tori bovalino

author, hellion, and friend of cats everywhere

[starvingnov]

sigh i've officially reached the "oh no did i break this book" stage of editing so it's probably going to be fine

[transbookoftheday]

Champion of the Rose by Cat Aquino and Dominique Duran

In the arena, where life is cheap and spectacle is everything, Rey must decide what kind of game he’s willing to play.

As the largest kingdom in the Known World, the Empire of Sagrada is built on the keystones of conquest: gold, glory, and the Dying God. But when Princess Rosa unexpectedly finds herself the next heir to the throne, she is determined to change Sagrada for the better—until her father announces a glorious tournament of gladiatorial fights and blood magic, with Rosa’s hand and her throne as the prize.

In a desperate bid to win her own hand, Princess Rosa chooses Rey, a trans swordsman from the colony of Himala, as her champion in her father’s tournament. Kidnapped by Sagradan conquistadors and raised as a fighter, Rey is equally desperate to win his freedom and return to Himala with his partner, Teo. But, haunted by the past and his own quest for revenge, Rey is soon caught up in the destructive spectacle of the games, where the cost of power is blood, and the true prize is yet to be revealed.

A bold reenvisioning of the colonial history of Spain and the Philippines through an epic anti-imperialist fantasy about fighting for freedom in the face of empire.

[judgejudyofficial]

stop letting miserable people on the internet convince you that you must have a concrete, well-constructed opinion on everything that has ever existed.

[supreme-leader-stoat]

[judgejudyofficial]

everybody say thank you Marcus Aurelius

[russianblush]

no ai usage over here. you’re gonna get my shitty authentic writing whether you like it or not

[starvingnov]

fact from the vault while I'm procrastinating: grey and kier used to have matching tattoos. proof:

She took him in, the slope of his pectoral muscles, the shadowy peaks and valleys of his ribs, the tiny 3083 tattooed over his heart. He’d gotten it while they were on an easy assignment in one of the coastal cities when she was twenty-one, drunk on wine and mirth. She’d gasped when he showed her, then insisted on reciprocating—he’d held her hand, his thumb smoothing circles into her skin, as some unenthusiastic artisan had etched 3082 into her skin.

why 3083 and 3082? because before the aesthetic shift, it was way more WWI, and for some fucking reason, this was a thing:

“I don’t like the sound of this one,” he said finally. “Feels off, Throat.” “Hmm.” Grey wasn’t particularly fond of the nickname—he’d called her that since she was sixteen and she was eighteen, since they’d signed up to enlist together when the brigade passed through their town. She’d lied about her age on the form and he’d forged her guardian’s signature. That same day, they were given their identification numbers: he was 3082, she was 3083. For a whole summer, he’d called her 308, ditching the final three, until the numbers had run together into a single word. In return, she’d dubbed him “Threat,” but his nickname eventually became too heavy on her tongue.

honestly, probs a good thing that one died in edits

[anthonycolonthree]

(guy who's not getting anything done voice) I need to learn every skill and all information

[starvingnov]

also..... necromantasy has returned....... i am back on deadline

emailing my editor as we speak to the dulcet tones of gasolina

[starvingnov]

listen i don't make the rules but my best character work always happens when someone has been punched in the face

[starvingnov]

NECROMANTASY IS IN. SHE IS OFF MY DESK. (for like three weeks). I CAN TAKE A NAP. (i can finish marking papers, then finish Traitor Bride proofreader queries, which are very much still on my desk).

a snippet:

He stepped back. Grimaced. Nodded to the fire extinguisher. “You’ve really got to stop doing that,” he said, cupping his hand around his nose to catch the gushing blood. “It’s disrespectful to the dead.” “Yeah, well maybe the dead need to stop being disrespectful to me,” Iris bit out.

[starvingnov]

i know it's been 84 years but i am, indeed, still on deadline

i'm currently on a schedule that's roughly a book every 6-8 months, which is good in a lot of ways! what that means: locke was sept '25, shadows was jan '26, traitor bride is sept '26, the dying season is ?jul? '27, then locke 3 is ?feb? '28, and adult horror 2 will probably be summer/fall '28. like, in practice, that is very good that books are happening and i am busy, but it also means i have been on deadline since november of last year (after, like, 3 months off deadline) and i have 2 more books to write in the next 7 months after I hand in this draft.

basically: i am sleepy, lol. not complaining, because this is genuinely what i've always wanted to do and i'm happy to have books coming out. just sleepy.

necromantasy snippet to justify the whining:

“I didn’t know Odysseus was a necromancer,” Iris said. “That part of the Odyssey must’ve passed me by.” “Not exactly,” Hart agreed. “But he spoke to shades, and he saw his own death.” “He also fought a bunch of people naked when they came onto his wife,” Iris said. Hart sighed. “Nothing escapes you, Hall.” He led the way down a narrower side path that diverged from the main route, going towards a thicket of trees. “Unfortunately, as interesting as it sounds, naked fight club did not make it into the core practices of necromancy.”

[mothermara]

what if orpheus was butch and she unclipped her carabiner and held it out behind her and then eurydice clipped it onto her belt loop and then orpheus didnt have to look back because she could hear eurydice jingle jangling behind her. follow me for more dyke solutions to famous tragic literature

[starvingnov]

ok i know it has been like a month or two but sometimes Deadlines Be Like That (aka I had to divert away for Traitor Bride copyedits and some other stuff in the background) but we're back on the necromantasy train, literally

like my babygirl Iris, i am also sleepy.

a snippet:

If it was any other night, she might’ve waited, but Kensington. Hart thought she was incompetent no matter what she did. She just hated proving him right.

[starvingnov]

traitor bride has a cover!

very thankful for everyone who watched me spin my wheels here during edits lol so here she issssss

[starvingnov]

we're back on deadline, and this time, it's the necromantasy!

the book: iris hall is a handler on the necromantic railway that runs under london, but also, her ex best friend, hart, is a necromancer, and he sucks. hart sucks even more because, after iris is attacked by a corpse, he's the only one who can help.

the first line:

Far below the drizzle of the sleeping London streets, Iris Hall was alone on the tracks of the London Necropolis Railway, escorting the dead.

[starvingnov]

Traitor Bride is officially off to copyedits :)

As a little treat, here's my favorite epigraph:

Found out the reason Aurelian was banished: left formal Lochan/Eprainish engagement early citing stomach ailments, was discovered in a larder with two of Locke’s attendants, apparently in a compromising position near some of the delicacies cooling for the evening’s feast. The Viper handed down the order of banishment for “Insulting my lady, embarrassing my staff, and ruining my dinner.” Nore Gordon’s notes, decoded, 1636

[starvingnov]

on a side quest again. it is ill-advised.

a snippet:

“Losing your edge,” Grey muttered, pivoting to block his sword, arcing toward her left side.  “That’s what happens when one commits to a life of bureaucracy,” Kier said, nearly landing a hit to her hip. Grey covered quickly, then went high—but of course he was already there. And if they weren’t surrounded, if the guards weren’t taking bets on their fight and the idle maids in upper floors weren’t watching through the windows, Kier might’ve taken the chance then to lay his hand on her waist, to draw her in, to kiss her over their crossed blades. Instead, he only winked at her. 

[starvingnov]

editing log: I have finished this pass :) currently on the read-through, so I can clean up anything I didn't Frankenstein together properly, and then I'll do another check of problem areas with a clear head before I hand in next week!

thanks for joining me on this journey x

last snippet (for now):

“My volatility is worse than you had heard, I fear,” Locke said. “And my blade sharper, too.”