Q&A for "The Eve a Saint First Raced"

With the official release date set for my next standalone novel, I took to my newsletter and socials to answer any questions you as readers might have about The Eve a Saint First Raced. Without further ado, let's get into it!

"October?? Why aren't you releasing it close to Christmas?"

Yes! The release date is couple months earlier than the holiday that the book revolves around. The main reason is to give you the opportunity to read it beforehand. If I released the novel directly on December 25th, or even the 1st, it would take physical copies a little while to ship out. As a Christmas story, I'd lose a lot of marketing momentum if most people received their copies after the big date (Who really likes to listen to Christmas music in January? It'd be the same vibe to read a Christmas story then).

Plus, releasing two months earlier means you get to read it, well, two months earlier. Speaking of...

"Can I preorder the new book?"

Not yet! But you will be able to! Both the Ebook from Amazon as well as signed copies from my own website for those of you in the states. Preorders will likely go live in late August/early September, soon after another big event...

"Cover reveal when?!??"

I'm in love with the cover for The Eve a Saint First Raced. It's commissioned from the incredible @Nalakbel, whose delectable fairytale artwork can be viewed here:

However, I must hold off on the official cover reveal until Summer's over and we get closer to release. You have already seen a glimpse of the official title and a bit of the cover's background in my release date posts. I may also share early glimpses at my in-person events or with select ARC readers. All the more enticement to join the team!

"When and where can I sign up as an ARC reader?"

I'm looking to launch this book with even more ARC reviewers than my previous ones! I'll be reaching out directly to a lot of bookstagrammers, podcasters, and bloggers that I admire, but won't narrow my team to just them. Like with my previous releases, I'll announce ARC recruitment on my newsletter first, then public socials. That process will start very soon. Possibly by the end of this month, after I've received my first proof copies of the novel and confirmed their quality is up to snuff.

"What's different about this story compared to your other ones?"

The Eve a Saint First Raced is first and foremost a Santa origin story! The big man in red has many fables surrounding him (and only he knows which one is true), but I thought I'd give it my own spin and include an action-packed sleigh race to boot. While Redwall served as my main inspiration for The Canid Chronology, I think you can really feel C.S. Lewis's style of mythic, Christ-centered fantasy really shine through in The Eve a Saint first Raced. Furthermore, unlike The Canid Chronology, this story is shorter and self-contained. It should be a great starting point for new readers to ease into my writing style without having to commit to a longer series.

"Will you pursue more fantasy books? Or any other genre?"

Naturally! Fantasy is my bread and butter. I'm still making crawling progress on The Canid Chronology Book Three (it'll be my next release after this, I promise for you fans of the series!). But besides that, I have lots of other ideas.

Some of those ideas do veer into new territory. Or, at least, they take my fantasy sensibilities and blend them with other genres. For a while, I've been tooling around with an Alice in Wonderland-esque story that toes the line between fantasy and wild western. I've also got a premise for a thriller/light horror novel, and sci-fi, being adjacent to fantasy, appeals to me, but I just need to get smart enough to write it!

And that's all the questions for now! The Eve a Saint First Raced is coming October 2nd!

Remember adventure!

~Angola Hone