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The Teller of Small Fortunesby Julie Leong
What is it about:Tao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells "small" fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences…
Even if it’s a lonely life, it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they’re joined by a baker with a knead for adventure, and—of course—a slightly magical cat.
Tao sets down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls, the shadows of her past are closing in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have.
What did I think of it:This is such a good read!
I will confess I fell in love with the cover, and that's why I bought tis book. It turned out to be a Cozy Fantasy: as if your read is giving you a hug by being mostly nice, comforting, and happy.
I loved Tao and the people she meets and befriends. Especially Mash, the ex-mercenary is so awesome (and bearded mostly, although he should stop shaving entirely Voodoo Bride wants me to add).
There are of course some stakes to keep everyone moving, but I never worried, trusting that this book wouldn't disappoint me by suddenly being mean to me. 
All in all a wonderful read, and I immediately bought an extra copy to gift a good friend for her birthday (because nobody gets to borrow mine!).
Why should you read it:Cozy Fantasy! So nice and huggable!

Wolf Man (Universal Pictures, January 17, 2025)

Why oh why can’t Hollywood produce a decent werewolf movie?

I’ve had my heart broken twice in the past few months, first by The Beast Within (2024) and most recently by Wolf Man (2025).

I first told you about The Beast Within starring Kit Harington, back in August. In summary, it was lousy. Though the trailer implied a suspenseful, cohesive tale, Beast was a rambling affair that didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be. As for an actual werewolf transformation, it was implied but never really materialized. Instead, director Alexander J. Farrell tried to distract us from this fact with a knee-jerking series of events that barely held together as a story. Even putting Harington half-naked in a dog collar wasn’t enough to make me forgive this mess.

So, if you tell me I should have known better when, with renewed hope, I ran off to the theater last weekend to see Wolf Man, I wouldn’t argue.

Wolf Man

Making another attempt at revitalizing the classic monsters franchise ahead of opening its “Dark Universe” park in May, Universal Studios got behind this werewolf movie produced by Blumhouse, which made me think there was a chance it would be good. Afterall, it was Jason Blum who inspired Universal to give their Dark Universe movie franchise another go after Tom Cruise’s The Mummy was an unmitigated atrocity.

Universal had scrapped all the big-budget monster remakes they had teed up, which was more than fine with most fans, including me. Then here comes indie production company Blumhouse, hitting a home run with The Invisible Man (2020). Making nearly $145M on a $7M budget that’s a 20x return, meaning Hollywood couldn’t throw new projects at Jason Blum fast enough. When I heard Blumhouse had been handed the remake of Wolf Man (1941) I dared to be cautiously optimistic.

What a mistake.

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve sat in a theater looking at my watch. I nearly always find something to love about most movies, but Wolf Man was so awful I would have got up and left had it not been for the tiny flame of hope I had that maybe the ending would redeem my two-hour investment.

It didn’t.

Here’s how Universal described Wolf Man:

Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger.

But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without.

Sounds promising right? And for the first 20 minutes or so it kind of was. The dialog was lame, but the premise was interesting. En route to the childhood home in the middle of nowhere, the family gets into an accident and as they extricate themselves from the wreckage, the dad is bitten by an animal that runs off before they get a good look. Que the slow transformation of the dad into a werewolf which could have been awesome but instead was so drawn out and mind-numbingly boring it made me angry.

And come on – we had two fabulous werewolf movies back in the 80s in the form of The Howling (1981) and American Werewolf in London (1981), so someone in Hollywood must have kept the instructions on how to create a credible werewolf transformation with practical effects.

Wolf Man

But no. Wolf Man not only failed in its plot and dialog, but it utterly and completely defecated the mattress in creating an even remotely interesting werewolf.
So why does Hollywood keep getting werewolves wrong? The answer might lie in their complexity. Werewolves require nuance, and filmmakers seem allergic to it. Moreover, there are considerable technical challenges of depicting a werewolf convincingly. While CGI can be incredible, the extreme overuse of computer effects has resulted in a bit of audience backlash, causing filmmakers to go back to practical effects which clearly can’t keep pace with a modern audience’s expectations.
Finally, there’s a lack of fresh ideas. Perhaps it’s time for filmmakers to take inspiration from outside the box—or at least hire a scriptwriter who doesn’t think “lycanthropy” is just a fancy word for mood swings.

Despite these missteps, there’s still a tiny glimmer of hope for us werewolf fans. Enter Robert Eggers, the visionary director behind Nosferatu (which I’ve seen multiple times and absolutely loved – more on that next week). Eggers has announced his next project, Werwulf, will be a period horror film that promises to blend folklore, psychological terror, and meticulously crafted visuals into the ultimate werewolf tale.

Fans of Eggers know his penchant for historical authenticity and atmospheric storytelling, which could make Werwulf the fresh take that the genre desperately needs. With Eggers at the helm, there’s genuine hope that audiences will finally get a werewolf film that balances primal horror with emotional depth.

Hollywood, the ball’s in your court. But for now, maybe leave the werewolves alone for a bit. They deserve a better cinematic fate than what they’ve had recently.

Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom novels: A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars and The Warlord of Mars, and Thuvia, Maid of Mars and The Chessmen of Mars (Science Fiction Books Club, July 1970, January 1971, and January 1973). Covers by Frank Frazetta

For sheer fun and adventure there’s nothing better in my opinion than Sword & Planet fiction (also called Interplanetary Adventure, Interplanetary Romance, or Planetary Romance). But exactly what is Sword & Planet fiction? Well, Edgar Rice Burroughs (ERB) created the prototype in 1911 with A Princess of Mars, which featured an Earthman named John Carter who is mysteriously transported to Mars, called Barsoom by its inhabitants.

The basic Sword & Planet story involves an earthman (rarely an earthwoman up to this point in time; 2025) on a strange world where he must use his wits, his muscles, and his sword against a host of human and nonhuman foes. The hero is generally chivalrous and the setting is an exotic alien world, often with multiple suns or multiple moons, populated by a variety of strange plants, animals, and intelligent beings. Magic is virtually non-existent, but there may be elements of “super-science,” such as open-decked flying ships or even ray-guns, although the latter take second billing to the blade. The emphasis is on swashbuckling sword fights, wild escapes, and desperate rescues.

[Click the images for Mars-sized versions.]

Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Venus novels: Carson of Venus, Lost on Venus, Escape on Venus, Pirates of Venus, and The Wizard of Venus (Ace Books, June 1979, June 1979, January 1974, March 1973, and January 1973). Covers by Frank Frazetta, Esteban Maroto, Frazetta, Roy G. Krenkel, and Roy G. Krenkel

In addition to the Barsoom books, ERB also wrote a second Sword & Planet series, five books set on Venus (Amtor to the natives), featuring the earthman Carson Napier. Napier is intending to fly a rocket ship to Mars but ends up crashing on cloud-covered Venus.

He finds a world of giant trees and strange creatures, and, of course, a princess. Her name is Duare. Like Barsoom, Amtor mixes the primitive with super science, but the emphasis is on action, adventure, and personal combat with edged weapons.

Escape on Venus, The Moon Men, Pirates of Venus, A Fighting Man of Mars, and The Chessmen of Mars (Ace Books, 1964, October 1962, January 1963, March 1963, and December 1962). Covers by Roy G. Krenkel, Ed Emshwiller, Krenkel, Krenkel, and Krenkel

The five books in the series are:

1. Pirates of Venus
2. Lost on Venus
3. Carson of Venus
4. Escape on Venus
5. The Wizard of Venus

The Wizard of Venus is a novelette that wasn’t published until after ERB’s death. The book includes a second novelette called “Pirate Blood.”

The Moon Maid, The Moon Men, and The Moon Men (Ace Books, January 1974, March 1974, and October 1962). Covers by Frank Frazetta, Frazetta, and Ed Emshwiller

I enjoyed ERB’s Venus books a lot but they were not the equal of his Mars books — in my opinion. A lot of this has to do with Carson Napier. He’s no John Carter. He is a hero, and brave, but he makes plenty of mistakes and often needs to be rescued himself. He also uses more advanced weapons — essentially ray-guns — on many occasions. That means less “swashbuckling,” a minus for me. Certainly, though, if you’re interested in S&P fiction, the Venus books are a must.

The Venus books have been released in various editions. The pictures I have above mix older and newer editions. The older ERB books have covers and illustrations by Roy G. Krenkel, Jr, one of my favorite artists. Some of the newer ones have Frazetta images, and Frazetta was influenced by Krenkel.

The Moon Maid (Ace Books, January 1974). Cover by Frank Frazetta

A series that I would have liked to see more of from ERB was his Moon Maid series. It’s sometimes described as a trilogy, but only the first book is full length. That’s The Moon Maid (copyright 1923). The sequels are novellas called The Moon Men and The Red Hawk (copyright 1925), which I first read combined in a later Ace book called The Moon Men. The novellas are reprinted from the pages of Argosy All-Story Weekly, where the tales were first serialized in 1925.

The Moon Maid has an awesome Frank Frazetta cover that is one of my favorites among his works. I have two copies of The Moon Men, one with a Frazetta cover and the other with a cover by Ed Emsh.

The Moon Maid  (Del Rey Books, May 1992). Cover by Laurence Schwinger

The hero in The Moon Maid is Julian the 5th, an Earthman who has lived through many previous incarnations and remembers them. He is leading a rocket ship journey to Mars when the ship has to make a forced landing on the Moon.

They find an oxygen atmosphere inside the moon, and a wild land of strange creatures, including human-type and centaur-type intelligent races. Julian meets a princess of the human-type, Nah-ee-lah, and must rescue her. There’s lots of action and hand to hand combat, although not a lot of sword fighting. I would classify it as S&P.

The Moon Maid: Complete and Restored (Bison Books, April 2002). Cover art by Thomas Floyd

The Moon Men and The Red Hawk are not — properly speaking — S&P fiction, because they take place on Earth. In The Moon Men, the Kalkar inhabitants of the Moon have conquered Earth. Julian the 9th, another reincarnation, leads a revolt, but it remains to “Red Hawk,” a descendent of Julian to finally free Earth from the Lunarians’ rule.

The three parts of the Moon trilogy have been published together by Bison books along with all kinds of extras (see above). I don’t have that copy yet but will get it for my collection. The series is one of ERB’s best.

More on Burroughs, including Tarzan and The Land that Time Forgot, in my next post.

Charles Gramlich administers The Swords & Planet League group on Facebook, where this post first appeared. His last article for Black Gate was The Masters of Narrative Drive.

Brian Freeman of Lividian Publications posted this news today on his Patreon.

The interior font size for LEVIATHAN was selected to keep the already high retail cost from going higher, but the text turned out smaller than I expected for some reason and I definitely understand it was too small for some readers. None of us are getting any younger! So, here’s what we’re going to do:

The Limited Edition, like the other Matthew Corbett Limited Editions from Lividian, will have a larger interior font size. But those are expensive books and down the road a bit.

In the meantime, Robert McCammon gave the OK for us to rush a “Larger Print” version of the book. This isn’t a traditional Large Print edition, but it uses the same font size as the Limited Edition, which is considerably more readable. See the photo above.

Note: there are significantly more pages in this edition but it contains no new content. That’s just the result of the larger text taking up more space. You’re not missing out on anything new.

This “Larger Print” version is a trade paperback to keep the price reasonable, but there will be a “real” trade paperback published later this year with new Vincent Chong artwork, just like most of the other books in the series, and it will also use this larger font.

You can order this “Larger Print” edition on Amazon now — or if you bought the trade hardcover directly from me and need one, please just send me an email and we’ll work something out: brian@lividian.com

Also, I’m trying to figure out the best way to send this to the Lividian tier supporters. I know in the past some of you haven’t wanted trade paperbacks, and some of you won’t necessarily feel a need to have this particular edition… I’m thinking it might get included in another shipment to save on postage.

More news soon!

Best,
Brian

P.S. Some of you have correctly guessed we have Matthew Corbett news for later this year. First of all, shhhhhhh… Secondly, we’ll be using the standard Limited Edition font size for the text in all editions of that title.

Victorian Psycho is soon to be a feature film from A24 starring Margaret Qualley and…

The post Spotlight on “Victorian Psycho” by Virginia Feito appeared first on LitStack.

 

Did I already read this? Yes!
Am I still totally looking forward to getting this beauty in my eager trotters? YES!
Believe me: you want this book! It's utterly amazing and beautiful in and out! 
Go preorder: I totally did.

Never the Rosesby Jennifer K. Lambert
UNSTOPPABLE WAR. UNSPEAKABLE SINS. IMPOSSIBLE LOVE.
Genevieve Gornichec’s The Witch’s Heart meets Madeline Miller’s Circe in this epic and deeply emotional romantic fantasy debut by Jennifer K. Lambert. The hardcover edition features beautiful stenciled edges.
The Dread Sorceress Oneira has retired. She’s exhausted from fighting the endless wars of kings and queens, and has long accepted that her death is near. Alone at last but for a few uninvited companions―a near-mythical wolf, a goddess’s avatar, and a feline that embodies magic itself―Oneira realizes that she’s bored. On a whim, or perhaps at the behest of fate, she makes an unlikely trip to the most extensive library in existence: the home of her most powerful rival, the sorcerer Stearanos.
By recklessly stealing a book from him, Oneira inadvertently initiates a forbidden correspondence. Taunting notes and clever retorts reveal a connection neither has found―nor could ever find―in any other.
But Oneira soon learns that Stearanos, bound to a vile king, is tasked with waging war on the queen she once served. A relationship with him is far too dangerous to pursue despite their mutual desire―and yet, Oneira can’t seem to stay away.
A bond with Stearanos could alight the long-extinct flame of life within her… or it could destroy her entirely.

Expected publication July 8, 2025

Buy Grave Empire 

OFFICIAL AUTHOR BIO: Richard Swan is a critically acclaimed British genre writer. His debut fantasy novel, The Justice of Kings, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller and has been translated into seven languages. His other work includes the Art of War and Great Silence trilogies, as well as short fiction for Black Library and Grimdark Magazine.

Richard is a qualified lawyer, and before writing full time spent ten years litigating multimillion pound commercial disputes in London. He currently lives in Sydney with his wife and three young sons.

FORMAT/INFO: Grave Empire will release on February 4th, 2025. It will be available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Renata Rainer's job is a joke. As ambassador to the Stygion mermen, she largely has given up hope of ever being useful, given that the mermen want nothing to do with humans. But when two monks arrive claiming to have lost contact with the afterlife, suddenly Renata finds herself in the midst of a critical mission. The Stygion are some of the world's foremost arcana practitioners, and it's up to Renata to verify if recent portents do indeed herald an apocalyptic event known as the Great Silence. But Renata's not the only one interested in the Great Silence - and there are those who want help along the end of the world instead of stopping it.

Grave Empire is a haunting, harrowing journey that envelopes you in its atmosphere, while asking readers for patience in experiencing the actual payoff. This is a story of three individuals scattered across an empire who are realizing that a Very Bad Thing is coming. One is unraveling the secrets of a mysterious plague, another must travel through a warzone to consult with magic practitioners who can shed light on an ancient prophecy, and another is investigating strange reports on the frontier of the empire. Each story is compelling and unsettling, as our characters come to understand just how very wrong things are.

And yet when the dust settled, it felt like all that had been accomplished was learning that yes, a Bad Thing is coming and it is a VERY Bad Thing. The nature of the Great Silence is absolutely a satisfactory threat, and I look forward to seeing how our characters try to handle it, especially as some dominoes began tipping at the end of our story. But this first book is essentially all table setting. Here is the empire, here are the characters, here is the state of the mortal plane, here are some of the weird things that are happening. Will we explain how these weird things are tied together? Not really.

I do want to touch on the relationship between the Empire of the Wolf trilogy and this new The Great Silence trilogy. You do not need to have read the first trilogy to enjoy this new series; the events of Empire of the Wolf are as removed from the characters as the Napoleonic Wars are for us. Those events were definitely a big thing that happened, but they don't inform the characters' day to day lives.

The writing here is also more accessible than the previous trilogy. The first series was told first-person memoir style, while this new one is told across three third-person POVs. I think it also reflects the difference in tone between the two stories. Whereas Empire of the Wolf was a more personal journey of an individual caught up in world-shaking events, Grave Empire feels a little more big picture, a view of how several nations will grapple with a new threat.

CONCLUSION: I want to be clear, overall I really enjoyed Grave Empire, even if the ending left me a bit underwhelmed. I remain hopeful that the second book in this trilogy is going to take everything in the first book and use it for a fantastic sequel. In reading the first trilogy set in this world, I was lukewarm on book one, and then the sequel was one of my top reads the following year. Given how monumentally unsettling the nature of the Great Silence is, I think there's every chance this series will follow in its predecessor's footsteps.

  

 Sitrep: So, Rea got the manuscript back to me early. So, I went through the usual stuff and shot it off to Goodlife. Shelley just said that they'd have it back to me by the weekend or in a week.

So, snippet 2:

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Chapter 2

 

Atlas XIV

 

“So, where are we on things?” Catherine asked once the Admiralty had assembled. Among the senior leadership was her lover, Rear Admiral Elvira Varbossa. The assembled officers came to attention politely as protocol dictated.

Catherine glanced at the seat to the right of her that Captain Su was standing in front of. He wasn’t bad but she keenly missed Countess Newberry from time to time, specifically this time.

“We have the latest intel dump in, ma’am. It isn’t good,” the captain stated.

“Oh?” Catherine said as she took her seat at the head of the table. The standing officers took their seats quickly.

Going around the table were Vice Admiral Aden McRaven of Operations; Captain Sherman Su. head of ONI and Imperial Intelligence; Vice Admiral Hyman Preece, head of BuShips; Vice Admiral Latisha Nuert, head of BuPers; Vice Admiral Hsong Chen, head of Logistics; Vice Admiral Jennifer Post, head of Schools; Captain Lorna Justice, head of Medicine, and then Elvira as head of special engineering operations aka the battle moon itself.

Many of the officers around the table held double positions in the civilian cabinet.

Everyone felt the pressure of their position. But the cutthroat attitude was missing. Catherine was known to be ruthless but she had put an emphasis on quality and on civility. She was pushing professionalism and turning over a new leaf. After over a decade as Empress, she was starting to make some headway.

Well, I had been making progress until the damn Fed spy had gotten on board and broadcast our location to the galaxy and wrecked a lot of stuff, she thought sourly. May you rot in hell you son of a …. she cut the errant thought off.

“We have the latest news intercepts. The war in Tau sector has more or less ended several months ago,” Captain Su reported.

“Which?” Admiral Chen asked.

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Is it more or less?” Admiral Chen asked.

“Ended as in they are in a truce and have been undergoing extended peace treaty talks,” Captain Su explained.

“Oh.”

Catherine grimaced. She had read the précis and wasn’t happy with the news.

“There has been a catastrophic change in leadership with the Taurens after the battle of New Tau Metropolis. Once their fleet was run down and destroyed, their government fell and a new one was elected to replace them. They sued for peace.”

“Darn,” Catherine said mildly. The distraction was one reason they’d been able to continue to operate. Clearly, that was coming to an end. That meant the Federation would be returning its attention to them soon enough.

Not good, she reminded herself.

“The Secretary of State Moira Sema is traveling to the sector now to finalize the peace treaty,” Captain Su reported.

“How did the Federation win?” Admiral Preece asked. “I thought they were in trouble given the distance and weight of metal against them?”

“Well, they managed to fight a rearguard action to delay the enemy, primarily around their carrier forces. The Taurens left themselves vulnerable to fighter and bomber strikes repeatedly. That delay allowed the Feds to get their wormhole open,” Captain Su explained. He used his implants to control the view screen nearby to show a series of still images and even a short video clip. “They sent two fleets over which took the Taurens with Fifth Fleet.”

“Oh,” Admiral Preece said. He looked thoughtful.

Looks were exchanged around the table.

“That leads to the second bit of really bad news,” Captain Su stated. The room grew tense. “The Federation has activated the gate here in this sector. They now have a straight shot from Rho to here.”

“Two fleets,” Catherine murmured. All eyes turned to her slowly. The admirals were not happy about the last news. Her eyes flicked back and forth. She’d read it but it hadn’t sunken in until that moment that the Federation was continuing to expand and grow. Meanwhile, her people were struggling to make good on what they had.

It just drove the point home that they were pirates. They had no business standing toe to toe with the Federation anymore.

“We need to accelerate the repairs and get the hell out of here,” Admiral Chen said firmly. That earned a few nods around the table.

“I’d love to but we are still making good on the repairs from the recent sabotage,” Catherine said with a nod to Elvira.

All eyes shifted to the raven haired admiral. “Yes, well, we have made good on most of the physical damage. But we do have some issues there. The software is still an ongoing trial to sort out and fix. The spy was fiendishly clever in putting viruses everywhere,” Elvira reported.

A few people grimaced.

“Stop making excuses. Can you get us out of here or not?” Admiral Post asked testily. It was a sign of the stress that she was under that he spoke to the Empress’ lover in public.

“I’m not making excuses, I am explaining the situation,” Elvira said before anyone said or did anything. Her eyes cut to Catherine briefly to quell Catherine stepping in. She could and would fight her own battles.

“At the moment, our risk assessment puts us at a 20 percent chance of success if we jump now.”

“Twenty?” Admiral Post asked. She didn’t look like that she liked that number at all.

Elvira nodded grimly and pulled the latest sim up on the main screen. “That is correct. The sabotage also slowed our forward progress. We are now getting back on track there.”

“Can we accelerate it if we raid for parts? The Feds make good stuff I believe,” Admiral Chen stated.

There were hopeful and even a few mischievous expressions around the table at that idea.

“That is very true, but …,” Elvira looked to the captain.

“The risks aren’t worth the exposure I’m afraid,” the captain said with a shake of his head.

“Without risk there is no reward,” Admiral Chen said doggedly.

“You’d think that, but in doing the risk assessment, we noted a few things. First, the components we need are no longer easily accessible here. The only two places we can source them are in the gate system and in the system capital. Both of which are heavily guarded by Second Fleet task forces.”

“And potentially another fleet by now,” Aden said quietly.

“Another problem is their built-in security and safeguards. Any hardware we catch will come with those problems that could set us back even further,” Admiral Preece warned.

A few people winced.

“Correct. We have become aware of some logistic nodes, but they are no doubt honey traps arranged for us to send a raiding force to,” the captain stated.

A few more people winced.

“I’d rather not lead them back here or have another raid go bad,” Admiral Post said dryly.

More than one person around the table winced again. Rear Admiral Paul Race, the former second-in-command of operations, had led a raiding force to take on a convoy of grav emitters destined for the gate system several years prior. Somewhere along the way, his task force had been spotted and ambushed. The Federation had done an excellent job turning the tables on the raiders.

A few ships had made it back; the admiral’s flagship had not been among them.

Catherine missed him for a brief moment. He had been a good fleet commander, solid and dependable. Pity he’d walked into a trap and gotten his fleet torn apart. She missed those crews and ships too.

“So, those are out obviously,” Admiral Chen said sourly.

“Correct. The only other known source is the factories which are located in Rho and thus out of our reach,” the captain stated.

“Damn,” Admiral Chen muttered.

The captain nodded. “My sentiments exactly.”

“There has been a recent uptick in scouting along the western flank. It is … concerning,” the captain stated with an eye to the head of operations.

Admiral McRaven nodded grimly.

“Can we wake some of the sleepers? See if they could help? I don’t know, isolate them like before?” Admiral Post asked. She looked over to Latisha and then back to the captain.

Catherine puckered her lips. She didn’t like the idea and the security risks involved.

“The problem is that they know something is off over time. Keeping them distracted with work and with sex helps, but eventually, they start to wonder. Like why there are only humans around them. That is a big one.”

“They are ticking time bombs,” Admiral Preece muttered. “Not worth the risk.”

“Well, I’d hate to wake a damn bear,” Admiral Post growled.

“We can’t. We don’t have any,” Latisha stated as she glanced down at her tablet. Admiral Post turned to her in surprise. “All of the aliens and Neos were turned over to the gladiator pits or to R&D or um … others. We actually have two hundred thousand humans and light chimera left in stasis.”

“I thought it was less?”

“We did another inventory after the recent incident and lockdown. There was an original crew of civilians and a skeleton crew of naval personnel of one hundred thousand people. Of those, roughly fifteen thousand were human form. We kept those obviously. Over time we added to the collection with people that were found in stasis pods that were brought in from abroad. Some we brought from the homeworld,” Latisha explained.

“Oh.”

Catherine nodded slightly. There had been some rancor about her including them in the evacuation. She didn’t regret the decision, though she didn’t trust the sleepers to help any more. The last bout of sabotage from a sleeper had cost them additional time and resources to set to right.

That and seeing the military personnel melt into puddles of goo when they activated their suicide nanites was … horrifying. It also did some damage to people and equipment around them.

“Well, what about the civilians? Can’t they help?” Admiral Chen demanded.

Captain Su shook his head.

“Why not?”

“They don’t have the requisite keys and tech,” Latisha interjected as the captain opened his mouth to reply. He paused, closed his mouth and then nodded with a glance to the head of BuPers.

“Damn it!” Admiral Chen growled as he clenched his fists.

“We’ve flipped a few of the civilians but oh so few. None have what we currently need. They have the general idea but not the specific knowledge that is required,” Captain Su stated. “Most were either low level techs or middle management.”

Admiral Chen turned to Elvira. “Wait, why only 20 percent? I know engineers; you are all conservative and like to think of yourselves as miracle numbers. What is the real number?” he demanded.

Eyes shifted to Elvira again. Some were amused, a few accusing.

The raven haired flag officer squared her shoulders slightly. “Twenty percent is the average from this week’s simulations,” Elvira stated firmly. She flipped her hands slightly in an indication of a shrug and something out of her hands.

“It was higher before,” Admiral Post pointed out.

“Before the sabotage you mean?” Aden asked mildly.

“No, I mean two weeks ago,” Admiral said, eyes still locked on Elvira.

“We had a node fail an inspection. It is currently being swapped out and then we have to tune the replacement and those around it,” Elvira explained. She hit a button on her tablet and then swiped the report to the main screen. A window opened and a node blinked. The cluster then blinked a different color around it.

All eyes turned to the report.

“Oh. Damn.”

“We’ll naturally rebuild the node and use it somewhere else that is less critical. But the components are scarce. It will be less … reliable. Scabbing in civilian and military grade components that were not designed for the purpose is … sketchy. Which is why we have a lot of variables to consider.”

There was a soft rustle, almost like a sigh of frustration from the assembly.

“Right. As to being conservative, you are correct. Engineers tend to be conservative because we do not want to create a situation of disappointment and we do not want to have a piece of equipment fail under load. Such things depend on a lot of variables that is outside of engineering too, however. The status of the helm team for one. The status of real world conditions, the engineering hardware as I mentioned, software, and so on.”

“Real world?” Admiral Post asked with a puzzled frown.

“If we are under attack or not. If we are rushed or taking damage, the odds of survival drop to single digits rather quickly,” Elvira stated flatly.

“Oh.” Admiral Post scowled. “Shit,” she finally said as she sat back in disgust.

Elvira nodded. “My sentiments indeed,” she murmured as she looked around the table.

“I hate to even suggest this, but what if we pull apart one or more of our capital warships? The biggest ones we have are super dreadnoughts. We have thirty-five of them, right? And we do have those three monitors but they are in mothballs.”

There was an instant look of hope from the assembly. Admiral McRaven didn’t look happy at sacrificing a ship or two under his command, but he was curious. The looks didn’t last long, however.

Admiral Preece shook his head in unison with Elvira. Admiral Chen looked from one to the other and then sat back in disgust. “No? Why not?”

“It is a matter of scale. The nodes we need are nearly the size of a dreadnought,” Admiral Preece explained patiently.

Admiral Chen blinked and then his lips puckered. “Damn.”

“Yeah.”

Faces fell around the table.

“Yeah, it is a matter of scale, which is a bit off,” Admiral Preece said dryly.

That’s what she said echoed perversely in Catherine’s mind but was left unsaid. She didn’t want to antagonize anyone. They needed to focus and work together to solve the problem.

“We can strip a few ships to make one node. It will have half the power of an all-up node,” Elvira said. She frowned as she tapped at her tablet until she found the relevant file and then loaded it and then swept up to push it to the main screen.

They looked at the bastardization of a bunch of nodes from a capital ship clustered into a hole on the hull of the battle moon. “We actually have done that on a few points on the hull. But they are notoriously hard to tune and stay tuned. It is also a pain in the ass to modify the mounts and it all sorted out.”

“Damn it!” Admiral Chen snarled. “Spirits, damn it!” he snarled.

“Let’s not tempt infernal retribution any more than we need,” Admiral Preece said dryly.

“I honestly think it is a good idea. We’ve already pulled all of the nodes from the monitor and other material in the boneyard,” Elvira stated slowly with a look to Admiral Preece. He nodded. “We’re at the point where we have too few options and manufacturing replacements is clearly out. So, we may need to give it a shot. If we keep the node clusters together, we would hopefully have an easier time tuning them. But it would only get us so far. A few extra nodes, maybe parts to rebuild two of the existing nodes to get them operational again.”

“But …,” Aden frowned. “What about the crews?”

“We pull them and distribute them to the other ships that have holes in their ship companies until we can find replacement parts of course,” Latisha said. “This would actually help us a bit,” she said with a look to Catherine.

Catherine cocked her head thoughtfully. Most of the ship companies were at 70 percent strength. The capital ships drew the most manpower. Since they were more or less anchored in place, there was no real call to have them fully manned at all times.

“I suggest we also shut down all construction programs. Finish anything we have left of course but then focus the yards on repairs and getting the ship online. We can’t hide here forever,” Admiral Preece offered.

Catherine looked to the chief engineer in surprise. He shrugged and flapped his hand.

“It’s not like the ships we can produce now can stand a snowball’s chance in Hades against the Fed ships at the moment anyway,” Admiral Preece said sourly.

Catherine’s gaze shifted to the head of operations. Aden had recently been pushing to swap out the old hulls for new. She had thought he was right; the old hulls were just that, old. No matter how many times they had been rebuilt they’d never stand up to a modern warship and definitely not to the Fed ships.

Besides, she had recently passed a resolution, backed by the assembly of pirate lords, to not fight stand-up battles with the Feds anymore. The pirate adage of “fight to runaway” was in full force.

“Very well. Stop production of new hulls but finish those you can. Mothball the rest. You can work on individual ships as resources dictate. Focus everything on Atlas.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Admiral Preece said with a note of relief in his voice.

“As to the proposal, pick one super dreadnought with good nodes. One that we can use easily. Pull her nodes for the ship and then pull components for the other ships. Transfer the crew where you see fit,” the empress said with a nod to the head of BuPers. Latisha nodded back.

“The officers won’t like it,” Aden observed.

“We’ll find a posting for them,” Latisha stated.

“They aren’t paid to like it. They are paid to do their duty and serve,” Catherine said firmly. That ended the growing dissent. “Get it done. If it works, we’ll look into an additional ship.”

“Shouldn’t we go with ships with the lowest efficiency levels? That way we’re not sacrificing our best?” Aden asked hopefully.

Catherine recognized the ploy and she empathized with it. She even agreed, but she knew there had to be a reason for wanting the best hardware. She turned to Elvira.

“It doesn’t do us any good if the hardware is subpar,” Elvira pointed out. “For this to work, we need good hardware—solid, dependable, and reliable.”

Catherine nodded. “Figure it out and have the final proposal on my desk in two days.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Moving on,” Catherine said. She looked to Captain Su. “I talking with Latisha and we are frocking you to Commodore, Sherman.”

The captain sat up straight.

“If you continue to do well, we will make the promotion permanent,” the empress stated.

“Thank you, ma’am. I’ll try my best.”

“Good. We will hold the ceremony in a few days. I’ll let the staff handle the details. Now … next on the agenda …”

Howard Andrew Jones at GenCon, 2023

In 2019, I had an idea: a lot of my friends loved reading sword and sorcery fiction, but they didn’t write it. They would say, “One day.” Many of my undergraduates also expressed interest in writing fantasy, but they often felt discouraged by form rejection letters (genre magazine slush piles are epic). Having studied the history of genre fiction, I knew about the old tradition of “fanzines”— not-for-profit amateur publications that provided a low-stakes outlet for new writers. Just submitting work, collaborating with an editor, and seeing it in print can transform someone’s self-image from being just a reader to being a writer.

So, after some conversations with friends and a bit of encouragement, I started thinking seriously about launching my own zine.

As an academic, I’m deliberate by nature. I like to consult and take my time. Honestly, if I could have formed a committee for this, I probably would have. Instead, I decided to email someone: Howard Andrew Jones.

[Click the images for larger versions.]

The three Dabir and Asim volumes: The Desert of Souls, The Bones of the Old Ones, and the collection The Waters of Eternity (Thomas Dunne Books, February 2011, December 2012, and November 2011). Covers by Charles Keegan, Steve Stone, uncredited

At the time, I didn’t know Howard personally, but I knew of him. He was a celebrated name in sword and sorcery. Howard had published an e-zine (Flashing Swords) in the genre, written essays and edited for Black Gate, and authored an incredible series of novels set in a sword-and-sorcery-inspired Arabia featuring Dabir and Asim (The Desert of Souls and The Bones of the Old Ones). He was also working on a new trilogy, The Ring-Sworn Trilogy, and I had already read the first book.

On top of all that, Howard had written several fun Pathfinder RPG novels, and he was editing Tales from the Magician’s Skull, the magazine for contemporary sword and sorcery fiction, published by Goodman Games. I loved that magazine. If anyone could give me advice on starting a zine, it was Howard.

I didn’t expect much when I emailed him. I wrote a long message, gushed a bit as a fanboy, and sent it off. Honestly, I wasn’t really expecting a response.

The next day, I was in my campus office grading papers when my office phone rang. My office phone never rings. In my ten years at CNU, maybe one student has ever called me. It’s practically an artifact – a dusty relic of a bygone era. My first instinct, as a millennial, was to let it go to voicemail. That’s what you do: let them leave a message and call back after some breathing exercises.

But for some reason, I picked it up.

“Hello?”
“Jason?”
“Yeah, this is Jason.”

The voice on the other end was calm, relaxed, with a kind of deliberate enunciation.

“Heeey, Jason! This is Howard.”
“Howard?” I said, not quite connecting the dots.
“Howard Andrew Jones. You emailed me about a magazine idea.”

I still get a little emotional thinking about that first call. Maybe I’m projecting, but I was immediately surprised, disarmed, and touched. Howard had gone out of his way to call me – call me! My office number isn’t even in my email signature, so he must have looked me up online to find my CNU contact info. I hadn’t even expected a reply, and here was this great author, taking the time to phone me.

Tales of the Magician’s Skull, edited by Howard Andrew Jones. Issues 1, 7, and 12
(Goodman Games, 2017, 2022, and 2024). Cover art by Jim Pavelec and Sanjulian

I was a bit starstruck when we first talked. I’m already an awkward person, but the awkwardness was dialed up as I tried to gather my bearings. Howard, however, was so kind, calm, and genuinely enthusiastic about fiction, writing, and fantasy literature that I found myself speaking to him like an old friend. I’m pretty sure we talked for over an hour during that first conversation. I remember he was multitasking while on the phone – taking out the trash or doing yard work.

In the years that followed, whenever I spoke to Howard, he always seemed to be en route somewhere – driving to town, running errands, sometimes saying, “Hold on, I’ve got to grab this thing.” He felt real and grounded in a way that made people feel at ease. He gave off this sense of being completely unaware of how cool he was or how others saw him – or, if he did know, he just didn’t put much stock in it.

Over the next five years, Howard and I stayed in almost constant contact. We texted regularly. Often, he’d reply to a message with something like, “You free? Driving to town.” When I started my magazine and created an associated Discord server, he joined and became as active there as anyone, if not more so.

His comments were always supportive, kind, and encouraging. He shared favorite authors, thoughts on prose style, and a steady drip of wisdom for aspiring writers. Whenever anyone mentioned his work, he would chime in, “Thanks for reading it,” “Glad it worked for you,” “Really appreciate the kind words.”

Outside of Discord, we talked on the phone often. One thing I noticed was that Howard frequently mentioned his friends – not in a name-dropping way, like he wanted you to know he knew big authors, but in a way that made you feel like you were part of this collaborative effort, this network of fellow creatives. To him, it seemed, writing wasn’t a solitary pursuit but a shared craft. It was like Howard was always attending a seminar on fiction, and his calls were a way of touching base to see how your progress was going.

The books of Howard Andrew Jones

For instance, he’d say something like, “Hocking and I were talking about dialogue – how it needs to reveal character but economically, like in hardboiled detective fiction” (I’m paraphrasing). From the way he spoke, I got the sense that Howard had a lot of writer friends, and they talked about the craft of writing the way master carpenters might talk about solving technical problems with wood.

Fandom can get a little gossipy, but Howard never said a negative thing about anyone. He was almost stubbornly kind and assumed the best intentions from people. Being in touch with him felt like being welcomed into a very supportive club. Over time – without me even realizing it – Howard became something of a mentor or even a sensei in sword and sorcery writing.

At first, we just talked about sword and sorcery (a genre he was deeply opinionated about – he really didn’t like Tros of Samothrace (“Bounced right off it)), but our discussions evolved into broader topics: writing, work, heroism, and how storytelling affects people’s lives. I can honestly say I learned a lot about writing from him, at least an MFA’s worth, or more.

I met Howard in person three times over the six years I knew him. I saw him at GenCon, the big gaming convention that also includes a section for genre writers. We sat on several panels together discussing sword and sorcery fiction. He attended Howard Days, a celebration of Robert E. Howard, the pulp author who created sword and sorcery (yes, it gets confusing). And then I saw him again at GenCon this past August of 2024.

In August, aside from a persistent leg injury, Howard seemed… OK. I need to be honest and say he struck me as a little blue at GenCon, and he suspected it was due to the injury or the associated medication treating it. He had every reason to be happy. He had just published the first two books of his Hanuvar series. If I remember correctly, book three, Shadow of the Smoking Mountain, had just come out or was coming out. At the convention, he gave me an ARC and signed it with the words, “Find a way or make one.” I took this as a nod to the writer’s life, a reminder to persevere and create despite the challenges.

The Ring-Sworn Trilogy by Howard Andrew Jones (St. Martin’s Press, 2018-2021). Covers by Lauren Saint-Onge

On the last day of GenCon, literally just before leaving, Howard, my wife Nicole, and I had lunch together. It was the first time Howard had met Nicole. She joked and referred to Howard as “my friend in my pocket” because I was always texting with him. I laughed and told her, “You don’t understand – this guy is so cool. He’s the nicest guy you’ll ever meet.”

That might sound like grief-motivated hyperbole now, but, in hindsight, it wasn’t. That’s exactly how I spoke about Howard before I knew anything was wrong.

Nicole and I had lunch with him, and of course, they hit it off. I can’t recall the details but Howard was fascinated with Nicole’s life growing up on a farm (did Howard come from a rural background?). After the meal, Howard said he was glad to have met her.

We left the restaurant. There were hundreds of people in the corridors at GenCon, a veritable sea of humanity, and Nicole and I were ready to leave, luggage in hand. So, we said our goodbyes. I had no idea it was the final goodbye. Howard gave me a hug and said, “Well, safe travels to you and your beautiful wife. And, keep writing.” Then he disappeared into the crowd.

A few weeks later, I learned he had gone to the hospital with acute symptoms.

I’m still in the anger phase of all this. Howard was such a good guy. It felt like, as a writer, he was hitting his peak. In my view, he had so much more to give the world – not just through his novels but through who he was as a person. I know my story is just one of many similar ones. That’s the kind of person Howard was: everyone who met him seemed to come away with a story about his kindness. This tragedy couldn’t have happened to a more undeserving person.

Howard, you’ll be missed, man. Thanks for being you.

Jason Ray Carney is a Lecturer in Popular Literature at Christopher Newport University. He is the author of the academic book, Weird Tales of Modernity (McFarland), and the fantasy anthology, Rakefire and Other Stories (Pulp Hero Press). He edited Savage Scrolls: Thrilling Tales of Sword and Sorcery for Pulp Hero Press and is an editor at The Dark Man: Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies and Whetstone: Amateur Magazine of Sword and Sorcery. His last article for Black Gate was a review of Lord of a Shattered Land.

 

HELL OF A WITCH
coming out Oct 1, 2024!The hotly anticipated sequel to HELL FOR HIRE...

One month ago, Bex, the demon queen, and Adrian, witch of the Blackwood, pulled off the upset victory of the century. Now, they find themselves facing the question all unexpected champions must answer: what next? They declared war on Heaven, but how do you actually bring down a divinely powerful tyrant when your army’s still in the single digits and your magical fortress is an illegally modified Winnebago?

It seems like a hopeless situation. As always, though, Adrian Blackwood has a plan, and this time, he’s going big. He’s got an idea to take down the Seattle Anchor, the giant magical fortress that houses the Anchor Market and every other bit of critical infrastructure that connects Heaven to Earth.

How the Anchors work is a closely guarded secret, and getting to the good stuff will require going deep into the heart of Gilgamesh’s power. There’s a reason even the Queen of Wrath has never attacked one directly, but now that Adrian’s on her team, Bex thinks they can do it. She’s finally got the power she needs to actually move the needle on this war, and she’s going to hit that Anchor with all the fire she’s got.

But the enemies of Heaven aren’t the only ones making plans. After the fiery return of his most persistent annoyance, Gilgamesh has ordered his princes to take care of the demon queen problem personally. It’s time to roll out the big guns and show these rebels what divine wrath really means, starting with the Hell of a Witch who made it all possible.

Coming out October 1 in ebook, Kindle Unlimited, paperback, hardback, and an absolutely incredible audio edition!Preorder Now!Boston, what are you doing? Get out from in front of the title!

*Attempts to push familiar away with broom. Broom and cat team up. The author is forced to retreat.*

Ahem... It's sequel time! Y'all made HELL FOR HIRE one of my best new launches ever, and now the second book is almost here. HELL OF A WITCH has more of everything you love, and it's coming out all formats on October 1! Hooray!

Thank you all so much for making this series such a success. I'm so grateful you're enjoying the story, because I love these misfits to death. So much that I've already written book 3, which will be coming out in early 2025! So many books! It's the best of times.

I really hope you'll give HELL OF A WITCH a try, and if you haven't cracked into my Tear Down Heaven series yet, what are you waiting for? It's awesome! The audio book in particular is *chef's kiss*. One of the best things we've ever done. Highly recommended. 

Again, thank you all so so much for being my readers and listeners. I hope you love this book as much as I do. It's just so much fun and I can't wait for you to get into it. This series is going to be a truly epic ride.

Thanks again for making my dreams come true! Yours always and forever,

Rachel AaronWitch Career Counselor Assistant to the Familiars
HELL OF A WITCH is the second book in the Tear Down Heaven series. If you're new, start from the beginning with HELL FOR HIRE. I promise you won't be sorry!

In a few short days, Prince of Thorns becomes a teenager and will be the same age as Jorg himself for the first few pages of the novel!

I never expected to be an author. I certainly never expected this guy to pay off my mortgage. And I absolutely didn't expect to still be signing copies of the book in my local Waterstones 13 years after it was published.

The shelf life of an author is typically one book. Fantasy authors more often get a trilogy, because that's how fantasy rolls. But yup, not many of us hang around for long, and the past 13 years are littered with the bright flashes of many fine writers who came along about the same time as me.
I've said - so often that I'm bored of hearing myself say it - that all forms of writing success require large doses of luck. Skill at writing and at story telling are what buys you the lottery ticket. After that you need the stars to align.
It's easy to focus on the hyper-rare examples where the celestial alignment has been of atonishing proportions, and to feel a measure of discontent. But I'm constantly aware that so many fine writers have failed to flourish where I've been fortunate enough to make a living for over a decade now.
So, in part this post is a big thankyou to all you readers who've made that possible.

It's scary to look back at my bibliography and think that (with the exception of the Impossible Times books) each of those novels represents a year of my life. I have grown significantly older doing this...
People often talk to me about pride and about legacy, as if these stories are somehow more of an achievement than the myriad things everyone else has spent the last 13+ years on. I don't subscribe to that point of view, at all. Almost every book is a line drawn in wet sand and if the wave that will wash them away hasn't arrived in 13 years, then it's certainly going to hit the beach at some point, and sooner than most folk think.
I'm pleased and grateful that I've been able to share these stories, but 'proud' isn't a word I'd use. It's ... complicated.
Anyway, enough navel gazing. Just as I had no idea what the 13 years after Prince of Thorns hitting the shelves would look like, I have no idea where we'll be when the book reaches 18 or 21. Will anyone remember Jorg on the 25th anniversary in 2036 ... who knows. 
For now though, the ideas keep coming and the itch to write continues to require scratching. I've finished three books this year, and hopefully will have a 4th done by Christmas.
Thanks for reading!


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Grim Oak Press are following up on their spectacular leatherbound, signed and numbered, illustrated 10th anniversary limited editions for the individual books of The Broken Empire by doing the same thing for The Red Queen's War trilogy, starting with Prince of Fools!

The new covers and internal art are all by the original cover artist, Jason Chan.
Pre-order your copy here: https://grimoakpress.com/products/prince-of-fools

Here's a piece of the artwork - check the link for more!

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 Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter.  #Prizes #FreeContent

 

"Featuring a motley crew of loveable demons, a chaotic male forest witch with a sassy talking cat familiar, snarky sentient weapons, wicked warlocks, and plenty of magical mayhem, Hell for Hire is a bewitching and diabolically fun urban fantasy that is as thrilling as it is wholesome." - Before We Go Book Blog

"Rachel Aaron has never ever failed to deliver an effortlessly engaging story filled with lovable characters, and an amazing, yet accessible, worldbuilding that is uniquely hers. It came as no surprise that Hell For Hire has all her usual winning trademarks and is possibly her best first book in a series so far." - Novel Notions

"Hell for Hire is an urban fantasy tale that follows a ragtag group of demons and the outcast witch they're hired to protect. Boasting loveable characters, unique lore, and a whole lot of heart, this urban fantasy romp is an absolute delight." - Simple Reads

"Hell For Hire is an absolute blast to read as it combines action, comedy, and lots of magic for a unique story. Rachel Aaron with her eighth (or ninth) series opener showcases exactly why she has no peers in the urban fantasy genre. If you want to have lots of fun, thrills and action, look no further. Hell For Hire is available to fulfill all your needs and more." - Fantasy Book Critic

"Aaron has done it again, giving us a whole new world in which to enjoy her outstanding craft. While many of the themes will be familiar, Aaron has created something fun and wonderful that delighted me. I blazed through this book, sacrificing sleep and productivity. Loved the world building and as usual with Aaron, loved her characters and the obstacles they face, overcome, and the new crises that arise from the ashes to challenge the protagonists anew. Can’t wait for the next book! This is already a must-read." - J Graham (audiobook review)Get your copy now in ebook, print, audio, or KU!The time has finally come! I finally get to share the book that's consumed my last year with you, and I can't wait for you to read/listen to HELL FOR HIRE, which is available right now in ebook, print, audio, and Kindle Unlimited!

I know it's not the DFZ and there aren't any dragons (yet), but I still hope you'll give it a try, because this book was an absolute blast to write! I've never had so many great critic reviews right off the bat. And if you're worried about starting a new book 1, I've got you, because book 2 is already written and going through proofreads, which means it will be available later this year. This series, she is rolling!

And speaking of rolling, you should give the audio edition a try on this one, because our new narrator, Nicholas Cain, narrated the hell out of it, pun entirely intended. ;) The audiobook is also available in stores other than Audible this time! Here's a list of all places you can find it, I hope you'll give the story a listen :D

If print is more your thing, we have hardbacks, and they are sexy! I mean, just look at this.



Ah, the sight fills my book-hording heart with joy <3 

I think that's enough promo for one morning. Thank you all so, so much for coming along with me on this crazy journey! I couldn't do any of this without your support, and I hope from the bottom of my heart that you love HELL FOR HIRE as much as I do. Thanks again, and I'll see you for the next book!

Yours sincerely,
Rachel AaronProfessional Familiar Consultant, talk to me about talking cats!
HELL FOR HIRE is the first book in the new Tear Down Heaven series, which will be five books in total. The second book will be out in Fall of 2024. I hope to see you then!

 

Introducing...HELL FOR HIRE coming out June 4!The Crew
A hulked-out wrath demon who eats gamer rage and loves cats, a shapeshifting lust demon who enjoys their food a bit too much, and a void demon who doesn’t see the point of any of this. They’re not the sort of mercenaries you hire on purpose, but Bex wouldn’t trust her life to anyone else.
 
Ever since the ancient Mesopotamian king Gilgamesh decided death wasn’t for him, killed the gods, and conquered the afterlife, times have been rough for a free demon. But the denizens of the Nine Hells aren’t the quitting sort, and Bex and her team have been choking a living out of the Eternal King’s lackeys for years. It’s not honest work, but when Heaven itself declares you a non-person, you smash-and-grab what you can get.
 
This next gig looks like more of the same…until Bex meets the client.
 
The Job 
Adrian Blackwood is a witch with a problem. His family has skirted the edges of King Gilgamesh’s ire for centuries, but thanks to a decision he made as a child, Adrian is personally responsible for putting his entire coven in Heaven’s crosshairs.
 
Determined to set things right, Adrian drags his broom, caldron, and talking cat thousands of miles across the country to Seattle where he can fight the Eternal King’s warlocks without bringing the rest of his family into the fray. But witchcraft--like all crafts--takes time, and if the warlocks catch him before his spells are ready, he’s dead. So Adrian does what any professional witch would do and hires a team of mercenaries to keep the warlocks off his back. He didn’t expect to get demons, but when you’re already on the killing-edge of Heaven’s bad side, what’s a bit more fuel on the fire?
 
Sometimes you get more than you paid for.
Neither Adrian nor Bex knew what to expect when they signed their contract, but witch-plus-demon turns out to be a match made in the Hells. With this much chaos at their fingertips, even impossible dreams start to come back into reach, because Bex wasn’t always a mercenary. She used to be the Eternal King of Heaven’s biggest nightmare, and now that she’s got a witch in her corner, it’s time to put the old magics back on the field and show Adrian Blackwood just how much Hell he’s hired.
 Preorder Now!Big day in book-land! 

First up, BY A SILVER THREAD is on sale this week for $0.99, so if you haven't given my new DFZ Changeling series a try, now's a great time to pick it up for cheap!

Second (and way more excitingly), I've got a brand-new book for you to dive into! Introducing HELL FOR HIRE, the first in the Tear Down Heaven series and a return to the classic Rachel-Aaron-style of big ensemble casts full of funny characters, crazy magic, world-ending stakes, and epic swordfights. If you liked my Eli Monpress fantasy books or the original Heartstrikers series, this is going to be right up your alley. There's a new magical system, demons with weird immortality issues, witch-family drama, and terrifying heavenly princes who will murder you while looking gorgeous. It's just a ton of fun and I can't wait for you to read it!!

HELL FOR HIRE comes out June 4, 2024 in all formats, including ebook, print, KU, and audio. If any of that changes, I'll be sure to let you know. Thanks for being my readers/listeners! I couldn't do any of this without you. 

Yours always,

Rachel AaronDivine Orchestrator Professional Demon Herder

Want to see all of my books in order, read samples, and know which series are finished? Visit www.rachelaaron.net!

No Victor lasts forever.

Victor thought he won when he became the Hero. He thought he won when he took over the DFZ. He thought he’d made himself untouchable.

He’s wrong.

Lola isn’t the sad little monster she used to be. She has a plan, she has allies, she has more magic than she ever dreamed possible. Killing one blood mage should be easy with an entire fairy kingdom at her fingertips, but Victor didn't make himself a god by playing fair, and his bag of tricks is far from empty. Taking him down will require everything Lola and her friends can bring, but if there’s one thing Lola’s always been, it’s determined. No matter the cost, no matter what it takes, she will see this through.

To the bloody end.

Get your copy now in ebook, KU, print, or audio!This was an extremely satisfying book to write. I don't think I've ever enjoyed wrapping a series so much. It's epic, it's awesome, and I cannot wait for you to read it in ebook, print, or KU or listen on audio, cause they're all out today!

Thank you so much for coming with me on Lola's journey. This wasn't the sort of story I ever thought I'd write, but when the book needs to happen, it needs to happen, and I'm very glad this one did. I hope you enjoy this series as much as I do and that you'll join me for what comes next.

And speaking of what comes next...

This is going to be a very exciting year for new releases! Lola's series is done, but I've got a brand new Urban Fantasy set in a brand new world that I think you're really going to enjoy.

The first book will be called HELL FOR HIRE and it's all about a team of demon mercenaries who get hired by a witch. There's tons of action, mystery, ancient Sumerian sorcery, a loveable snarky cast, a know-it-all talking cat, magical sword fighting, and overall hijinks in modern Seattle. It's just the BEST. I'm so in love that I'm already working on the draft for book 3. It's THAT GOOD, and as soon as I have a cover, you will be seeing a lot more of my new favorite thing. This is the most fun I've had with a series since Heartstrikers, and I just know you're going to love it.

So yeah, gonna be a lot of reads coming in 2024. :) As always, mailing list gets first dibs on everything, so sign up if you're not already and keep an eye on your email box, 'cause it's going to get wild!

Thank you again so much for being my reader/listener. You are the reason these stories exist, and I hope you'll come along with me for many more novels to come. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and please enjoy TO THE BLOODY END!

Yours always,

Rachel AaronMother of Dragons Bethesda's Unpaid Intern
TO THE BLOODY END is the third book in the DFZ Changeling trilogy. If you're new, start from the beginning with BY A SILVER THREAD. I promise you won't be sorry!

No Victor lasts forever.

Victor thought he won when he became the Hero. He thought he won when he took over the DFZ. He thought he’d made himself untouchable.

He’s wrong.

Lola isn’t the sad little monster she used to be. She has a plan, she has allies, she has more magic than she ever dreamed possible. Killing one blood mage should be easy with a fairy kingdom at her fingertips, but Victor didn't make himself a god by playing fair, and his bag of tricks is far from empty. Taking him down will take everything Lola and her friends can bring, but if there’s one thing Lola’s always been, it’s determined. No matter the cost, no matter what it takes, she will see this through.

To the bloody end.

Preorder Now!Happy 2024 everyone!

I've got a lot of good books lined up for y'all this year, but first... The end is nearly upon us! The third and final book in Lola's epic quest to punch Victor in the face comes out on February 2, 2024 in ebook, print, KU, and Audible audio book! Hooray!!

Mailing list subscribers have already seen this (not on the list yet? Sign up now! It's free, there's no spam, and you get first dibs on everything!) but here's the cover for TO THE BLOODY END featuring the art of the amazing Luisa Preissler! I love the torn up Hero poster behind her and the glowing crown on her head (which IS in the book, and it's GREAT!).

This series has been a wild ride and I'm so pumped for you to finally read the ending. It's one of the most exciting and strange final battles I've ever written. I think you're going to really like it, so if you haven't already, please preorder the book or add it to your KU to read list so you don't miss out!

This is hopefully just the first of many books I'll have for you this year. I don't want to overshadow Lola (poor little changeling has been through enough) but I've got a brand new Urban Fantasy in a brand new world involving witches launching this summer, and it is SO much fun! Mailing list people will be getting everything first, so sign up if you haven't yet, and I promise you'll hear all kinds of cool things from me soon!

Thank you again for being my fans. I couldn't do any of this without you!

Yours sincerely,

Rachel AaronMayor of the DFZ
TO THE BLOODY END is the third book in the DFZ Changeling series. If you're new, start from the beginning with BY A SILVER THREAD! I promise you won't be sorry!

Standing up to Victor was only the beginning.

Three weeks ago, Lola put her soul on the line to save her sister and stop an abusive blood mage from making himself a god. But while she managed to derail the worst of Victor’s plans, the rest of the world still sees her old master as the hero. To make matters worse, the Nightmare King Alberich has entirely escaped his prison and is now leading the Wild Hunt on a rampage of fear and chaos across the skies of Europe.

With Alberich playing the villain, it’s only a matter of time before Victor convinces all of humanity that his abusive magic is their only hope. Lola’s not about to let him get his dirty hands on that kind of power. But while she’s free to fight him, Simon and the Black Rider are still trapped under the blood mage’s boot. Lola will have to break them both out before she can take Victor down, but her former master’s plans are far from finished. He’s playing a game none of them can predict for a prize no one yet understands, and once all of his pieces are in place, the future of the world will hang on the edge of a golden sword.Get Your Copy Now!Hooray! It's here! WITH A GOLDEN SWORD is out today in eBook, KU, print, and audio!

WITH A GOLDEN SWORD is the second in Lola's trilogy, but since I've been on a crazy writing binge, the third book, TO THE BLOODY END, is already written and up for preorder! This means the series will be complete Feb of next year, which I'm pretty sure is some kind of record for me o_o. I've just been on fire for this series and I can't wait for y'all to see where it goes.

Thank you all so much for coming on yet another DFZ journey with me! I hope you check out the book, have a great week, and I'll talk to you all again when the next book is on the horizon. Until then, please enjoy WITH A GOLDEN SWORD!

Yours always,

Rachel AaronCat Endangerer Loving Author
WITH A GOLDEN SWORD is the second book in the DFZ Changeling series. If this is the first you've heard about it, start from the beginning with BY A SILVER THREAD! I promise you won't be sorry!

"Exquisitely trademark Rachel Aaron. Immensely readable & instantly engaging, with new characters that you can't help loving. The inclusion of fairy lore just leveled up the already fascinating world of the DFZ. So good, so fun!"- TS Chan, Novel Notations
In the world’s most magical metropolis where spirits run noodle shops and cash-strapped dragons stage photo-ops for tourists, people still think fairies are nothing but stories, and that’s exactly how the fairies like it. It’s a lot easier to feast on humanity’s dreams when no one believes you exist. But while this arrangement works splendidly for most fair folk, Lola isn’t one of the lucky ones.

She’s a changeling, a fairy monster made just human enough to dupe unsuspecting parents while fairies steal their real child. The magic that sustains her was never meant to last past the initial theft, leaving Lola without a future. But thanks to Victor Conrath, a very powerful--and very illegal--blood mage, she was given the means to cheat death.

For a price.

Now the only changeling ever to make it to adulthood, Lola has served the blood mage faithfully, if reluctantly, for twenty years. Her unique ability to slip through wards and change her shape to look like anyone has helped make Victor a legend in the DFZ’s illegal-magic underground. It’s not a great life, but at least the work is stable… until her master vanishes without a trace.

With only a handful left of the pills that keep her human, Lola must find Victor before she turns back into the fairy monster she was always meant to be. But with a whole SWAT team of federal paladins hunting her as a blood-mage accomplice, an Urban Legend on a silent black motorcycle who won’t leave her alone, and a mysterious fairy king with the power to make the entire city dream, Lola’s chances of getting out of this alive are as slender as a silver thread.Get your copy now!The wait is finally over! BY A SILVER THREAD comes out today in ebook, KU, and print!
Hold up, Rachel, where is the audio book?I'm asking the same question. It was supposed to come out today, but it's trapped in Audible's review process and no one will tell me why. I'm working on the problem right now and I promise I will send another email as soon as it's available, which will hopefully be very very soon. Come on, Audible, get it together! 

For all of you who read books with your eyes, the ebook and print editions are out and ready to enjoy. If you preordered a copy, thank you! The book should already be on your Kindle. If you prefer KU, you're also ready to go! Head on over and click the button to start enjoying the story. I hope you love it as much as I do!
But wait, there's more!As I mentioned in the last email, I've been on fire for this story, and the fire has paid off. No more waiting forever for a sequel. The next book in the DFZ Changeling series, WITH A GOLDEN SWORD, is already written and will be out on October 2!

Why the long wait if it's already done? Well, as you'll see, the book has no cover yet or anything else. Writing is only the first step in a long process of making a quality book. But the novel is finished AND there's a sneak preview of the first chapter in the back of book 1! So if you love BY A SILVER THREAD, which I very much hope you will, rest assured that the rest of the series will be coming out swiftly. 
Can I read this book if I haven't read any of the other DFZ stories?Yes! Just like MINIMUM WAGE MAGIC, I wrote BY A SILVER THREAD to be an entry point for new readers. You don't need to know anything about the DFZ to enjoy it, but if you are a fan of my other series, I packed in a lot of goodies for you to enjoy. It's a win/win for everybody!
As always, thank you so so much for being my readers and listeners. I hope you love BY A SILVER THREAD as much as I do!

Yours always,
Rachel AaronChronic Magical City Endangerer 

 

Return to the DFZ with a brand new series, introducingBy A Silver ThreadIn the world’s most magical metropolis where spirits run noodle shops and cash-strapped dragons stage photo-ops for tourists, people still think fairies are nothing but stories, and that’s exactly how the fairies like it. It’s a lot easier to feast on humanity’s dreams when no one believes you exist. But while this arrangement works splendidly for most fair folk, Lola isn’t one of the lucky ones.

She’s a changeling, a fairy monster made just human enough to dupe unsuspecting parents while fairies steal their real child. The magic that sustains her was never meant to last past the initial theft, leaving Lola without a future. But thanks to Victor Conrath, a very powerful--and very illegal--blood mage, she was given the means to cheat death.

For a price.

Now the only changeling ever to make it to adulthood, Lola has served the blood mage faithfully, if reluctantly, for twenty years. Her unique ability to slip through wards and change her shape to look like anyone has helped make Victor a legend in the DFZ’s illegal-magic underground. It’s not a great life, but at least the work is stable… until her master vanishes without a trace.

With only a handful left of the pills that keep her human, Lola must find Victor before she turns back into the fairy monster she was always meant to be. But with a whole SWAT team of federal paladins hunting her as a blood-mage accomplice, an Urban Legend on a silent black motorcycle who won’t leave her alone, and a mysterious fairy king with the power to make the entire city dream, Lola’s chances of getting out of this alive are as slender as a silver thread.By A Silver Thread is the first in a new, stand-alone DFZ series set right after the end of Opal's series. There are cameos from old favorites and a brand new cast of charming, sinister fairies you'll love to hate.
Coming out May 2, 2023!Preorder Now!What is this? A new DFZ novel so soon? 

Yes, we are back in everyone's favorite city with a brand-new cast and a whole host of horrifying new problems. It was not my intention to start a new series until the Mary Good Crow books were done, but this idea would not let me go, so here we are.

I am so, so excited for y'all to read this book! It's got everything we love about the DFZ, but from an entirely new angle. It's action packed, and I think the magic is some of the coolest I've ever written. I had an absolute blast writing this book... and the sequel, which is already with the editor. What, I told you I was on fire! I just couldn't stop writing, and now you get more books. It's a win-win!

So does this mean the Western books are on hold? Absolutely not. I'm writing the third Mary novel as we speak. So yes, I am writing two series at once, but given how crazy I've been for these books, it definitely won't be long before they're all in your hands. I've already got two more launches lined up for this years, and next year should be at least two. It feels so good to be writing again after the Covid downturn. I can't wait to share everything I've been working on with you!
By A Silver Thread will launch in all formats (print, audio, ebook, and KU) on May 2. You can preorder the ebook now or wait until launch day for all the formats. Just don't forget to order, because you're going to want to read this book. Thank you so much for being my readers. I can't wait to see how much you'll love Lola's story! 

Yours with extreme enthusiasm,
Rachel AaronMother of Dragons Bethesda's Unpaid Intern

 Just an update to post this really fun interview I did with Tales After Tolkien! Check it out!