Paperback Release Day for THE RELUCTANT QUEEN!!!

So excited that today is the paperback release day for THE RELUCTANT QUEEN, Book Two of The Queens of Renthia!!! My cat Gwen is excited too!

https://www.amazon.com/Reluctant-Queen-Book-Queens-Renthia/dp/0062474111

THE RELUCTANT QUEEN Comes Out Today!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

I'm beyond excited to announce that today is the pub day for THE RELUCTANT QUEEN!!!  Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!  It's book two of my epic fantasy series The Queens of Renthia, published by Harper Voyager.  (Book one, THE QUEEN OF BLOOD, is available now in paperback.)

Renthia is a world of extreme beauty: sky-piercing mountains, endless glaciers, and towering trees with cities nestled in their branches, all thanks to an overabundance of nature spirits.  But the spirits who created all this glorious beauty aren't sweet, frolicking pixies.  These spirits want to kill all humans, and only certain women -- the queens -- have the power to control them.

THE RELUCTANT QUEEN is the story of three women: a young queen who is dying, a powerful queen who hungers for war, and a middle-aged woman who wants nothing to do with the power she could wield.   It continues the story of Daleina and introduces Naelin, a woman who is (rightfully) afraid that if she uses her power, her two young children will die.

At their heart, these books are about power: who has it, who wants it, what you do with it, and what it does to you.  But they're also about choosing your own destiny and who you want to be.  And they're about soaring on a zipline through a massive forest, befriending a wolf, fighting murderous trees, concocting a few poisons, and trying to save the world.

If you're interested, more information can be found on my website, including the first two chapters.

When I was a kid, I used to "borrow" all the scrap paper in the house, tape it together, and draw massive maps of fantastical lands.  I doodled invented plants in the margins of my school notebooks.  And I kept a file box full of index cards, each card with a made-up name, paired with a magical power and a talking animal sidekick.  (I really, really wanted an animal sidekick!)  I buried myself in books by Terry Brooks, David Eddings, Mercedes Lackey, and Tamora Pierce, and I dreamed of someday writing my own epic fantasy with a sprawling world and danger and adventure around every corner.

Many years later, this is it!  My epic.  And writing these books has been every bit the magical, incredible experience that I hoped it would be.  Usually when I finish a book, I'm sad -- you live with the characters, fall in love with them, and then you have to say goodbye.  But when I finished writing THE QUEEN OF BLOOD, I didn't have to say goodbye (except, you know, to the ones I killed off -- sorry!).  I was able to immerse myself in their lives and their world again with THE RELUCTANT QUEEN, and I loved that.

So I'd like to invite you to visit Renthia again with me.  Just watch out for the trees.  They bite.

THE RELUCTANT QUEEN Giveaway

One week 'til pub day!!! To celebrate, I'm giving away a signed hardcover copy of THE RELUCTANT QUEEN over on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/sarahbethdurst/status/879719598236585984

Retweet on Twitter by 6/28 for a chance to win!

THE RELUCTANT QUEEN Excerpt -- Chapter Two

Just two weeks until release day for THE RELUCTANT QUEEN! Time to post another chapter! Chapters 1 and 2 are now available to read here: http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/ReluctantQueenexcerpt.htm #RQCountdown 

 

THE RELUCTANT QUEEN Excerpt -- Chapter One

Today marks three weeks 'til pub day of THE RELUCTANT QUEEN!!! To celebrate, I posted the 1st chapter here: http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/ReluctantQueenexcerpt.htm #RQCountdown

26 Days Until The Reluctant Queen!

Harper Voyager is going all out for the July 4 pub day of THE RELUCTANT QUEEN, Book Two of my Queens of Renthia epic fantasy series. My editor said there'd be fireworks above the East River! #RQCountdown

 

Starred Review for THE RELUCTANT QUEEN!

Starred review from Publishers Weekly for THE RELUCTANT QUEEN!!!  Yay!  So happy!

Cover Reveal for THE RELUCTANT QUEEN!

So excited to share the cover for my next epic fantasy novel, THE RELUCTANT QUEEN, book two of The Queens of Renthia series (coming July 2017 from Harper Voyager)!!!  Thanks so much to the artist, Stephan Martiniere, for continuing to grace my books with his gorgeous artwork.

http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/ReluctantQueen.htm

Announcing THE QUEENS OF RENTHIA Trilogy!

I am so very, very excited to announce that I've sold a new trilogy of books for adults!!!  An epic fantasy trilogy!!!!!!!!!!!  In the biggest book deal of my career to date!  Series title is THE QUEENS OF RENTHIA and they will be published by HarperCollins / Voyager in 2016 and 2017.  Here's the announcement from this week's Publishers Weekly Book Deals:

Durst Delivers 'Queens' to Harper

In a three-book deal, Harper Voyager's David Pomerico preempted world rights to Sarah Beth Durst's fantasy trilogy, the Queens of Renthia. Durst, who was represented by Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger, said the series is set in a world "where everything in nature has a spirit -- and where those spirits are bloodthirsty killers who seek the death of all humans." Book one, The Queen of Blood, is set for a fall 2016 publication. Durst has written a number of fantasy novels for children and adults, including the YA title Chasing Power (Bloomsbury) and the adult title The Lost (Mira), both published in 2014.

I am doing a serious Snoopy dance of joy right now, complete with Muppet flailing arms and high-pitched squeals:  
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

As mentioned in the PW announcement, Renthia is a world where everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow...  But these are not the sweet, frolicking nature sprites from a pastoral tale.  The spirits that reside within this land want to kill all humans, the way white blood cells want to kill a virus.  Only a few women are gifted with the power to control the spirits.  To defend their people, these women must fight to become queens... or die trying.

Tentative titles and publication dates are:

Book 1: THE QUEEN OF BLOOD -- October 2016
Book 2: THE RELUCTANT QUEEN -- February 2017
Book 3: THE QUEEN OF SORROW -- June 2017

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about this trilogy.  I love epic fantasy.  Really, really love it, as in spent an inordinate amount of my childhood pretending that I was a magical sword-wielding princess on a quest, drawing massive maps of nonexistent lands, and reading David Eddings's The Belgariad so many times that Polgara, Silk, and Durnik felt like real people.  So to be writing books born from this tradition...  Let's just say my ten-year-old self would be doing a lot of cartwheeling if she knew.

Right now, I'm in the middle of writing book one, and I am loving working on it so much.  It feels exactly like writing is supposed to feel, as if I have plunged through a portal into another world.  I feel so incredibly lucky and thrilled and overjoyed, and I can't wait to welcome you to Renthia and share this world's stories and people with you!

Just don't try to visit Renthia in person, because those trees... they'll totally kill you.