Archives par étiquette : The Rights Factory

THE BLACK HUNGER de Nicholas Pullen

THE BLACK HUNGER by Nicholas Pullen is an electric, nightmare-inducing 120,000-word horror meets historical fiction debut.

THE BLACK HUNGER
by Nicholas Pullen
Orbit, Autumn 2024
(via The Rights Factory)

This expertly interwoven story follows three wellmeaning men and their dealings with a death-worshipping cult, the Dhaumri Karoti, bent upon the absolute destruction of our world.

Almost fifty years after the grisly murder of a respected general, and the subsequent disappearance of the general’s purportedly delusional wife, John Sackville rots in the dark cell of an English asylum, aware that soon he will be forever changed. He bears two wounds: the one that festers underneath his skin, and the one deep within his heart. In his last testament, Sackville chronicles the story of his life. It is a story steeped in history and myth, scattered across India, Tibet, and Mongolia, and interweaving his secret, passionate affair with the man he has loved since boyhood with his stand against the leaders of the Dhaumri Karoti.

With a rich atmosphere influenced by Stoker and Shelley, this epistolary blend of Gothic and Lovecraftian horror has broad appeal. It is a fright-fest perfect for fans of Clarke’s JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORRELL and Miéville’s THE LAST DAYS OF NEW PARIS. An exceptional harnessing of madness—and one wild ride.

Nicholas Pullen was born and raised in Toronto, and educated at Oxford and McGill. A writer since early childhood, Nicholas now fashions stories out of shadows, madness, and historical truths. Outside of writing, his professional life has been spent working toward Truth and Reconciliation in the Canadian Public Service, as a treaty negotiator with Indigenous Peoples. He speaks fluent French and enjoys scuba diving on shipwrecks in Georgian Bay. A Canada Council for the Arts Grant Recipient, his short fiction has appeared in the Toronto Star (Famous Blue), the Copperfield Review (Hellulandsaga), and Anti-Heroin Chic (Relapse/Grindr).

SECRETS OF STONE de Coltrane Seesequasis

A fast-paced, fantasy adventure novel set in the post-human world ruled by sentient animals. A debut middle-grade novel and the first book of a planned four-book series that follows the adventures of the young wolf Silversong. Perfect for fans of Erin Hunter’s work, The Wings of Fire series, and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

SECRETS OF STONE
(A Wolf in the Sun, Book 1)
by Coltrane Seesequasis
Kegedonce Press, July 2024
(via The Rights Factory)

Centuries have passed since the forces of nature won the war against humanity. Sentient animals now rule a healing world, and as the stain of mankind continues to dwindle, a young wolf called Silversong is determined to rise in the hierarchy of his pack. Strong at manipulating wind and air, all he needs is a way to prove himself to his Chief.

Before he can get the respect he deserves, however, Silversong’s aspirations are cut short by the Heretic and his outcast wolves. Against all odds, the Heretic and his band of exiles escape their imprisonment far to the west and wreak havoc on Silversong’s pack. The exiles pose a threat unlike any other, and their enigmatic leader won’t stop his brutal conquest until all wolfkind submits to him.

Silversong can’t let a monstrous wolf like the Heretic roam free. With the wind at his back, he pursues the leader of the exiles into forests of shadow and into ancient places better left forgotten. But the further he strays from home, the more he comes to realize that maybe his enemies aren’t so evil after all. Maybe there’s a reason for the destruction they seek. and maybe there’s a far greater danger lying in wait.

Coltrane Seesequasis is a young fantasy writer of Willow Cree heritage who grew up in Gatineau, Quebec. Inspired by a love of nature as well as myths and folklore that challenge the limits of creativity, Coltrane Seesequasis joins a new generation of writers, adding his voice to the immersive genre of fantasy.

 

SECRETS OF THE SANDS d’Alisha Sevigny

Sesha must race to find a priceless scroll before time runs out.

SECRETS OF THE SANDS
by Alisha Sevigny
Dundurn Press, 2020 – 2022
(via The Rights Factory)

Book 1: THE LOST SCROLL OF THE PHYSICIAN (January 2020)

After a brutal fire takes their parents’ lives, Sesha and Ky, children of the pharaoh’s royal physician, are left charming snakes and stealing food to survive. Unsure of who to trust, the pair are found and brought back to the palace, where the pharaoh tasks Sesha with finding a rare medical document her father was transcribing. But are the royals hiding something?

Befriended by a fellow scribe and a young princess, Sesha navigates palace intrigue and temple treachery while urgently seeking the valuable papyrus. For the scroll doesn’t just have the power to keep the pharaoh’s army alive and reveal the secrets around her parents’ death—it may be the only thing that can save Ky’s life.

Book 2: THE DESERT PRINCE (September 2020)

Ancient Egyptian healer and scribe Sesha is ready for another role: spy.

Forced to flee Thebes or face death, Sesha and her friends, Paser and Reb, travel up the Nile and into the desert in search of a hidden oasis. Led by a freed spy, they plan to rescue Pharaoh’s daughter Princess Merat, given to a Hyksos chieftain against her will. Before they can get there, though, they have to battle lurking crocodiles, endless dunes, and blinding sandstorms.

When the group finally straggles into the Hyksos camp, they find the rebels preparing for combat. But as Sesha and her friends spend time with the rival tribe, the lines in the sand begin to blur. When she takes on a dangerous secret mission and learns about a prophecy that could change the course of history, Sesha has to decide where her future—and the real danger—lies.

Book 3: THE ORACLE OF AVARIS (January 2022)

A search for answers from a mysterious Oracle has Sesha and her friends navigating intrigue and danger in this thrilling conclusion to the SECRETS OF THE SANDS series.

Leaving the oasis, Sesha and her friends set sail for Avaris, intent on stopping the Hyksos Chieftain from claiming the throne and declaring war on Thebes. On the journey, Sesha learns that she and the scroll are at the centre of a pair of prophecies made by a famed Oracle—prophecies with staggering implications for both her and the Hyksos people. But when the crew arrives in the bustling port city, they are stunned to learn the Oracle is missing. With the prophecies now in doubt and their lives in danger, Sesha, Paser, and Reb must race to find a mysterious Priestess sect and witness the third and final prophecy before the upcoming lunar eclipse.

As the young scribes seek answers, Sesha must untangle her past and future while keeping war from erupting in the present. For there is one person she cannot bear to face across the Hyksos battlefield: her brother.

Alisha Sevigny is the author of MG adventure series, SECRETS OF THE SANDS, as well as YA contemporaries, Summer Constellations and Kissing Frogs. Her baby board book Give Me a Snickle! came out April 2022. Alisha’s novels have been CCBCs Best Books for Kids & Teens picks and she was one of three finalists in North America’s National Excellence for Romance Fiction Award (NERFA) in their YA category. Born and raised in BC’s Pacific Northwest’s temperate rainforest, she now makes her home in the Cayman Islands with her family. A former literary agent, Alisha is also an actor, yoga teacher, tarot reader, and an avid collector of crystals.

NO ONE LEFT BUT YOU de Tash McAdam

Own voices for trans identity and struggles with anxiety and depression, NO ONE LEFT BUT YOU will appeal to fans of Malinda Lo’s A Line in the Dark, Angelline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter, and the TV show Euphoria.

NO ONE LEFT BUT YOU
by Tash McAdam
Soho Teen, November 2023
(via The Rights Factory)

Newly out trans guy Max is having a hard time in school. Things have been tough since his summer romance turned on him. This year, his plan is to keep his head down and make sure he graduates. All that changes when new It-girl Gloss moves to town.

No one understands why perfect, polished Gloss is so interested in an introverted skater kid, but Max blooms in the hothouse of her attention. Swept along in the riptide of burgeoning popularity, it doesn’t matter to Max that Gloss is making all the decisions, choosing his clothes, what he does and who he hangs out with. Caught somewhere between romance and obsession, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her on his side.

Haircut, makeovers, drugs, parties. It’s all fun and games until someone gets stabbed in the throat. When Gloss confesses to murdering his ex, Max refuses to believe that she did it. If she did, he’ll have lost the two most important people in his life in one night. Trying to collect evidence that will exonerate his only friend, Max veers dangerously close to being implicated—and his own memories of that awful night are fuzzy. He has to figure out who’s lying, even if it turns out to be himself.

Tash McAdam is a Welsh-Canadian author, activist, and high school educator. Their publications include The Psionics (Nine Star Press), and the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections Blood Sport and Sink Or Swim (Orca Books). They are also featured in multiple anthologies. Tash is a recipient of the Shoot for the Moon fund for trans writers, and a founding mentor with the Gender Generations Project. When they’re not writing or reading you can probably find Tash in a lake, lying on the carpet thinking about monsters, or getting a new tattoo. They enjoy regular cups of tea, existential philosophy, and sharp objects.

MY NAME IS MAGIC de Xan van Rooyen

For fans of witchcraft and wizardry looking for a new, inclusive story, MY NAME IS MAGIC, is a story about finding strength from within and potential where you least expected it.

MY NAME IS MAGIC
by Xan van Rooyen
Tiny Ghost Press, September 2022
(via The Rights Factory)

Despite coming from a long line of powerful Finnish mages, and their name literally meaning magic, Taika can’t perform the simplest of spells.

Forced to attend Myrskyjärvi International School for the Magically Gifted on account of their mom being principal, Taika has a hard time fitting in. Sometimes, they wonder if not having magic has something to do with the fact they’re neither a girl nor a boy and if they’re fated to be Taika the Talentless forever.

Life goes from bad to worse when Taika sees a liekkiö and recognizes the spirit’s voice begging for help as that of their former BFF and major crush, Natalie Khumalo, whose recent absence from class hadn’t gone unnoticed. When more students go missing, Taika must take the lead in a race against time to save friends old and new before a powerful group of chaos mages can unleash the legendary Sampo, an artifact capable of either renewing the world’s waning magic or destroying everything Taika holds dear.

To rescue Natalie, Taika will have to journey to the liminal space between worlds where they’ll be forced to battle mythical monsters and their own flagging self-esteem. In doing so, Taika might just discover that magic—and love—comes in many different forms.

Xan van Rooyen is a genderqueer, tattooed storyteller from South Africa. They currently live in Finland where they find the heavy metal soothing and the cold, dark forests inspiring. Although they have a Master’s degree in music, Xan prefers conjuring strange worlds and creating quirky characters. When they grow up, they want to be an elf—until then, they spend their time (when not writing) climbing, buying far too many books, and entertaining their shiba inu, Lego.