If you’ve read some of my recent monthly updates, you know that I’ve been waiting for the cover artist for The Village of Strong Branches to come out with the book cover. This has happened, so The Village of Strong Branches is now open for preordering. Print may take a bit longer to show up in the distribution channels, though — I’ll post again here when I notice it appearing. The print ISBN is 9781735740645.
I love the spooky vibe that the cover artist gave this. She captured the spooky and otherworldly qualities I wanted to capture in the book, along with the strange effect of the reflections in terraced water when many of the ambient plants are photosynthesizing with retinal, the planet in transition. And it was done in watercolor, so you know it’s not AI. 😉
Here’s what this story is about:
The Village of Strong Branches is a hieropoeic ghost story, interweaving family and professional duty. Keð, a member of the international military peacekeepers, has hidden her mental health breakdown after the death of a close comrade, Wiren, from her family. On her first voluntary leave after her recovery, she visits her family, intent on restoring peace with her sister, Tantas. But Keð’s troubles are far from over when Wiren’s ghost starts haunting her, threatening her stability and challenging everything she has taken for granted and all she has hidden from others as she is drawn into a world of the restless dead and the Goddess of the Mountains.
This poignant tale of liminality, grief, change, and resilience will be an enjoyable read for anyone who loves phantoms lurking in the dark. Readers who love conlangs and non-Earth settings may also enjoy this story.
Over the next few months, I’ll be doing some cross-posting about writing projects here. Ultimately, though, my writing content will go on Pangrammatike, a substack — https://pangrammatike.substack.com. It will function as a mailing list. You can expect some updates on how I think about worldbuilding and conlanging, in addition to project updates. I’ll always let people on KALLISTI know about new story releases, but I am aware that the audiences for my stories and the audience for KALLISTI are a Venn diagram. The cross-posting will stop by the end of October.
And, of course, my announcement on Substack contains more information, and you also get to learn which deity is on the dedication page and why.
KALLISTI 