IT’S HAPPENING. OH MY GOD, IT’S HAPPENING.
MY DEBUT NOVEL HAS A COVER.
AND A RELEASE DATE.
AND YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR AN ADVANCE READER COPY.
(I’m so normal about this.)
That’s right, yesterday on Instagram I revealed the cover of my contemporary fantasy novel, Hunter of Seals. And yall, she is ✨STUNNING✨. But not as beautiful as the story of how it came to be.
In 2022, I decided on a complete whim to join a writing group. I was in the process of upending my life and refocusing my career in a more writer-oriented direction, and I thought to myself, “I could use some writer friends.” I found a wonderful discord server that was just starting up at the time, and it turned out to be utterly life changing. I met people there who went on to become my critique partners and beta readers for HoS (that’s the cool acronym, by the way), not to mention some of my closest friends. Without them, this book never would have come to be.
One of those people is the incomparably talented illustrator Suzie Mason. She was one of my early readers, and shortly after finishing the book, she asked if she could draw me a book cover, just for fun. I gave her a vague description of the very rough concept I had in mind, and a few weeks later she returned the most jaw-droppingly perfect piece of artwork I ever could have pictured. When the time came for me to assemble an actual cover, she agreed to extend the art to stretch around the spine and back, and so the cover of Hunter of Seals came to be.
(I would like it on record that I did the text formatting myself–not for bragging purposes, but so that you know not to blame Suzie if the formatting has issues. I am fully responsible for that disaster. Please just focus on the art. The water! The light! The seals that are so obviously up to no good!! I might cry.)
You can and very much should follow Suzie on Instagram to see more of her gorgeous art. (She’s also an incredible writer, and if she ever publishes I will be first aboard the hype train.) Having this cover drawn by her was such an honor, and I can’t thank her enough.
But oh, the good news doesn’t stop there, because signups for Advance Reader Copies of Hunter of Seals are live now! If you’d like a chance to read and review Hunter of Seals before it comes out in the fall, fill out this form and you’ll hear back from me in mid-August if you’ve been selected to receive an ARC. (Just FYI, I’ll only be doing e-ARCs for this release, so if you want a physical copy you’ll have to wait for release day.)
And what the hell, have a blurb, too:
Maeve Lansing’s new job isn’t going well, and the rabid seal attacks are only part of the problem.
Isolated, plagued by bizarre malfunctions, and battered by cataclysmic storms, the offshore drilling rig Sealg Ròin has been anchored off the coast of Scotland for months without a drop of oil to show for it. Rogue waves are a near-constant threat, the equipment has a mind of its own, and Maeve, the rig’s newest crewmember, is positive the captain is hiding something. Not to mention the seals, who are vicious, relentless, and impossibly smart, and come with a wildlife expert in hot pursuit who seems to want Maeve gone, too.
When that pack of seals turns out not to be seals at all, but an army of mythological creatures, Maeve suddenly finds herself sucked into a world of selkies, sea witches, and storm gods. She’ll have to uncover the real mission of the Seal Ròin before the rig’s scant luck runs out, and find a way to protect herself and the rest of the crew without betraying everything she knows is right.
Hunter of Seals is the first in an action-packed five-book saga steeped in mystery, mythology, and slow-burn romance.
Release day, by the way, is October 28th, 2025! You’ll notice there’s not been quite as much fanfare about that as this other stuff, which is intentional. This is my first book release and I’m very much fumbling around in the dark, so it’s still possible some unforeseen catastrophe could push the release date around. But for now, I am shooting for 10/28 and hoping for the best!
Make sure you’re following me on Instagram so you don’t miss any future updates on this book, and thanks for tagging along with me on this incredible journey!
Happy reading!