The Big, Scary Book is Revealed!

So here’s my news. This went out in my newsletter yesterday, as those folks get all the book info first (if you want to be one of those people, you should subscribe here). I’m sharing it now with the rest of the world, as I’m fairly sure anyone who was going to read that has read it by now. Ready? Here goes…

Confession time. There are things in this world that scare the pants off of me. They aren’t fears about impending nuclear war, or zombies, or tarantulas bursting out of bananas (although those things are pretty panic-worthy as well), but more intangible human fears about rejection, loss, failure… things most people worry about in a general sense. It’s the times when we take steps into the unknown that those fears rise up to the surface, ugly and overpowering. They make us question every move, and sometimes prevent us from moving at all.

Well, today I’m moving despite those fears. I’ve been sitting on a project I’ve been calling my Big, Scary Book for about a year now. So much about this book terrifies me. For one, it’s contemporary. For two, it’s not in my normal genre wheelhouse of Science Fiction and Fantasy. For three, it’s a lot more literary than anything I’ve written before and likely will again. And four… well, the contents of the book are uncomfortable. I’m worried readers will take these words and paste them overtop of me as a person. I’m worried it’ll attract attention from various groups and individuals that specialize in making life miserable for women on the internet and in a general sense. And then I worry I’m overthinking the whole thing, and no one will even notice or understand what the big deal is… and that possibility is pretty horrible, too. There’s little worse than radio silence when you’re unsure if what you’re doing is the right thing to do.

This book is not nice. The characters are not nice. The plot is not nice. Nothing about this book is nice.

This book is not nice. It is certainly not for children.

It’s a story of how far one woman will go to avenge the death of her Most Important One. It’s a story of the kind of friendship you would kill for. It’s about being unable to save people who can’t save themselves. It’s not a storybook romance, but the sort of love in this book is REAL. It’s a resonant love that changes you, shapes you, makes you who you are. Who do you become when that’s stolen from you? How far would you go to make things right and desperately try to fill the hole left inside you? What would you do when presented with options to destroy the human monsters responsible? Are you willing to pay the high price of vengeance?

Alexandria Ross is.

If you’re a fan of the TV show Revenge, or enjoyed the dark turns and broken characters of Gone Girl, this is a book for you. This should probably go without saying at this point, but go in with a trigger warning assumption.

Now, I may be completely unsure about everything else this book is, but one thing I’m NOT unsure of is the cover. I love this cover wholeheartedly and have been DYING to show it off. Today, I’m showing it to you, with more exciting news after that (so keep reading after you see the image).

I present to you, the cover for Lex Talionis:

Alexandria Ross was only sure about one thing: her best friend Miranda. So when the seemingly random act of violence that steals Randi’s life is revealed as cold-blooded murder, Andria doesn’t get mad… 

She gets even. 

Driven with purpose, she changes the course of her life to set the scales of justice back in balance. Psychological warfare is her specialty, and the secrets of her enemies are her weapons. 

The players take their positions on the board… 

But little do they know that the game is rigged. 

Alexandria controls every move. 

Lex Talionis: let the punishment fit the crime.

So here’s the exciting part. While the ebook version of Lex Talionis won’t be live until April 27th (preorder it here), you can get the paperback right now! I’m doing things a little differently with this book, and there’s a good reason for the early availability. Here’s the full spread:

So why the early availability? To understand that, I have to let you in on a secret. In a few short days, I’ll be listing a MASSIVE Goodreads giveaway (you can now add the book here). FORTY (yes, 40) print copies of Lex Talionis will be put up for grabs. Be watching on social media and my blog for the links once it’s live. And on release day… well, you should probably watch my Facebook Author Page on April 27th. Just assume it’s something awesome and you probably won’t be disappointed.

Edit: The Goodreads giveaway is LIVE! This runs from March 7th-17th, so get in on it NOW! (Enter here)

My stomach is in knots over this book, guys. Hitting the “approve proof” and “submit for preorder” buttons were the two most stressful mouse-clicks I’ve ever clicked. But now it’s done. The rest is out of my hands.

It now lies with readers.

Thank you all for your support and I promise to get back to my genre box soon! ;)