Cover Reveal - Under the Blazing Sun by Jenny Lund Madsen

Today I'm sharing the cover for Jenny Lund Madsen's new book, Under the Blazing Sun.

I so much loved Thirty Days of Darkness, and here's Jenny Lund Madsen with a followup - Hannah, the reluctant crime writer (who thought it would be SO EASY changing genre) is back. Here's what we've been told so far.

Hannah is miserable. Her love life is in ruins, her contract demands a sequel to her bestselling crime debut – and she's out of ideas. After a mortifying TV interview, her agent ships her off to a sun-drenched Sicilian villa with a simple order: finish the book. No distractions. No excuses.

But inspiration doesn't strike – murder does.

When a night out ends in murder, Hannah finds herself at the centre of a murder investigation … again. The police want her out of the way, and the only person who seems to believe her is a young but charming Italian police officer. That is, until she doesn't.

Soon Hannah is chasing suspects, fleeing crime scenes, and doing whatever it takes to avoid becoming the next victim. She came to write a crime novel. Now she's trapped inside one.

Dark, sly and deliciously atmospheric, Under the Blazing Sun is the second novel in the award-winning series featuring accidental sleuth and disgruntled literary author Hannah, whose pursuit of plot twists keeps turning dangerously real.

Translated by Paul Russell Garrett, Under the Blazing Sun is out from Orenda Books on 21 May in hardback and e-book. Get your preorders in now. You can buy from your local highstreet bookshops, via the Orenda site  (with more info about the books) or from Bookshop UK, Hive Books, Blackwell's, Foyle's, WH Smith, Waterstones or Amazon.

Now, that cover...

I like that! It also echoes the cover of Thirty Days of Darkness.

I'm going to enjoy reading this one, I can tell already.

Cover reveal - The Other People by CB Everett

I'm excited today to be able to join in the reveal for THE OTHER PEOPLE by C.B. EVERETT, out on 10 April 2025 in hardback, e-book and audiobook from Simon & Schuster

Forget what you think you know.

Ten strangers.

An old dark house.

A killer picking them off one by one.

And a missing girl who’s running out of time…

Ten strangers wake up inside an old, locked house. They have no recollection of how they got there.

In order to escape, they have to solve the disappearance of a young woman. But a killer also stalks the halls of the house and soon the body count starts to rise. Who are these strangers? Why were they chosen? Why would someone want to kill them? And who – or what – is the Beast in the Cellar?

Because while you can trust yourself, can you really trust THE OTHER PEOPLE?

Praise for C B Everett

‘One of the very best crime writers we have, simple as that’ ― Mark Billingham

‘One of the brightest stars in the British crime writing’― John Connolly

‘A guaranteed thrill-ride’ ― Sarah Pinborough

‘Crime fiction royalty’ ― Steve Cavanagh

'(A) master storyteller’ ― Ragnar Jonasson

So - are you ready for that cover?  

Well here goes...

I think that's gorgeous - and it promises to be a gorgeous mystery as well.

You can pre-order The Other People here 

Cover Reveal - Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky

I'm excited today to be able to share the cover of one of the most exciting books coving next year - Alien Clay, a thrilling, far-future adventure by acclaimed author Adrian Tchaikovsky, winner of the British Science Fiction Award, British Fantasy Award, Golden Dragon Award, and Arthur C. Clarke Award.

About the book

The planet of Kiln is where the tyrannical Mandate keeps its prison colony, and for inmates the journey there is always a one-way trip. One such prisoner is Professor Arton Daghdev, xeno-ecologist and political dissident. Soon after arrival he discovers that Kiln has a secret. Humanity is not the first intelligent life to set foot there.

In the midst a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem are the ruins of a civilization, but who were the vanished builders and where did they go? If he can survive both the harsh rule of the camp commandant and the alien horrors of the world around him, then Arton has a chance at making a discovery that might just transform not only Kiln but distant Earth as well.

Alien Clay is published on 28 March 2024 by @UKTor in HB (560pp - ISBN 9781035013746), audio and e. For more information, and to preorder your copy, see the publisher's website here.

About the author

Adrian Tchaikovsky (@aptshadow) was born in Lincolnshire before heading off to Reading to study psychology and zoology. For reasons unclear even to himself he subsequently ended up in law and has worked as a legal executive in both Reading and Leeds, where he now lives with his wife and son. He's the author of the critically acclaimed Shadows of the Apt series, the Echoes of the Fall trilogy, The Doors of Eden, and The Final Architecture series. Children of Time was the winner of the 30th Anniversary Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel..

The cover

So, having said all that, here is the cover in its full glory...

Cover Reveal - Orphan Planet by Rex Burke

Today I'm honoured to be joining in the cover reveal for Orphan Planet, the new novel from Rex Burke and first in the Odyssey Earth series.

About the Book

With Earth in crisis, humans are travelling deep into space. But humanity’s future just took a wrong turn.

A seventeen-year colony-ship voyage – a straight shot to a new planet. Handpicked, single-minded crew, and a thousand settlers in hypersleep. No children, no families, no fuss.

That was the plan, anyway

Captain Juno Washington commands a ship of loners and oddballs. The teenagers of the Odyssey Earth didn’t ask to be born, and face an uncertain future. And Jordan Booth really didn’t want to be woken up early.

After an unexpected change of course, relationships are tested like never before. If they listen to advice, pull together and stop squabbling, they might just make it.

Yeah, right. Good luck with that.

Details

Title: Orphan Planet (Odyssey Earth series, Book 10
KindleUnlimited, 18 April, 2023
Available as: e, 332pp, 70k words
Buy from: Amazon (pre-order from 1 March, 2023)

About the Author

Rex Burke is a SciFi writer based in North Yorkshire, UK.

When he was young, he read every one of those yellow-jacketed Victor Gollancz hardbacks in his local library. He’s sure there are still thrilling SciFi adventures to be told – even if he has to write them himself.

Rex Burke

When he’s not writing, he travels – one way or anotherhe’ll get to the stars, even if it’s just as stardust when his own story is done.

Website: https://rexburke.wordpress.com

Contact: scifirex@icloud.com

Twitter: @SciFiRex

Publications 

Odyssey Earth series

First Date (short story) – available now for free: https://subscribepage.io/GPiihl

Orphan Planet (Book 1) – 18 April, 2023

Twin Landing (Book 2) – July 2023

Star Bound (Book 3) – November 2023

Cover Reveal - The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero Lacruz

Today I'm VERY pleased to be joining the cover reveal for The Sun and the Void - Book 1 in The Warring Gods series

ABOUT THE BOOK

This stunning debut features Sapphic representation, and themes of race, heritage and colonialism, all wrapped up in a captivating magical system bestowed by warring ancient gods.

In a lush world inspired by the history and folklore of South America, a sweeping epic fantasy of colonialism, ancient magic, and two young women's quest for belonging unfolds.

This stunning debut features Sapphic representation, and themes of race, heritage and colonialism, all wrapped up in a captivating magical system bestowed by warring ancient gods.

Reina is desperate. Stuck living on the edges of society, her only salvation lies in an invitation from a grandmother she’s never known. But the journey is dangerous, and prayer can’t always avert disaster. Attacked by creatures that stalk the region, Reina is on the verge of death until her grandmother, a dark sorceress, intervenes. Now dependent on the Doña’s magic for her life, Reina will do anything to earn—and keep—her favour. Even the bidding of an ancient god who whispers to her at night.

Eva Kesare is unwanted. Illegitimate and of mixed heritage, Eva is her family’s shame. She tries her best to be perfect and to hide her oddities. But Eva is hiding a secret: magic calls to her. Eva knows she should fight the temptation. Magic is the sign of the dark god, and using it is punishable by death. Yet, it’s hard to deny power when it has always been denied to you. Eva is walking a dangerous path, one that gets stranger every day. And, in the end, she’ll become something she never imagined.

A must for fans of Tasha Suri, Samantha Shannon, Zoraida Cordova and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

Published in HB (£16.99) 25 July 2023 by Daphne Press. For more info see @Daphne_Press or @blackcrow_pr and to pre order go here

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born and raised in Venezuela, Gabriela Romero Lacruz now lives two-thousand miles from home, in the land of bayous and astronauts. She graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston, and after a stint in Oil and Gas, decided to dedicate herself to the arts. She writes young adult and adult fantasy stories set in places that remind her of home, so in her mind she’s never too far from the beaches and mountains of Venezuela. She also scratches that ChemE itch with a science fiction or two. She illustrates as The Moonborn.

THAT COVER (AGAIN)

Cover reveal - The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone

Exciting News!

I've got something a bit different today...  read on to see the cover of the thrilling new novel coming next year from Doug Johnstone via Orenda Books - The Space Between Us is which is out on 16 March 2023.

The Book

But I'm not going to show it to you straight away. Oh no. You need to find out a bit first. let me introduce Lennox, Ava and Heather.

Lennox is a troubled teenager with no family. Ava is eight months pregnant and fleeing her abusive husband. Heather is a grieving mother and cancer sufferer. They don’t know each other, but when a meteor streaks over Edinburgh, all three suffer instant, catastrophic strokes... 

...only to wake up the following day in hospital, miraculously recovered. 

When news reaches them of an octopus-like creature washed up on the shore near where the meteor came to earth, Lennox senses that some extra-terrestrial force is at play. With the help of Ava, Heather and a journalist, Ewan, he rescues the creature they call 'Sandy' and goes on the run. 

But they aren’t the only ones with an interest in the alien … close behind are Ava’s husband, the police and a government unit which wants to capture the creature, at all costs. And Sandy’s arrival may have implications beyond anything anyone could imagine…

The Author

And did I mention that this is by DOUG JOHNSTONE? 

Doug Johnstone is the author of fourteen previous novels, most recently Black Hearts (2022). The Big Chill (2020) was longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and three of his books, A Dark Matter (2020), Breakers (2019) and The Jump (2015), have been shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. 

He’s taught creative writing and been writer in residence at various institutions over the last decade, and has been an arts journalist for over twenty years. Doug is a songwriter and musician with six albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, a band of writers. He’s also co-founder of the Scotland Writers Football Club, and has a PhD in nuclear physics. 

The Space between Us is Doug’s first foray into science fiction. Follow Doug on Twitter @doug_johnstone and visit his website: dougjohnstone.com.

The City

As if all that isn't enough, it's set in EDINBURGH, a city I spent nearly eight years in when I was at University (it's complicated). Read Doug's novels and you'll walk the streets of Edinburgh, you really will...

But I sense you're getting impatient. Where is this cover then, Mr Blue Balloon, I hear you say. 

Well...

...wait...

...hang on...

...here it is!

I hope you agree that is just GORGEOUS. And that it does credit to what's described as a "breathless, adrenaline-soaked road trip anda meditation on communication, identity and connection to others and our environment … emotionally complex science fiction that sits alongside recent authors like Sue Burke, Tade Thompson, Nnedi Okorafor and Chris Beckett."

For more information about The Space Between Us, and to preorder a copy, see the Orenda Books website here.

Exciting news and cover reveal

Today I'm VERY excited to be able to share some brilliant news about a new book coming next year  (and to reveal the cover, but just hang on a moment first...)

Releasing in March 2023, Infinity Gate is a major new science fiction novel from M. R. Carey, author of the million-copy bestseller The Girl With All the Gifts. It’s the first book in a duology called the Pandominion, with the second book due to release in Spring 2024. 

Infinity Gate is a thrilling tale set in the multiverse - the story of humanity's expansion across millions of dimensions, and the AI technology that might see it all come to an end . . .

 

The Pandominion is a political and trading alliance of a million worlds - except that they're really just the one world, Earth, in many different realities. And when an AI threat arises that could destroy everything the Pandominion has built, they'll eradicate it by whatever means necessary, no matter the cost to human life.

 

Scientist Hadiz Tambuwal is looking for a solution to her own Earth's environmental collapse when she stumbles across the secret of inter-dimensional travel. It could save everyone on her dying planet, but now she's walked into the middle of a war on a scale she never dreamed of.

M. R. Carey said about the new novel: “I've always been into genre fusion. The Girl With All the Gifts was sci-fi horror, the Koli books post-apocalyptic sci-fi with a big splash of fantasy and so on. Infinity Gate is pure SF, and that switch of gears has been really energising for me. The core idea is that with the stars forever out of reach (because relativity) humanity goes sideways into other dimensions. There's an empire of a hundred thousand planets, but they're all Earth - the Earths of parallel universes where evolution took different turns. And when a scientist from our world stumbles across the edge of this empire, she triggers a whole chain of events that could save or doom every world there is. All that plus cyborg soldiers, a robot hive-mind and a sentient rabbit girl on the run from the empire's deadliest agents. It's a ton of fun.”

Orbit UK Publisher Anna Jackson said: “I already knew that Mike Carey was an unbelievably talented, versatile writer with a passionate fanbase, but this new duology really blew me away! It’s full to the brim with brilliant ideas and buzzing energy, with characters who grab hold of you and refuse to let go. It’s a total thrill-ride through the multiverse on an epic scale, and readers of space opera and high-concept SF are going to be hooked. We’re excited to reveal the cover today, from our very talented designer Nico Taylor. I love how it gets across this concept of alternate versions of Earth, and how it feels as epic and exciting as the book itself!’

And now for that cover!

Doesn't that look good? You can read more on the Orbit blog from 1pm ish today, Wednesday 12 October...

Cover Reveal - None by Robin Roughley

Coming to you with something a bit different today, I'm delighted to join in the cover reveal for new crime novel None by Robin Roughley, out next week (18th February) from Red Dragon Books.

Robin Roughley

About the author

Robin Roughley is the author of around forty novels, many featuring the force of nature that is DS Lasser, the laconic, sometimes world-weary sergeant who patrols the streets of Wigan in the north-west of England. He also writes in a number of genres, including hard bitten and cosy crime, plus comedy, with a supernatural romance thrown into the mix.

After working at several jobs, including paint maker, pie salesman (a job that anyone from Wigan has to have done at some point) to pallet maker and eventually truck driver, he decided to try his hand at writing a book and so the first Lasser adventure saw the light of day.

He has been a full-time self-published author since two-thousand and thirteen and still finds it hard to fathom how he has got here. When not tapping away at the keyboard, he likes to go for walks to solve plot problems and find new ways to bump people off.

About the book

Ruben is a successful salesman.

Roz hates her boring admin job.

Ruben owns his own home.

Roz still lives with her nasty mum and dad.

One is a serial killer, the other desperate to learn the trade.

When high-school misfits Ruben Jones and Roz Smith’s paths cross later in life, they see something in the other no one else has and they team up to form a friendship based on the one thing they have in common – murder.

And now... for the cover!

Simple, elegant and intriguing, I think.

For more more info, here are social media links for Robin:

Robin Roughley:

Twitter: @RobRoughley

Instagram: @ds_lasser

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robin.roughley

And for Red Dragon: 

Twitter: @RedDragonbooks / @ConradJones / @emmamitchellfpr

Instagram: @conradjones3 / @emitch101

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Reddragonpublishing.info

https://www.facebook.com/EDMCreatingPerfection

https://www.facebook.com/conradjonesauthorpage

Who's Afraid Too? by Maria Lewis: COVER REVEAL!

I really, really enjoyed Maria Lewis's debut, Who's Afraid so it's exciting to know that the sequel, Who's Afraid Too?, is on its way - and to take part in the cover reveal!

Book Two in the bestselling Tommi Grayson series is a gutsy, fur-flying, feminist read for fans of urban fantasy and strong heroines. If you love Darynda Jones, Keri Arthur, Kelley Armstrong or Harley Quinn, don't miss Maria Lewis!

After the sh*t show that was her family reunion, Tommi needed to get gone. Leaving Lorcan behind, she’s spent the last few weeks trying to understand her heritage - the one that comes with a side order of fur as well as her Maori history and how she can connect to it.

But she can only escape for so long - when an unspeakable evil, thought long destroyed, returns, Tommi needs every bit of the skills she's learned. With the help of allies both old and new, it’s time to take the fight to the enemy . . .