Dear friends,

I spent the first two weeks in May in Montreal and Quebec City, and yes, I read on the train! I read on three trains! I was definitely ridiculous about reading on the train! But also, look what arrived while I was gone:

That's right, Advance Review Copies of A Dubious Clamor! For those of you who aren't thoroughly enmeshed with the publishing industry, publishers run up a few copies of upcoming books that don't have all the bells and whistles and give them to reviewers. This is part of how you get "all the bells and whistles": the blurbs on the finished books you read mostly come from people reviewing an ARC. Usually the author gets a few copies to do with as they will.

Soooo…I'm going to give away one of my very few ARCs to one of you lucky newsletter readers! I'm also doing this on Facebook and Bluesky, but in those places I've asked people to spread the word about this book being available for pre-order. (More about that in a minute.) I would sure like it if you mentioned my work to all of your friends and relations who are fantasy readers, but you're my newsletter! You've already signed up to hear what I'm up to! So all you have to do to enter to win the drawing for this ARC is reply to this newsletter telling me your favorite kind of cake. This book is full of cake, and I like talking about it! One of the people who replies to this newsletter about cake will get a free ARC, signed if you want that--it could be you!

I promised you more about A Dubious Clamor being available for pre-order, and here we are: my publisher's pre-order page! From this page you can either pre-order from the publisher directly or follow links to several different bookstores. You can purchase in ebook or hardback. I honestly don't care where you buy it or in what format--I'd just like people to read my book.

Buuut…if you do pre-order from my publisher, you will get a shiny Dubious Sword sticker! My publisher, Kevin, wanted to design one, and he asked me if I could tell him what the sword looked like. I told him to google "Sutton Hoo sword" and it would be basically spot on. Several of you just went, "…okay?" but some of you went, "OOH!" Anyway it's a good sword sticker, and it can be yours with pre-order from my publisher.

ALSO THOUGH. If you pre-order from my publisher, you'll be entered in a drawing to win a harpy eagle plushie whose purchase cost supports harpy eagle habitats. World Wildlife is doing just a bang-up job with their plushies these days, and harpy eagles are pretty amazing. They do not appear in my book, but harpies do, and frankly these harpy eagles are more awesome and do more good in the world than any harpy stuff I found. So for every one hundred pre-orders, we'll add another drawing for one of these plushies, subject to the rules of sweepstakes in your jurisdiction.

So yeah, this book thing is starting to feel very real! The release date is SEPTEMBER 15. THIS September 15; the very next time it's September 15. I'm starting to do things like setting up the launch party with a local bookstore (Moon Palace Books! They're great, support them! More information on this to come!). I know that from the perspective of people outside the publishing industry it takes forever, but from the inside it simultaneously--okay, yeah, takes forever, but also there are a million things to do fast. In another newsletter I'll tell you some of the nice things people have been saying about this book, but meanwhile here's the jacket copy:

Enjoy a world of sorcerous aunts, musical magic, and moody swords in this delightful tale of finding one’s balance in an unbalanced world.

Ever since she broke the curse that made her live as a harpy for two years, Jules has worked as a cursebreaker, taking on magical odd jobs for minimal pay and the occasional spot of cake. In a society obsessed with propriety and status, she must tread carefully to maintain her ties to both her aristocratic mother and the wild clamor of harpies with whom she once flew. The delicate balance she has struck is disrupted when her childood friend, Anthony, begs for help with a disgruntled sword. At first, she assumes it will be a job like any other, but the sword soon reveals itself to be an ancient, powerful weapon: the dubious sword forged by the magician Wayland Smith that can literally cut through human certainty. Now, it has awakened to challenge a new law in Parliament that would strip millions of their rights—magical and mundane people alike. The man behind the law, Lord Ventstock, was the very person who once cursed Jules, and she’s determined not to let him hurt anyone else. 

As her connection to the sword grows, Jules begins to appreciate the double-sided power of doubt: how it can create healthy skepticism or fuel deep anxiety. Certainties can be safe but also dangerous traps. After walking a razor’s edge for so long between two worlds, Jules must call upon all her connections and finally merge the two halves of herself if she is going to defeat Lord Ventstock, embracing doubt and having the courage to be undefinable. 

So yeah! That's what's coming! Along with all the other projects I'm still working on, because yep, it's still like that.

I'm starting to get my plans for the rest of the year nailed down, and there are still some moving parts in the fall, but for the summer, you can find me at Fourth Street Fantasy here in the Twin Cities, June 19-21, and at Readercon in the Boston area, July 9-12. More adventures as I get to them! So many adventures. (And paperwork. Who knew adventures required paperwork. Oh, right: all the other adults knew.)

Even with all my travels and work stuff, I've been messing around in the kitchen, so see below for a fresh, bright, springy recipe! Hang in there, more to come!

Best,

Marissa

Spring Green Gnocchi

Well, okay, spring and early summer. The first green things are coming in, and we want to take advantage of it, right? This recipe will look fancy without being particularly a lot of work.

Sauce:

a bunch of cilantro, stemmed

a bunch of mint, stemmed

a clove of garlic, more if it's mild (but it's easier to taste and add garlic than to somehow suck the garlic out)

1 T lemon juice

1/4 c ricotta

Put in a blender and blend. Then, here's the fancy part! Draw a squiggle with this stuff on the plate you're going to use. You could just dollop it on top--I ate the leftovers that way and it was fine. But the swirl of green sauce topped with the rest of your meal is very Nice Restaurant for basically no additional effort.

The rest:

1/4 c butter

1 package premade gnocchi (or make your own if you're super-fancy!)

1 bunch asparagus, cut into one-inch slices

Sugar snap peas, strings removed, cut into one-inch slices if they're big

1/4 c English ("regular") peas, frozen is fine

1/4 c slivered almonds

Melt the butter and cook until it starts to get nutty and brown. Yeah, that's the stuff. Then throw in the gnocchi, asparagus, and snap peas, and cook until the gnocchi are a little browned and the veg aren't raw any more (but you still want them crunchy). Add the small bits (almonds and peas) at the end and cook just long enough to warm through. Spoon on top of your sauce squiggle and enjoy!