Finding North: April 2023

Launch news and libraries 📚

Note: The recording above is a reading of this newsletter — there’s no different content, and it’s not produced, so you’ll hear the occasional stumble, or sounds of daily life in the background. If you’re someone who needs or prefers to hear their news, then I hope it’s helpful.

Hi, my friends.

I can’t believe it’s a month until The Isles of the Gods comes out, but here we are! Things are really starting to kick off, so alongside my report on what I’ve been up to, we’ve got lots of news about events and preorder offers.

Before I start, a quick note for my readers in Melbourne, Australia — tickets have just been released for my Melbourne book launch on May 4th. I’m giving you a head start on the general population, so click here to grab yours now. Everyone else — there’s a bunch more news for you at the end of this letter.

What I’ve Been Up To

Since last I wrote, I’ve really been doing two things: writing, and walking. Or frequently, thinking about writing while walking. My husband and I are just back from walking the beautiful Three Capes Track in Tasmania. This pic is of me on the longest day, which was 19 kilometres, or just under 12 miles.

Before we began, I honestly didn’t know how I was going to do it. I’d lost all my planned preparation to long covid, instead spending months struggling to walk around the block. We were locked into the date we’d booked — the track is in high demand — and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to cover the distance.

My husband told me we’d just go slowly. We’d stop as often as we wanted. We’d rest when we needed. We’d pause and gaze out at the incredible landscapes around us. We’d chat with other hikers who were doing the same.

We did all those things, and step by step, we covered the whole track. There’s probably a lesson there for more than walking long distances, hmm?

We walked along the coast to the farthest cape, that one that looks hazy in the distance. Then way past it.

When we were booking, my husband asked if six weeks before my book came out was an okay time to go offline. I told him it was a great time to go offline. Around now is when the worry starts to kick in.

I’ve spent a decade bringing this book to life. Will it reach the right readers? The book world is so incredibly unpredictable right now—the old ways of marketing aren’t working as they once did, but nobody has figured out new ones yet. It’s scary to think that people who have loved my past books might not even hear about this one. That’s one of the many reasons I’m grateful for you, the readers of this newsletter—I genuinely love writing it each month, and I’m so glad I have a way to speak directly to you about what I’m working on, and what’s exciting in my world.

One thing that’s clear in this strange new landscape is that word of mouth has never been more valuable. If you’ve preordered a copy of The Isles of the Gods, or you’ve told someone about it, or you’ve forwarded this newsletter, or you’ve been an early reader and left a review, thank you.

What I’m Writing

I’m buried deep in work on the sequel to Isles right now. There’s not much I can say about it, of course. But I can tell you that I’m spending a huge amount of time thinking about libraries. Over the years I’ve always gone out of my way to visit libraries on my travels — some of my favourites have been Trinity University in Dublin, the Morgan in New York, and of course the incredible State Library of Victoria, here in Melbourne.

As well as soaking up the books—I seem to think I can get something just from inhaling the air of the place where they live—I’ve been gathering little tidbits against the day when I would write about a library. Without giving too much away, the sequel to Isles is that day.

I took this shot at the Morgan Library in New York, last November. I could have stayed there for hours, examining the spines through the bars, seeing what year each edition was published, imagining where it’s been.

What I’ve Loved Lately

The books I’ve been reading lately! Each of these is either out right now, or out so soon that you’d better preorder, so your copy is ready for you on the day.

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu: Secret agents and superstars and sass. I was lucky enough to read this book early in its life, and it’s a brilliant, escapist adventure.

A Hunger of Thorns by Lili Wilkinson: A witchy, sapphic, botanical story that’s full of dark, cottagecore magic and powerful girls. I loved it so much.

Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken: Legends and longing and a grounding in Arthurian myth, a story that will take you on a journey from our world to another. I love everything Alex writes, and I can’t wait to get my hands on this one.

News and Events

I have lots of events and promotions starting to slot into place — here’s a round up!

Melbourne: Tickets have now been released to my Melbourne launch — I’m giving my newsletter subscribers a head start on grabbing them before general release, so don’t delay. Click here. If you can’t attend you can contact the store (info at that link) to organise a signed and/or personalised copy of the book, which you can pick up or receive by post.

Sydney: My event at Sydney Writers Festival sold out almost straight away. I promised to always give you guys inside information, so — don’t worry, we’re organising a way for us authors to meet more of you. Those tickets may go quickly too — your best bet is to keep an eye on my instagram grid and stories, as I’ll share the link there straight away.

Australia: You can still claim character art prints, a signed bookplate and a digital pack wherever you preorder, but supplies are nearly exhausted. Also note! You can get a free print of the gorgeous map from Isles when you purchase from QBD, while stocks last. Click here to register your preorder and click here for the QBD offer. And yes, you can buy from QBD and then also claim the art prints and bookplate, if you’re quick!

England, Scotland and Ireland: I’ll be touring in June and July! I’ll have dates for you in my next newsletter, and I’m SO excited for my first events with you! Also note that you can still claim character art prints, a signed bookplate and a digital pack wherever you preorder, but supplies are nearly exhausted. Click here.

USA: You can claim a set of art prints, a signed bookplate and a digital pack when you preorder Isles in any format — click here to register.

Canada: You can get 30% off your preorder of Isles until April 2nd, as part of Indigo’s Most Anticipated Books promotion. Click here. And don’t forget to then claim your digital preorder pack.

The whole world: You can claim a digital pack when you preorder Isles, including an annotated first chapter, and an invite to a spoilery online Q&A with me. I’d love to see you there! Click here to register.

If you have a question about events, the preorder offer, or anything else, leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer.

And that’s it from me! I’ll be back in around a month, when The Isles of the Gods will be out in the world! I’m going to remind you one more time on my way out the door that you can click here to find preorder links for the book. It would mean the world to me if you did.

If you use gmail, you’ll also find it helpful to drag this email from its place in the ‘promotions’ tab at the top, across to the ‘primary’ tab, so it doesn’t get lost among the advertisements.