One Month from Release!
Giveaway of a signed finished copy and the ring from the cover, plus a sneak preview of the spellcasting scene!
Hello, everyone!
We are one month out from the release of A Rose by Any Other Name, and I am giving away a signed copy and the ring from the cover!
To enter, reply to this email, comment on Substack, or head over to Instagram or X to enter there. You can enter on multiple platforms.
I also have some good news—A Rose by Another Name has been getting glowing reviews from trade journals like Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist! These are the journals that help libraries and bookstores decide what to order for their shelves, so starred trade reviews are amazing news for an upcoming book. Here are snippets from each with links:
“A delightfully impish heroine… a tempestuous erotic connection… a captivating imagining of the life of the Dark Lady, the illusive inspiration for Shakespeare’s later sonnets.” ★ Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)
“A fascinating fictional exposé [with] a touch of mysticism and an LGBTQ+ twist.” ★ Booklist (starred review)
The preorder campaign is well underway! If you haven’t preordered already, that link is here. Be sure to save your receipts and get signed up to receive swag and a bookplate here! Thank you to everyone who has already ordered. Preorders mean so much to the success of a book!
SNEAK PREVIEW
In my last newsletter, you all voted on what you’d like to read in a sneak preview excerpt, and the most popular option was “Rose and Cecely cast a spell.” Without further ado, here it is—
Flipping to the back of the spellbook, I found a double fortnight spell to increase an unwilling subject’s sympathy and dissolve their hatred. As I read the incantation, the letters blurred and I thought I saw glyphs.
“What?” Cecely asked.
“It invokes Regina Caeli, the ‘queen of heaven,’ like many of her spells. I always thought that was St. Mary, but the spell uses wolfsbane. Poison. I keep seeing symbols behind the words."
Cecely touched the page, her expression so hopeful it hurt to look at her. "Are you sure you don't have your mother's gift?"I swallowed my doubt, memorised the incantation, and taught it to her, then pried up a floorboard in the antechamber where we could leave the candle undisturbed. We knelt on either side of the candle, pressed the coin into the wax, and lit it, hurrying to finish before anyone woke.
The flame brightened the room just enough for me to see Cecely bending her face over the candle. Its pale light set her cheeks aglow. The candle guttered as I pulled out the pouch of wolfsbane from the trunk. “O Regina Caeli, roudos--" I chanted, working hard to hide my self-doubt. "Huat haut haut. Fugite, odium."
The wolfsbane was difficult to handle; even dried it could only be touched with gloves, which made my fingers clumsy. I pinched half a foreboding purple petal into the flame. I thought I felt something as the petals blackened, giving off a thin smoke. Something dark. A sizzling hatred in the air. My throat constricted. I wanted this to work so badly. When the smoke dissipated, I put the first shred of lemon balm leaf down to ring the candle.
“Nox enmortos,” we whispered. Our voices rose, stirring something subtle within me. My voice trembled as I reached the last line of the spell. “Roudos, roudos. Fiat sympathia.” Beneath the scent of wolfsbane and lemon balm, I thought I could smell roses. Not the ghost scent like before, but sweet and true and dark. And beneath that, so faint I couldn’t be sure it was real, the faintest whiff of copper. I couldn’t help but think of Venus, but the glyphs weren’t Latin or even Greek.
Across from me, Cecely knelt in her cream bodice, its fabric barely distinguishable from her skin. I became painfully aware of her plunging neckline, the shadowy curves beneath it. The aura of roses lingered between us, intoxicating. I couldn’t tell if it was coming from within or without me, but it was real. The spell was working.
I breathed it in, shivering, all my senses heightened. “Do you feel that?”
She nodded. “The queen of heaven.”
Stay tuned for more news as we approach release! As always, thank you so much for all your support and for sharing in this journey with me. I will report back soon with more info about my launch event!
I am so excited for you to read this book!
Mary
So excited for the release of this book! 🌹
Can't wait to read this!!!