Welcome, knowledge seeker! Wipe down the chalkboard, take a seat in the lecture hall, and sharpen those pencils. I’ve got lots of news for you today about arcs, and an long-overdue introduction to the trio of characters at the heart of AN EDUCATION IN MALICE.
Meet The Cohort
Carmilla Karnstein is the shining star of the Saint Perpetua’s College poetry cohort. A snotty senior with a notebook full of dark secrets, she’s the teacher’s pet of the enigmatic De Lafontaine. But when Laura Sheridan, a new girl from down South, infiltrates her program, she finds herself wrapped up in a infuriating and inflaming academic rivalry.
A shy, pious flower from Mississippi, Laura Sheridan holds her feelings for other women (and her love of vintage erotica) close to her chest. But when she becomes embroiled in a rivalry with Carmilla, all her manners and good raising go out the window. She’ll do whatever it takes to get close to Carmilla, even if that means ingratiating herself with the cruel and beautiful poetry professor, De Lafontaine.
Not much is known about Professor De Lafonatine. She’s as mysterious as she is demanding, and her high pressure poetry seminars are the stuff of school legend. Carmilla is her chosen protegee, but when their secretive world expands to include Laura, the bloody bonds that tie teacher to student will be revealed. After all, what won’t we do, when love compels us?
Classes start February 2024, so be sure you get your books ahead of time! Pre-order AN EDUCATION IN MALICE now for an angsty, autumnal thrill ride.
ARCs Are Going Out!
The hands-down most thrilling and terrifying stage in the life cycle of a book is the arc phase, when retailers and influencers actually start reading that book you’ve been constructing in feverish isolation for months, maybe years. The very earliest of early readers will be getting their hands on both AN EDUCATION IN MALICE and EVOCATION this week, and I’m oscillating wildly between euphoria and nausea!
At this time, there is no way to request a printed arc of AN EDUCATION IN MALICE; that list of names has already been finalized. However, it should be showing up on Netgalley and Edelweiss very soon for the general public to request to read, and I’ll be along with an update in the newsletter as soon as it’s available.
However, if you’ve been yearning to get your hands on a copy of EVOCATION, my polyamorous urban fantasy series starter, you’re in luck! All the available printed arcs have already been claimed, but there are still a few final printed copies and digital copies available!
If you’d like to throw your hat in the ring to request one of these remaining copies, head on over to this link and fill out the form. However, please note that if you’ve already submitted your information through the first arc request form, there is no need to do it again; your request has already been logged.
Content Guidance for EVOCATION
As EVOCATION arcs start to circulate, I thought it would be a good idea to share the content guidance for this book.
EVOCATION isn’t as dark as A DOWRY OF BLOOD, but it has its moments. I always provide content guidance with each new book because I believe in offering readers a way to engage with art in full curiosity while still watching out for potential triggers. So, without further ado:
EVOCATION navigates complex themes around fidelity, addiction, and childhood abuse. If you choose to read, please do so with self-compassion.
This work contains:
- Discussion of and depiction of alcoholism
- An addiction relapse
- Smoking
- Marriage in trouble
- Discussions of physical and emotional childhood abuse
- Discussions of infidelity
- Life-threatening magical curses
- Consensual sexual content
You know yourself and your triggers best, as always!
Everything I’ve Been Loving Lately
I’ve been trying to carve out more time to read in the evenings, and to check out movies that have been on my to-watch list for ages. I’m finally devouring Wuthering Heights in earnest, and let me tell you, the 2023 dark romance girlies have nothing on this book! I have never seen such drama, such soap opera shenanigans; the sheer generational trauma of it all! My jaw literally dropped while I was on a plane reading during a pivotal death scene and the passenger next to me probably thought I was short-circuiting. Needless to say, I love it.
Recently I watched Red White and Royal Blue, which was a great romp, both volumes of Kill Bill, which were uproariously excellent, and Brotherhood of the Wolf, which I dnf’d because it was very slow and pretty racist tbh. I’m also currently watching The Handmaiden, which lives up to the hype!
My mother sent me a new embroidery kit, which I am slowly working through to soothe my brain when it feels like swiss cheese after working for hours on the second book in the Summoner’s Circle series. I’m 55,000 words into the draft, which means that we’re past the midpoint and hurtling towards the climax!
That’s all I have for you this time, dear reader. Be safe and well until we two meet again.
-S
*screeching* 🔥🔥🔥