a fab interview at Friends and Fiction!

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I’m used to doing lots of interviews when I have a new book come out, but here’s the secret: some interviews are harder than others. Sometimes things just don’t click for whatever reason. So when they do, it’s special.

And boy howdy, did I click this week with the awesome ladies of Friends & Fiction! (After rewatching my description of the book, I did belatedly realize I need to learn to take a breath, but all in all, I think it’s a great watch.)

You can watch the playback on YouTube or Facebook, your choice, or you can also get the audio as a podcast. So many ways to enjoy!

And if watching me breathlessly recount Aimee’s adventures nudges you over the edge into wanting to buy the book, here’s a great way to do so: order from the Friends & Fiction page at Bookshop.org. That way you’re also supporting independent bookstores with your shopping choices.

Yay!

BookBub today for The Arctic Fury!

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I know it’s been all THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND all the time around here, so, a brief change of pace: THE ARCTIC FURY is on sale at BookBub today! It’s my action-adventure story about a group of 13 women searching for a lost Arctic expedition and the murder trial that results when not all of them come back. Hie thee to your favorite e-book retailer or directly to BookBub to cash in!

what a week for THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND!

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Wow! It has been an action-packed launch week for my new historical novel, and I’m having the time of my life. Three in-person events in a row (shout out to Wellesley Books, An Unlikely Story, and Bank Square Books) with one more coming tomorrow (Copper Dog Books in Beverly, MA, please join us!)… plus interviews and essays and trying to keep up with the outpouring of love on social media. Exhausting, of course, but blissfully so.

Lots of new fun things to share — reviews! lists! more interviews! — but I just wanted to post a brief note thanking everyone for their support and attention this week. I’m really, really thrilled to be sharing Aimee’s story with you.

And if you haven’t yet picked up a copy of THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND for yourself or a friend, please do so at your local independent bookstore! Or if you’d rather buy online, Bookshop is a super-easy way to support bookstores and get the books you want without leaving your house. Win-win!

Thank you, readers.

THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND tour schedule!

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So excited to get out there and share Aimee Crocker’s scandalous and amazing life with passionate readers! My August calendar is filled with New England tour dates and I hope to see lots of friendly faces in the crowd. I’ll keep you posted for September and beyond. And as always, if you want me to visit your town, drop me a line!

Also, no matter where you’re located, you can tune in to hear me and Erica Wright in virtual conversation, hosted by Malaprop’s! Details below and on my Events page.

read an excerpt of THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND at Paste Magazine!

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As promised, here’s a snippet from the very beginning of The Thirteenth Husband, courtesy of Paste Magazine. I love the way they describe the book:

The book is based on the story of the heiress Aimee Crocker, who inherited a ten million dollar fortune in the late nineteenth century, and was subsequently known for exploring the Far East, throwing extravagant parties from New York to Paris to San Francisco, and collecting a string of husbands, lovers, adopted children, snakes (yes, really), and more. The Thirteenth Husband aims to dramatize the remarkable, often unbelievable, life of a trailblazer. 

Oh yes, Aimee did all this and more. Read more here.

it's almost time for THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND!

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How time flies! It feels like just yesterday I ran across Aimee Crocker’s name while researching real-life 19th-century American women for THE ARCTIC FURY… and now my book about Aimee and her wild adventures is just about to be released. Wow!

I’ve got lots of fun stuff to share, including an excerpt from the first chapter of the book, a wonderful review from Library Journal, a giveaway at Goodreads, and my tour schedule. So keep your eye on this space! For now, here’s a picture of me in front of the Hotel Biron in Paris, where Aimee lived after the death of her [redacted] husband, the love of her life. (Want to know more? It’s in the book, hint hint.)

The Five Queendoms in the spotlight at Fangirlish!

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Lots of fun new things have been happening and I know I’m terribly behind on updating you all, so here’s a little tidbit for starters. Loved seeing Scorpica (and really the whole Five Queendoms series) highlighted at Fangirlish as fantasy they’d love to see on TV!

This series (with two books currently published and more planned) feels made for a lengthy TV show. Its complicated, morally-gray characters are cast across several locations and storylines, which occasionally intersect and then diverge again. Both brutal and beautiful, it’s a vibrant, cinematic, and complex world that seems like a natural fit for a long-running adaptation.


Obviously, I agree!

Read the whole piece here.

ARCA is now out in paperback!

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Hi there! Have you been waiting for the second book in the Five Queendoms series to become available in a soft-sided edition instead of the big ol’ chunky hardcover doorstop? Wait no more! It’s still chunky, but a bit less so. And still, thanks to Victo Ngai’s illustration on the cover, absolutely gorgeous.

In honor of the big day, I’m reposting one of my favorite interviews, the one that goes soooo in-depth on all things Five Queendoms. It’s a great read whether or not you’ve read Arca or the first novel in the series, Scorpica.

Read the fabulous Paste Magazine interview that calls the Five Queendoms “the best feminist fantasy series you probably haven’t read yet” by clicking here.

THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND cover revealed!

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Are you ready to see the absolutely gorgeous cover of THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND, my upcoming historical novel inspired by the outrageous Gilded Age railroad heiress Aimee Crocker? Here she is:

Sourcebooks knocked it out of the park yet again! I love everything about it — the image, the colors, the font — and I’m particularly tickled by the pearls, as they were Aimee’s favorite gem. She claimed in her memoir that she had the power to restore lost luster to pearls merely by touching them. Then again, she claimed A LOT of things. Can’t wait to share them with you, both the ones that made it into the book and the ones that didn’t.

So the book itself won’t hit shelves until August 2024, but while you’re waiting, here are some things you can do:

Pre-order from Bookshop!

Add it to your “want to read” shelf on Goodreads!

Sign up for my newsletter for more updates!

THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND announced on Publishers Marketplace!

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I am beyond excited to share with you that my next book was just announced — yay!

If you’re a historical fiction fan who’s been wondering when I was going to get back to writing about kick-ass women of the past and the amazing things they did, wonder no more. THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND is slated to come out from Sourcebooks in August 2024.

I’ll be sharing the cover and lots of delightful historical tidbits soon!