Hi Annwn Cycle Readers,
I’m excited to share with you that my latest novel, The King-Killing Queen—which starts my new Old World Tales trilogy and is a prequel to The Dark Thorn—is coming to Kickstarter March 14th!
If you are a subscriber to the mailing list HERE, when you back the upcoming campaign at any physical book level you will receive this gorgeous Old World Tales enamel pin:
The King-Killing Queen campaign is the ONLY way to get this pin. The significance of which some of you, my beloved readers, will recognize. It’s not only the name of my new trilogy, but the pin is also the logo of Merlin’s (Merle’s) bookshop in Seattle from my first Annwn Cycle novel, The Dark Thorn.
I also want to tell you a little bit about my new book before anyone else. Here is a description:
In The King-Killing Queen, which author Anna Smith Spark calls “a dark love letter to high fantasy,” a woman discovers her unknown past carries with it a terrible future.
Sylvie Raventress is the devoted apprentice to Master Historian Kell, stepbrother to the High King. She lives a life of scholarly pursuit and privilege hoping to one day take her instructor’s place and write her own histories. But beside King Alafair Goode’s deathbed, Sylvie and his scions learn a surprising truth—she is no orphan but is his named heir.
With her siblings loathing Sylvie’s selection and vying for her throne, she must rely on a Fae guide, a disgraced former First Knight, and a cantankerous light-weaver to restore the fracturing kingdom and become High Queen. And yet the thing none of them know is destiny has its own part to play too…
For this campaign, I decided to team up with Skybound Entertainment. I’m honored and excited to be working with Skybound on their first crowdfunded novel. They’ve successfully launched five graphic novel campaigns, including the gorgeous (and wildly successful) Ava’s Demon: Aftermath, making them the perfect choice to partner with me on this campaign!
The campaign will include five different gorgeous versions of the book: a digital edition, a hardcover edition, a signed and numbered limited edition, the extremely limited signed and lettered edition, and for those of you who, like me, love the rarest of tomes, there will be a leatherbound extremely rare edition.
I’ll have more surprises to share with you in the coming weeks, including more Kickstarter exclusives, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, if you have any friends, family, or SF&F communites online that you think might be interested in this campaign, please share this link with them so they, too, can get their free pin!
The King-Killing Queen launches on Tuesday, March 14th!
Magic Always,
Shawn Speakman
PS. Yes, this means you will be getting two Annwn novels this year. It’s what you all wanted, right?