First things first: we’ve got a cover! Behold, the beautiful face of The Haunting of Avis Lovelock! The artist is Black Sheep Design and we think he did a spectacular job.
THE HAUNTING OF AVIS LOVELOCK is a sapphic supernatural mystery headed by professional sceptic Avis Lovelock. The novel is a journey into the turn of the 20th century, when Spiritualism was a vaudeville source of entertainment for some and a life-ruining horror for others. It melds the shipboard sapphic romance of A RESTLESS TRUTH with the historically rooted richness of THE LONDON SÉANCE SOCIETY, following Avis on assignment on the ocean liner Excambion as she becomes entangled in her own haunted past and swept up by the compelling Spiritualist Rachel Duquesne. With elements of both humour and horror, it takes a sapphic Sherlock Holmes and forces her to confront the most terrifying thing of all: emotional vulnerability.
She’ll be out on August 27th in paperback (!!) and is available to pre-order where all good books are sold.
Honestly, so excited for this book to be out in the world. Avis was an extremely fun character to write, and we had a great time trying to weave spooks and sapphic yearning into a satisfying mystery plot. Our blurbers seem to be enjoying it…
Unique and compelling - MK Hardy's indomitably funny protagonist brings us on a journey of ghosts, rationalism, ocean mysteries and the pleasures of scandalising high society.
Stay tuned for more info on launch events, pre-order treats, and ARCs…
And remember that The Needfire comes out in paperback on May 7th! If you, like us, love a nice soft paperback to rub your cheek against you’ll be able to get one soon.
Speaking of The Needfire
We were shocked and honoured to see it included on Locus Magazine’s Recommended Reading list for 2025! This is entirely down to Liz Bourke’s review from last September. Major thanks to all the reviewers out there who give their time and energy to seeing our books and engaging with them on such a thoughtful and kind level.
Where are we?
Here’s where you can see us in the coming months!
Eastercon: 3-6 April; Birmingham. M will be on some panels, E will be in the bar
Event Horizon: 23 April; Dundee. We will be MCing a great lineup of talent!
Cymera Festival: 5-7 June; Edinburgh. Obviously we’ll be there!
Event with Heba Al-Wasity, author of Weavingshaw: 24 June, Edinburgh Princes Street Waterstones. Super keen to read Weavingshaw, I’ve heard great things.
There’s more coming up in July and beyond but we’ll save that for another newsletter.
What we’ve been reading
The Night Hag by Hester Musson - we had a great event with Hester at Ink & Quill not too long ago, and it was a treat to read her newest historical mystery with a distinct gothic edge to it.
I, in the Shadows by Tori Bovalino - we had another great event with Tori in Glasgow and her Cyrano de Bergerac-inspired YA was a spooky and poignant read.
The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh - no event associated with this one (though Louise - call us!!!) but we really loved her first novel The Cutting Room, which captures the details of its Glasgow setting with perfect clarity.
These Familiar Walls by CJ Dotson - have you read CJ’s first book The Cut yet? If no, why not! With These Familiar Walls she’s brought us another twisty horror, with ghosts, secrets, and a lingering sense of dread that’ll stay with you after reading. Out soon!!
Atomic Coffin by Benedict Anning - an eerie Cold War horror set on a submarine - need I say anything else!! This is a fantastic read and I can wait to host Ben’s launch in July!!
Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist - read this to blurb and really enjoyed it - Folkloric and warped, it throws us into a claustrophobic domestic horror of the nastiest order with an unreliable narrator you can't help but root for.
The Wives of Herrick Hall by Julie Lew - another blurb read that I devoured - The Gothic lives or dies on its settings and its heroines, and in The Wives of Herrick Hall Julie Lew has nailed both. Herrick Hall is a character in itself, bristling with menace and long-held secrets, and Josephine, Nora, and the ghostly wives are its worthy foils, harbouring compelling ambitions and desires of their own.
Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke - such a good conceit with lots of weirdness and a surprisingly sweet core.
Okay that’s all for now, byeeeee friends x
