Cover Reveal: SALT & BROOM by Sharon Lynn Fisher

I’m thrilled that Sharon Lynn Fisher asked me to help reveal the cover of her upcoming November release from 47North, Salt & Broom, a Jane Eyre-inspired witchy tale that sounds tantalizing! Below is the gorgeous cover, and keep reading to learn about Sharon’s inspirations for the book. And don’t forget to preorder!

Salt and broom, make this room

Safe and tight, against the night.

Trunks packed with potions and cures, Jane Aire sets out on a crisp, clear morning in October to face the greatest challenge of her sheltered girls’-school existence. A shadow lies over Thornfield Hall and its reclusive master, Edward Rochester. And he’s hired her only as a last resort.

Jane stumbles again and again as she tries to establish a rapport with her prickly new employer, but he becomes the least of her worries as a mysterious force seems to work against her. The threats mount around both Jane and Rochester—who’s becoming more intriguing and appealing to her by the day. Jane begins to fear her herb healing and protective charms may not be enough to save the man she’s growing to love from a threat darker and more dangerous than either of them imagined.

Why a witchy Jane Eyre?

In my early 20s, I fell in love with classic novels. I was working a retail job while finishing my journalism degree, and a coworker of mine who was studying literature recommended that I read Jane Eyre. Up until then, I’d only read classics if a teacher assigned them, and based on those, I had mixed feelings. Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemmingway, Mark Twain…I’m not saying they weren’t gifted writers, but what is missing from this list?

So Jane Eyre was an eye-opener, to say the least, and I went on to read Wuthering Heights and the work of George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) and Jane Austen and Ann Radcliffe. (I didn’t give up reading men altogether; Anthony Trollope became one of my favorite authors.) But Jane Eyre was always special to me. Brontë’s voice transported me to the haunting and atmospheric world in which she grew up (a world I got a taste of on a recent trip to England). Her mind was full of magic, and that burst onto the page, though no truly supernatural events transpire in the novel. It comes out in her descriptions of nature, and Rochester teasingly refers to Jane as fairy, elf, witch, and sprite.

Traveling forward through time to just a couple years ago, after completing my Faery Rehistory series, I was contemplating what to write next. My interest was piqued by the witchcraft revival, and the rise of the witchy novel, and I decided that I wanted to write one. I had enjoyed playing in a magical Victorian world in my Irish fairy series, and for some reason, this all got me thinking about Jane. What if she really was a witch? And what if Rochester was brooding and charming without having locked his wife in the attic and lied to Jane about it? What would that story look like? So I read the novel again, and I ordered a truckload of witchcraft books.

Salt & Broom (originally titled The Thorn Witch) was both a loving tribute and heck of a lot of fun. I loved creating my own magical version of that world, as well as giving Jane true agency and power. I loved envisioning my own Rochester (who looks remarkably like Tom Hiddleston 😁). Still brooding and prickly and haunted, yet also a man readers could feel truly worthy of being saved and loved by Jane (provided they both survive what the story throws at them!). I’m so glad I took this journey.

So what comes next? Never say never, but I think there can be no true sequel to Salt & Broom. It’s Jane’s story and complete in itself. My publisher (47North) simply asked for another book with the same world feel, so I’ve moved from October vibes, witches, and dark magic in rural Yorkshire to a Victorian yuletide ghost story full of books and curiosities set in the fine old city of York. (But I very much doubt Salt & Broom will be the last time I write about witches!)

Salt & Broom Playlist | Salt & Broom Inspiration Board | Sharon’s Instagram | Author Website | Add to Goodreads

Preorder links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Target

About the Author

SHARON LYNN FISHER writes smart, twisty, passionate tales—mash-ups of fantasy (or sci-fi) and slow-burn romance set in lush and atmospheric worlds. Her books have been published by Tor, Random House, and Blackstone, and have been praised and recommended by Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, the Historical Novel Society, and RT Book Reviews, among others. Sharon’s witchy Jane Eyre retelling Salt & Broom is scheduled for release by 47North in November.

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 a fluctuating number of poultry. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her wandering the woods looking for mushrooms and fairies.