I loved meeting every one of the 2017 Debs and can’t wait to get to know the Debutante Ball class of 2018. Join me!
Founded in 2006, The Debutante Ball celebrates the journey of five female, debut authors on their paths to publication. Through discussions that range from craft and creativity to copy edits and cover designs — plus weekly guest posts by published authors — The Debutante Ball offers guidance and a supportive community for aspiring and published writers alike. The collaborative, daily blog has helped to introduce the careers of industry elite, such as New York Times bestselling authors Eleanor Brown (The Weird Sisters) and Tiffany Baker (The Little Giant of Aberdeen County).
On Mondays you’ll hear from Cass Morris, whose historical fantasy, FROM UNSEEN FIRE, arrives on April 3, 2018 from DAW books.
In Aven, a city shaped as much by elemental magic as by war and the rule of law, an assassination attempt forces Latona, mage of Spirit and Fire, to unleash her latent powers to protect her sisters. When the dictator who threatened her family dies, she determines to take the opportunity to change the course of her life, but she quickly discovers that ambition has a high price. For readers of Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters series, the works of Guy Gavriel Kay, and everyone who loves Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
On Tuesdays you’ll hear from Lara Lillibridge, whose memoir, Girlish: Growing Up in a Lesbian Home, arrives in February, 2018 from Skyhorse Publishing.
Swimming naked with her lesbian parents in upstate New York. Sleeping locked in a cabin with her brother in rural Alaska. Flying 4,000 miles unaccompanied between her biological parents. Raised to be a free spirit by norm-defying parents, our protagonist, simply called “Girl,” has to define her own boundaries as she tries to fit into heteronormative suburban life, all while navigating her stepmother’s mental illness and her father’s serial divorces.
On Wednesdays you’ll hear from Kimmery Martin, whose contemporary novel, THE QUEEN OF HEARTS hits bookstores on February 13, 2018 from Berkeley.
When the unexpected reappearance of a former colleague reopens old wounds, physicians Zadie Anson and her closest friend Emma Colley are forced to confront the circumstances that nearly derailed their professional lives at the beginning of their careers. A smart, captivating novel set against a background of hospital rounds and life-or-death decisions, THE QUEEN OF HEARTS will appeal to fans of Grey’s Anatomy and Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies—Martin’s voice is authentic and surprisingly funny as it explores the complex nature of female friendship and the heart’s capacity for forgiveness.
On Thursdays you’ll hear from Julie Clark, whose contemporary novel, THE ONES WE CHOOSE, arrives August 2018 from Gallery/Simon & Schuster.
When geneticist Paige Robson decided to use an anonymous sperm donor, she believed she was protecting her child from the abandonment she faced with her own father. But when her son’s donor suddenly shows up in their life, she must choose between giving her son the truth he craves and losing the people she loves most because of it. THE ONES WE CHOOSE weaves the science of genetics with the story of a mother desperate to help her son find his place in the world. It will appeal to readers of upmarket women’s fiction, blending the high-concept emotional themes of Jodi Picoult with the scientific foundations of Lisa Genova’s novels.
And on Fridays you’ll hear from Kaitlyn Sage Patterson, whose YA fantasy, THE DIMINISHED, publishes on April 10, 2018 from HarlequinTEEN.
In the Alskad Empire, nearly everyone is born with a twin, two halves to form one whole, yet some face the world alone. Bo is one of the rare few singleborn, destined to succeed his great-aunt Runa on the throne of the Alskad Empire. Vi’s twin died in infancy, leaving her one of the diminished, doomed to succumb to the violent grief that destroys everyone whose twin has died. As their sixteenth birthdays approach, Bo and Vi face very different futures—one a life of luxury, the other years of backbreaking work. But a long-held secret and the fate of the empire are destined to bring them together in a way they never could have imagined. THE DIMINISHED is a sweeping, imperial fantasy told through dual perspectives that will appeal to fans of An Ember in the Ashes and The Queen of the Tearling.
To learn more about The Debutante Ball and the Class of 2018, visit www.thedebutanteball.com.
