Cover Reveal & Author Q & A: THE WARRIOR POET by Sharon Lynn Fisher + Giveaway!

I couldn’t be more excited to help Sharon reveal the cover of the latest book in her Faery Rehistory series, The Warrior Poet, which comes out on October 12 from Blackstone Publishing. Today I’m joining Justine from Whispers & Wonder to help spread the cover love! Please help me welcome Sharon to the blog for a short Q&A before the reveal, and keep reading for a giveaway at the end of this post.

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Welcome back to the blog, Sharon! I’m so excited for your upcoming release, The Warrior Poet, and I’m thrilled to be part of the cover reveal. Before we get to the big event, how about a few questions about the book?

The Warrior Poet is book three in your Faery Rehistory series. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired you?

Thank you, Tammy, it’s great to be back!

It’s an interesting question, because the bones of this story actually developed right after I finished my third sci-fi romance for Tor Books, what seems like ages ago now (2015?). For that earlier version of the story, I came up with the modern-day character Neve, book artist and Powell’s bookstore employee (and even got a tour of the Portland store). The hero was a modern-day physics professor. I just loved the idea, which also incorporated Irish folk tales and Celtic gods, but I got to a point in writing it where the story just stopped. I mean FULL stop, I could not see a way forward. I didn’t know where it was going. I kept trying for a while, but finally I relegated it to the island of misfit story ideas.

When I finished the first book in the Faery Rehistory series, The Absinthe Earl, I had a rough idea for a second book, and my agent thought it would be great to pitch a trilogy. I had no idea what that third book was going to be—and then suddenly I did. I dusted off that old partial manuscript and read through it—the point where I’d gotten stuck years ago was exactly the point where, in The Warrior Poet, Neve travels to the 19th century with poet Will Yeats (who makes appearances in books one and two of the Faery Rehistory as well). Once I fit those pieces together, the rest of the plot came together too.

Can new readers jump into this book, or should they read The Absinthe Earl and The Raven Lady first?

The book can stand alone. Each of these three stories focuses on a different couple with their own arc. With that said, I think reading the other two first will provide a richer experience. Readers of the first two books will get to see what Lord and Lady Meath and the fairy king and queen have been up to. Along with Queen Isolde, a favorite character of mine, and Icelandic shadow elf Ulf, who readers seem to love!

I love that you combine so many different elements into your series: intrigue, history, mythology, magic and of course, romance. How hard is it to make sure all of these elements are balanced?

Sometimes it is tricky. For example, after doing a ton of research, you have to make sure you still write an accessible story with a good pace. I sometimes end up having to back out some details, and luckily I have good readers to help me with that. Also, I grew up a fantasy and sci-fi reader, so that part of the plot always gets most of my attention in the first draft. In later drafts I refine the love story, layering in attraction and tension to give it that slow burn. I sometimes read SFF where the romance feels sort of penciled in, and I want to avoid that. I feel like readers can handle both a rich speculative plot and well-developed romance. Look at Outlander!

Let’s talk about the cover and the artwork. Who is the artist, and did the same artist create all three covers?

Designer Kurt Jones and the Blackstone team came up with the design for the series, and Kurt designed the cover for The Absinthe Earl and The Raven Lady. He moved on to a job with a 3D animation company before the third book came out, and the designer for this one was Alex Cruz. This third cover was tricky! You have one character from the 19th century and one from the 21st. The reader doesn’t know that yet, so making one appear modern and one historical could be confusing and aesthetically unappealing. Yet making them both look 19th century doesn’t feel quite right either. I think the cover handles this really well—the book is mostly set in the 19th century and you get that vibe, but Neve has a slightly more modern look. 

I think the cover is perfect, and even though a different designer worked on this one, all three covers go so well together. Is there anything else you’d like to say about The Warrior Poet before I reveal the cover?

I’ve had so much fun writing this series, and I hope readers will enjoy the ride as well! I will also say that I’m very grateful to editor Corinna Barsan for being fabulous in general, but especially for her support on The Warrior Poet. The book was written during some trying times—we experienced a mudslide in our community that greatly impacted our lives for a few months, and the pandemic came right on top of it. I was proud of this book when I finished it, but together I feel like we took it to the next level. 

Thank you Sharon! And now for the reveal:

They searched for each other in dreams. Then they traveled through time to save Ireland.

Portland book artist Neve Kelly is having weird visions—vivid daydreams of lovers on a battlefield that yank her out of reality. A couple weeks before Halloween, a confused, strangely dressed man appears in her living room. He drops a slip of paper that describes a dream much like her own before disappearing without a trace.

Will Yeats has had enough of heroics. With the peace between Ireland and its enemies restored, he plans to spend the next decade quietly writing his Irish fairy history. But suddenly he’s time-traveling again. He briefly visits the home of an intriguing stranger, who appears to be American. The next time he’s drawn there, he finds her being sucked through a ghastly hole in her ceiling.

Will saves Neve by carrying her back to 1888 Ireland, where he learns that not only is she from more than a century in the future, but from a parallel world where fairies and Tuatha De Danaan heroes are no more than myth. Their dreams of ancient lovers have brought them together … but why? Dark portents surround them—portents bearing the mark of the Morrigan’s meddling—and they soon discover it’s all part of a sinister scheme to seize the throne of Ireland. And the love story from their dreams has begun to manifest in the present moment.

Will’s friends—Irish Queen Isolde and her allies—are depending on Will and Neve to connect with the past in order to save Ireland. But can anything save them from the violent end that dreams have foreshadowed?

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About the author:

SHARON LYNN FISHER writes smart, twisty, passionate tales—mash-ups of science fiction, fantasy, and slow-burn romance set in lush and atmospheric worlds. Her books have been praised and recommended by Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, and RT Book Reviews.

Sharon has published sci-fi romance with Tor Books and erotic fairy tales with Penguin Random House. Her historical fantasy trilogy The Faery Rehistory is being published by Blackstone Publishing. Book Riot included the first book in the series, The Absinthe Earl, in its 20 Must-Read Fantasy Romance Books.

A city mouse who was dragged by her country-mouse-aspiring family to an acreage just outside Seattle, Sharon is mom to two brilliant teens, two ridiculous goats, an orange cat and orange mare, and a fluctuating number of poultry. When she’s not writing, you’ll mostly find her wandering the woods looking for fairies.

Find Sharon and preorder The Warrior Poet: Author website & buy links | Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Bookbub

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And now for a giveaway! (U.S. only) One reader will win their choice of one of the first two books in the series, The Absinthe Earl or The Raven Lady. To enter, please send an email to booksbonesbuffy(at)att(dot)net with the subject “Sharon Lynn Fisher giveaway” and include your name/mailing address/book selection in the body of the email. A randomly drawn winner will be selected in one week and notified via email. Good luck!