Archive for Art

Cover Launch: BITTER WATERS by Vivian Shaw

Take your first look at the cover for Bitter Waters (US | UK), a new novella in the Dr. Greta Helsing series by Vivian Shaw, coming June 2024!

Bitter Waters by Vivian Shaw

Cover Design by Alexia E. Pereira & Will Staehle

A witty, charming standalone novella starring Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, who must get to the bottom of a mystery involving a newly turned child vampire. 

A barrow-wight shows up on Greta and Varney’s doorstep one night with 11-year-old Lucy Ashton who’s been newly—and forcefully—bitten and turned. Who did this to her, and why? With the help of her vampiric friends, Greta is determined to find out.

The Dr. Greta Helsing Novels
Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw
Strange Practice
(US | UK)
Dreadful Company (US | UK)
Grave Importance (US | UK)

Cover Launch: REBEL BLADE by Davinia Evans

Take your first look at the cover for Rebel Blade (US | UK), the finale in The Burnished City trilogy by Davinia Evans coming December 2024!

Rebel Blade by Davinia Evans

Cover Design by Stephanie Hess

Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans

Shadow Baron by Davinia Evans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Burnished City
Notorious Sorcerer (US | UK)
Shadow Baron (US | UK)

Cover Launch: THE BOUND WORLDS by Megan E. O’Keefe

Take your first look at the cover for The Bound Worlds (US | UK), the finale in The Devoured Worlds trilogy, coming June 2024!

The Bound Worlds by Megan E. O'Keefe

Cover Design by Lauren Panepinto; Cover Illustration by Jaime Jones

Worlds will collide and fates will be rewritten in the thrilling conclusion to the Devoured Worlds space opera trilogy by awardwinning author Megan E. O’Keefe.

Naira and Tarquin have found a new home on Seventh Cradle. But the peace they’ve built is short-lived as mysterious assailants ambush the settlement and Naira is haunted by visions of a monstrous future. Catastrophe strikes when Tarquin uncovers a plot to bring about the end of the universe. As humanity races against the clock to prevent their extinction, old secrets come to light and loyalties fracture, and Naira realizes she may be the key to saving the world—or ending it.

Also by Megan E. O’Keefe
The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O'Keefe The Fractured Dark by Megan E. O'Keefe
The Devoured Worlds
The Blighted Stars
(US | UK)
The Fractured Dark
(US | UK)

Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O'Keefe Chaos Vector by Megan E. O'Keefe Catalyst Gate by Megan E. O'Keefe The First Omega by Megan E. O'Keefe
The Protectorate
Velocity Weapon (US | UK)
Chaos Vector (US | UK)
Catalyst Gate (US | UK)
The First Omega (US | UK)

Cover Launch: THE SCHOLAR AND THE LAST FAERIE DOOR by H. G. Parry

Take your first look at the cover for The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door (US | UK), a new standalone novel by H. G. Parry coming October 2024!

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H. G. Parry

Cover Design by Lisa Marie Pompilio

From the author of The Magician’s Daughter comes The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door, a mythic, magical tale full of secret scholarship, faerie curses, and the deadliest spells of all—the ones that friends cast on each other. 

All they needed to break the world was a door, and someone to open it.

Camford, 1921. Gilded and glittering, England’s secret magical academy is no place for Clover, a commoner with neither connections nor magical blood. She tells herself she has fought her way there only to find a cure for her brother Matthew, one of the few survivors of a faerie attack on the battlefields of WWI which left the doors to faerie country sealed, the study of its magic banned, and its victims cursed.

But when Clover catches the eye of golden boy Alden Lennox-Fontaine and his friends, doors that were previously closed to her are flung wide open, and she soon finds herself enmeshed in the seductive world of the country’s magical aristocrats. The summer she spends in Alden’s orbit leaves a fateful mark: months of joyous friendship and mutual study come crashing down when experiments go awry, and old secrets are unearthed.

Years later, when the faerie seals break, Clover knows it’s because of what they did. And she knows that she must seek the help of people she once called friends—and now doesn’t quite know what to call—if there’s any hope of saving the world as they know it.

Also by H. G. Parry
The Magician's Daughter by H. G. Parry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Magician’s Daughter (US | UK)

Cover Launch: SORCERY AND SMALL MAGICS by Maiga Doocy

Take your first look at the cover for Sorcery and Small Magics (US | UK), the debut cozy fantasy novel by Maiga Doocy coming October 2024!

Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy

Cover Design by Lisa Marie Pompilio

From debut author Maiga Doocy comes the charming tale of an impulsive sorcerer and his curmudgeonly rival as they venture deep into a magical forest in search of a counterspell that can break the curse between them—only to discover that magic might not be the only thing pulling them together.

Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics. He can summon butterflies with a song or turn someone’s hair pink by snapping his fingers. Though such minor charms don’t earn him much respect, anything more elaborate always blows up in his face, and so Leo vowed long ago never to use powerful magic again.

That is, until a mishap with a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime rival, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo’s complete opposite—respected, exceptionally talented, and absolutely insufferable. The only thing they can agree on is that revealing the curse between them would mean the end of their respective magical careers. They need a counterspell, and fast.

Chasing rumors of a powerful sorcerer with a knack for undoing curses, Leo and Grimm enter the Unquiet Wood, a forest infested with murderous monsters and dangerous outlaws alike. To break the curse, they will have to uncover the true depths of Leo’s magic, set aside their long-standing rivalry, and—much to their horror—work together.

Even as an odd spark of attraction flares between them.

Cover Launch: THE SWORD UNBOUND by Gareth Hanrahan

We’re delighted to reveal the cover for THE SWORD UNBOUND (UK|US), the second book in Gareth Hanrahan’s acclaimed epic fantasy series of dark myth, daring warriors and bloodthirsty vengeance, following THE SWORD DEFIANT.

cover of the sword unbound by Gareth Hanrahan

Cover illustration by Thea Dumitriu

 

He thought he was saving the world. That was his first mistake.

Twenty years ago, Alf and his companions defeated the Dark Lord and claimed his city. Now, those few of the Nine that remain find themselves unwilling rebels, defying the authority of both the mortal lords they once served and the immortal king of the elves – the secret architect of everything they’ve ever known.

Once lauded as a mighty hero, Alf is now labelled a traitor and hunted by the very gods he seeks to bring down. As desperate rebellion blazes across the land, Alf seeks the right path through a maze of conspiracy, wielding a weapon of evil. The black sword Spellbreaker, ever hungry for slaughter, has found its purpose in these dark days. But can Aelfric remain a hero, or is his legend tarnished forever?

 

THE LANDS OF THE FIRSTBORN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praise for The Sword Defiant:

‘The front runner for my book of the year . . . Fans of Gemmell and Abercrombie need this on their shelves’
Ed McDonald, author of Blackwing

‘With a richly detailed narrative, well-drawn characters, epic battles, and political and religious intrigues, Hanrahan’s outstanding first outing in the Lands of the Firstborn series will thrill fantasy readers – who will anxiously await the next book’
Booklist

‘Both a love letter and evolution of the epic fantasy novel . . . The Sword Defiant is an epic tale of how no world stands still forever . . . Highly recommended!
Run Along the Shelves

‘Hanrahan is one of the best in the business at creating fantasy worlds that feel alive . . . I’ll read any book that Gareth Hanrahan writes’
The Fantasy Inn

Cover Launch: THE FALL OF WATERSTONE by Lilith Saintcrow

Take your first look at the cover for The Fall of Waterstone (US), the sequel to A Flame in the North (US) by Lilith Saintcrow, coming June 2024!

The Fall of Waterstone by Lilith Saintcrow

Cover Design by Lisa Marie Pompilio; Cover Illustration by Mike Heath/Magnus Creative

An elemental witch and her shieldmaiden navigate a dangerous world of forgotten myth and deep magic in the second volume of New York Times bestselling author Lilith Saintcrow’s sweeping Norse-inspired epic fantasy series.

Solveig and her shieldmaid have finally reached the fabled Elder sanctuary of Waterstone—a city of healing, restful beauty hidden from the Enemy’s gaze. Yet whispers race through the palace halls, and those they have come to tentatively trust have hidden intentions. For not only is the city a refuge for an elementalist, her protector, and a mortal prince, it also holds a great weapon, one that only Solveig’s kind may wield.

Yet Sol’s faith in her own magic is perilously fractured. She can rely only her wits and skills of negotiation to be heard, or she will become a pawn in a dark game played by Elder and Enemy alike. The lord of the Black Land is mighty; treachery slithers amid Waterstone’s many wonders, and time is growing short.

Before the darkness finds a way in, Sol must decide who to trust, where to turn for aid, and if she will take up a power she cannot hope to control. Even the right choice may doom not just the home she has left behind, but the entire world…

Black Land’s Bane 
A Flame in the North (US)

A Flame in the North by Lilith Saintcrow

Cover Launch: A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME by Mary McMyne

Take your first look at the cover for A Rose by Any Other Name (US | UK), a new standalone novel by Mary McMyne, coming Summer 2024!

A Rose by Any Other Name by Mary McMyne

Cover Design by Lisa Marie Pompilio; Cover Photography by Blake Marrow/Shannon Associates

From the author of The Book of Gothel comes the lush, magical story behind Shakespeare’s sonnets, as told by one of his most famous subjects—the incendiary and mysterious Dark Lady.

My name has only been whispered, heretofore…

England, 1591. Rose Rushe’s passion for life runs deep—she loves mead and music, meddles with astrology, and laughs at her mother’s warnings to guard her reputation. When Rose’s father dies and a noble accuses her and her dear friend Cecely of witchcraft, they flee to the household of respected alchemists in London. But as their bond deepens, their sanctuary begins to feel more like a cage. To escape, they turn to the occult, secretly casting charms and selling astrological advice in the hopes of building a life together. This thriving underground business leads Rose to fair young noble Henry and playwright Will Shakespeare, and so begins a brief, tempestuous, and powerful romance—one filled with secret longings and deep betrayals.

In this world of dazzling masques and decadent feasts, where the stars decide futures, Rose will write her own fate instead.

For more from Mary McMyne, check out The Book of Gothel (US | UK).

The Book of Gothel TP by Mary McMyne

Cover Launch: DAUGHTER OF THE MERCIFUL DEEP by Leslye Penelope

Take your first look at the cover for Daughter of the Merciful Deep (US | UK), a new standalone novel by Leslye Penelope coming June 2024!

Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope

Cover Design by Lisa Marie Pompilio

A woman journeys into a submerged world of gods and myth to save her home in this powerful historical fantasy that shines a light on the drowned Black towns of the American South. 

“Our home began, as all things do, with a wish.”

Jane Edwards hasn’t spoken since she was eleven years old, when armed riders expelled her family from their hometown along with every other Black resident. Now, twelve years later, she’s found a haven in the all-Black town of Awenasa. But the construction of a dam promises to wash her home under the waters of the new lake.

Jane will do anything to save the community that sheltered her. So, when a man with uncanny abilities arrives in town asking strange questions, she wonders if he’s might be the key. But as the stranger hints at gods and ancestral magic, Jane is captivated by a bigger mystery. She knows this man. Only the last time she saw him, he was dead. His body laid to rest in a rushing river.

Who is the stranger and what is he really doing in Awenasa? To find those answers, Jane will journey into a sunken world, a land of capricious gods and unsung myths, of salvation and dreams made real. But the flood waters are rising. To gain the miracle she desires, Jane will have to find her voice again and finally face the trauma of the past.

For more from Leslye Penelope, check out The Monsters We Defy (US | UK).

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

Cover Launch: THE PHOENIX KEEPER by S. A. MacLean

Take your first look at the cover for The Phoenix Keeper (US) by S. A. MacLean, coming August 2024!

The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean

Cover Design by Rachael Lancaster (Orion Books); Cover Illustration by Niall Grant

Set in a magical zoo teeming with mythical beasts from dragons and unicorns to kelpies and krakens, The Phoenix Keeper is a fierce joy of a cozy fantasy novel with a soul-restoring queer romance at its heart, for fans of The House in the Cerulean Sea and Legends and Lattes.

As head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures, Aila’s childhood dream of conserving critically endangered firebirds seems closer than ever. There’s just one glaring caveat: her zoo’s breeding program hasn’t functioned for a decade. When a tragic phoenix heist sabotages the flagship initiative at a neighboring zoo, Aila must prove her derelict facilities are fit to take the reins.

But saving an entire species from extinction requires more than stellar animal handling skills. Carnivorous water horses, tempestuous thunderhawks, mischievous dragons… Aila has no problem wrangling beasts. But mustering the courage to ask for help from the hotshot griffin keeper at the zoo’s most popular exhibit? Virtually impossible.

Especially when that hotshot griffin keeper happens to be her arch-rival from college: Luciana, an annoyingly brooding and insufferable know-it-all with the face of a goddess who’s convinced that Aila’s beloved phoenix would serve their cause better as an active performer rather than as a passive conservation exhibit. With the world watching and the threat of poachers looming, Aila’s success is no longer merely a matter of keeping her job…

She is the keeper of the phoenix, and the future of a species—and her love life—now rests on her shoulders.