The Epistle
DOWRY OF BLOOD Orbit Gold Edition (and a Dracula POV bonus)
Welcome back to the Epistle, dear reader! Don your darkest veil or button up the cuffs of your poet’s blouse; I’m closing out this wild and wonderful year by taking you back to the world of vampires.
Orbit Gold Special Edition
I’m so pleased to unveil the Orbit Gold Edition of A DOWRY OF BLOOD, featuring a never-before-seen Dracula POV chapter of Constanta’s vampiric baptism. (Yes, I pulled a MIDNIGHT SUN on you, yes I made myself cry while writing it 🗡️)
The devoted vampire brides and grooms out there deserve nothing less than the sexiest, most sumptuous special edition to celebrate four years of DOWRY. This signed edition will ship on March 4, 2025, and those who preorder will receive a 20% discount! The Orbit Gold edition features:
🦇 An exclusive box illustrated by Martina Fackova
🦇 A signed hardcover copy of A Dowry of Blood
🦇 Gilded pewter edges
🦇 Four color endpaper art
🦇A brand-new foil-stamped fabric cover
🦇 A ribbon bookmark
🦇 An exclusive bonus chapter
To everyone who knows and loves this story, thank you for everything. For those of you who haven’t read my polyamorous Dracula’s brides retelling yet, check out the blurb!
Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.
Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband’s dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.
Events
New England locals, you have two chances to see me in December! If you’re in Rhode Island, swing by the Warwick Barnes and Noble between 4:30 and 7:30 pm on this Friday, December 13! I’ll be signing books and chatting casually with readers along with 15 other local authors.
For those in the Boston area, I’ll be participating in a wonderfully vibey solstice event at the historic Loring Greenough House in Jamaica Plain at 7pm on December 20th! I and four other horror and dark fantasy authors will be telling our favorite ghost stories and sharing our tips for finding light in dark and challenging times.
Tickets are going fast, so be sure you grab yours before they sell out!
Accolades
I was overjoyed to hear that Netgalley UK named AN EDUCATION IN MALICE as their best science fiction and fantasy book of 2024! I cannot believe that my twisty sapphic vampire campus novel was chosen for this honor! As many of you know An Education In Malice was a challenging book for me, but the enthusiasm with which it has been received makes all the effort worth it. It’s a gift to be able to do this work and continually hone my craft and take new risks with my stories, and I’m grateful to all of my readers 🥀 ❤️
Have you sank your teeth into this rivals-to-lovers lesbian angstravaganza yet? Transport yourself to the ivy-covered halls of a women’s college in 1968 Massachusetts, and the dark secrets lurking underneath the school.
Everything I’ve Been Loving Lately
December is always a blur of deadlines, parties, shopping, birthdays, travel, mass, wrapping, and so much more, so I haven’t been reading or watching much lately. I finished a pretty intense revision of ASCENSION, the second book in the Summoner’s Circle series, and now I’m deep in revising SAVAGE BLOOMS, my fall 2025 erotic romance fantasy. But there are a couple of things that have brought me joy recently, namely cooking some veggie-heavy dinners, and planning to bake mini bundt spice cakes for Christmas. I’ve enjoyed walking through my neighborhood with iced coffee and a friend to look at the holiday decorations, and I’m looking forward to a couple of days in New York to celebrate my fiance’s birthday with good food, good people, and the beauty of the Cloisters.
I hope you’re keeping well and keeping warm, even in this stressful season! Sending you all well wishes for the new year, and gentle, meaningful energy for your winter holidays and gatherings.
-S