Other people hoard things. I hoard books. It is probably the best part of an editor’s job, the new acquisition.  The new author, the new book, the new everything…

There are some novels that I buy because I want to.  And some because I think they’re great. Some because I know that they tell us about ourselves, but in a new way..and the list goes on. But there are some novels that I buy Because.

And it stops there as I can’t imagine a world where this book isn’t MY book. (Yes, yes, it’s also the author’s…) But it’s MINE.   Mine to read, mine to tinker with, figure out the cover, and then pet it when its all done.

Sigh. Yes. I sound unhinged, don’t I? But that is the world of the editor. We basically exist to buy books. Oh. And drink. But that’s for another post.

The newest book that I bought is called THE DAMNATION AFFAIR (UK | US).  It is the newest novel by Lilith Saintcrow and it is the 16th book that I will have worked on with Lili. 16!!!! Whoa! I got this as a ms from Evil Agent who knows my weaknesses and sent me a manuscript that basically said it’s a zombie love story! From Lili! Reader, I bought it.

If you’ve read IRON WYRM AFFAIR (UK | US | AUS), you’ll know about Bannon & Clare (if not, click here!).  DAMNATION AFFAIR is set in the same world, but instead of Victorian England, we move out West. To the old West. Where somethings just don’t stay dead….

The West is a wild place, where the poison wind blows and the dead walk. But there is gold, and whiskey, and enough room for a man to forget what he once was–until he no longer can.

Jack Gabriel’s been the sheriff in Damnation almost since the town grew out of the dust and the mud. He keeps the peace–sort of–and rides the circuit every dawn and dusk with the chartermage, making sure the wilderness doesn’t seep into their fragile attempt at civilization. Away from the cities clinging to the New World’s eastern rim, he doesn’t remember what he was. At least, not much.

But Damnation is growing, and along comes a schoolmarm. Catherine Barrowe is a right proper Boston miss, and it’s a mystery why she would choose this town where everything scandalous and dangerous is probably too much for a quality lady like her. Sometimes the sheriff wonders why she came out West–because everyone who does is running from something. He doesn’t realize Cat may be prickly, delicate, and proper, but she is also determined. She’s in Damnation to find her wayward older brother Robbie, whose letters were full of dark hints about gold, trouble…and something about a claim.

In a West where charm and charter live alongside clockwork and cold steel, where hot lead kills your enemy but it takes a blessing to make his corpse stay down, Cat will keep digging until she finds her brother. If Jack knew what she was after, he could solve the mystery–because he was the one who killed Robbie.

The thing is, Cat’s brother just won’t stay dead, and the undead are rising with him…

And seriously? If zombies clashing with cowboys don’t make you want to read this, I don’t know what will.

To find out more about THE DAMNATION AFFAIR and Lilith Saintcrow’s other novels, become a fan on Facebook.