I’m delighted to announce the new Nico di Angelo / Will Solace adventure, THE COURT OF THE DEAD! The news broke today in this exclusive Cosmopolitan interview with Mark Oshiro and me. The book will be published in the North American and UK markets on Sept. 23. As usual, I don’t have release date information for other countries and translations into other languages, which typically take longer, but those should be coming!
Check out the incredible cover art from Khadijah Khatib, which will be used on both the UK and North American editions. What is going on in this scene? Is that Hazel? Is that the Minotaur? Yes, and yes. So many wonderful surprises, twists and turns await you inside!
North American edition
UK edition
If you’re confused about my collaboration with Mark Oshiro, or haven’t yet heard about our first Nico/Will novel THE SUN AND THE STAR, which has been on The New York Times bestseller list for a year and a half now, here’s a recap:
I had been wanting to write a book featuring Nico di Angelo for a long time, and readers had been asking me for such a book for even longer. However, telling a whole story from the point of view of a young gay man, I didn’t feel quite comfortable taking this on myself. That’s not my lived experience, and I felt like Nico deserved more insight, more three-dimensionality, more authenticity. I was a fan of the work of Mark Oshiro, so my editor approached them and asked if they’d be open to collaborating. Thankfully, Mark said yes! The resulting book, THE SUN AND THE STAR, was a smash hit. It was not exactly a Rick Riordan book, not exactly a Mark Oshiro book, but a combination of both our styles. The experience was so much fun, we decided to do it again.
To be clear, this is not a “ghost writer” or “assistant writer” situation. From the very beginning, this has been a full partnership — equal advances, equal billing, equal work. The idea for COURT OF THE DEAD came from an impromptu conversation Mark and I had while we were doing a mic check during our promotional tour for THE SUN AND THE STAR. Later, I happened to mention that if we ever did a sequel, I thought Mark should pitch the idea, since I had originally pitched the idea for book one. To my delight, Mark came up with an incredible outline that took Nico and Will to Camp Jupiter. I weighed in on the outline. Mark did the first draft, then I did the second draft. So again, the novel reads like a merger of our two styles, and was very much a labor of love for both of us. It’s wild. It’s zany. It’s more fun than any respectable Roman legionnaire should ever be allowed to have while on duty!
There will also be a number of different special editions available, because everyone these days is loving those (checks notes) sprayed edges.
UK readers, Waterstone’s is offering this beauty for pre-order:
There will be several options for special editions in North America, too, depending on your preferred retailer.
Buying from an independent bookstore always pleases the gods, and you can support local stores through Bookshop.org!
Here’s the Barnes & Noble exclusive, which I’m kinda loving because it’s got that University of Texas ‘hook ’em horns’ vibe on the edges (my alma mater). Be aware there is a signed option available, too, while supplies last, assuming my signing hand will cooperate this time around. (I am optimistic.) Be sure you check that you’ve ordered the version you want, signed or unsigned.
I will post information on other special editions as soon as I have it.
Stay tuned for more details! I have left most social media these days, but I am trying to keep a presence on BlueSky here.
