The Qwillery

2022 Debut Author Challenge - February 2022 Debuts

2022-02-01T09:07:00.006-05:00

There are 10 debuts for February 2022.

Please note that we use the publisher's publication date in the United States, not copyright dates or non-US publication dates.

The February debut authors and their novels are listed in alphabetical order by author (not book title or publication date). Take a good look at the covers. Voting for your favorite February cover for the 2022 Debut Author Challenge Cover Wars will take place starting in the latter half of February.

Fernando Crôtte

Mission 51
Inkshares, February 15, 2022
Trade Paperback and eBook, 436 pages

Fifty previous Torkiyan missions were obliterated in space, but new technology gives Mission 51 a better chance to reach the legendary planet Cerulea—also known as planet Earth.

Zeemat, a peaceful Torkiyan who’d rather hold a paintbrush than a weapon, has been assigned to his planet’s fifty-first mission against his own will. After suffering a catastrophic journey, Zeemat’s spacecraft crashes in what becomes known as Area 51. Taken captive by a rather brutal cohort of FBI agents, he finds a friend only in his gentle and kind translator, Dr. Linda Deltare. As the FBI torture grows increasingly merciless, Zeemat must find a way to escape his holding cell or perish, never to see the outside world he traveled so far to see.

In his quest for freedom and happiness, Zeemat must learn to survive in a strange new land and fight against militant forces from both his native and adopted planets.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's

Scott Drakeford

Rise of the Mages
The Age of Ire 1
Tor Books, February 8, 2022
Hardcover and eBook, 400 pages

Scott Drakeford's epic fantasy debut, Rise of the Mages combines gripping, personal vengeance with compelling characters for an action packed first book in a trilogy.

Emrael Ire wants nothing more than to test to be a weapons master. His final exam will be a bloody insurrection, staged by corrupt nobles and priests, that enslaves his brother.

With the aid of his War Master tutor, herself an undercover mage, Emrael discovers his own latent and powerful talents.

To rescue his brother, Emrael must embrace not only his abilities as a warrior but also his place as last of the ancient Mage Kings—for the Fallen God has returned.

And he is hungry.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's
Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Jennifer Fawcett

Beneath the Stairs
Atria Books, February 22, 2022
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

“An enthralling debut by a gifted storyteller!” —Wendy Walker, author of Don’t Look for Me

In this spine-tingling, atmospheric debut for fans of Jennifer McMahon, Simone St. James, and Chris Bohjalian, a woman returns to her hometown after her childhood friend attempts suicide at a local haunted house—the same place where a traumatic incident shattered their lives twenty years ago.

Few in sleepy Sumner’s Mills have stumbled across the Octagon House hidden deep in the woods. Even fewer are brave enough to trespass. A man had killed his wife and two young daughters there, a shocking, gruesome crime that the sleepy upstate New York town tried to bury. One summer night, an emboldened fourteen-year-old Clare and her best friend, Abby, ventured into the Octagon House. Clare came out, but a piece of Abby never did.

Twenty years later, an adult Clare receives word that Abby has attempted suicide at the Octagon House and now lies in a coma. With little to lose and still grieving after a personal tragedy, Clare returns to her roots to uncover the darkness responsible for Abby’s accident.

An eerie page-turner, Beneath the Stairs is about the trauma that follows us from childhood to adulthood and returning to the beginning to reach the end.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's
Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Gretchen Felker-Martin

Manhunt
Tor Nightfire, February 22, 2022
Trade Paperback and eBook, 304 pages

STARRED Reviews in Library Journal and Booklist!
A Most-Anticipated Title in CrimeReads, BookRiot, Tor.com, Electric Lit, and more.
Featured in Autostraddle, Apartment Therapy, Goodreads, and more.

Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt is an explosive post-apocalyptic novel that follows trans women and men on a grotesque journey of survival.

“A modern horror masterpiece.” —Carmen Maria Machado, bestselling author of In the Dream House

“Keeps up a relentless velocity while just being plain fun as hell.”—Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby

“Timely and necessary, this is extreme horror that says something. Listen to it.”—Gabino Iglesias, author of Coyote Songs

Beth and Fran spend their days traveling the ravaged New England coast, hunting feral men and harvesting their organs in a gruesome effort to ensure they'll never face the same fate.

Robbie lives by his gun and one hard-learned motto: other people aren't safe.

After a brutal accident entwines the three of them, this found family of survivors must navigate murderous TERFs, a sociopathic billionaire bunker brat, and awkward relationship dynamics—all while outrunning packs of feral men, and their own demons.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's
Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Sasha Fletcher

Be Here to Love Me at the End of the World
Melville House, February 15, 2022
Trade Paperback and eBook, 272 pages

A love story set in a bad dream about America, concerning permanent debt, secret police, making dinner, and unpaid invoices—right up until the end of the world.

It’s Brooklyn. It’s winter. It’s so cold outside you could execute billionaires in the street about it. Sam lives with Eleanor and they are in love. He has three or four outstanding invoices that would each cover rent for a month. At some point, the President is going to make some absolutely wild announcements that will only end in doom.

In a surreal, funny, and heart-breaking version of reality, Sasha Fletcher’s highly anticipated first novel occupies that rare register that manages to speak to an increasingly incomprehensible world.

Through scenes that poetically transform the mundane into the sublime and the absurd into the tragic, Be Here to Love Me at the End of the World is about the exquisite beauty of being in love in a world that is falling apart.

Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's
Google Play : Kobo

Sara Goudarzi

The Almond in the Apricot
Deep Vellum Publishing, February 15, 2022
Hardcover and eBook, 252 pages

Emma had the perfect trifecta: a long-term job as an engineer designing sewers; a steady relationship with her reliable boyfriend; and an adoring and creative best friend (about whom she wasn’t quite ready to admit her unrequited feelings). Then early one morning, a phone call changed her world forever.

Now she’s having nightmares that threaten to disrupt the space-time continuum –– nightmares of hiding from bombs in basements, of glass shattering from nearby explosions. But these disturbing dreams, in which she inhabits the body of a young girl named Lily, seem all too real, and Emma’s waking life begins to be affected by the events that transpire in this mysterious wartime landscape. Convinced she has been given a chance to save a life, Emma tries to rescue Lily from heartache, but ultimately it is through Lily that Emma finds her way back.

The Almond in the Apricot navigates connections formed across space and time and explores love, grief, and the possibility that the universe might be bigger than either Emma or Lily ever imagined.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's
Google Play : Kobo

Emme Lund

The Boy with a Bird in His Chest
Atria Books, February 15, 2022
Hardcover and eBook, 320 pages

“A modern coming-of-age full of love, desperation, heartache, and magic” (Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize–winning author) about “the ways in which family, grief, love, queerness, and vulnerability all intersect” (Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author). Perfect for fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Thirty Names of Night.

Though Owen Tanner has never met anyone else who has a chatty bird in their chest, medical forums would call him a Terror. From the moment Gail emerged between Owen’s ribs, his mother knew that she had to hide him away from the world. After a decade spent in hiding, Owen takes a brazen trip outdoors in the middle of a forest fire, and his life is upended forever.

Suddenly, Owen is forced to flee the home that had once felt so confining and hide in plain sight with his uncle and cousin in Washington. There, he feels the joy of finding a family among friends; of sharing the bird in his chest and being embraced fully; of falling in love and feeling the devastating heartbreak of rejection before finding a spark of happiness in the most unexpected place; of living his truth regardless of how hard the thieves of joy may try to tear him down. But the threat of the Army of Acronyms is a constant, looming presence, making Owen wonder if he’ll ever find a way out of the cycle of fear.

A heartbreaking yet hopeful novel about the things that make us unique and lovable, The Boy with a Bird in His Chest grapples with the fear, depression, and feelings of isolation that come with believing that we will never be loved, let alone accepted, for who we truly are, and learning to live fully and openly regardless.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's
Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Ciel Pierlot

Bluebird
Angry Robot, February 8, 2022
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

Lesbian gunslinger fights spies in space!

Three factions vie for control of the galaxy. Rig, a gunslinging, thieving, rebel with a cause, doesn’t give a damn about them and she hasn’t looked back since abandoning them three years ago.

That is, until her former faction sends her a message: return what she stole from them, or her twin sister will die.

Rig embarks on a journey across the galaxy to save her – but for once she’s not alone. She has help from her network of resistance contacts, her taser-wielding librarian girlfriend, and a mysterious bounty hunter.

If Rig fails, trillions of lives will be lost – including her sister’s. But if she succeeds, she might just pull the whole damn system down around their ears. Either way, she’s going to do it with Panache and Pizzazz.

File Under: Science Fiction [ Independent Women | Robbing Hood | Keep Your Enemies Close | Guns Don’t Kill People ]

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's
Google Play : Kobo

Rebecca Ross

A River Enchanted
Elements of Cadence 1
Harper Voyager, February 15, 2022
Hardcover and eBook, 480 pages

“With lush world building and lyrical prose, A River Enchanted feels like the echo of a folktale from a world right next to our own.” —Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

House of Earth and Blood meets The Witch's Heart in Rebecca Ross’s brilliant first adult fantasy, set on the magical isle of Cadence where two childhood enemies must team up to discover why girls are going missing from their clan.

Jack Tamerlaine hasn’t stepped foot on Cadence in ten long years, content to study music at the mainland university. But when young girls start disappearing from the isle, Jack is summoned home to help find them. Enchantments run deep on Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind, plaid shawls can be as strong as armor, and the smallest cut of a knife can instill fathomless fear. The capricious spirits that rule the isle by fire, water, earth, and wind find mirth in the lives of the humans who call the land home. Adaira, heiress of the east and Jack’s childhood enemy, knows the spirits only answer to a bard’s music, and she hopes Jack can draw them forth by song, enticing them to return the missing girls.

As Jack and Adaira reluctantly work together, they find they make better allies than rivals as their partnership turns into something more. But with each passing song, it becomes apparent the trouble with the spirits is far more sinister than they first expected, and an older, darker secret about Cadence lurks beneath the surface, threatening to undo them all.

With unforgettable characters, a fast-paced plot, and compelling world building, A River Enchanted is a stirring story of duty, love, and the power of true partnership, and marks Rebecca Ross’s brilliant entry on the adult fantasy stage.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's
Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Richard Swan

The Justice of Kings
Empire of the Wolf 1
Orbit, February 22, 2022
Hardcover and eBook, 432 pages

From a major new debut author in epic fantasy comes the first book in a trilogy where action, intrigue, and magic collide. The Justice of Kings introduces an unforgettable protagonist destined to become a fantasy icon: Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an Emperor’s Justice, who is a detective, judge, and executioner all in one. But these are dangerous times to be a Justice….

“A fantastic debut.” – Peter McLean, author of Priest of Bones

The Empire of the Wolf simmers with unrest. Rebels, heretics, and powerful patricians all challenge the power of the Imperial throne.

Only the Order of Justices stands in the way of chaos. Sir Konrad Vonvalt is the most feared Justice of all, upholding the law by way of his sharp mind, arcane powers, and skill as a swordsman. At his side stands Helena Sedanka, his talented protégé, orphaned by the wars that forged the Empire.

When the pair investigates the murder of a provincial aristocrat, they unearth a conspiracy that stretches to the very top of Imperial society. As the stakes rise and become ever more personal, Vonvalt and Helena must make a choice: Will they abandon the laws they’ve sworn to uphold, in order to protect the Empire?

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's
Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

February 2022 Releases

2022-02-01T09:06:00.000-05:00

Here is The Qwillery's list of novels, etc. being published in February 2022. If there is something that we've missed, please leave a comment below. Any genre mistakes are ours. Leave a comment below if you feel that the genre is wrong. Also note that this list is always under revision. Publication dates change. We try to keep this as accurate as possible. Please note that we use the publisher's publication date in the US. Check The View From Monday each week for each week's updated release list.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

February 1, 2022

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Gun Runner (h2mm)	Larry Correia John D. Brown	SF
The Violence	Delilah S. Dawson	Dys
Base Notes	Lara Elena Donnelly	Th
A Lullaby for Witches	Hester Fox	GH/Gothic
Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century	Kim Fu	SS
Redwood and Wildfire	Andrea Hairston	HistF/Gaslamp/FR
Azura Ghost	Essa Hansen	SF/AC/GenEng/SE/SO
String Follow	Simon Jacobs	Sus/H/Occ/Sup
Liaden Universe Constellation V	Sharon Lee Steve Miller	SF/SO - Liaden Universe®
Library of the Sapphire Wind	Jane Lindskold	F - Over Where
Hunt the Stars	Jessie Mihalik	SF/SO - Startlight's Shadow 1
The Blade Between (h2tp)	Sam J. Miller	H
Magpie's Song (e)	Allison Pang	SP - IronHeart Chronicles 1
The Employees	Olga Ravn Martin Aitken (Tr)	SF/LF
Wildwood Whispers (h2tp)	Willa Reece	W/CF/Southern
Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris	Anne Rice Christopher Rice	Gothic/H
The Raven Spell: A Novel	Luanne G. Smith	A Conspiracy of Magic 1
The Sharp End of the Rainbow	Madeleine Swann	H/Occ
A Call to Insurrection	David Weber Timoth Zahn Thomas Pope	SF/SO - Manticore Ascendant 4

February 4, 2022

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Fantastic Cities: American Urban Spaces in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror	Stefan Rabitsch (Ed) Michael Fuchs (Ed) Stefan L. Brandt (Ed)	PopCul/Media Studies/LC/SF/F/H/Sup

February 8, 2022

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Dead Silence	S.A. Barnes	H/SF
Clean Air	Sarah Blake	Dys/Nature/SF/AP/PA
Stan Lee's The Devil's Quintet: The Armageddon Code: A Thriller	Jay Bonansinga Stan Lee (Contributor)	SF/SupTh/SH - Stan Lee's The Devil's Quintet 1
The Night (e)	Rodrigo Blanco Calderon Daniel Hahn (Tr) Noel Hernández (Tr)	MR
The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Six	Neil Clarke (Ed)	SF - Anthology
Hovering	Dorothy-Jane Daniels	DF - Luna Novella 7
Rise of the Mages (D)	Scott Drakeford	EF - The Age of Ire 1
Palestine +100: Stories from a Century after the Nakba	Basma Ghalayini (Ed)	LF/SF/AP/PA - Anthology
The Book of the Most Precious Substance	Sara Gran	Occ/SupTh
The Queen Of The High Fields	Rhiannon A Grist	Folk DF - Luna Novella 12
Palace of the Peacock	Wilson Harris	Classics/VisM/MR - Faber Editions
The Guyana Quartet	Wilson Harris	Classics/VisM/MR
Autonomy	Victoria Hetherington	Dys/Fem/Psy/SF/AP/PA
The Chancels of Mainz	Russell Hemmell	Historical Horror - Luna Novella 8
Echo	Thomas Olde Heuvelt	H/DF
The Moment You Remember, You Forget	Tiffany Jimenez	MR - Luna Novella 9
And Then She Vanished (h2tp)	Nick Jones	SF/TT
The Absolute Book	Elizabeth Knox	EF/CF/LF
Luca	Or Luca	MR - Luna Novella 11
A Remedy In Time	Jennifer Macaire	SF/TT/HistF/Hist - Tempus U Time Travel
A Desolation Called Peace (h2tp)	Arkady Martine	SF/SO - Teixcalaan 2
The Atmospherians (h2tp)	Alex McElroy	LF
Rabbits (h2tp)	Terry Miles	SF/TechTh/SupTh
36 Streets	T.R. Napper	CyP
Jawbone	Mónica Ojeda Sarah Booker (Tr)	LF/H/W/Psy
A Face In The Leaves	Nina Oram	Folk DF - Luna Novella 8
Bluebird (D)	Ciel Pierlot	SF/HU
The Wolf and the Woodsman (h2tp)	Ava Reid	EF
Sword & Planet	Christopher Rucchio (Ed)	SF - Anthology
The Shipshape Miracle: And Other Stories	Clifford D. Simak	SF/SS - Complete Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak 10
Earth for Inspiration: And Other Stories	Clifford D. Simak	SF/SS - Complete Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak 9
A Cat on the Case (h2tp)	Clea Simon	PCM - A Witch Cats of Cambridge Mystery
Transgressions of Power (h2tp)	Juliette Wade	SF/AP/PA - The Broken Trust 2
The Quickening	Rhiannon Ward	Gothic/HistTh/GH

February 15, 2022

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, Volume 2	Ryan Cagle (Ed)	H - Anthology
Pariah (h2tp)	Dan Abnett	SF - Warhammer 40,000
Age of Ash	Daniel Abraham	EF/DF - The Kithamar Trilogy 1
Fated Blades	Ilona Andrews	SFR/FR/SF
Mickey7	Edward Ashton	SF/P/PA - Mickey7 1
The Unfinished Land (h2tp)	Greg Bear	HistF
The Lake of the Dead	André Bjerke James D. Jenkins (Tr)	H
Where I Can't Follow	Ashley Blooms	Southern/LF/MR
Inscape	Louise Carey	Dys/TechTh/SF - Inscape 1
Dark Breakers	C. S. E. Cooney	FairyT/FokT/F/HistF - Collection
Mission 51 (D)	Fernando Crôtte	SF/AC
Be Here to Love Me at the End of the World (D)	Sasha Fletcher	AB
The Almond in the Apricot (D)	Sara Goudarzi	LF
Mage's Blood (ri)	David Hair	EF - Moontide Quartet 1
Gitslayer	Darius Hinks	F - Warhammer: Age of Sigmar
Instinct (h2tp)	Jason M. Hough	Sus
Moon Witch, Spider King	Marlon James	HistF - Dark Star Trilogy 2
Blood Work	Jeff Johnston	Occ
The Thousand Eyes	A. K. Larkwood	EF - Serpent Gates 2
Amid the Crowd of Stars (h2tp)	Stephen Leigh	SF/SE/AC
The Boy with a Bird in His Chest (D)	Emme Lund	MR
The Last Wild Horses	Maja Lunde Diane Oatley (Tr)	LF
House of Sky and Breath	Sarah J. Maas	FR/EF/SF/AP/PA P/UF - Crescent City 2
Elric of Melniboné (ri)	Michael Moorcock	EF - The Elric Saga 1
The Great Witch of Brittany	Louisa Morgan	HistF/W/MR/FR
Outlawed (h2tp)	Anna North	W/Westerns/AH
Astonishing the Gods (e)	Ben Okri	LM/MR/LF
Diablo Mesa	Douglas Preston Lincoln Child	PP/Occ/Sup/Sus
Barnabas, Quentin and the Hidden Tomb	Marilyn Ross	Gothic/H - Dark Shadows the Complete Paperback Library Reprint Book 31
A River Enchanted (D- Adult)	Rebecca Ross	DF - Elements of Cadence 1
Dawnshard	Brandon Sanderson	EF - The Stormlight Archive 5
Gothghul Hollow	Anna Stephens	Gothic
Lord Quillifer	Walter Jon Williams	EF - Quillifer

February 27, 2022

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Arab and Muslim Science Fiction: Critical Essays	Emad El-Din Aysha (Ed)	LC - Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy 74

February 22, 2022

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Queen's Weapons (h2mm)	Anne Bishop	DF/FR - Black Jewels 11
Wild Sign (h2mm)	Patricia Briggs	FR/UF - Alpha and Omega 6
Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road	Kyle Buchanan	PerfArts
The Jupiter Knife	D.J. Butler Aaron Michael Ritchey	UF
Horror Book	Thom Carnell	H - Collection
The Black Company (ri)	Glen Cook	F/EF/DF - Chronicles of The Black Company 1
The House of Cats and Gulls	Stephen Deas	F/HU - Dominion 2
Beneath the Stairs (D)	Jennifer Fawcett	H
Manhunt (D)	Gretchen Felker-Martin	H/SF/AP/PA/Transgender
Dead Collections	Isaac Fellman	Transgender/LF
The Andromeda's Captain	Becca Fox	SF - The Andromeda Chronicles 2
Master of the Revels (h2tp)	Nicole Galland	SF/TT - A Return to Neal Stephenson's D.O.D.O.
At the End of the Journey (h2mm)	Charles E. Gannon	SF/AP/PA - Black Tide Rising 9
Raw Shark Texts	Steven Hall	M/LF/SF - Canons
The Paradox Hotel	Rob Hart	M/TT
Blood and Whispers (tp2mm)	A.C. Haskins	UF
The Library of the Dead (h2tp)	T. L. Huchu	P/GH/CF - Edinburgh Nights 1
Fairhaven Rising (h2mm)	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	EF - Recluce 22
Lycanthia (e)	Tanith Lee	Gothic
Scorpica	G.R. Macallister	EF - The Five Queendoms 1
The Misfit Soldier	Michael Mammay	SF
A Face at the Window (ri)	Dennis McFarland	P/LF
The Symmetry of Stars	Alex Myers	F/Arthurian/Transgender/FairyT/FolkT/LM/HistF
A History of What Comes Next (h2tp)	Sylvain Neuvel	SF/AC - Take Them to the Stars 1
The Book of Lost Saints (h2tp)	Daniel José Older	Hispanic & Latino/MR/FL
Sisters of the Forsaken Stars	Lina Rather	SF/SO - Our Lady of Endless Worlds 2
Sword and Shadow	Michelle Sagara	EF - The Wolves of Elantra 2
Last Guard (h2mm)	Nalini Singh	PNR/SFR/P - Psy-Changeling Trinity 5
The Warlock in Spite of Himself (ri)	Christopher Stasheff	SF/AC
The Lost Village (h2tp)	Camilla Sten Alexandra Fleming (Tr)	Sus/H
The Justice of Kings (D)	Richard Swan	EF/DF - Empire of the Wolf 1
Spontaneous Human Combustion	Richard Thomas	SS/LF/H - Collection
Inheritors of Power	Juliette Wade	SF/AP/PA - The Broken Trust 3
Greater Good	Timothy Zahn	SF/SO/MTI - Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy Trilogy 2

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
Illus - Illustrator
Ke - Kindle eBook
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator

AB - Absurdist
AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternative History
AP - Apocalyptic
BHU - Black Humor
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CM - Crime & Mystery
CoA - Coming of Age
CrM - Crime and Mystery
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - CyberPunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
EF - Epic Fantasy
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GothicR - Gothic Romance
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistM - Historical Mystery
HistR - Historical Romance
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humorous
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
Med - Medical
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
MU - Mash-Up
NF - Near Future
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PF - Paranormal Fantasy
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PolTh - Political Thriller
PopCul - Popular Culture
PP - Police Porcedural
Psy - Psychological
R - Romance
RF - Romantic Fantasy
ScF - Science Fantasy
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SFTh - Science Fiction Thriller
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
SS - Short Stories
STR - Small Town and Rural
Sup - Supernatural
SupM - Supernatural Mystery
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
TTR - Time Travel Romance
UF - Urban Fantasy
VM - Visionary and Metaphysical
W - Women
WS - Women Sleuths

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

The View From Monday - September 20, 2021

2021-09-20T06:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Monday! There are 3 debuts this week:

Gutter Mage by J. S. Kelley

The Witchfinder (The Deiparian Saga 1) by J. Todd Kingrea;

and

The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel.

Clicking on a novel's cover will take you to its Amazon page.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

September 21, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Purgatory's Shore	Taylor Anderson	SF/AH - Artillerymen 1
Born to the Dark	Ramsey Campbell	H - The Three Births of Daoloth
Leviathan Wakes: 10th Anniversary Edition	James S. A. Corey	SF/SO/SE - Expanse 1
The Poison Throne	Walker Dryden	HistF
Dune: The Lady of Caladan	Brian Herbert Kevin J. Anderson	SF/SO - Caladan Trilogy 2
HEX (ri)	Thomas Olde Heuvelt	H/Th/SF
The Moon, the Stars, and Madame Burova (ri)	Ruth Hogan	W
Quantum Shadows (h2tp)	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	SF
Gutter Mage (D)	J.S. Kelley	F
Under the Whispering Door	TJ Klune	CF/HU
In the Name of the Otherworld (e)	Hermione Lee	F
The Body Scout (D)	Lincoln Michel	SF/CyP/Cr
The Last Crucible	J.D. Moyer	SF/AP/PA - Reclaimed Earth 3
Harrow the Ninth (h2tp)	Tamsyn Muir	SF/SO/F - Locked Tomb Trilogy 2
Stolen Earth	J.T. Nicholas	SF/GenEng
Strange Tales from Japan	Keisuke Nishimoto William Scott Wilson (Tr)	GH/FairyT/FolkT/LM/H/Classics
The Book of Form and Emptiness	Ruth Ozeki	LF/CoA/MR
The Escapement	Lavie Tidhar	F/LF
Awake	Harald Voetmann Johanne Sorgenfri Ottosen (Tr)	AB
The Tensorate Series: The Black Tides of Heaven, The Red Threads of Fortune, The Descent of Monsters, The Ascent to Godhood	Neon Yang	F - The Tensorate Series

September 23, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Witchfinder (D)	J. Todd Kingrea	Dys/PA - The Deiparian Saga 1

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
Illus - Illustrator
Ke - Kindle eBook
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator

AB - Absurdist
AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternative History
AP - Apocalyptic
BHU - Black Humor
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CM - Crime & Mystery
CoA - Coming of Age
CrM - Crime and Mystery
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - CyberPunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GothicR - Gothic Romance
GW&CC - Global Warming and Climate Change
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistM - Historical Mystery
HistR - Historical Romance
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humorous
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
Med - Medical
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
MU - Mash-Up
NF - Near Future
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PF - Paranormal Fantasy
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PolTh - Political Thriller
PopCul - Popular Culture
PP - Police Porcedural
Psy - Psychological
R - Romance
RF - Romantic Fantasy
ScF - Science Fantasy
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SFTh - Science Fiction Thriller
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
SS - Short Stories
STR - Small Town and Rural
Sup - Supernatural
SupM - Supernatural Mystery
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
TTR - Time Travel Romance
UF - Urban Fantasy
VM - Visionary and Metaphysical
WS - Women Sleuths

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

2021 Debut Author Challenge Cover Wars - September 2021 Debuts

2021-09-15T18:18:00.000-04:00

Each month you will be able to vote for your favorite cover from that month's debut novels. At the beginning of 2022 the 12 monthly winners will be pitted against each other to choose the 2021 Debut Novel Cover of the Year. Please note that a debut novel cover is eligible in the month in which the novel is published in the US. Cover artist/illustrator/designer information is provided when we have it.

I'm using PollCode for this vote. After you the check the circle next to your favorite, click "Vote" to record your vote. If you'd like to see the real-time results click "View". This will take you to the PollCode site where you may see the results. If you want to come back to The Qwillery click "Back" and you will return to this page. Voting will end sometime on September 30, 2021, unless the vote is extended. If the vote is extended the ending date will be updated.

Cover art by Ashe Samuels
Cover design by Samira Iravani

Jacket design by Lauren Panepinto
Cover images by Shutterstock
Cover copyright © 2021 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Cover design by Mark Ecob

Cover art by Sasha Vinogradova
Design by Christine Foltzer

Covers Revealed - Upcoming Novels by DAC Authors

2021-09-14T07:00:00.001-04:00

Here are some of the upcoming novels by formerly featured Debut Author Challenge (DAC) Authors. The year in parentheses is the year the author was featured in the DAC.

Jonathan French (2018)

The Free Bastards
The Lot Lands 3
Del Rey, September 28, 2021
Hardcover and eBook, 560 pages

The long-awaited war has come in the sweeping conclusion to the Lot Lands trilogy—another irresistibly swashbuckling, swaggering, foul-mouthed fantasy from the author of The Grey Bastards (“Nonstop action, though not for faint hearts.”—The Wall Street Journal).

War has come to the Lot Lands—and Oats stands upon the frontline.

The Hisparthan armies on the horizon are mighty, bolstered by divine champions, dread sorcerers, and gunpowder. It’s almost more than the half-orc rebellion can hope to repel.

But Oats has won impossible fights before. He’s a thriceblood, after all, more orc than man. And he hasn’t forgotten how to kill. He’ll stack the bodies high for his chief and his brethren, if that’s the price of freeing the Lots from human tyranny.

Besides, the invading forces are getting a damned sight more than they bargained for. They’re not facing a handful of half-orc hoofs, but a true army—one forged from all the peoples of the Lots. At its head are Fetching, in full command of the ruinous power that runs through her veins, and Jackal, armed with the blessings of a dead god.

Yet Oats can’t help but find his faith wavering. Once the strongest Bastard, he soon realizes that in this battle, even the strength of a thriceblood is easily conquered. And after a grievous loss strikes, he begins to fear that this war will lead the Lots not to freedom but to ruin.

So when another path to peace beckons, he has no choice but to walk it. Even if it means betting the Lots’ fate, and his own, on the promises of the Bastards’ wiliest adversary—and making a perilous journey into the heart of Hispartha itself.

Brimming with all the epic battles, surprising sorcery, and fiendish twists a Bastards fan could wish for, alongside unforgettable moments for characters old and new, The Free Bastards builds a new future for the Lots—even as it gives our beloved trio of Jackal, Fetching, and Oats the rousing, blood-soaked sendoff they deserve.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's
Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Book One

Book Two

Walter Goodwater (2018)

The Liar of Red Valley
Solaris, September 28, 2021
Hardcover and eBook, 368 pages

Lead title for Fall 2021 - a fresh, rich, American Gothic "yarn" with a highly relatable female lead.

Don’t trust the Liar.
Do not cross the King.
Never, ever go in the River.

In Red Valley, California, you follow the rules if you want to stay alive. But they won’t be enough to protect Sadie now that she’s become the Liar, the keeper of the town’s many secrets. Friendships are hard-won here, and it isn’t safe to make enemies.

And though the Liar has power — power to remake the world, with just a little blood—what Sadie really needs is answers: Why is the town’s sheriff after her? What does the King want from her? And what is the real purpose of the Liar of Red Valley?

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's
Google Play : Kobo

Marina J. Lostetter (2017)

Activation Degradation
Harper Voyager, September 28, 2021
Trade Paperback and eBook, 384 pages

The Murderbot Diaries makes first contact in this new, futuristic, standalone novel exploring sentience and artificial intelligence through the lenses of conflicted robot hero Unit Four, from Marina Lostetter, critically acclaimed author of Noumenon, Noumenon Infinity, and Noumenon Ultra.

When Unit Four—a biological soft robot built and stored high above the Jovian atmosphere—is activated for the first time, it’s in crisis mode. Aliens are attacking the Helium-3 mine it was created to oversee, and now its sole purpose is to defend Earth’s largest energy resource from the invaders in ship-to-ship combat.

But something’s wrong. Unit Four doesn’t feel quite right.

There are files in its databanks it can’t account for, unusual chemical combinations roaring through its pipes, and the primers it possesses on the aliens are suspiciously sparse. The robot is under orders to seek and destroy. That’s all it knows.

According to its handler, that’s all it needs to know.

Determined to fulfill its directives, Unit Four launches its ship and goes on the attack, but it has no idea it’s about to get caught in a downward spiral of misinformation, reprograming, and interstellar conflict.

Most robots are simple tools. Unit Four is well on its way to becoming something more....

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Bookshop : Books-A-Million : IndieBound : Powell's
Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

The View From Monday - September 13, 2021

2021-09-13T07:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Monday!

There is one debut this week:

The Offest by Calder Szewczak

Clicking on a novel's cover will take you to its Amazon page.

From formerly feature DAC Authors:

Empire of the Vampire (Empire of the Vampire 1) by Jay Kristoff

Clicking on a novel's cover will take you to its Amazon page.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

September 14, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Wisdom of Crowds	Joe Abercrombie	F/DF/HistF - Age of Madness 3
Winterlight	Kristen Britain	F/DF - Green Rider 7
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery	Brom	H/DF/HistF
The Actual Star	Monica Byrne	Sagas
These Bones	Kayla Chenault	Hist/H/LF
The Yellow Wallpaper & Herland (ri)	Charlotte Perkins Gilman	Classics/GH/Psy
True Dead	Faith Hunter	UF/CF/P - Jane Yellowrock 14
The Reluctant Kings	K'wan	PolTh/Cr
Dare to Know	James Kennedy	TechTh/Sus
Empire of the Vampire	Jay Kristoff	F - Empire of the Vampire 1
AI 2041	Kai-Fu Lee Chen Qiufan	Future Studies/AI
To Hold Up the Sky (h2tp)	Cixin Liu	SF/HSF
In the Land of Dead Horses	Bruce McCandless III	H/SF
When Sorrows Come	Seanan McGuire	UF/CF/P - October Daye 15
Among the Lilies	Daniel Mills	LF/SS
The Villa and The Vortex: Supernatural Stories, 1916-1924	Melissa Edmundson (Ed)	Occ/Sup - Anthology
Mordew	Alex Pheby	F/UF
Eartheater (h2tp)	Dolores Reyes Julia Sanches (Tr)	LF
Barnabas, Quentin and the Body Snatchers	Marilyn Ross	Gothic - Dark Shadows the Complete Paperback Library Reprint Book 26
Barnabas, Quentin and Dr. Jekyll’s Son	Marilyn Ross	Gothic - Dark Shadows the Complete Paperback Library Reprint Book 27
Oaths of Legacy	Emily Skrutskie	SF/SO - The Bloodright Trilogy 2
Hell Divers VIII: King of the Wastes	Nicholas Sansbury Smith	SF/AP/PA - Hell Divers 8
The Offset (D)	Calder Szewczak	SF/AP/PA/Dys/PolTh
Waterfall Girls	Kimberly White	DF/LM
From the Neck Up	Aliya Whiteley	F/SF/SS

September 15, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
War of Omission	Kevin O'Donnell	SF/SO

September 18, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Spiritus ex Machina (e)	G. Allen Wilbanks	SF - Three Ghosts in the Machine

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
Illus - Illustrator
Ke - Kindle eBook
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator

AB - Absurdist
AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternative History
AP - Apocalyptic
BHU - Black Humor
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CM - Crime & Mystery
CoA - Coming of Age
CrM - Crime and Mystery
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - CyberPunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GothicR - Gothic Romance
GW&CC - Global Warming and Climate Change
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistM - Historical Mystery
HistR - Historical Romance
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humorous
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
Med - Medical
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
MU - Mash-Up
NF - Near Future
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PF - Paranormal Fantasy
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PolTh - Political Thriller
PopCul - Popular Culture
PP - Police Porcedural
Psy - Psychological
R - Romance
RF - Romantic Fantasy
ScF - Science Fantasy
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SFTh - Science Fiction Thriller
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
SS - Short Stories
STR - Small Town and Rural
Sup - Supernatural
SupM - Supernatural Mystery
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
TTR - Time Travel Romance
UF - Urban Fantasy
VM - Visionary and Metaphysical
WS - Women Sleuths

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

Tood McFarlane Launches Gunslinger Spawn Series

2021-09-12T13:34:00.010-04:00

TODD MCFARLANE LAUNCHES ICONIC GUNSLINGER SPAWN SERIES—ANTICIPATED TO BE BIGGEST NEW CHARACTER MONTHLY LAUNCH IN 30 YEARS

Two Incentive Covers Announced

PORTLAND, Ore. 09/10/2021 — The NEW and HIGHLY anticipated Gunslinger Spawn series hits comic store shelves this October as part of Todd McFarlane's ongoing expansion of the Spawn Universe. Much to the excitement of old and new Spawn fans alike, the title is expected to shatter even more comic book records, like the recent King Spawn #1, which sold over a half-million copies. This will be the third (of four) number one release that will climb into the #1 spot for orders in less than five months.

Early indications suggest this will be the single biggest monthly comic book launch for a new character in well over 30 years, which includes any superhero publisher, including Marvel and DC Comics.

The new comic title features Gunslinger Spawn, a man out of time who is unwillingly thrust 200 years in the future to the 21^st century. Not only does he have to navigate a new world, but he’ll have to deal with the demons of his past. No one is safe from his vengeance as he heads into battle with guns blazing as he tries to find his way back home.

Acclaimed artist Brett Booth will be the featured artist on this book, with additional art by Philip Tan, Kevin Keane, and Thomas Nachlik, with colors by FCO, Andrew Dalhouse and others. McFarlane will take the lead on writing the regular ongoing story and he and Aleš Kot tackle the back-up tales. Gunslinger Spawn #1 will feature covers by a roster of superstar artists: Greg Capullo, John Romita Jr., TonTon Revolver, Booth, McFarlane, and The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman!

Gunslinger Spawn #1 cover G adds another level of excitement to this new ongoing series. With pencils by Booth and inks by McFarlane, this cover along with both the King Spawn #1 and The Scorched #1 (releasing in December 2021), interconnect to form one epic work of art.

Gunslinger Spawn #1 includes a 1:250 copy incentive cover. McFarlane will hand-sign and create a unique sequential number for each issue just like he did for the record-breaking King Spawn #1 (based on the Final Order Cutoff total). Each signed Gunslinger Spawn #1 1:250 includes a CGC Certificate of Authenticity that retailers can send in and redeem though CGC to have their books graded. This is the only time McFarlane will sign the Gunslinger Spawn #1 1:250 incentive copy issue.

Additionally, there will be a Gunslinger Spawn #1 1:50 copy incentive cover by Capullo.

"Gunslinger Spawn returns with a vengeance, and he will make Spawn look like a Boy Scout," said McFarlane, Spawn creator and President at Image Comics. "Finally, fans will get a glimpse into his history as we dig deeper into his past and explore his future.”

The Spawn character was first introduced in 1992, to a record-setting of 1.7 million copies that still stands today as the highest-selling, creator-owned comic issue of all time. Published by Image Comics (the third largest comic publisher in North America), the Spawn character also set a record as the longest-running, creator-owned comic on the planet when issue #301 was published in 2019. In August 2021, the newest Spawn Universe title King Spawn #1 sales numbers demolished The Avengers' record and became a 25-year record-breaking new superhero monthly title launch.

Gunslinger Spawn #1 will be available at comic book shops (48 pages, full color, rated: Teen+, $5.99, premium 10 pt cover stock) and on digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play on Wednesday, October 20:

Cover A by Booth - Diamond Code AUG210013
Cover B by McFarlane - Diamond Code AUG210014
Cover C by John Romita Jr. - Diamond Code JUL219298
Cover D by Greg Capullo - Diamond Code JUL219299
Cover E by Robert Kirkman - Diamond Code JUL219300
Cover F by TonTon Revolver - Diamond Code JUL219301
Cover G by Booth (Connecting Cover) - Diamond Code JUL219302
Cover H 1:50 copy incentive by Capullo (Raw Pencils) - Diamond Code JUL219303
Cover I 1:250 copy signed incentive by McFarlane - Diamond Code JUL219304

Follow Todd McFarlane on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook.

ABOUT SPAWN, LEGENDARY ARTISTS AND SPAWN CREATOR AND IMAGE COMICS PRESIDENT, TODD MCFARLANE
Todd McFarlane's Spawn is one of the world's best-selling and longest-running monthly comic books, with several hundred million copies sold worldwide in more than 120 countries. In addition, Spawn's Universe #1 is Image Comics' top-selling first issue of the 21st century. The new Spawn Universe title King Spawn #1 sales numbers demolished The Avengers record and became a 25-year record-breaking new superhero monthly title launch.

McFarlane's Spawn made history with the release of the historic Spawn #300, and Spawn #301 has earned the Guinness World Records title for the longest-running creator-owned superhero comic book series in the world. The road to McFarlane's history-making comic run began in 1992 when he co-founded Image Comics and the released Spawn #1, still the single-best-selling issue all-time for any creator-owned comic.

The comic became an Emmy Award-winning animated series on HBO and a live-action feature film that grossed $100 million. In addition, McFarlane became a true comic book superstar for his record-setting work on Marvel Comics' Spider-Man franchise, where he co-created Marvel's top villain Venom.

After garnishing prominent success in the comic industry, McFarlane founded the international award-winning McFarlane Toys, one of America's top action figure manufacturers. In 2020, the new release of a Spawn figure on Kickstarter set a new Kickstarter record, in its category, for raising just under $3.5 million in 30 days.

Spawn and all related characters and elements © & ™ TMP

[click to embiggen]

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has six individuals on the Board of Directors: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Jim Valentino, and Eric Stephenson. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.