Hey awesome,

It's crazy heat wave time in New England (96 degrees and I are not friends - especially without proper AC!), but I'm still feeling pretty good, because fun things are happening.

One, it's Liberty Con week!! Liberty is one of my favorite cons - small enough to have so many good conversations, big enough to have SO MANY good conversations. Brandy and her team are amaaaazing, it's always absurdly fun, and so many of my favorite people are there! Will I see you? My schedule is below in case you're in the Chattanooga area.

If not at a panel, I can usually be found hanging around the bar, geeking out about any number of things with any number of folks. I'd love to see you!

A second thing that's bringing me joy in Heat Wave Season 2024: The Heatening, is that I finished the draft for my first solo Valkyries book. This follows Bryn Siegmund, after the events of The Spider and 'Dear Cynthia' in The Valkyries Initiative, and is tentatively titled Valkyrie's Chosen.

Bryn is verrrrry snarky, and her voice came through loud in clear in the story. Her book is currently in the hands of brilliant beta readers, and I know with their feedback the rest of the novel will come together to be worthy of her. Urban fantasy is so much dang fun, and I can't wait to share Valkyrie's Chosen with you this summer!

Speaking of things I can't wait to share, coming up soon (July 12!) is the new 4HU hotness from CKP - Bureau 42!

Collected cold cases from the Peacemaker's Guild...and while the names on the cover are pretty exciting (WHEE!), the 'and more' crew adds even more awesomeness. This is such a great collection!

And if you're thinking, ok ok yay July, but what can I get in my hands for next week? WELL.

Trisha Wooldridge is a superb author, and in Where Monsters Pray, you get a collection of her wonderful, creepy, creeping, fascinating stories. I mean, first of all, check out this cover:

To whom do Monsters pray when burdened with the cruelty of the world who so named them “monster”?

An unholy unicorn meets a defiled sacrifice; an engineer embraces and abuses inorganic body enhancements for her family; and Frankenstein’s creature, on his quest for death, may have finally found his mate. From irreverent mothers to genetically modified cats, meet the divine and mortal monsters in this collection of fiction and poetry.

It's out June 25th, but you can pre-order it now and treat yourself for next week!

And now... I really have to go pack. What are you looking forward to for the rest of summer? I'd love to hear!

Til next time,

Marisa