"Heir of Prophecy"

Coming soon from Harper Voyager: Heir of Prophecy: A Romantasy Novel of a Girl Caught Between Two Prophecies Two Worlds and One Alluring Vision (The Clash of Prophecies Duet) by Analeigh Sbrana

About the book, from the publisher:

She's a woman bound by fate, torn between two prophecies.

He's the Prince of the underworld, fated to either claim her or end her life.

Defying destiny is one thing…the heart, another.

Magic has always been at the periphery of Audra’s life. As a human, she knows that magic exists, but it's as distant as the legends she grew up with. Until one day, magic returns, bringing with it the all too real Fae and upending Audra’s life entirely.

Abducted by a cult of fae Priestesses, Audra finds herself conscripted into a magical war academy. The only hope of surviving this new world filled with guilds, magic, and danger is to band together with a group of her fellow prisoners. Though unlike the others, Audra's burgeoning magic is erratic and violent—just as the prophecy foretold. She must discover what it means to be the Heir, but time is running out. The Priestesses know the Heir moves among them, and they're determined to root them out, no matter what it takes.

As she struggles to mask her power, Audra’s plagued by visions of a dark, seductive being with a conflicting truth. He doesn’t want to save the world; he plans to reclaim it.

Now, Audra must choose: become the savior the cult demands or the catalyst the vision promises.

Visit Analeigh Sbrana's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Undesirable"

New from Oxford University Press: Undesirable: Invasive Species, Humans, and Where We All Belong by Amy Crawford.

About the book, from the publisher:

Invasive species are consistently vilified as a major threat to the ecosystems we call home. But Undesirable reveals there is much more to this story, and offers surprising ideas about our relationship with the natural world.

Over the past five hundred years, human exploration, settlement and commerce have carried countless plants and animals far from their original homes, where they sometimes go on to transform familiar landscapes, cause large-scale agricultural damage, and endanger precious native species. But the young field of invasion biology has been wracked by controversy and haunted by ethical quandaries as it has sought to destroy some species for the benefit of others. Undesirable: Invasive Species, Humans, and Where We All Belong brings this complexity to light, illuminating the often dubious moral and even ecological and economic bases for many anti-invasive policies.

Whether it's garlic mustard spreading through American forests or brushtail possums allegedly decimating the flightless birds of New Zealand, Undesirable reveals a multi-faceted story of how humans have irrevocably disrupted nearly every ecosystem in the world. We have introduced new species, destroyed habitat and changed the climate―but it's not always clear how to hold ourselves accountable in the quest to bring balance and sustainability to this new natural world. Through case studies, historical surveys, media criticism, and conversations with both experts and the ordinary people who serve as foot soldiers in the war on invasive species, this book explores how confronting our deeper anxieties about nature and our roles in a changing world can help us see our "unwanted" neighbors in a new light and teach us all to be better stewards.

Visit Amy Crawford's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Murder Like Magic"

Coming soon from Crooked Lane Books: Murder Like Magic: A Novel by Trisha Blanchet.

About the novel, from the publisher:

Being able to read minds should make it pretty easy to solve crimes, right? Right?

A sort-of-telepathic witch-slash-PI takes on a murder case in this light urban fantasy mystery, perfect for fans of A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer.

Tess Tulley is the proud proprietor of Mill City Investigations—the premier (if you ask her) private investigation business in her small Massachusetts city. Business is slow, especially after she blew up her credibility among her fellow Spinners (do not call them witches) by turning in her own uncle for a crime spree three years ago. Loyalty among Spinners is top priority, and Tess’s decision to put the investigation over her coven has left her out in the cold.

So when the local “Officer Handsome” comes knocking with a bizarre murder investigation involving a dead Spinner, Tess is reluctant to take the case. Even more so when she learns the details: The victim was stabbed postmortem, there’s no sign of who or what actually killed her, and the body was found in a pool of someone else’s blood.

Left with few other options, Tess dusts off her investigative skills, revs up her so-so telepathy, and dives headfirst back into her old community of Spinners. If she’s lucky, she’ll be able to unmask a killer and figure out whose blood had been left behind at the crime scene—and why. If she’s not lucky (and let’s face it, she rarely is), Tess might just become the next casualty on a slab in the Mill City morgue.

Visit Trisha Blanchet's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Tied to Their Country"

New from the University of Nebraska Press: Tied to Their Country: The Farm Crisis, Agrarian Activism, and the Rise of Rural Anti-Federalism by Rebecca Shimoni Stoil.

About the book, from the publisher:

Historically, rural spaces in the United States have encompassed a wide array of political cultures and affiliations, but in the late twentieth century, rural America became a breeding ground for anti-government militancy. Disparate groups coalesced around an ideology grounded in virulent rural anti-federalism. Although farmers today are often beneficiaries of federal programs and payments, anti-federal sentiments run rampant across rural America. The reason, Rebecca Shimoni Stoil argues, lies in the collapse of rural society during the Farm Crisis of the 1970s and 1980s.

In Tied to Their Country, Shimoni Stoil examines the immediate and long-term political repercussions of the Farm Crisis. Beginning as an agricultural crisis, it quickly enveloped all of rural America as banks collapsed, Main Street storefronts closed, and small towns became ghost towns. Because the federal government failed to offer farmers viable solutions, previously disparate ideologies converged in this political vacuum to advocate for agrarian America amid growing distrust of federal institutions and intentions. Farmers found their best strategy was appealing to romantic ideas of American traditions, and social conservatives quickly reciprocated, turning farm country into the heartland of social conservatism. The perceived failure of the federal government’s response to the Farm Crisis generated distrust, resentment, and a crisis of faith in government that resonates across rural spaces today.

--Marshal Zeringue

"First Chance"

Coming September 8 from Blackstone: First Chance by Kasey Lansdale.

About the novel, from the publisher:

First Chance is a suspenseful thriller that readers won't be able to put down--perfect for fans of Sue Grafton and Michael Connelly.

Chance Kirby isn't new to detective work, but starting over in Hopeful, Texas, is a big step. Determined to leave behind her father and stepmother's shadow and carve out a future of her own, she opens a small PI agency, expecting missing heirlooms and marital disputes. But when the cold case of a murdered teenage girl is dropped on her doorstep, Chance finds herself in the middle of an investigation with no leads.

With her adopted sister Tia, her loyal dog Sissy, and the town's newly arrived police chief Isabella Lopez at her side, Chance soon begins to suspect this murder may be only one piece of a much bigger, and more disturbing, pattern.

To stop a predator who, it seems, has managed to evade authorities for decades, Chance must stay one step ahead ... or risk becoming the next target.

Visit Kasey Lansdale's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Cloudy with a Chance of Starships"

New from Princeton University Press: Cloudy with a Chance of Starships: How the Drake Equation Reveals the Odds of Life in the Cosmos by Seven Rasmussen.

About the book, from the publisher:

An entertaining tour of the seemingly simple formula guiding the search for extraterrestrial intelligence

Cloudy with a Chance of Starships takes readers on an irreverent expedition through the marvelous world of astrobiology, using as a guide the most important equation in science since E=mc2. With an irresistible blend of wit, insight, and the latest cutting-edge research, Seven Rasmussen looks at the thrilling possibilities of life in the cosmos through the lens of the Drake equation, a seven-variable mathematical expression that calculates the number of civilizations in our galaxy that humans could potentially contact.

First proposed in 1961 by astrobiologist and SETI scientist Frank Drake, the equation begins with simple and well-known numbers such as the rate of star formation in the Milky Way and the fraction of stars with planetary systems. It then wades into thornier topics such as the number of planets with environments suitable for life, the fraction of suitable planets on which life appears, and the likelihood of intelligent life emerging on a planet and becoming technological. It concludes with the truly unknowable average lifetime of a civilization. While we will never resolve all its variables, the Drake equation offers an invaluable road map to the questions and challenges that lie before us in our quest for alien life.

Cloudy with a Chance of Starships guides readers from the basics of astronomy to the very frontiers of planetary science, along the way covering subjects such as the Big Bang, the formation of solar systems, the origins and evolution of life, and the fascinating methods used by astrobiologists today. This extraordinary book shares a tantalizing vision of the dawning era of space exploration and invites enthusiasts of all ages to join in the discovery.

Visit Seven Rasmussen's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Our Cut of Salt"

Coming soon from Tor Nightfire: Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm.

About the book, from the publisher:

In this lyrical debut, three generations of Palestinian women must put the haunting of their ancestral home to rest, before the secrets of the past drown them all. Our Cut of Salt is a powerful and intimate look at what it means to make a home, to lose it, and to return, only to find it irrevocably changed.

There is something haunting Nuhad’s childhood home in Haifa. Cats avoid its perimeter, strange noises come from within, and residents have mysteriously vanished without a trace. Although Nuhad has not returned to her home since the Nakba in 1948, she always held a place for the house in her heart.

And, in return, the house did the same for her.

After Nuhad passes away, her granddaughter, Marina, is determined to visit her grandmother’s home after a lifetime of being kept in the dark about her culture and family history. Marina's mother, Haifa - named for the city that was lost to their family - reluctantly agrees to her trip, though she knows firsthand that some secrets are better left buried.

But the house is no longer a home. It is a painful, festering wound that infects everything it touches. The more Marina digs into her family’s past, the sicker she becomes. Despite Nuhad’s ghostly warnings, Haifa rushes to help her daughter.

As the three women converge in their ancestral home, they must put the haunting to rest before the secrets of the past drown them all.

Visit Deena Helm's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Country People"

New from the University of Georgia Press: The Country People: An Agricultural History of the American Revolution by R. Douglas Hurt.

About the book, from the publisher:

Although historians have given considerable attention to the American Revolution, the agricultural history of the American War for Independence exists only in pieces found in scattered articles and passing references in various books dealing with the war. Nonagricultural historians have ignored it or treated it almost as an aside and unworthy of analysis, even when it is related to other war topics. Yet, the revolution had profound effects on American agriculture during the war and after.

The Country People brings the many pieces of this story together in a synthesis that provides an overview of agriculture during the American Revolution―from 1774 until signing of the Peace of Paris on September 3, 1783. In so doing, preeminent agricultural historian R. Douglas Hurt asks (and answers) three essential questions: What did farmers do in their daily lives during the revolutionary years from 1774 to 1783? How did the war affect farmers and planters, and how did they influence the war? And what were the consequences of the war on American agriculture?

--Marshal Zeringue

"Incarnate"

Coming soon from G.P. Putnam’s Sons: Incarnate by Alma Katsu.

About the book, from the publisher:

From beloved horror maven Alma Katsu comes a terrifying reimagining of The Picture of Dorian Gray for the internet age.

Beauty doesn’t fade. It feeds.

Dorothy Wagner has spent her whole life wanting nothing more than to be seen. But after failing to make her mark as an influencer, she takes a job working for a brilliant coder whose company is focused on cutting-edge deepfake technology. And there, in secret, is where she creates her salvation.

Isabella. An impossibly gorgeous girl who takes social media by storm. Dorothy's artistry is brilliant, and Isabella seems so real that she garners millions of followers. But everybody knows overnight success doesn’t just happen. And when someone gets a little too close to the truth, a violent confrontation sends Dorothy on the run, forcing her to confront what she’s willing to sacrifice to keep her secrets.

A modern reimagining of a classic tale, Alma Katsu’s Incarnate is an illuminating, haunting tale of algorithmic worship and beauty that can kill.

Visit Alma Katsu's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Taker.

My Book, The Movie: The Hunger.

The Page 69 Test: The Hunger.

Writers Read: Alma Katsu (March 2020).

The Page 69 Test: The Deep.

The Page 69 Test: Red Widow.

Q&A with Alma Katsu.

The Page 69 Test: The Fervor.

Writers Read: Alma Katsu (April 2022).

My Book, The Movie: Red London.

The Page 69 Test: Red London.

The Page 69 Test: Fiend.

My Book, The Movie: Fiend.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Coffee Culture New Orleans"

Coming soon from LSU Press: Coffee Culture New Orleans by Marielle Songy.

About the book, from the publisher:

Starting in the early eighteenth century, importation was New Orleans’s lifeblood, as coffee and other agricultural goods moved through the city’s port and fanned out to all corners of the emerging nation. New Orleans became the United States’ top coffee importer in the nineteenth century, jockeying for position with larger port cities. As the century progressed, coffee importers and brokers built ever-stronger connections between New Orleans and the national coffee trade.

Because New Orleans was such a coffee town, coffee culture began infiltrating the city’s practices. Coffee exchanges opened, creating spaces to share new ideas and partake in important cultural conversations over coffee. For guests, coffee was prepared at home and served black or café au lait with milk. The French Market and similar venues boasted coffee stands, and enslaved women such as Rose Nicaud bought their freedom by selling coffee from carts in the market.

Heading into the twentieth century, Café du Monde and other coffee stands became integral to New Orleans traditions, and Louisiana coffee brands such as Community Coffee and PJ’s made a name for themselves on grocery shelves across the country. When someone wasn’t enjoying coffee at home, they drank coffee with chicory in the French Market―a tradition now closely associated with New Orleans, despite having its origins in Holland and France. Other cultures have also made an impact on the coffee culture of the Crescent City. The Vietnamese integrated New Orleans coffee practices into their own, using Café du Monde coffee in their traditional coffee preparation.

Modern New Orleans has become more interested in specialty coffee grown on small farms and ethically harvested. Multiple coffee roasters call New Orleans home and import their coffee from small farms in Guatemala, Brazil, and Colombia. The next generation of coffee production is creating a heightened interest in farming practices and sustainability, with coffee consumers gravitating toward brands that provide a living wage to farmers. Coffee Culture New Orleans tells the story of the Crescent City’s flourishing coffee traditions from its founding to the present.

Visit Marielle Songy's website.

--Marshal Zeringue