been delayed by a week at least, maybe more. My fleets have been facing some unexpected trouble from locals, though I feel confident that it's nothing that won't sort itself out in time. Most of them aren't warriors--just stubborn, but if they cause any more trouble, I worry we'll have to take extraordinary measures that I would rather avoid. I've lost three ships already, which my father would say isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it adds up to roughly two hundred men who went down with them. It's widely considered an acceptable loss, but when I think about each of those people having families, and loved ones, and maybe someone special to write letters to...well, I can't think about it. I just can't, or I won't be able to do anything for the remaining thousands of men still alive and looking to me for leadership.
I wish I had better news to interest you, but I'm afraid that's all that's occupying my days and I'm wary of saying more in case my father gets a hold of this and uses it against you.
In your letter, you said that you wanted a way for us to be together without having to hide it. I want the same. Even with Erik to confide in, it isn't enough. I want to tell everyone, I want to brag about your letters the way my men brag about the letters their sweethearts send them, I want a world where there is a future for us that is not sneaking through dark tunnels (as enjoyable as that sneaking might be). But I think, more than anything else, I want to live in a better world than the one my father has created. I have hope that one day, when I am Kaiser, I can create that world. And now I have hope that when I do, you'll be at my side.
Tell me more about your days, please, even if they're as boring as you say. Have you seen my mother? I know it's always difficult for her when I'm not at court, but she hasn't answered my last letter and I'm beginning to worry. If you can, would you stop by to see her and make sure she's alright? She told me she liked you and I know it would mean a lot to her.
Yours,
Søren
In case you missed it
As I mentioned above, Castles In Their Bones 2 has an official title…Stardust In Their Veins! I’ve also seen the cover, which is just breathtakingly stunning—hopefully I get to share that soon!
But what cover can I show you? My debut middle grade, Into the Glades!
Into the Glades is about best friends Cordelia and Larkin, who have always called the Glades—a peaceful swamp full of magical creatures—home. But when Oziris, Cordelia’s father and the leader of their village, dies unexpectedly, a dark curse sweeps over the land.
The girls know that the curse must be tied to Oziris’s death, and they’re determined to break its hold on their home and bring Oziris back to life. Together, Cordelia, Larkin, and their two little brothers set off into the wild Glades in search of an elusive and enigmatic witch who is rumored to have the power to reverse death.
The Glades are no longer a familiar and friendly place, though, and danger lurks around every corner. But on their journey, the children discover that the most difficult challenge isn’t wild marsh-maids or bogilisks or dragon-gators—it’s the grief threatening to consume them.
Even though it’s entirely fictional and full of magic and fantasy creatures, Into the Glades is my most personal book to date, based on my childhood growing up near the Everglades and the life long friendships that were forged there. I’ve wanted to wade into writing middle grade for a long time, especially because I really believe it was middle grade fiction that made me the person and the writer I am today. It’s out on October 25th, and it would mean so much to me if you preordered it today here.
And that’s it for my first newsletter! If there’s anything you’d like to see in future letters, please let me know below!
I can believe it's been 4 years! I'm currently half way through Ember Queen and I absolutely love it! I wish I could forget the series just so I could reread it again!
I look forward to seeing your updates 😊
I can't believe Ash Princess came out 4 years ago. My husband was actually the one to find it and he brought it home for me and was like "I thought this looked like something you would read". He wasn't wrong because I flew through it. I still remember book two coming out and taking it with me on a camping trip and I refused to put it down until it was done. I'm so glad you have a newsletter now and look forward to more :)