Cover Reveal: IN THE GARDEN OF MONSTERS

Sometimes it's ok to judge a book by its cover

We all do it. We see an amazing cover of a book, and we think, I want to know more! And I hope that’s true of this gem of a cover for my novel In The Garden of Monsters, which comes out on September 24—mark your calendar!

I shared a bit about this in a previous post, but to recap, the story, a retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone, takes place in 1948 in a garden of stone monsters. The garden is a real place, the Sacro Bosco in Italy. And the most incredible monster in it is the orco, the ogre. It represents the path to the Underworld or the mouth to Hell.

This nearly 500-year-old creature has an inscription above his mouth: “OGNI PENSIERO VOLA, " meaning “All Thoughts Fly.” This harkens back to the idea that Dante presents in his Inferno: “Abandon all hope you who enter here.” But it also hints at a phenomenon of the monster. If you are standing down the path, you can hear everything said inside the mouth, even a whisper.

Much of my book takes place inside the mouth of the orco. There’s a tongue inside his mouth that’s actually a table that seats four to six people. The story features a dozen or so feasts, some of which are set at that table.

I had always envisioned this beast on the cover of the book, and when the MIRA team came back with their idea for the book, I immediately teared up. It was exactly what I had hoped for.

But what a stunner of a cover, right? The spine and back cover are red. You’ll notice that each pomegranate has six seeds. On the physical book, the leaves will be imitation gold foil, and the title and my name will be embossed. I can’t wait to see this in person!

The eyes take inspiration from an art exhibit that celebrated the 500-year anniversary of the birth of Pierfrancesco (also called Vicino) Orsini, the creator of the garden. I haven’t had the great fortune to see the eyes like this, but my editor at MIRA, Dina Davis, went during the time she was editing my book (how cool is that?!) and took this wonderful photo:

You can pre-order the book, which is a HUGE help for authors. For writers, pre-sale figures can signal to both retailers and readers that your work merits attention. Viewed from the bookstore's standpoint, the pre-sales volume is an early gauge of a publication's potential success and might prompt retailers to boost their initial stock levels. It also helps the publisher justify a greater spend on marketing the novel. And look! I have some handy links for you, if you want to help a gal out.

To also support local bookstores in the Boston area:
Harvard Book Store | Belmont Books | Porter Square Books | Brookline Booksmith

I don’t see it on the I AM Books site yet, but if you call, I’m sure they will gladly preorder it for you.

If you want to order from some bigger retailers:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books_A_Million | Bookshop.org | Target

If you don’t see the cover on the sites yet, it takes a few days to work through the book network, but I swear, it’s real. 😀And thank you, thank you in advance for your support!

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Support Some Awesome Kickstarters!

My friends Anjali M Duvaand Henriette Lazaridis are launching Galiot Press, publishing bold, astonishing books from new and overlooked voices. Join the Kickstarter here to learn more about it when it launches in April. And you can learn more about their process at theGaliot Press Substack.

This Kickstarter is also launching soon. A tarot book for novelists, screenwriters, memoirists, and other creatives by Kris Waldherr, bestselling author of The Goddess Tarot. If you want a way to really kick your creativity into gear, definitely sign up to keep an eye on this project.

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What’s Bringing Me Joy This Week'

• CNN explaining how to download music on the “Info Super Highway” in 1993.

• This paper fan made in Germany in the 1920s.

• Katie Parla in a 2,000 year old ancient vineyard near Rome.

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Let’s talk about the good stuff. If you love food and love Italy, and haven’t read THE CHEF’S SECRET or FEAST OF SORROW, click the links to learn where to buy your copy! 🍒🍗🍷

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