Once again, I’m sorry that I had to take a break in February. March got me mostly back on track, aside from a mental health episode that’s stalled a whole bunch of things. But, in the best news, I’m done with my novella, Ice Upon a Pier, and it’s coming out with a paperback edition for those who don’t want to read it on a Kindle or in digital. All links have been updated in the press kit, including some indie bookstores for those who want to support those venues.
In March, I interviewed Freydís Moon to celebrate the release of Heart, Haunt, Havoc.
Not sure what April is bringing, but to be honest, all I can see is my own release date and not much else.
ARCs
- A Door in the Dark (Waxways #1) by Scott Reintgen (YA, fantasy)
- At an elite university, a group of students are thrust into the wilderness after a spell gone wrong
- In-depth world-building with a fantastic exploration of class inequality in the context of magical college
- Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker (YA, fantasy)
- Cris and Clem, inheritors of a powerful magical legacy, discover that their mother is cursed and not naturally ill, sparking an investigation and it’s a race against generational trauma and personal grudges to get to the truth
- I just love these kids so much and the love of women and matriarchal figures shines on the page
- An interview with the author will be going up on release day, April 4th
- Heart, Haunt, Havoc by Freydís Moon (adult, gothic horror romance)
- A house is haunted by a demon and the dissolution of a marriage, and it’s up to an exorcist to sooth its root cause
- Tensions are tight in a work that examines heart ache, magic as a cultural practice, and moving on from grief
- I got to do a cover real and interview the author
- Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez (adult, horror)
- A family saga about a medium father trying to protect his son from the vampire-worshipping cult that’s his extended family
- Intense period piece of 80’s Argentina with supernatural elements that hit as hard as the family tension, drama, and transgressions
- Soft Targets by Carson Winter (adult, horror)
- The two worst dudes at the office take the Groundhog Day concept to its violent extremes
- An incredible ending and characterization that made me irked by the main characters as if they were legitimate people instead of people in fiction
- Please heed the content warnings before diving in
Physical Copy
- Gormenghast (Gormenghast #2) by Mervyn Peake (adult, fantasy, 1950)
- Sequel to Titus Groan
- Titus is finally a character and really not into the rituals for rituals’ sake
- Absolutely gutting in dense language that lends itself well to thematic layering and characterization
eBook
- Cindered Glass (Glass Queen Book 1) by Chalan Johnson (adult, dark fantasy why choose romance, 2023)
- A Cinderella retelling with fae and a heroine who doesn’t have to choose her lover among a blacksmith, a prince, and a god
- Really fun with sexy intrigue and charming world-building in a new-to-me genre
- Please heed the content warnings before diving in
Comics & Manga
- Ninety-Nine Righteous Men by K.M. Claude (adult, gothic horror, 2015)
- A parishioner starts acting out of character and it’s up to the priest to determine if an exorcism is truly the best course of action
- Gorgeous art, incredible sense of story-telling, and a deeply shattering and satisfying exploration of atonement and contrition
- Please heed the content warnings
Jo Writes Fantasy 