Netherford Hall is here!

It’s always a bit of an emotional situation when you finally publish a book. I mean, all my books are special to me, but they are all their own journeys in terms of the process and who I was when I was first writing the book.

To get to the beginning of Edith and Poppy’s love story, we go back to the pandemic times.

A lot was going on for me during that time, in addition to all the just existing. I was diagnosed with ADHD. The house felt like a pressure cooker. The news, every day, felt like I was progressively living in some dystopian nightmare (still haven’t ruled that out, by the way).

Yet, despite that, something shifted in me as a writer and as a human being, and writing became my focus. In the face of all of the awfulness of the pandemic, I stopped caring about what people thought about my writing. I decided I was going to write something authentically me, chasing the kind of stories I needed most, and focus on joy first.

Not that I had anything bad against my other novels. But at the time, the Queens of Fate books were in total limbo. I had no idea what was going on, or that the press was going to fold, just that I wasn’t ready to write Queen of Fury yet. My hope was, if I could do this, I might finally find an agent. And, it turns out, I did.

In order for me to find the anger and the passion of Queen of Fury, I had to live in the joy and the romance of Netherford Hall. 2021 was a big year for me, and I ended up finishing both books and finding an agent and winning the Manly Wade Wellman Award for Queen of None.

Netherford Hall was intensely emotional for me, despite being a lighter book than my usual fare. Something about Edith and Poppy’s relationship really struck a chord with me, and given how close I came a number of times to getting an agent with my previous book, Glassmere (girl, I love you, but I don’t know what to do with you), I needed to scrape myself up off the ground and just fall in love with the process again. I needed Edith and Poppy, for their silliness, their sensuality, their wonder, their faults, their neurodivergence, and their love. This is the story that I needed at 20, still trying to figure out what I was, how I moved through the world, and what I desired.

I also needed Netherford Hall itself. It turns out, that’s what got my agent’s attention in the first place. Sentient houses have a habit of doing that.

I cried a lot writing Queen of Fury (which is weird because I don’t usually do that writing), but I cried myself to sleep one night writing Netherford Hall for no real reason other than the longing they felt, and the joy of them finding one another again, and this sense of connection I had to the book. The book came so fast and so furious, it was hard to keep up with it sometimes (not the case with QoF, may I add–that was like a freaking torturous trek through the mud at times). I felt like I was discovering the book more than I was writing the book, translating a tome rather than creating anything. All of Netherford just sprang to life before my eyes.

It may never be that easy again. And that’s ok.

Writing Netherford Hall also birthed ThreadTalk, and I am forever grateful for that.

But the journey to publication wasn’t easy. We had a TON of interest when it went out on sub, but Stacey and I had rejection after rejection, and so many close calls that it was mind-boggling. They were the most lovely rejections, too. But there was always a reason–someone, somewhere, where the buck stopped, or bad timing, or just “not a good fit.” It’s not personal, and I’m honestly not bothered by rejection. I just thought it was weird that people so clearly wanted this book, but it wasn’t finding a home.

I happened to post about it on Twitter, and my already-editor David at Solaris was like, “Hey, send it to me.”

Nothing, ever, has been normal about my publishing journey.

Anyway, David liked it. To this date, he has the best encapsulation of the book of anyone: “Okay, so I love it. It’s glorious and sexy and silly and full of joy. We’re definitely interested.”

Now, here we are, and it’s a trilogy! And readers are finding it! And enjoying it! And I am so, so proud. It’s a better book for Stacey and David’s suggestions and edits, and the cover is glorious, and people are now saying, “Stars and the speckled firmament!” Best yet, I get to keep telling the story of Netherford, a love letter to Kent where my dad spent a summer as a child, and then brought us to visit in 2000. I’d never seen such a beautiful place in my life. Even if, on the train ride over, all my dreams of Turkish delight were utterly shattered, it was worth it.

I’ve just returned from Scotland, and preparing to finish Roland and Basil’s story, so it does feel a little full circle. Edith would love Edinburgh, and Poppy would hate it; the vampires would absolutely devour it in the best way possible; Roland would hate the food (he’s French) but Basil would wonder at all the flowers. So I think it’s time to write that glorious city into this tale, as well.

I also bought a bottle of Penhaligon’s Solaris perfume in Edinburgh (which has this sun-warmed, white floral with orange blossom almost sunscreen thing that is so good) to celebrate. Because, in addition to book three featuring Edinburgh, it’s also about perfume.

Anyway. If you’re a writer reading this, it’s a reminder to write not just what you know, but what you love. In all the tumult of this industry, it is often the best way forward.

Anyway, you can find Netherford Hall online mostly everywhere, and the audiobook featuring Hannah Curtis (WHO IS SO AMAZING) launches on the 20th!