seen from Russia
seen from South Africa
seen from Taiwan
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Israel
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Germany
seen from Russia
seen from France
seen from United Kingdom
seen from France
seen from United States
seen from United States
That Devil, Ambition is a lot of different things to me, but after tomorrow, it will belong to all of you.
There was a letter included with the ARCs that I think sums up my thoughts on writing it; however, I would like to add this - there is no achievement worth more than you.
See y'all tomorrow🖤
Why does writers block have to suck so bad? I’d do just about anything to be able to write at this point 🙃
for you, tumblr, a sneak peek at the thing i am working on that is still in the trash draft stage i hope you love divorced thirty-five-year-old ace women with trauma falling in love and solving fantastical mysteries (not necessarily in that order)
the main character: minding her business her new boss: i want her dead
a collection of worldbuilding tidbits from mos and my (rightly) unpublished project before it
I posted this to threads a while back, but I think most of the MoS folks are on tumblr. I hope that if you liked MoS that you find this information interesting.
I was stilly querying it when MASK OF SHADOWS got me an agent, but it was a YA fantasy in the same world called POX. The first in a series, it was about a young girl working as a thief and half-trained blacksmith to support herself and her younger brother after their mother was taken to work as a blacksmith on a secret project for the king.
In chapter one, her thieving leads her to believe that the king didn't actually murder the gods decades ago and that the god of knowledge, truth, and justice might still be alive. So, when her brother catches the pox, she sets out to find the god and save her brother. If you're familiar with the shadows in MOS, then fun fact: on this part of the continent (Berengard), the shadows are known as whispers and were made by infecting people with a magically-altered version of smallpox.
That's what these bits of history referenced - the Ash Plague is the pox, Meredan is where the shadows/whispers and Erlend people originated, and in Berengard, Serrat would become the god of death, loyalty, and mercy. Immortality was also a gift from magic during the Whispered War in Berengard. (You'll also notice that Berengardians like Serrat Ansleigh follow the same naming conventions as Nacea! The goddess of justice, Yarin of Brineheart, was a judge in Meredan who broke from the country and stole a bunch of evacuation ships from the nobility in order to get more people out of the country. Meredan started the Whispered War partly because of Berengard refusing them but accepting the other Meredan evacuees with Yarin.)
I always loved this book and still dream of publishing it in the future, but because it's about fascism weaponizing healthcare and disease to subdue a country and it's a series, it is difficult to work on much less sell. BUT GOD do I miss my bi blacksmith going on a roadtrip with her new best friend the goddess of justice, reviving the murdered gods, and absolutely wrecking the king, though.
Anyway, if you're a MASK OF SHADOWS fan, the shadows were created hundreds of years before the book in Meredan across the eastern sea, and the Meredan nobility fled their country to escape their creations.
And those assholes gave rise to the Erlend lords and ladies Sal had to deal with.
I spent a year querying it before MoS was picked up, and while I had some fulls out when I signed for MoS, I opted to withdraw those submissions because I knew MoS was the stronger project.
my publisher: that devil, ambition got another great trade review and you should tell people about it
me: got it taken care of
"Miller divides the book into three points of view, one for each term of the year, which ensures no character feels safe from the Professor. The story meditates on themes like the cost of education, self-worth via academic success, and survival versus sacrifice inside a horror story. The characterizations are a little thin, but stakes are high, the premise is fun, and the pacing makes for a delightful binge read. VERDICT Small doses of gore and horror heighten the stakes of this magical survival story. Recommended for general purchase."
–Emmy Neal, SLJ
Please be aware of your local aces this week!
This week, make sure you're aware of your local ace characters! I love all of my ace children equally, but y'all are allowed to play favorites.
Do you like reading about ace girls who choose to be kind when the world isn't? Ace girls who decide to hurt those in power as much as they've been hurt? Ace girls who use assumptions about aceness to their advantage?
And if none of these stories are right for you, please check out some other ace books this week, like Fire Becomes Her, Aces Wild, Beyond the Black Door, Silver in the Mist, Elatsoe, The Last Eight, ACE, The Sound of Stars, or So Let Them Burn.
Annette by @fictograph Lorena by @nicole.deal.art Euphemia (to-be-revealed) by @dianasousaart
I'm down to the last of my Belle art now, and honestly, maybe the best character designs.
If anyone does have prints and wants them, just let me know.
