new release – Ashley B. Davis

So what’s my book about?

Well, it’s about magic, coming of age, family, and best friends finding love in a world that wants to tear them apart.

Since kissing his best friend and setting fire to their friendship, Apollo has been slumming it with the outliers of his magical community.

Jonah has determinedly not been thinking about his ex-best friend and the kiss they shared. But it’s impossible to forget said ex-best friend when he is also your Kindred.

Though their magic only stirs to life when they touch, Jonah and Apollo would be separated for the safety of the community if anyone found out they were Kindred.

When they uncover a plot targeting the orphaned members of their clan for experimentation, they must decide: Keep their secret and stay together or sacrifice their bond to save their clan?

It is my sincere hope that this magical book evokes best friend and first crush nostalgia against the backdrop of a neon-colored night, all tinged with the unsettling threat of an enemy that reminds you of how you felt watching Stranger Things for the first time.

Publishing this novel had been an idea marinating in my brain after a friend who read it asked if I wanted to write anything for a queer book box project she was working on. While out sick from work last year, I finally decided to take the plunge. Turns out having an additional eight hours free per day gives one time to think about all kinds of other facets of one’s life.

Given that the indie publishing track kind of goes hand-in-hand with building your own platform, I’ve decided to buy a domain after nearly two decades of supporting my writing habit with my day job. You can visit my website, and what will be my main home base, here. I will keep this old girl alive for now, but please bookmark my new internet home. If you’re feeling extra bold, sign up for my newsletter; I give subscribers access to the first 99 pages of my upcoming novel.

After reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, I’ve been thinking a lot about art. About supporting my art rather than asking it to support me. So instead of going into this with the expectation that this book will sell enough to one day hit the NY Times Bestseller list and Jimmy Fallon might want to talk to me (Who am I kidding? I could NEVER go on a talk show. Instead of fantasizing about interviews or awards ceremonies, I fantasize about how I’m going to duck out of them Cormac McCarthy style), I will focus on building the biodome for my book to fly in and hopefully land with someone.

But the process of creation is weird. You make yourself completely vulnerable by putting an entire novel carved from your heart into a public space, all with the fervent hope that it resonates with someone else. When people refer to the loneliness of any creative art, I don’t think they’re talking about the actual creating; sure, you are alone, but one is rarely lonely in the company of stories and art. I think people are actually referring to the years spent honing your craft, performing the admin that sucks up all your time to be creative, continuously looking at the creation from every angle until you’re sick of looking at it and then, still, sharpening it further, being the sole proponent of your work, screaming on a hill and hoping someone hears you while you spiral in a fomo-hazed depression, eating bag after bag of Tapatio Doritos while watching other authors find success. That’s the lonely part.

I’m currently in the thick of that part, in case you haven’t gathered that. Here’s the call to action, ya’ll. Indie authors usually don’t have the backing that publishing houses can provide, so people spreading the word is the #1 way our work can find its way into the hands of readers. This has all been done out of my love of what I do (read: my own pocket), so here I am, just a girl, standing in front of you, asking you to love me (and link bombing you).

Need to know more first?

(I feel like this could double as a personality test…)

So there’s the haps. Thank you to everyone reading–new followers, old followers, random lurkers–for following me on this journey. I hope you will meet me at my next stop.

Winter's Orbit | Raphael Corkhill | Macmillan

Winter’s Obrit | Everina Maxwell | Published by Tor | Date Released: 2/2/21

One match can light up an empire? No. One match can light up the desiccated husk of my soul after reading this.

Let’s see. What can I say about Winter’s Orbit? Well, it turns out…quite a bit.

I felt inexplicably drawn to this book. Could it have been the drop dead gorgeous cover? Or maybe the promise of a m/m royal marriage arrangement set in SPACE? Or perhaps the hint that the novel was heavier on the romance than the sci-fi–the latter of which I am an admittedly poor study. Regardless, I did dive in with some doubt that it would be for me. I am usually drawn to more character-driven fiction, while this synopsis promised political intrigue at every turn (and boy did it deliver). But it delivered the political machinery in such a way that made it engaging for even the likes of me.

So what’s this gorgeous piece of space romance and interplanetary politics about?

Let’s turn it over to Goodreads, because I am abysmally bad at synopses:

While the Iskat Empire has long dominated the system through treaties and political alliances, several planets, including Thea, have begun to chafe under Iskat’s rule. When tragedy befalls Imperial Prince Taam, his Thean widower, Jainan, is rushed into an arranged marriage with Taam’s cousin, the disreputable Kiem, in a bid to keep the rising hostilities between the two worlds under control.

But when it comes to light that Prince Taam’s death may not have been an accident, and that Jainan himself may be a suspect, the unlikely pair must overcome their misgivings and learn to trust one another as they navigate the perils of the Iskat court, try to solve a murder, and prevent an interplanetary war… all while dealing with their growing feelings for each other.

When I realized I could get my mitts on this new release with my Audible credit, excitement mounted. I began my listening for a quick diversion while doing other things, doubtful that I could become as emotionally invested in a sci-fi novel as I am in my usual genre haunts.

“Well, someone has to marry the man.”

…is how this lovely courtship begins. What I mean, is my courtship with this book. At first I was intimidated by the erudite British accent of the narrator, Raphael Corkhill, but was quickly won over by his talent at depicting the counterpoint of Kiem’s goofy charm to Jainan’s stoic practicality, and the dynamic between these two against the tense political landscape. Given that I am not a reader of much sci-fi, the last being The Need—does that count as sci-fi?—and before that, Annihilation (both excellent), I adored that the tech was so seamlessly integrated without clunky, overwhelming explanations, but rather just enough to pique my interest.

The plot deliciously gains traction the deeper in you get. I cannot help but be intimidated by multi-threaded plots of political intrigue like this (see also my review on Six of Crows in a discussion of e-books vs books), but it is truly a testament to Maxwell’s storytelling savvy that I was able to follow along just fine and quite enjoy the ride. Maxwell’s prose was clean and elegant, with incisive metaphor and simile, blessedly void of the overly wrought exposition I feared going into this genre. Bonus: the novel demonstrated pitch perfect use of gender pronouns for the story with the lovely and logical freedom of beings in Maxwell’s universe to choose their expression via glass (nonbinary), wood (male), or flint (female) ornaments.

Things Winter’s Orbit delivers via gut punch after gut punch: tension, layered plot, psychological acuity, as shown in Kiem’s growth from the self-depreciating charismatic reformed party boy royal and Jainan’s struggle with being cut off from his clan and planet as the Thean diplomat, not to mention–well, rather than spoil anything for you, let me just leave you with this juicy morsel:

“Pain had its uses, Jainan thought. It put things in perspective. There was something clean about the way it cut through the emotional tangles and reminded you that things could be worse.”

But the main winning aspect in a cornucopia of bliss is the tentative, budding romance between Kiem and Jainan, rife with all the fanfic tropes you’re dying for–bed sharing, arranged marriage, misunderstanding–executed so beautifully and so naturally. Remember that strangers-to-friends-to-lovers I said I was expecting with Boyfriend Material in my last post? Winter’s Orbit was exactly this. This book gives an entire new perspective to the slow burn trope. These two orbit one another, learning each other’s nuances so gradually, it is like watching two people realize that by a fortuitous turn of events, they have been married to the exact person made just for them. I was moved to tears at one point just by this unfurling romance, like a flower opening at the first lick of the sun’s warmth (I was also 2 glasses of wine in by that time, but the point stands).

Regarding the format in which I consumed this

I feel that there is a big difference between experiencing a book on audio versus reading it. Some books present better in audio format, for me at least. I have no idea if this is one of those books, because audio is the only way I’ve experienced it and want to re-experience it in the future. It must be said here that the Corkhill did such a brilliant job of portraying both Kiem and Jainan, their distinct voices were sounding in my head with crystalline clarity for days after I finished the novel. Also, audio books are versatile. You can listen to this book: in bed, working out, at work, in the car, while doing mindless tasks, while imbibing, while staring into the middle distance, wondering how you got to this place in your life where you wished you had a therapist just so you could talk about all the Feelings this book awoke in the cobwebbed annals of your heart…

Verdict?

If you’ve been sitting on an Audible credit, I say make it rain on Winter’s Orbit.

Tag: new release

New Website, Debut Novel, and the Loneliness of Creating