Writer's Grove

New Gnomes!

Super turbo happy to share with you the fun paperback cover for No Country for Old Gnomes, book two in the Tales of Pell! The hardcovers have more of a fairy-tale storybook art style to them, but for the paperbacks we keep the key art silhouettes, then make the background really bright and use a font that emphasizes this read is gonna be honkin’ fun.

Which is a true thing. These books are honkin’ fun. Delilah and I had a blast writing them, and in the July issue of Locus magazine, reviewer Katharine Coldiron said of Gnomes that “…the book is a complete delight, as fluffy and fun as The Lego Movie and as heartfelt as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” I was especially pleased to see that she noted some of the serious stuff we have going on under the surface—like why do so few fantasy heroes ever have to deal with PTSD after the horrors they face?

However, thinking of the Pell series merely as a sendup does it a disservice….The story offers many opportunities for personal growth and reflection, and a realistic take on how the violence and struggle of a quest wears down the questers—a rare quality indeed in fantasy literature.

So here’s the cover for the paperback, which will be out on January 7! Still time for you to get a hardcover copy, and if you want one signed by both of us that benefits charity, snag yours at Worldbuilders Market. Or you can pick up an unsigned copy any old place and have us sign it later, or enjoy the audiobook!

But wait! there’s more

In case you didn’t hear, we have a third book in the Tales of Pell coming out October 8! It’s called The Princess Beard, and you don’t have to read the others first to enjoy it—these are all written in the shared world of Pell but can stand alone and be read in any order. Behold:

How about a little info about it? From the cover copy:

Once upon a time, a princess slept in a magical tower cloaked in thorns and roses.

When she woke, she found no Prince Charming, only a surfeit of hair and grotesquely long fingernails—which was, honestly, better than some creep who acted without consent. She cut off her long braids and used them to escape. But she kept the beard because it made a great disguise.
This is not a story about finding true love’s kiss—it’s a story about finding yourself. On a pirate ship. Where you belong.

But these are no ordinary pirates aboard The Puffy Peach, serving under Filthy Lucre, the one-eyed parrot pirate captain. First there’s Vic, a swole and misogynistic centaur on a mission to expunge himself of the magic that causes him to conjure tea and dainty cupcakes in response to stress. Then there’s Tempest, who’s determined to become the first dryad lawyer—preferably before she takes her ultimate form as a man-eating tree. They’re joined by Alobartalus, an awkward and unelfly elf who longs to meet his hero, the Sn’archivist who is said to take dictation directly from the gods of Pell. Throw in some mystery meat and a dastardly capitalist plot, and you’ve got one Pell of an adventure on the high seas!

Delighted to report that The Princess Beard has already earned a starred review in Booklist! Delilah and I will be doing a few stops for this one along the eastern part of the US, and we hope to see you if you can mark the date on your calendar. We always sign any and all of our books so bring all the things and all your friends. I have dates and locations:

October 7: Doylestown Bookshop in Doylestown, PA, with Chuck Wendig!
October 8: Fountain Books in Richmond, VA!
October 9: Park Road Books in Charlotte, NC!
October 10: Barnes & Noble in Orlando, FL!

Details on times and stuff a bit later. If you preorder from an indie bookstore or anywhere, really, it’s tremendously helpful for a ton of reasons and deeply appreciated. Please enjoy! Order your copy here:
Indiebound Amazon B&N Kobo iBooks Hudson BAM! Chapters/Indigo