🌿🕯️COVER REVEAL for WHERE THE DARK STANDS STILL🕯️🌿
my YA Gothic fantasy that is Howl's Moving castle meets Polish folklore, full of questionable bargains, trees with eyeballs, slavic monsters and dead things that don't stay dead, out 27.02.2024
Ania Poranek, New York Times bestseller author of Where The Dark Stands Still, has mentioned ATEEZ in the acknowledgement
‘ATEEZ, whose entire discography was my emotional support’
deleting my dating apps because i want to meet someone the old fashioned way: getting banished from my village for using magic and seeking the help of an immortal forest demon, who demands i live in his haunted manor for a year in exchange for his help in getting rid of my powers
friendly reminder WHERE THE DARK STANDS STILL has a bisexual (disaster) wizard love interest. with antlers. and under a curse. and he's secretly a huge simp. and he looks like this:
I am kindly asking authors to please mention if their book has a bisexual main character. It certainly helps find interested readers who are looking for books with bisexual main characters
i'm so thrilled to announce that i'm now represented by
@LitAgentMarini
! i cannot imagine a better champion for my polish folklore gothic, about a village healer who makes a bargain with a wood-demon and gets drawn into his battle against a primordial god.
i don't know who needs to hear this but every moment you spend developing a story is valid. that includes making moodboards, playlists, memes, etc. anything that gives you a better understanding of your novel is time well spent.
it's 2024, the year i officially get to introduce the world to my sunshine village healer with a streak of slavic stubbornness, her grumpy wizard boyfriend stuck babysitting a haunted forest, and the book of my heart inspired by polish folklore
oh my gosh i did not expect such a positive response, thank you so much everyone!! i'm so excited to introduce my chaotic girls to the world. There is a title reveal and an absolutely BREATHTAKING cover reveal coming soon, so stay tuned for that!!
i've already talked about this a bit but the official announcement is finally up! my debut novel, WHERE THE DARK STANDS STILL, comes out spring 2024 from Simon & Schuster (US) and Penguin Random House (UK)
authors who are in any way organized baffle me like what do you mean you've got spreadsheets and chapter outlines all i have is a pinterest board and a nebulous cloud of random scenes, most of them involving kissing
i will forever be in disbelief that this is my cover. Magdalena kaczan aka bubug_ captured Liska and Leszy PERFECTLY and somehow also created the slavic cover of all time. it's so beautiful and i am so so lucky.
hi if you like slavic mythology and polish folklore and spooky forests and monster boyfriends and want to see a book cover that captures all those things perfectly, i might have something for you tuesday the 13th june. here are some spoilers: 👁️🦋🦌🕯️
i'm still reeling like that's me?? in an article?? about a book deal?? i will have a more coherent post going up soon because i have so much to say but for now all i will simply be incoherently screaming!!!
when you need a gothic book to devour you 🕯️🍂 truly nothing beats the old rotting mansions, antiquated furniture, ghosts steeping in the wallpaper, decaying family secrets, wild poisonous gardens, haunted castles, obsessive romance, and moth-eaten libraries. Adore it.
since WTDSS hit 700 adds on goodreads (????!!!!) i thought i'd share the beautiful us dust jacket by the amazing bubug_ on instagram. it has quite a few nods to polish folklore and slavic mythology—see if you can spot them!🌿🦋🍃
this is INCREDIBLE oh my god look at them!! Leszy's mask?? Liska's butterflies?? (also just letting everyone know please please do tag me in fanart i love seeing it so much!!)
enemies-to-lovers just doesn’t work in romcoms. the characters are usually immature, “hating” one another over some dumb thing that happened years ago (most likely the miscommunication trope) and the “banter” when attempting to be clever is borderline disrespectful
aaaand i continue to be amazed!! i'm honestly so touched by all the love for liska and leszy and the house under the rowan tree, i never expected to see this book go so far and all i can say is a huge thank you!!!
i see we're doing
#writingcommunity
intros 🦋 hi, i'm ania, truly just a little guy with a brain stuffed full of stories (most seem to involve monstrous love interests). my debut WHERE THE DARK STANDS STILL came out in march, and book 2 news should be arriving promptly.
the leszy (right, antlers), is canonically a bisexual disaster, while liska (left, best girl), has only begun exploring her sexuality in the novel, so it is very open to interpretation. meanwhile i (author, gremlin), am simply queer and confused twenty-four seven
just realized WTDSS is officially available for preorders in the UK, the US, and Canada - AND we're less then 6 months out from release. I can't believe that soon I get to introduce these two to the world 💕🌿
Last but not least, I have to shout out
@warickaart
for this AMAZING piece of my main characters, Liska and the Leszy, I look at it and cry basically every day.
in a shocking turn of events, i have just finished act 1 of my polish folklore wip, so here is a moodboard for this strange little novel that is half horror, half fairytale
what if Howl's Moving Castle but Sophie is a tenacious healer from a small Polish village with uncontrollable magic and Howl is the wood-demon with antlers and dubious intentions living in a Crimson Peak style crumbling manor with whom she makes a very questionable bargain
pitch your book only using comp titles 👀♥️🏳️🌈
(but! go deeper! not just “Lord of the Rings” but “The vulnerable male camaraderie of Lord of the Rings.” And not just books! Use movies, video games, series, memes, anything you can think of!)
hi!! this is the perfect moment to preorder WHERE THE DARK STANDS STILL (or, even better, the ✨ special edition ✨ ) in celebration, here is a reveal of the beautiful spine!!!
The early bird catches the… book? We've saved our biggest
#BlackFriday
deal for Waterstones Plus members with double and even TRIPLE stamps available from now until Monday:
Not a Plus member? Sign up here:
this is a good article! there's so much to say about the generalization of the term 'slavic', and how it very much tries to shove many different and very diverse cultures under the umbrella of one mythology and belief (that also varies by country and even region!) there (1/?)
I've stopped raging in silence about the cultural appropriation of all things Slavic, and started writing about it.
This is my take on Slavic fantasy, my own novel and labels in publishing, fresh on SFWA Blog.
Thanks to
@RoxanaArama
for helping me.
reminder that there will be a WTDSS launch panel at
@booksofwonder
in NY where
@PascaleLacelle
and i will chat all things bookish 💕 it's a free event all you have to do is RSVP in the link in my b!o (this is also one of the few opportunities to get a signed copy!)
"Instead, the Leszy seems ethereal, untouchable - a breath fogging on a cold morning, a moon against a hazy twilight." 🌿🌙 i don't often draw my own characters, but i think he turned out okay
#wtdss
WTDSS is on sale, right on time for 🍂🕯️ pumpkin spice season 🕯️🍂—it's a romance and murder mystery and found family story all wrapped up in a little slavic bow, perfect for when you're in that cozy sweater mood
there's a book 2 cover-shaped thing (US edition) in my inbox and if i say it's almost PRETTIER than the WTDSS cover?? i'm so lucky to have another dream artist working on this one 😭 here are some hints: 🦢👹🪽📿
hi! just letting everyone know that WHERE THE DARK STANDS STILL is currently 25% off at B&N for all members 🌿🦋 (and if you're not a member, don't worry—joining is free!)
🌿 moth fanatics
🌿 slavic girls (bonus points if into monster boyfriends)
🌿 skeleton enthusiasts
🌿 bisexuals
🌿 people who want to run away to the woods and never return
Make a hyper specific list of audiences for your book 👀
(For example, for The Lord of the Rings:
💍jewelers collectors
💍short people
💍hikers
💍retired wizards who smoke pipewèed
💍tree-lovers)
Like ain't no way this isn't going down in history as one of the best concerts to come out of the korean arts scene, and most definitely the best one to come out of kpop.
hi if you like slavic mythology and polish folklore and spooky forests and monster boyfriends and want to see a book cover that captures all those things perfectly, i might have something for you tuesday the 13th june. here are some spoilers: 👁️🦋🦌🕯️
absolutely ecstatic to announce that the first ever proofs of WHERE THE DARK STANDS STILL will be up for grabs from at bookfest in london! they are absolutely stunning and they are ✨ FOILED ✨
I FUCKING LOVE LELEKAS!!!!!!!!11111
IN UKRAINE IT IS BELIEVED THAT LELEKA BRINGS HAPPINESS AND FORTUNE TO PEOPLE
ME AND MY FAMILY LIVED NEAR LELEKA’S NEST FOR A LONG TIME AND MY PARENTS ALWAYS TOLD ME THAT THE BIRDS PROTECT US AND IT ALWAYS FILLED ME WITH SO MUCH JOY
there’s nothing sexier than when an untouchable godlike character who’s never cared about anyone other than themselves meets someone who disarms them completely and they’re like oh. 𝘰𝘩. my love for you is going to destroy me
in a truly unhinged move, i just bought 4 different books on the golden age of piracy (not to mention a whole sailing textbook), i hope everyone is ready for this pirate book i'm not supposed to be writing yet
apparently the waterstones special edition of WTDSS is already sold out online?? i'm baffled and so so SO grateful to everyone who preoredered! and to anyone who missed out on this version, do not fear... something is cooking 😌😌😌
there's a lot of people to thank and it's late now but ofc i have to shout out my brilliant, talented and every so patient cps,
@marisasalwrites
and
@s_e_c_underwood
bc i could have never gotten this far without you and that is a FACT
i might do a more thorough post on this later but i noticed that some WTDSS marketing material has Liska aged 17 and that is NOT the case. Liska's age is mentioned once in a flashback, and that flashback happened almost two years prior to the events of the book. Liska is 19 😌
cover art by the so so talented magdalena kaczan @/bubug_ over on instagram—i could write a whole essay about how PERFECTLY she captured the atmosphere and characters of WTDSS (and the easter eggs!! there are so many easter eggs)
popping in to say i wrote WTDSS while finishing my degree in veterinary medicine. before that all i had done was biology. the only credential you need to be a writer is a passion for the craft (and a lot of perseverance). thank you for coming to my ted talk!!
THIS.
while I have a degree in creative writing, it was a PERSONAL PERSUIT and I signed with my agent BEFORE getting that degree.
there are no technical "qualifications" you need to be a great author.
just write. 💛
when your card declines at therapy so you make a bargain with a taciturn forest-demon to live in his crumbling manor — and get unwittingly pulled into his battle against an elderitch woodland horror all while trying not to fall in love with said demon
it only took me 6 months but my sophomore YA has finally gotten to the point where i'm actually loving writing it. sometimes you just need to power through it, trial and error, until you get to that place 😩
the entire concept of knighthood and bodyguards especially in fiction is inherently homoerotic. you've devoted your entire life to protecting this one person? you willingly risk your life for them everyday? ok i know what you are