Sixteen bloodless bodies. Two teenagers. One impossible explanation.

Description from cover:

It starts with a lone victim, found on his front porch with his throat cut and his body drained of blood. By the time it’s over, the Bloodless Murders leave a trail of sixteen bodies littered across the Midwest,with no suspects and no witnesses. Only questions: how were the victims chosen? Why didn’t they fight? And where, where is all the blood?

Michael Jensen yearns to become a journalist and escape his small-town life. He never imagined that the Bloodless Murders would come to sleepy Black Deer Falls, not until the night in September when the Carlson family is murdered in their farmhouse. The only suspect in the case is found with them in the house that night: fifteen-year-old Marie Catherine Hale, unharmed but covered in blood. She claims the murderer abandoned her at the scene, and though her story is suspicious, no one believes her capable of committing the crimes on her own.

When Marie refuses to talk to anyone but Michael, he agrees to record her side of the story. But how can he trust her confession when it calls into question everything that he holds to be true?

Marie knows that her time is running out. But she chose Michael for a reason, and his search for answers gives her one last chance to tell her truth. 

 

Hi there! I’ve been away awhile, lost in the sauce and sludge that was 2020 like many of us (and I did not have a book release in 2020 which in retrospect looks like an act of supremely good timing). I’ve been hiding out, isolating, caring for my disabled and vulnerable mom, giving belly kisses to Armpit McGee and spankins to Tyrion Cattister. Obi-dog Kenobi and Agent Scully have had much play and many walks…they are FIT, after this year of both me and Dylan not going anywhere.

But! In addition to all that hiding, I’ve been in my office toiling away. I’ve worked on not one, not two, but THREE books over the last year, and I am over the moon excited to introduce you to the first one: ALL THESE BODIES. Can we please take a moment to enjoy the lovely cover, designed by Erin Fitzimmons, artwork by Miranda Meeks. That girl on the cover there, is Marie Catherine Hale, the 15-year-old sole survivor?/lone suspect? of the Bloodless Murders. She’s all cleaned up now, but when she’s found she’s drenched in blood, from head to toe. Like Carrie after that really bad prom.

There will be a lot more about ALL THESE BODIES leading up to its release in September, but for now, please indulge me as I tell you how we met. Books show up in all different ways, you know. Many have heard the story about how Three Dark Crowns came about, with a ball of bees and a helpful beekeeper at a book event in May 2013. ALL THESE BODIES wasn’t quite so easy. Or rather, I didn’t let it be so easy.

The story that would become ALL THESE BODIES has been bugging me since before Three Dark Crowns; I would say it showed up six months earlier. It didn’t know what it was at first. But it was very enthusiastic about getting written. Here’s how it went.

Me, minding my own business: Is somebody back there?

ALL THESE BODIES: BOO! Hahahaha. It’s me. Your next book.

Me: Ok, hi. Wwwwhat are you?

ALL THESE BODIES: *proceeds to rattle off the craziest shit imaginable*

Me: …Yeah, I need to be somewhere.

Flash forward to 2016

ALL THESE BODIES: So you’re finally done with those murderous queens, I guess.

Me: Oh. You’re still here. And I see you’ve gotten weirder.

ALL THESE BODIES: YES. Now I’m rolled in the crunchy topping of the teenaged spree killer Charlie Starkweather and his young girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate. And the slaughter of the Clutter family in Kansas! And there’s this guy who wants to be a journalist, and there’s this girl, and there’s these KILLINGS, and Why?! And How?! And–

Me: Actually those queens aren’t done.

ALL THESE BODIES: But…

Me: Yeah, after One Dark Throne…Arsinoe’s just going to keep poking at that until something blows up. You know how she is.

ALL THESE BODIES: But…what about all of these…bodies?

Me: Gotta go byeee

Flash forward to 2019

ALL THESE BODIES: *busts in the door chest first*

Me: *looks at it and smiles* So that’s what you are. Okay. I’m ready.

 

Spoiler alert, friends, I was not ready. But it was time, and ALL THESE BODIES took me on a ride. I hope it’ll take you on one, too.

One of the other books I was working on is still a secret and will be announced SOON. The other is my next fantasy that I’m code naming AMAZON JEDIS, and you won’t hear much about that until next year. There are a few more announcements coming about a preorder bonus for the Five Dark Fates paperback if you order through my NEW LOCAL INDIE (Yay!) Invitation Bookshop, and the Five Dark Fates paperback WILL include the bonus epilogue.

Until then, I’m late to post the cover to other places, so….I gotta go, byeee

K

And oh yeah, preorder link here:

https://bit.ly/3pa5O9K