Books to look forward to, and some thoughts about blurbs

Happy new year! There’s one big bit of news to report since my last newsletter went out a month ago. My US publisher, Harper360, published the ebook and audiobook versions of The Tapestry of Time just before the end of 2024. So if you’re in the US, you can now buy it or request it for your local library. If you’d like to wait to read it in print, the US paperback comes out June 3 (just before the D-Day anniversary) and is now available for pre-order.

My December was a mix of family time (my mom is visiting), contract work and finishing the first draft of my new (as yet unannounced) novel. I’m now revising and fleshing out that draft so I can send it to its editor. I also got notes back from my editor at HarperVoyager UK, Jane Johnson, on the draft of Mercutio, which is exciting! She had very positive things to say about it, and some wise advice for how to revise it.

So my 2025 in writing will begin with a few months of revising and editing both novels. I’m also in the research and brainstorming stage for the next novel after that, which I’m looking forward to.

A lot of my reading over the last few months has been for endorsements, also known as blurbs in traditional publishing, for the work of other writers. These are the brief endorsements that appear on the cover, or the back or flap, or in the “praise” section of a book’s page online, or in catalogues, or sometimes in internal “praise” front matter. (In self-publishing, “blurb” often means something slightly different, what we call cover copy or marketing copy in trad publishing.) The requests usually come when a book is already slated to be published and has been through some editing but might not yet be in its final form.

I’m always happy to be asked for a blurb. Sometimes the request comes from the author, their editor, or their agent, or through my own agent. Very occasionally, I’ll reach out to let an author know that I’m interested in reading their book, especially if it’s one I intend to read anyway, and especially if I don’t have a blurb backlog at that moment. I know very well what a nerve-wracking part of the process it is, and it’s a way to support my fellow authors while also getting a early edition of an upcoming book. But I do sometimes have to say no when my schedule gets too full, or if a book doesn’t fit within my interests. I turned down several requests for blurbs last year. Reading for blurbs can cut into my time reading for research (and for my own pleasure) so I have to be careful to keep a balance. At one point in November, I had four books on my to-blurb list, and I had to put myself on a moratorium. At the moment, I’m cutting back on reading for blurbs because I have a long list of research books to read for the next project.

I also try to make sure to keep a balance of large and small presses, and I am always happy to prioritize reading work by new and marginalized authors. (And I’ll happily read books by authors I don’t know, if the book looks like my type of thing and I have the time. It’s not as back-scratchy an ecosystem as it’s sometimes portrayed to be, at least not in my experience.) I do read every book I blurb, and I will only provide that endorsement if I genuinely like the book.

One thing that surprised me about the whole process is how difficult I find actually writing the blurb itself. It typically takes me an hour or two to compose three sentences, because it’s so hard to summon the right words to describe what is special about a book, and not just repeat the cover copy or provide a book report. Enthusiasm and superlatives are part of the form, but it’s very easy to go over the top and sound ridiculous. I also design them to be editable down to shorter phrases if need be.

(The people who write catalogue copy, social media copy and cover copy for publishers are highly skilled, and when publishers try to replace them with AI, they’re shooting themselves in the foot.)

One trend that I and other writers have noticed in recent years is that publishers don’t always use our blurbs, even in online marketing copy, which can be pretty discouraging given the work we put into them. I do understand that it can be difficult for editorial teams to know in advance how many they’re going to get, and sometimes they cast a wide net. (And in the rare cases where I’ve actually offered to blurb, rather than been asked, I certainly understand from the start that it might not be used.) As an author, I make sure to at least put all the blurbs I get (that I know about) on my own website. I’m always very appreciative of them. Anyway, the fact that blurbs don’t always make it to the readers is all the more reason for me to do a roundup in my newsletter once in a while!

My flurry of reading-for-blurbs in 2024 means I got an early look at several wonderful books coming out in the first half of 2025, so I thought I’d share those with you, in case you’ve got some gift cards to use or you’re planning your reading for the year. Here they are, in order of publication.

The Morrigan by Kim Curran.

Coming from Penguin (Michael Joseph) on Feb. 6.

It takes a lot for a retelling to stand out in the current boom (I say this as an author of retellings myself), but this one really does. It also managed to impress me despite the fact that for me, the quintessential Morrigan book will always be my beloved The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O’Shea. Curran’s well researched debut adult novel breaks several narrative “rules” with the ambition its subject demands.

My blurb: “A fearless and ferocious retelling that does great justice to the original stories, effortlessly navigating an epic scale with heartbreaking intimacy. Kim Curran is an astonishing talent."

One Message Remains, by Premee Mohamed.

A collection from Psychopomp, coming February 11, 2025.

Premee is one of my favourite authors (and incidentally, we’ll both be guests of honour together at Can*Con this year.)

My blurb: “Nobody writes like Premee Mohamed, with justice on one shoulder and compassion on the other, and a pen that dances over the page. In One Message Remains, she draws different voices and perspectives to the fore like a conductor of a small and beautifully crafted symphony, in a minor key.”

Coyote Run by Lilith Saintcrow.

A novella coming Feb. 25 from Horned Lark Press.

Horned Lark Press is a new small press run by my friend Kevin Hearne. Believe me, we are going to need these “tales of anti-fascist action”! I had never read Saintcrow’s work before and I was really struck by her wordsmithing — not something that is always associated with rollicking plots, but there’s no reason we can’t have both!

My blurb: “Like Coyote, this novella never lets up and doesn’t blink first. Sentence after marvellous sentence, it had me wincing, cackling, and applauding in turns. This book goes like a lit fuse.”

Transmentation | Transience, by Darkly Lem

A novel coming March 18 from Blackstone Press.

Darkly Lem is a collective of five writers, some of whose solo work I already knew, but I was still blown away by their work on this project. If you like complex worldbuilding and edge of your seat storytelling, this one’s for you.

My blurb: “Transmentation | Transience is more than the sum of its parts, engaging the mind and the heart with a perspective that is simultaneously farseeing and intimate. This gorgeous novel is action-packed, full of fascinating ideas and unforgettable characters. I can't wait to see where these authors take us next.”

The Butcher’s Daughter, by Corinne Leigh Clark and David Demchuk.

A novel coming from Penguin (Hell’s Hundred) on May 6.

I’ve been a fan of David Demchuk’s writing since I read his astounding The Bone Mother years ago, but this was my introduction to Corinne Leigh Clark. Their reimagining of the story of Sweeney Todd deserves all the success and acclaim I feel confident it’s going to get.

My blurb: "Gorgeous and gory, The Butcher's Daughter is utterly immersive and plays with readers' expectations from the first page to the last. Every page is an invitation: to investigate, to participate, to let down your guard."

The Starving Saints, by Caitlin Starling.

A novel coming May 20 from HarperVoyager.

A writer whose work I had not yet read, although several of Starling’s book have long been on my to-read list. This book is exactly my sort of thing. Absolute candy.

My blurb: "The Starving Saints is a rich, strange, deeply medieval novel that left me astonished and delighted. Starling expertly dismantles our expectations in this perfectly rendered puzzle box of a world. I would follow these women anywhere, which would probably not end well for me."

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There’s one more coming (Minotaur, by Jamieson Wolf, coming from Rebel Satori press) but that one doesn’t have a cover and page yet. Here’s my blurb anyway: "Minotaur is an unflinchingly honest, deeply compassionate novel that drew me in and held me until the final page. Jamieson Wolf has a gift for bringing us inside a character's perspective and showing us their world, with all its flaws and wonders."

Thanks for reading and I wish you all the best in 2025.