A dear friend of mine (for whom a Tidewitch Captain is named in Witchshadow! 😉) sent me a photo on Saturday. It was from the Truthwitch release day and showed her buying the book in-store.
The caption read 9 Years Ago.
🤯
At first, I was like, Oh goodness, that can’t be right.
Then I did the math, and oh yes. It’s right. So my next thought was: How has it taken me so long to publish six books? Will it really have been almost a decade when Witchlight comes out?
The answer, of course, is yes. It will be almost a decade
But also, I will have, in fact, published ten books by the time Witchlight releases this November. It’s just that only six of those are the from the Witchlands series.
So I will say—as I’ve said many times before—thank you for your patience.
I know the wait has been long between Witchlight and Witchshadow. And I just hope I’ve done you all (and the cast of the books!) justice.
NOW, onto the main reason for this newsletter!
I have been saving the below art by the talented Patricia Vázquez for literal years with the expectation that I would when Witchlight was all done.
Well, Witchlight is now all done.
I have edited, polished, and troubleshooted it more than any other book before, and I feel truly proud of every word that’s on the page.
It was such a challenge—I won’t lie—to wrap up all the promises I’d felt made to the reader. And to tie all the threads together that I’d been building toward for so long.
But it’s done, y’all!
Now, unless something unexpected happens on the publisher end of things, there is no reason this book will be delayed again. It is FINISHED, and it will release this year.
😭
WHICH MEANS I CAN SHARE THE ART! 🎉 Finally! I’ve been saving it since 2021!
So behold!
If you’ve read Witchshadow, you know what the scene is and who’s in it. (Or if you need a refresher, check out chapter 57.)
And note: this is official art I commissioned—meaning the details, the colors, the posing are all how I see them in the book. But with, of course, Patricia’s unique style and take.
I actually reached out to Patricia because I just adored her fanart for the series. And I also just adore her use of color and light in all her art. It’s so bold! It’s so sharp and stylized. And oh my gosh, the details on Iseult’s clothes here! I weep. 😭
Feel free to use the art for personal purposes, but otherwise, please don’t share! ❤️
Off I go now! I will be back soon with more Witchlands goodness. (And The Executioners Three goodness too.)
Surprising to literally no one, I am not ready to let the Witchlands go. I was feeling so emo over finishing the last polishes over the holidays that I dove into my planned spinoff.
I don’t have much written, but it is deeply satisfying to get to explore the world with fresh eyes—and better skills. I started writing Truthwitch 11 years ago! I have grown so much as both a writer and a person.
So let’s see where The Winter Fool takes me (that’s the working title for now!), and of course, don’t forget to pre-order!
Happy New Year, my dearest friends! I’ll see you all again soon!
💚 - Sooz
This art has me screaming 😱 Looking forward to Witchlight!
O. M. G. THIS ARTWORK