Briar Girls and other fun things!
It's been a while! Hello!
Hello, world! It’s been over seven months since my last newsletter, so at least I’m keeping my promise not to ping you all too often. I’m excited to pop back in and tell you about my next book (it’ll be here sooner than you think!) and share some fun semi-related things with you!
Briar Girls
My third book will be released on November 2nd (less than six months from now)! Briar Girls is a standalone YA fantasy novel featuring (among other things) a menacing forest, a liar with an irresistible smile, sinister dragons, power-hungry mages, a rumor about a sleeping princess, a snarky raven in human form, and one queer girl determined to change her stars. I’m thrilled to share the cover and full jacket description below!
“Lena has a secret: the touch of her skin can kill. Cursed by a witch before she was born, Lena has always lived in fear and isolation. But after a devastating mistake, she and her father are forced to flee to a village near the Silence, a mysterious forest with a reputation for luring people into the trees, never to be seen again…
Until the night an enigmatic girl stumbles out of the Silence and into Lena’s sheltered world. Miranda comes from the Gather, a city in the forest brimming with magic. She is on a quest to wake a sleeping princess believed to hold the key to liberating the Gather from its tyrannical ruler—and she offers Lena a bargain. If Lena assists her on her journey, Miranda will help her break the curse.
Mesmerized by Miranda and her promise of a new life, Lena jumps at the chance. But the deeper into the Silence she goes, the more she suspects she’s been lied to—about her family’s history, her curse, and her future. As the shadows close in, Lena must choose who to trust and decide whether it’s more important to have freedom…or power.”
The cover was illustrated by Leo Nickolls and designed by Sarah Creech at S&S. Isn’t it GORGEOUS?? And it’s so fitting for the book itself.
If you’re sold on all of that, you can preorder a signed copy from my local independent bookstore, Porter Square Books. (Unsigned copies are available pretty much anywhere books are sold!) You can also add it on Goodreads now!
Misshelved Podcast
Last October, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with fellow author Kate Elliott for the Misshelved podcast, hosted by bookseller Nicole Brinkley. Today, our conversation is finally live for your listening pleasure! I don’t usually revisit interviews (like many people I find hearing my own voice a little jarring) but for this I couldn’t resist. Kate is one of my favorite authors of adult science fiction and fantasy, and she shared so much wisdom and kindness on the topics of world building, writing, and being a creative person—I can’t recommend this podcast enough. It was a joy to participate in then and a joy to listen to now. (And while you’re there, you can listen to an entire season of indie booksellers talking with favorite authors!)
Briar Girls ARC Giveaway!
I’m running a giveaway for the very first ARC of Briar Girls on Twitter right now! For those who might not know, an ARC is an Advance Reviewer Copy of a book. They are printed early and distributed primarily to librarians, booksellers, and publicity outlets to allow industry professionals to review the book (and hopefully get excited about it). As ARCs are uncorrected proofs and not final text, they aren’t meant to be available to the general public, so giveaways like this are one of the only ways to snag an early peek! This giveaway will be open until Friday May 21st, and if you head over to Twitter, you can also get a first look at a few lines from inside the book…
Fools in Love
Guess what? Briar Girls isn’t my only book coming out in 2021. I’ve also got a short story that will appear in Fools In Love, a YA romcom trope anthology coming out on December 7th. My story is titled “Unfortunately, Blobs Do Not Eat Snacks,” and it’s about as weird and wacky as the title suggests! Fools In Love is also available to preorder now. If you order from Porter Square Books I’m happy to sign this as well!
Some Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve been hearing from many people that they enjoyed Shatter the Sky, but had no idea that Storm the Earth had been published! (Not totally surprising considering 2020.) To answer some frequently asked questions—
Storm the Earth came out on October 13! It is now available wherever books are sold in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook formats.
Shatter the Sky was released in paperback last year, so it is now available in hardcover, paperback, e-book, and audiobook formats.
Shatter the Sky and Storm the Earth make up the complete duology. No further books are planned in this series at this time.
The audiobooks of this duology are so well produced! Catherine Ho appears as a narrator on both titles. In Storm the Earth, she is joined by actor Ramon De Ocampo. They both did such a fabulous job! If you’re looking for the audiobooks, I highly recommend purchasing from Libro.fm.
Signed copies of all of my books are available through Porter Square Books.
And lastly…
Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and support for my work. I’m so lucky to be able to tell these stories, and so grateful that you enjoy them.
Best,
Rebecca
*For more information on my work, feel free to visit my website!