Archives par étiquette : Dystel Goderich & Bourret

THE LAST DRAGON OF THE EAST de Katrina Kwan

Inspired by Chinese myths of ancient dragon gods and threads of fate, Katrina Kwan’s dazzling fantasy debut is a propulsive adventure perfect for fans of Sue Lynn Tan and Hannah Whitten.

THE LAST DRAGON OF THE EAST
by Katrina Kwan
Saga, October 2024
(via Dystel, Goderich & Bourret)

At the spry young age of twenty-five, Sai has led a quiet life, keeping the family teahouse up and running —even if that means ignoring the past-due notices—and taking care of his ailing mother. But he has a not-so-secret gift that he’s parlayed into a side career: he was born with the ability see the red threads of fate between soulmates, which lends itself nicely to matchmaking. Sai has thus far been content not to follow his own thread, the only one he’s ever seen that’s gray and fraying.

But Sai’s ordinary existence is about to be turned upside-down by a pair of shining dragon scales. When his mother’s doctor sells them to him, claiming them as a miracle cure, Sai is pretty sure he’s being scammed. When the medicine actually works—and the terrifying, ruthless emperor catches wind—Sai is thrust into the search for a dragon long thought extinct that will lead him into the throes of a brewing war and deep into foreign lands, facing down challenges both magical and mortal on an unexpected adventure. And for the very first time, as his own thread of fate begins to move, he may be able to solve the mystery of his Fated One at the other end of the line.

“Katrina Kwan bursts onto the fantasy scene with this stirring tale of fate and loss and hope. Epic in its scope, poignant in its prose, and profound in its themes, THE LAST DRAGON OF THE EAST is an exciting adventure and a wrenching love story rolled into one.” —Thea Guanzon, USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars

Katrina Kwan is a contemporary romance and fantasy writer. After graduating from Acadia University in 2017 with a BA in political science with honors, Kwan spent the next six years honing her creative skills as a freelance ghostwriter. With several ghostwritten romance novels under her belt, she’s ecstatic to finally be writing books under her own name. She lives in Vancouver with her husband and two cats, and when she isn’t writing, she is desperately trying to keep her collection of houseplants alive.

MAY THE WOLF DIE d’Elizabeth Heider

MAY THE WOLF DIE by Elizabeth Heider is a riveting debut infused with an unforgettable sense of place, in the tradition of suspense masters like Jane Harper and Tana French.

MAY THE WOLF DIE
by Elizabeth Heider
Viking, Summer/Fall 2024
(via Dystel, Goderich & Bourret)

Nikki Serafino is enjoying the sunset from her boat in her beloved port city of Naples, Italy when she discovers the body of a strangled man in the warm waters of the bay. As an investigator with a security unit, Nikki is certainly no stranger to violence, but this case grows complicated when the autopsy reveals that the victim has been boiled. And the next day, Nikki comes across another dead body in an abandoned car – surely two bodies in as many days is no coincidence. While local police suspect a lowlevel crime syndicate is responsible, Nikki isn’t so sure. But when she delves into the case, her search for answers brings her face to face with the possibility that those closest to her are living darker lives than she wants to admit. To catch a killer, Nikki must untangle the cords of past and present that keep her and her family vulnerable to Naples’ dangerous sides.

A richly textured and mercilessly gripping debut, MAY THE WOLF DIE by Elizabeth Heider brings the character-driven procedural crime fiction of Dervla McTiernan and Anne Cleeves to the streets of present-day Naples, exploring the dynamics of people trapped in the currents of crime and in the pain of their own family legacies.

Elizabeth Heider is a PhD physicist who works for Microsoft’s AI4Science Research Program. Her short fiction has earned recognition from the Santa Fe Writer Awards and the New Century Writer Awards, as well as writing and research for government agencies and for the European Space Agency’s Human Spaceflight program where she worked as a scientist. Raised in Utah, she lived and worked in Naples for several years, deploying as a civilian analyst aboard U.S. and European Naval ships. She is based in The Hague.

A BITE ABOVE THE REST de Christine Virnig

Welcome to Samhain . . .

A BITE ABOVE THE REST
by Christine Virnig
Aladdin, August 2024
(via Dystel, Goderich & Bourret)

Imagine moving to a town where every day is like Halloween: where costumes are worn daily, Halloween decorations stay up year-round, and the town hall looks like a vampire’s castle. Sounds pretty amazing, right? Well, not if you’re Caleb Fisher. Caleb thinks Samhain, Wisconsin, is the strangest place he’s ever been—and not strange in a good way. Strange in a creepy something-is-definitely-not-right-around-here way.

Then things become even stranger when a terrifying run-in with the mayor leaves Caleb wondering: Are the citizens of Samhain really just humans playing dress-up as monsters? Or are actual witches and werewolves and blood-sucking vampires hiding in plain sight?

With the help of his best friend, Tai, Caleb sets out to uncover the truth . . . ideally before a werewolf devours them for breakfast, or a witch turns them into earwigs. But if Caleb’s growing suspicions are correct—and he and Tai are the only ones who realize what’s actually going on—can they find a way to save a town that doesn’t want saving?

Christine Virnig makes her kidlit debut with Dung for Dinner. Christine is a pediatric physician specializing in allergies where—in addition to dodging the occasional snot rocket or projectile vomit—she gets to talk about topics that most adults find downright repulsive, like phlegm, snot, and dust mite poo. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband, two children, and two hairball producers.

THE STRANGE WONDERS OF ROOTS d’Evan Griffith

“NOTHING LASTS.”

THE STRANGE WONDERS OF ROOTS
by Evan Griffith
Quill Tree Books, May 2024
(via Dystel, Goderich & Bourret)

It’s one of twelve-year-old Holly’s Fundamental Truths of Life. And she has the evidence to back it up: Over the past few years her parents have divorced, her mom has remarried, and her dad has moved her all around the country to live in different places and attend different schools. Through it all, Holly has learned that it’s safer to never get attached to anyplace or anyone.

So when she spends part of her summer with her uncle Vincent in the tiny Vermont town of Arden, she knows better than to get involved. But soon she’s drawn into the drama splitting Arden in two: A local factory is planning to tear down a special grove of rare trees in the heart of town. As a budding forester, Holly knows a thing or two about trees. And she shocks herself by joining the fight to protect the grove— along the way, finding some unexpected allies and maybe even a few friends among the quirky townspeople.

However, not everyone is on Holly’s side. And when she accidentally takes on the most powerful family in town, Holly will have to dig deep to protect the one place she might actually want to put down roots.

Evan Griffith is the author of the middle-grade novel Manatee Summer (a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection) and the picture book biography Secrets of the Sea: The Story of Jeanne Power, Revolutionary Marine Scientist. His books have received multiple starred reviews and been recognized as Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of the Year, National Science Teachers Association Best Stem Books, and Chicago Public Library’s Best Informational Books for Younger Readers. His forthcoming titles include THE STRANGE WONDERS OF ROOTS and Wild at Heart: The Story of Olaus and Mardy Murie, Defenders of Nature.

Evan studied creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his MFA in Writing for Children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts where he now serves as faculty. He worked for several years as an editor at Workman Publishing in New York City, where he specialized in non-fiction for children and adults, and he continues to take on select editorial projects. He often teaches online writing classes and enjoys mentoring writers of all ages.

He lives in Austin, Texas with a mischievous tuxedo cat and several overflowing bookshelves.

DAMNED IF YOU DO d’Alex Brown

Queer Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Filipino folklore in this horror comedy about a high school stage manager who accidentally sells her soul to a demon.

DAMNED IF YOU DO
by Alex Brown
Page Street Kids, August 2023
(via Dystel, Goderich & Bourret)

Seven years ago, Cordelia Scott’s abusive father left without a word, and life has been normal ever since. The seventeen-year-old spends her days stage managing the school play (which is going great, if anyone asks), pining over her best friend, Veronica, and failing one too many pop quizzes.
She’s never been sad that her father left, but she knows something is…missing. When her school guidance counselor, Fred, reveals during a session that he’s actually a demon, she learns that something is indeed missing: a piece of her actual soul. Why? She unwittingly made a deal with him to make her father disappear – then bargained to have the memory erased. To make matters worse, Fred is here to make another bargain: Help him with a “little” demonic problem, or she’s doomed to spend eternity in Hell with her father.
The deal? Help Fred neutralize a rival demon, who means to do more harm in her hometown than your average demon deal.

Alex Brown is a queer, biracial Filipino American writer whose sapphic YA debut, DAMNED IF YOU DO, published in August 2023. She’s is no stranger to horror, as she’s served as the Showrunner’s Assistant for Supernatural and Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Resident Evil, and is also the co-creator of The Bridge, a narrative fiction sci-fi horror podcast. Alex lives in Los Angeles with her partner and their two very chaotic cats.