Alex Kingsley’s novel Empress of Dust has just been released, and my novel Usurpation will be released on October 29. We’re both celebrating on Wednesday, October 30, at Volumes Bookcafé in Chicago. You’re invited! It’s the day before Halloween, so feel free to cosplay.
Alex and I belonged to the same writer’s group, although at different times. Alex is a writer, comedian, game designer, and playwright with impressive achievements. Empress of Dust is their first novel, a post-apocalyptic science fiction story featuring trans and LGBT+ characters for new adult and adult readers.
The story takes place in an ecology with surprising monsters — giant talking monstrous crabs, for example. Alex has always been interested in monsters and crabs, as she explains here. While my characters can be a little prickly, Alex created characters I wanted to hug: Four young misfits overcome repeated disaster and betrayal, build a team, and come to trust each other and themselves. The story of personal growth is compelling, not just about found family, which is a great thing, but an even more rare discovery, found competence.
You can read reviews of Empress of Dust at Ancillary Review of Books and History that Never Was.
We hope to see you on the 30th!
Semiosis 