The Web of Time is out in two weeks, and I...

I've been dreaming about it for years, and I'm hoping for the best.

My debut Young Adult fantasy novel, The Web of Time, a story about portals between ancient cities, unexpected gods, and memories that both haunt and heal us will be published by Blue House Literary on the 20th of this month (in 15 days, but who’s counting?) and I am thrilled and excited and all of the things, including some fairly bone-freezing fear.

I wanted to get that fear part out first because it’s true, and I feel we’re living a global moment where truth is harder to come by, rarely on the surface, and consequentially more important, so before I excitedly tell you what the book’s about, I just want to say this is a historically complex time (I was going to follow that up with “to be releasing a book” but actually the first part is a complete sentence). Something that was, and continues to be, really important to me is doing this in partnership with people that are Doing The Work and bolstering community, and I’ve had the gargantuan luck to have WOT be involved with many incredible humans (and I want to tell you about all of them, piano piano).

A partnership I’m so thrilled by and proud of is the one with NaTakallam, an amazing language school whose teachers are all from refugee or conflict-affected communities. It is a hard time to be a social enterprise, and so an even more important time to support your favorite social enterprises however you can! Part of the proceeds from the Web of Time pre-order period (which lasts through 20 May) are being donated to NaTakallam, who are also offering 15% off their fantastic language courses for readers who pre-order the book.

A bit about The Web of Time, which I’ve called WOT so many times Blue House finally gave up and refers to it that way too: it was inspired by Rome, Tunis, and Tripoli, three historic cities that both struggle with and greatly influence modernity. The story sat in my chest for a couple of years while I lived between these places until I started to write about them, the gods that lived between and in them, and of course, the portals that connected them. Underneath it all, there was a web, keeping time. Until it couldn’t anymore, and the most unlikely duo of humans would have to team up and fix things themselves because these gods, they’re not always so helpful.

So far, WOT has been named a YABC buzzworthy book of spring, and a “page-turning tale” by best-selling author Lisa Maxwell. Early readers have come back to say some really nice things like they loved every second of the adventure (!!), and I am, to put it mildly, right over the moon.

At its heart, WOT is about connection, cultures, and the power of shared stories in shaping worlds and recognizing each other, the problematic nature of global disconnection and how cultures suffer when the portals between us close. The cultures of WOT bleed together, and each is stronger for exposure to the other: in this moment in history, that’s an inspiration I stand behind all the more.

Oh! And, if you’re in Rome on Thursday, 29 May, you're invited to Palazzo Merulana for a launch aperitivo! (I am super excited about this – please do register at the link above because we have limited spots, but of course this is a free event!)

Get ready for the portals… these are not your normal gods ✨

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(Speaking of women in community, the image at the tippy top of this post is by the amazingly talented Haizea Mariti, the only photographer who has ever made me feel comfy in front of a camera and who took this whimsical photo in the courtyard of Rome’s Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza)