Starred Review: THE IMPROVISERS by Nicole Glover

Oct 032024
 

Booklist: Glover’s latest is a standalone set in the world of her Murder and Magic series (starting with The Conductors, 2021), this time set in the 1930s. Velma Frye is an African American aviator in the early days of flight. She’s also a magical investigator, and when a fight breaks out at one of her air shows, Velma leaps into action. Mysterious items seem to be provoking discord all over America. Luckily Velma’s got an airplane, a family that includes the protagonists of Glover’s previous novels, and a nosy reporter who is more helpful than he appears. The Improvisers is packed with action, family drama, and even some romance. The plot is fast-paced and varied and Velma is a protagonist who feels realistic and accessible. There are lots of great characters, including a librarian named Lois, but Dillon Harris, Velma’s rival and companion, stands out as a foil to the famed aviator, often saving and annoying her in the same paragraph. Velma and Dillon’s back-and-forth banter is reminiscent of classic screwball comedies and contrasts delightfully with the complex mystery at the center of the story. Recommended for fans of books that mix magic and historical fiction, like Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation (2018) or Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light (2021).”

THE TAPESTRY OF TIME by Kate Heartfield

Sep 262024
 

There’s a tradition in the Sharp family that some possess the Second Sight. But is it superstition, or true psychic power?

Kit Sharp is in Paris, where she is involved in a love affair with the stunning Evelyn Larsen, and working as an archivist, having inherited her historian father’s fascination with the Bayeux Tapestry. He believes that parts of the tapestry were made before 1066, and that it was a tool for prediction, not a simple record of events.

The Nazis are also obsessed with the tapestry: convinced that not only did it predict the Norman Conquest of England, but that it will aid them in their invasion of Britain.

Ivy Sharp has joined the Special Operations Executive – the SOE – a secret unit set up to carry out espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance. Having demonstrated that she has extraordinary powers of perception, she is dropped into Northern France on a special mission.

With the war on a knife edge, the Sharp Sisters face certain death. Can their courage and extrasensory gifts prevent the enemy from using the tapestry to bring about a devastating victory against the Allied Forces?

Review: THE IMPROVISERS by Nicole Glover

Sep 112024
 

Library Journal: Velma Frye, aviator and magical investigator, finds herself in a deeply personal and intricate magical crime conspiracy. After picking up an enchanted pocket watch that initiated a heated brawl at one of her flying shows, she heads home for some advice. To her surprise, other magically tainted objects have been stolen from her family’s inn and are causing havoc and death throughout the United States. These objects are associated with a mysterious and deadly incident that happened at the inn in the 19th century. Flying coast to coast in her plane, she and nosy reporter Dillon Harris seek to find the objects as well as the story behind what happened at her family home all those years ago. But other shadowy and more pernicious characters are looking for the objects too and are set to unleash a possible magical apocalypse if obtained. This spin-off from Glover’s “Murder and Magic” series is a perfect stand-alone but will whet readers’ appetites to delve into Glover’s other books. VERDICT Fantasy fans and steampunk enthusiasts will enjoy Glover’s astounding, creatively envisioned Prohibition-era United States, where magical and historical events intertwine in a thrilling plot full of adventurous characters.—Laura Hiatt

Starred Review: THE IMPROVISERS by Nicole Glover

Aug 292024
 

Publishers Weekly: Glover returns to the alternate 1930s America of her Murder and Magic series in this thrilling spin-off, an intoxicating blend of mystery and fantasy. Velma Frye’s days as a bootlegger of forbidden magic are behind her, and she now divides her time between performing high-flying aerial stunts and working as an investigator for magical rights group the Magnolia Muses. Trouble arises when a magic-fueled fight over a pocket watch breaks out after one of Velma’s air shows. She learns the pocket watch is one of many enchanted objects that have been causing unexplained violent incidents across the country, including one that led to a woman’s death. Velma sets off to locate the rest of the dangerous artifacts and gains an unexpected travel companion, the annoyingly charming journalist Dillon Harris. Dillon’s inquisitive nature and skills as a spellcaster prove useful for Velma’s investigation, and together they discover that the enchanted objects are part of a deadly conspiracy with unexpected ties to Velma’s family. The complex mystery keeps readers on their toes and the pages flying. The colorful cast, unique magic system, and slow-burning, enemies-to-lovers romance between Velma and Dillon add to the fun. New readers and returning fans alike will devour this.

BLOOD IN SWEET RIVER by John Shirley

Aug 202024
 

After a long, hard journey west, Cleve Trewe is ready to settle down. He’s got his beautiful wife Berry in San Francisco, a baby on the way, and his sights set on a gorgeous piece of land in the Sierras. This sweet slice of heaven is aptly named Sweet River, and it’s the perfect place to build a ranch, farm, and home for his family. Problem is, Cleve’s not the only one with his eyes on the land. A big-time cattle baron named Asa Hawthorn is prepared to use threats, intimidation—and armed thugs—to get what he wants. Worse yet, Cleve knows the man from the darkest days of the Civil War . . .

Cleve’s not about to surrender his claim.. He’s got his buddy Kanaway by his side, a family of Paiute Indians on his team, and the property papers ready to sign. That’s when the real trouble starts. To squash the deal, Hawthorn unleashes his deadliest henchmen—including a would-be gunfighter from Cleve’s past and a killer-for-hire who never misses. The Paiute family recognizes some of them as the men who slaughtered their tribe—a massacre that Cleve suspects was the work of Asa Hawthorn. Either way, a major battle is brewing. And the crystal blue waters of Sweet River are about to turn red . . .

2024 Aurora Awards Winners!

Aug 192024
 

The 2024 Aurora Awards winners have been announced and we’re thrilled to share that the following DMLA authors have won in the Best Novel and Best Short Story categories!

Best Novel: The Valkyrie, Kate Heartfield, HarperVoyager

Best Short Story: “At Every Door A Ghost”, Premee Mohamed, Communications Breakdown, MIT Press

Deal: Neil Sharpson

Jul 302024
 

KNOCK KNOCK, OPEN WIDE author Neil Sharpson’s picture book debut DON’T TRUST FISH, which explains in a scientific and reasonable way why fish cannot be trusted, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist and National Book Award winner for A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING Dan Santat, to Kate Harrison at Dial, at auction, for publication in spring 2025, by Jennie Goloboy for the author, and by Jodi Reamer at Writers House for the illustrator.

2024 Locus Awards finalists

May 132024
 

The 2024 Locus Awards finalists have been announced and we’re excited to see so many DMLA authors on this list!

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
  • System Collapse, Martha Wells (Tordotcom)
FANTASY NOVEL
  • Witch King, Martha Wells (Tordotcom)
HORROR NOVEL
  • The Reformatory, Tananarive Due (Saga; Titan UK)
FIRST NOVEL
  • The Saint of Bright Doors, Vajra Chandrasekera (Tordotcom)
NOVELLA
  • The Salt Grows Heavy, Cassandra Khaw (Nightfire; Titan UK)
NOVELETTE
  • “At Every Door a Ghost”, Premee Mohamed (Communications Breakdown)
SHORT STORY
  • “Suppertime”, Tananarive Due (New Suns 2)
  • “Those Hitchhiking Kids“, Darcie Little Badger (The Sunday Morning Transport 4/2/23)
ANTHOLOGY
  • The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction (2022), Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki & Eugen Bacon & Milton Davis, eds. (Caezic)
COLLECTION
  • The Wishing Pool and Other Stories, Tananarive Due (Akashic)
  • No One Will Come Back For Us, Premee Mohamed (Undertow)
  • Skin Thief, Suzan Palumbo (Neon Hemlock)
NON-FICTION
  • 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered, Sadie Hartmann (Page Street Publishing)

2024 Aurora Award Nominations

May 032024
 

The 2024 Aurora Award Nominations are in and we’re excited to see so many DMLA authors on this fantastic list of nominees!

Best Novel:

  • The Valkyrie, Kate Heartfield, HarperVoyager

Best Novelette/Novella:

  • “The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World”, Nalo Hopkinson, Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror, Random House

Best Short Story:

  • “At Every Door A Ghost”, Premee Mohamed, Communications Breakdown, MIT Press

Best Related Work:

  • No One Will Come Back for Us and Other Stories, Premee Mohamed, Undertow Publications
  • Skin Thief: Stories, Suzan Palumbo, Neon Hemlock Press

March Translation Deals

Mar 312024
 

Dutch rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ ALL SYSTEMS RED, ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, ROGUE PROTOCOL, and EXIT STRATEGY, the first four books in The Murderbot Diaries series, to De Fontein, by Vere Bank at Sebes & Bisseling in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

French audio rights to LJ Andrews’s THE EVER KING, to Noa Rosen at Theleme, at auction, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Italian rights to Kate Heartfield’s THE TAPESTRY OF TIME, to Marco Rana at Edizioni E/O, by Stefania Fietta at Donzelli Fietta, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier at Donald Maass Literary Agency for Jennie Goloboy.

Spanish rights to Nebula Award winner Premee Mohamed’s THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST, to Duermevela, by Amaiur Fernández at International Editors Co. in association with Michael Curry.

Turkish rights to LJ Andrews’s Broken Kingdoms series and Ever Seas series, to Juno Kitap, in a multi-book deal, at auction, by Merve Ongen at Anatolialit Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

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