swan_tower | Stand still, you ever-moving spheres of heaven . . . .

Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce the decision on my next novel. The title of my forthcoming book will be . . .

. . . <drum roll> . . .

Midnight Never Come.

(Confidential to Memento people: yes, that means exactly what you think it means.)

For everyone else, who does not already know what this is, here's a redacted (read: spoiler-free) version of the pitch I sent to my editor.

THE TUDOR COURT
A jewel in the crown of Renaissance Europe, glittering with power and wealth. For over thirty years Elizabeth has held the throne, taking no husband, but surrounding herself with the great names of the age. Sir Francis Drake plagues the Spanish at sea, while Sir Francis Walsingham quietly removes more subtle threats at home. Sir Walter Ralegh charts new lands abroad, and Doctor John Dee charts the stars of England's destiny. With a keen mind and an overwhelming force of personality, Elizabeth plays the game of politics as well as any king.

THE ONYX COURT
A dark mirror of the glory above, hidden in the catacombs beneath London. Since Elizabeth took the throne, a new queen has reigned over the fae: Invidiana, a frozen, ageless beauty who rules with a ruthless and Machiavellian hand. Surrounded by dark fae and mortal pets like her mad seer Tiresias, she works in the shadows, weaving a web that touches the world above.

Ancient traditions once kept mortal and fae affairs largely separate. That changed with the rise of these two queens, who play an intricate political game, using the power of one side to manipulate the other. But someone is about to uncover, not just their game, but the secrets that lie behind it.

tooth_and_claw? Yeah, there's a reason I've been pestering you for that portrait of Invidiana. ^_^

I am giddy about this one. Where by "giddy," I mean about to go on Amazon and buy the rest of the books I need for research (I say "the rest" because I caved and bought some of them already). And I'm contemplating a brief trip to London -- not the lengthy visit I want to make someday, but enough to walk around the Square Mile, go to the Tower again, get a feel for the place even if few buildings from Elizabethan times still survive. (Stupid Great Fire. Why did it have to interfere with my research?)

Oh, and the really awesome news? Warner wants to bump this one up to trade paperback, instead of mass-market. I know some people dislike that format, but from the moment I started thinking about this book, it wanted to be bigger -- hardcover or trade -- it just didn't feel like mass-market in my head. And it turns out my editor agrees.

I'll leave it at that for now, but watch this space for more information, as I babble about the awesome things I'm finding in my research, the story of where this novel came from, the music I'm already assembling for it, and so on. That will all have to wait for later, since right now I kind of need to go jump up and down and squeak with joy. *^_^*