The Oleander Sword is out in a month

So have some art

A while ago, I mentioned on social media how much I wanted art of The Oleander Sword. ‘But I only want art of big, important scenes,’ I complained. ‘And I can’t share art of those, can I?’

Well, apparently I can.

(Extremely mild spoilers ahead. Think of this as a hint, a taste - the first burst of poison against your tongue. Nothing will make sense until you read the book, and then everything will.)

(In advance: you have my apologies.)

Malini had never seen such a look in Priya’s eyes before.

Priya looked a little ragged. A little wild. Dirt on her clothes. Her face raised up, the gold of the mothers’ fire glinting in her eyes.

“I’ve trusted you, Malini,” Priya said. “I’ve trusted you so many times. I’m sorry. I’m going to need you to trust me in return.”

I comissioned this art from the amazing Nimali, who you can also find on IG and Twitter. I couldn’t resist her whimsical, gorgeous style and I hope you love it even half as much as I do.

So uh, do let me know what you think when you reach this scene. I love it a lot. It’s a moment I was planning for from the moment I first began writing The Jasmine Throne, and writing it was absolutely electric.

What else can you expect from The Oleander Sword? I can promise love letters and yearning; grime and blood and fire; canny, ambitious women; promises and vows and faith; the power of sacrifice, and the price that has to be paid to sieze a throne; and more than anything, a huge, vicious war - a battle of the heart, and of the sword.

I hope you’re ready.

You can pre-order The Oleander Sword from any retailer, but a selection include Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, Bookshop, and Amazon. In the USA, you have the option of purchasing a hardback if that’s your jam.

In the UK - where it will be out on the 18th August - you can purchase the paperback from Waterstones, Bookshop, Blackwells or Forbidden Planet or Amazon. If you’d like to support an LGBTQ+ bookshop I’d be very grateful. (Perhaps Gay’s the Word or Portal Bookshop or The Common Press?)

Also-

There’s also going to be an Illumicrate special edition!

As Illumicrate state on Twitter: “Our Illumicrate Exclusive edition comes with digitally printed edges (on all 3 edges!), embossing on the hardback, and a signed bookplate. The book is priced at £20 + shipping & VAT if applicable and will be shipping in August/September. We will be holding a presale for anyone who received our May 2021 ‘Change Your Stars’ box or book only and our active subscribers. Details of when the presale is will be emailed out on Wednesday 20 July (the actual presale will not take place that day).

If any copies remain, they will go on general sale on Thursday 28 July at 4PM BST.”

I adored the Illumicrate edition of The Jasmine Throne, so I’m thrilled about this.

And finally - while you’re waiting for The Oleander Sword to come out, I also have a YA gothic historical that grapples with South Asian and British history for sale. What Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights Remix came out last week, and is available via all retailers. It’s another book I am deeply proud of, and I think you may enjoy it. It’s big on rage and yearning (although, alas, is not sapphic). You can get it at all the usual places, but I’ll drop Barnes & Noble and Amazon links here…

And that’s all! I’ll now shuffle away, but I’ll be returning to scream when The Oleander Sword is out!

Thank you, always, for your support. It’s a dream to be writing books, and it’s a dream you make possible.