Welcome back to the Epistle, dear reader. Light a stick of your favorite incense and breathe in the fragrant smoke. We’re gathered here today to celebrate a very special anniversary, and I’m also going to unveil another little tidbit of a secret to you.
News
A DOWRY OF BLOOD turned one year old today! I'm completely blown away by how far this little book has come in the last year.
I wrote DOWRY when I was in a pretty dark place, mentally and emotionally. The only thing that cheered me up was watching musicals with my friends every week and working on my vampire book. There were many elements of the book that stretched me as a writer and also felt difficult to market at the time. The experimental style, the themes of abuse, the heat level, the polyamorous endgame. It was a book I wrote primarily for myself, and I put a lot of myself into it. Still, I wasn't sure it was going to find its audience.
The release was quiet. So were the first few months of pub. Then something shifted, word of mouth took off, and the book caught fire. It's the kind of lightning in a bottle success you can only dream of, and I'm so grateful for every last spark, every review, every reader.
So I just want to say thank you. Thank you for showing up for this strange book that I put my whole heart into. Thank you for handselling it and hyping it up and for all the emails and DMs. I cherish every one of them, and I love my readers to death. You make it all worth it.
I hope you’ll join me tonight for a celebratory anniversary AMA on my Instagram, stgibsonauthor. We’ll be having cocktails/mocktails together while I answer your questions live!
Hugo Voting
The Hugos are the biggest awards in science fiction and fantasy, and voting for the next round of awards is now open! I would be truly honored if you considered nominating A DOWRY OF BLOOD for best novel. Please note that in order to vote, you need to be registered for Chicon 8, and today is the last day to register. I know not everyone who might be interested in voting might not be interested in registering, so if you don’t end up voting, that’s okay! But if you’ve been considering it, I would be over the moon if you put A DOWRY OF BLOOD on your voting ballot.
A Tidbit
I’m very pleased to announce that I’m going to have some huge news dropping into your inbox in early March, barring any unforeseen circumstances. It’s the news I think a lot of you have been waiting on for a while plus a surprise, so keep those eyes peeled.
Everything I’ve Been Loving Lately
The Bonkers Romance Podcast
If you’ve been a subscriber for a while, you know I love romance novels, the more bonkers, the better. So imagine my delight when I discovered the Bonkers Romance Podcast, dedicated to celebrating joy and recapping the most out-there romance novels imaginable. We’re talking spider aliens, sex masquerades, orc husbands, and more. The hosts are an absolute delight and they bring on some of the brightest luminaries in romance to discuss their book of the week. If you aren’t listening, you absolutely have to give it a go. Just maybe listen with headphones on ;)
That’s all I have for you this week, dear reader. Be safe and well until we two meet again.
-Saint